Pang
2 August 2014
Body of research essay
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An analysis of trial fairness in the case of R. v Taylor (1994) 98 Cr App R 361 Did media coverage affect the trial?
“Michelle, 22, and her sister, Lisa, 19, had served nearly two years in prison for murder before they emerged yesterday from the Court of Appeal, pale, shocked and stunned, to a tumultuous welcome to freedom” (Mills, 1993: 2). This was a part of news in Independent on 12 June 1993 after the judgement of the Court of Appeal had been launched. Michelle and Lisa were accused of the murder of Alison Shaughnessy, the wife of Michelle’s ex-boyfriend, who was punctured frenziedly to death. The original trial in 1992 concentrated on the affair between Michelle and the victim’s husband as well as Lisa’s frustration in the way her sister was treated afterward the sisters were sentenced to imprison. In 1993 the appeal took place due to two reasons. Firstly, the conflict of a significant witness’s statement because he initially stated that he saw two girls walking from the victim’s house and one might be black; however he changed that they were jogging and both white. The prosecution fail to clarify this statement. Secondly, the media coverage was exceedingly deleterious. The Sun and The Star which revealed a picture captured from the wedding video of the victim posing Michelle Taylor kissing the groom and the headline declared “CHEAT’S KISS” and “JUDAS KISS”; in addition, Daily Mail’s headline proclaimed
Police officers including approximately six armed members of the “Special Emergency Response Team” forcibly entered the appellants’ (Bulsey & Anor) house. Bulsey was taken from his bed, placed on the floor, handcuffed and dragged out to the street and later charged with riotous assembly and destruction of a building. In subsequent committal proceedings, the respondent conceded it did not have a case against the first appellant. He was discharged. Bulsey (the first appellant) sued the respondent for damages for trespass to the person (assault, battery and false imprisonment). Anor (the second appellant) sued the respondent for damages for assault and false imprisonment. The trial judge dismissed the appellants’ claims with costs, with judgments in favour of the respondent.
An act to amend Virginia code 20-124 paragraph two, point three and subsection F of 63.2-1202 in regards to subsection A of 18.2-61 to apply not only to convicted persons but also to an accused person when there is clear and convincing evidence of rape (Definitions; Megison; Rape; Parental, or agency, consent required; exceptions).
Christopher Simmons a 17-year-old junior in high school at the time murdered Shirley Crook, one early September morning (Oyez, p.1). Simmons was briefly acquainted with Crook previously from a past occurring car accident that had involved them both. Furthermore, Christopher did not plan alone how he wanted to accomplish his crimes. Simmons two friends Charles Benjamin and John Tessmer, 15 and 16 agreed to aid Simmons in accomplishing his plan due to Simmons insisting they would get away with charges due to being minors (Roper v. Simmons, 2005,p.3). The three friends met around 2am September 9th; however at the last minute Tessmer left the scene, backing out of the murder plan. Nevertheless, Simmons and Benjamin gained access to Crook’s home through a window left open, which allowed them to unlock the back door. Mrs. Crook was in her bedroom at the time and the two juveniles duct taped her: eyes, mouth and hands closed (Roper v.
Today I was able to have a quick interview with the honorable Mrs.Salvarez. I asked her a few questions about what she does in the government and if she could clarify some things.
A large contributor to the bias in the trial was the public’s bias. Before the trial began it was
As argued by Caroline Hospers, Barnett came home on January 30 looking very distraught and without the baby with her. She argues that she ‘discovered’ that Mary had left Alison all alone in the apartment to die. She has no concrete evidence to support her claims. She saw officers in Mary’s place and once she knew what had happened she concluded that Barnet had intentionally left Alison to die. According to Hospers’s statement, she always thought that Ms. Barnett was a disgrace and she was not surprised of what had happened. I feel that this preoccupation in Hospers’s mind is what made her preclude that
Rhode Island was discovered by Roger Williams in 1636, Williams bought land from the Natives and named it Providence.. On the way of building establishing Portsmouth he found and women named Anne Hutchinson she helped vest in Portsmouth. In 1647 other colonies or settlements came together to entrench Rhode Island. As Rhode Island became more advanced it became the World’s Largest Slave Trade Center, at one point it was so bad that other colonies gave them a nickname “the sewer of New England”. But Rhode Island made there own nickname of “Rogues’ Island” and their founder (Roger Williams) was banned from Massachusetts beliefs.
