Post by Administrator on Sept 1, 2012 18:18:39 GMT -5
The presumption of innocence at trial is itself a form of injustice. Probable cause for arrest must already have long since been established; and a prosecutor must already have judged the case worthy of the state's limited time and resources. To require that we the jurors set these preconditions aside is to ask us to suspend our reason before trial.
Of course, there are legitimate cases of police and prosecutor misconduct. But we ought then exercise reason in weighing the probability of actual guilt against the probability of misconduct or mistaken identity. It is more important to err on the side of keeping the victims and the general public protected from an alleged offender than to safeguard the accused against the imagined misconduct of a public official.
Of course, there are legitimate cases of police and prosecutor misconduct. But we ought then exercise reason in weighing the probability of actual guilt against the probability of misconduct or mistaken identity. It is more important to err on the side of keeping the victims and the general public protected from an alleged offender than to safeguard the accused against the imagined misconduct of a public official.