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Court: When you heard about this case, did you form any opinion about the defendant's guilt or innocence? Juror: Not really. I just assumed that he had committed the crime. [ Verbatim excerpt of court transcript ] |
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THE PRESUMPTON OF INNOCENCE: REAL OR ILLUSION?
By Attorney, Douglas Holbrook
Just how important is it for one who has been accused of a crime, falsely or otherwise, to immediately seek the advice of an attorney?
The answer is, in a word, crucial! The importance of immediately seeking the advice of competent legal counsel, whenever one learns that they are, or might be, facing criminal charges, cannot be more heavily impressed, even in a case where one is innocent.
Why then would people sometimes mistakenly assume that when an individual who is accused of criminal conduct is actually innocent, legal representation by competent defense counsel is somehow less important, or even unnecessary. Perhaps it might be due to a mistaken perception that the job of the criminal defense attorney is essentially to defend criminals.
In truth, the representation and defense provided by a criminal defense attorney is by no means just limited to criminals. It would extend, in fact, to the representation and defense of any individual who has been accused of the commission of some criminal act.
Is such a clarification really that important, or are we just talking semantics? It would appear to be quite important because of the fact that mistaken perceptions regarding a criminal defense attorney's function could very well affect an attorney's ability to properly defend their clients.
Whether in the courtroom, or out amongst the general public, if the role of the criminal defense attorney is perceived to be that of defending criminals, a mis-perception is created that could possibly adversely affect and even entirely negate the effect of the "presumption of innocence".
Now as we all know, the presumption of innocence is supposed to be one of the cornerstones of our criminal justice system, a fundamental presumption that jurors are legally required to adhere to when evaluating the evidence in a criminal case.
The question is, however, whether this presumption of innocence really exists in the minds of jurors, or is merely a conceptual fiction that we merely give lip service to. There does exist the distinct possibility that jurors, while legally and theoretically required presume innocence, may, in fact, be psychologically unable to actually apply such a concept.
"... JURORS, WHILE LEGALLY AND THEORETICALLY REQUIRED TO PRESUME INNOCENCE, MAY, IN FACT, BE PSYCHOLOGICALLY UNABLE TO ACTUALLY APPLY SUCH A CONCEPT."
In the real world, innocence is not always as obvious as we might wish it to be. And as unfortunate as it may seem, it is a fact of life within our criminal justice system that innocent people do at times have to face criminal charges that have been brought against them.
Once that occurs, an individual may be looking at the prospect of being put through a series of inconvenient and embarrassing encounters with the criminal justice system, ranging from police interrogation, formal arrest, booking procedures, possible release, in-court arraignment, followed by any number of possible court hearings, all of which are likely to be set in quite unfamiliar, and very intimidating surroundings.
Under such a scenario, it would not be entirely prudent for an innocent individual to be laboring under a false hope that a "presumption of innocence" will automatically provide an umbrella of protection. Furthermore, by holding onto the illusion that the system will automatically recognize their innocence, there is a considerable risk that an individual might conceivably lose sight of the seriousness of the situation that they are confronting.
For that reason, it is probably critically important for one charged with any crime to realize right from the onset, exactly what it is that they are up against. It is important not to be deluded under a mistaken belief that the police, the courts, and the entire criminal justice system are necessarily acting in adherence to a "presumption of innocence", when in fact it may well be that if any presumptions are being adhered to at all, they could be just the opposite. A failure to fully and completely comprehend that very basic concept, creates a serious risk that innocent people could be wrongfully convicted.
Remember: "Innocent people need representation too!"
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, DOUGLAS HOLBROOK, 2001