In August 2015, the case Miller V Davis brought to light the complicated relationship between law and morality. Indeed, Mrs Davis a county clerk in Rowan county (Kentucky), is being sued for not delivering marriage licences to same sex couples as she believes that homosexuality is morally wrong. Thus, despite the fact that same-sex marriage has been made legal by the U.S Supreme Court since June 2015. Ought individuals to apply the law though it is in inadequacy with their moral beliefs? Do the law should be totally free from any moral influence? Many legal scholars have argued on these questions, as well as trying to define the terms “law” and “morality”. While no one has agreed to a universal definition, law can be defined as a “body of rules, whether proceeding from formal enactment or from custom, which a particular state or community recognizes as binding on its members or subjects”. On the other hand, morality is referred to as an “ethical wisdom” , the set of common values unifying a society. This essay will discuss the role of morality in the law, while analysing different legal school of thoughts arguing on the topic. First of all, positivists such as Bentham, Austin and Hart, argued that morality should not interfere with the law as it is created by a legitimate authority. On the other hand, naturalist theorists, such as Aristotle, Fuller and Dworkin, believed in the existence of a “higher law”, highly influenced by morals, has to be integrated in a legal system
The R v Bentham case , which presented the question of imitation firearms, and whether part of your body is covered in the legislation adopted the literal approach and as this directive was employed judges declared the word ‘possession’ did not include someone’s fingers. If words of the act are evident, they should be adhered to, even if they provoke a distinctive absurdity. The legislation specified that imitation firearms could be “anything which has the appearance of a firearm whether or not it is capable of discharging any shot, bullet or missile”. It was held by Lord Bingham that Parliament obviously meant to legislate about imitation firearms and not to develop an offence of dishonesty, claiming to possess a firearm. Accordingly, possession of something needs to be independent from the body and the defendant was found not guilty.
Christopher Simmons was not your typical American teenager. Abused and neglected as a young boy, by the time he was seventeen years old he came a convicted murderer and was sentenced to the death penalty. His case quickly became under fire for overriding his Eighth Amendment right that stated that the federal government cannot impose cruel and unusual punishment upon anyone. Christopher Simmons was old enough and mature enough to understand that what he did was morally and socially wrong. If someone can completely conjure up a murder plot by oneself, then they should be sentenced to the death penalty no matter the age. Simmons should have received the death penalty despite his age at the time of the crime he
“Manslaughter - Recklessness or gross negligence - Assumption of duty of care for infirm person - Breach of duty amounting to recklessness - Negligence - Assumption of duty to care.”
The criminal justice system plays a fundamental role in achieving justice, as the system aims to protect all members of the community fairly and equally. However, in the criminal case of R v Loveridge, it is evident that the justice system fails to apply the law to equally balance the needs of the victims and the community. In this case, the offender Kieran Loveridge pleaded guilty to five counts of offences; three charges of common assault, one charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one charge of manslaughter by an unlawful and dangerous act, the victim being Thomas Kelly, Loveridge received 4 years’ non-parole for manslaughter, Loveridge’s total effective sentence therefore is 7 years and 2 months with an effective
The best choice for the nominee of the Republican party for 2016 is Dr. Ben Carson. He is a master of communication. He is the only candidate that can make the United States of America united again. He is a regular citizen rather than a politician. He is the perfect example of what it means to live the American Dream. Dr. Carson is a highly intelligent and accomplished physician who is seen as a breath of fresh air in this world that is full of politics. Lastly, because he is the only nominee that can get America back to what the original founding fathers wanted for the United States of America.
From “One Carpenter’s Life”, I get the points which he wanted us to know from his history is through the hard work and what we going through now can form more the core strength in our body. As haun said, “We long to feel, sometimes in the evening, that gentle breeze that comes, touches our faces, and tells us who we are.”
In Griffin v.Illinois (1956) the Court held that under the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause indigent defendants are entitled to a trial transcript in order to facilitate appeals. Justice Black wrote: There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has. Justice Black’s opinion was probably designed to undermine the Betts special circumstances rule, replacing it with a flat requirement that the state had to provide counsel to indigents.(Zalman,2008).