What Is the Burden of Proof?

You have been arrested and accused of a third-degree felony. You hire an attorney and the first thing your attorney tells you is to say nothing without him present. The second thing he tells you is to admit to nothing and sign nothing. Then he proceeds to tell you that if you do not follow his three simple rules, you are actuallymaking the prosecution’s job much easier because the prosecution has the burden of proof. Therefore, in order for your criminal defense attorney to do his job and do it well, you need to stay quiet and only speak to him.

The Prosecution’s Job

In a criminal trial, the prosecution has the burden of proof. This means that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime in question, in order to obtain a guilty verdict. Not only does the prosecution need to prove guilt, but in order to obtain the sought after sentence, the prosecution has to prove that there are no mitigating circumstances, such as age, mental incapacity, an act of passion, etc. In order to accomplish this act, the prosecution will find evidence to support their case, including, but not limited to, witnesses, experts, and exhibits. Unless there is a video, a direct eyewitness, or a confession, most of the evidence is considered circumstantial, which means the evidence creates circumstances which, if pieced together, create the picture of the crime.

The Defense’s Job

The criminal defense attorney has one job: to create doubt. This job is accomplished in numerous ways. The first way is to remain adamant that you are not the person for which the prosecution is looking for. By showing that you do not have a motive or means to commit the crime, your criminal defense attorney may be able to then argue that the prosecution did not do an adequate job of proving their case. Another option is by providing an alibi. This allows your attorney to show it could not be you at that location because you were in another location with your alibi at the time of the crime.

However, if the defendant is guilty, he may be guilty due to circumstances out of his control, which may provide circumstances that render a not guilty verdict. These types of defenses include self-defense, entrapment, under the influence, and criminal insanity. When dealing with self-defense, the criminal defense attorney must prove the defendant’s life or the life of his spouse or child was in danger, and he acted appropriately. Entrapment indicated a government official coerced the defendant to commit a crime he would not otherwise commit.

It is not recommended to claim that you were under the influence, which inhibited your reasoning abilities, as the argument is that you should know how alcohol or drugs affect you and, therefore, should be more responsible. Additionally, insanity is not a great defense as it is often very difficult to prove, and if not proven, you have basically admitted guilt and would often receive a more egregious sentence.

If you have any additional questions about the burden of proof or find yourself in need of a criminal defense attorney, contact the Renal Law Firm at 713.221.1900,and one of our qualified criminal defense attorneys will be happy to help.

Article Source: http://www.reynal-law.com

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