. IN BRITISH LAW
2.2.1. Defendant Good Character in Civil Cases
Generally, the good character of a party to civil proceedings is not admissible, unlike the situation with regard to defendants in criminal cases.
If the credibility of the party to litigation is attacked by unwarranted allegations on his character, he can call evidence of his good character to rebut the allegation.
2.2.2. Defendant Bad Character in Civil Cases
In civil proceedings a defendant’s character can be attacked with a view to undermine his credit, just like that of any other witness. There is no special regime for defendants in civil trials, as in in criminal proceedings. Thus, for example, a person with previous convictions can have them put to him
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ADMISSIBILITY OF CHARACTER EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL SUITS
3.1. IN INDIAN LAW
3.1.1. Section 53 states that in criminal cases previous good character relevant
The fact that the person accused is of a good character is relevant in criminal proceedings.
The accused is allowed to prove his good character, either- examination in chief or by cross-examination. But so far as concerns proof of the good character of accused by another witness, what must be shown is, not particular good acts by him, but his reputation in the community in general. The accused may adduce evidence of his good character in disposal of his guilt. The witness’s own opinion of his character is irrelevant. The evidence of character is primarily relevant as to credibility i.e. it makes his testimony more worthy of belief.
Good character in criminal cases is not strong evidence. However, in certain cases, good character may become favourable evidence in favour of an accused in doubtful cases and where the prosecution fails to prove the guilt of the accused beyond the reasonable
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The defendant is, however, entitled to rely on the fact that he is of previous good character as making it less likely that he would have committed the offence. If there is any room of doubt, his good character may be thrown in the scales in his favour."
In Habeeb Mohammad v. State of Hyderabad, it has been held that in criminal proceedings a man's character is often a matter of importance in explaining his conduct and in judging his innocence or criminality. Many acts of an accused person would be suspicious or free from all suspicions when the character of the person by whom they are done is known. Even on the question of punishment, an accused is allowed to prove general good
With “Young Goodman Brown” The writer shows to what degree a person can leave behind him or herself from being judgmental of others. The writer also shows that if one is too critical of his or her surroundings, whether it be the people or the actual location, then he or she might miss out on the marvelous things in life. On the other hand, in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the writer infers that someone who is from a particular area or having wealth does not cause someone to have more of a moral capacity than another person. Regardless of where you come from it is about knowing how to show compassion and how you act towards other people is what matters. Even the Misfit appeared to have ethical rules, even though he was a criminal. The grandmother was not all that wonderful of a person because of the way she looked down on the people around her. Even though the grandmother held herself in very high regard, she didn’t have the moral standing as she could have had if she wants overly judgmental or overly critical and thought about other people rather than herself. However, I would say there are positive effects of casting judgment, and it could an act of self-preservation. There are many examples when casting judgment on someone could be an act of self-preservation such as how they look what they are doing or the way they are talking to you.
``In criminal law, confession evidence is a prosecutor’s most potent weapon’’ (Kassin, 1997)—“the ‘queen of proofs’ in the law” (Brooks, 2000). Regardless of when in the legal process they occur, statements of confession often provide the most incriminating form of evidence and have been shown to significantly increase the rate of conviction. Legal scholars even argue that a defendant’s confession may be the sole piece of evidence considered during a trial and often guides jurors’ perception of the case (McCormick, 1972). The admission of a false confession can be the deciding point between a suspect’s freedom and their death sentence. To this end, research and analysis of the false confessions-filled Norfolk Four case reveals the drastic and controversial measures that the prosecuting team will take to provoke a confession, be it true or false.
This paper will consider eye witness testimony and its place in convicting accused criminals. Psychology online (2013) defines “eye witness testimony” as a statement from a person who has witnessed a crime, and is capable of communicating what they have seen, to a court of law under oath. Eye witness testimonies are used to convict accused criminals due to the first hand nature of the eye witnesses’ observations. There are however many faults within this system of identification. Characteristics of the crime is the first issue that will be discussed in this paper, and the flaws that have been identified. The second issue to be discussed will be the stress impact and the inability to correctly identify the accused in a violent or weapon focused crime. The third issue to be discussed is inter racial identification and the problems faced when this becomes a prominent issue. The fourth issue will be time lapse, meaning, the time between the crime and the eye witness making a statement and how the memory can be misconstrued in this time frame. To follow this will be the issue of how much trust jurors-who have no legal training-put on to the eye witness testimony, which may be faltered. This paper references the works of primarily Wells and Olsen (2003) and Rodin (1987) and Schmechel et al. (2006) it will be argued that eye witness testimony is not always accurate, due to many features; inter racial identification, characteristics of the crime, response latency, and line up procedures therefore this paper will confirm that eyewitness testimonies should not be utilised in the criminal ju...
This rule does not allow an individual’s character of other implications that is solely based on evidence from bad acts an individual has done, but however the court system has shown that it breaks this rule and has even gone as far to let criminal prosecutors to use this type of evidence, wrong doings, or other characteristics that the defendant may have done in his/her past and use it against the defendant in a criminal
Therefore, under these ethical standards, prosecutors cannot file charges if there is not enough evidence to support a conviction, they also do not file if it is not in the public interest to do so. This is what makes the possibilities limitless; however, three key factors also play a part in determining which cases to prosecute. If prosecutors follow these three factors in determining cases then the contradiction of limitless discretion and high ethical standards should be remedied for others. These are factors that should be followed are as followed: the seriousness and nature of the offense, the offender’s culpability, and the likelihood of being able to obtain a conviction at a trial. “Ethical conduct, then, must be the core of the prosecutor’s role in the criminal justice system” (Hemmens, Brody, & Spohn, 2013). Therefore, even though prosecutors have almost limitless discretion in their decisions, they still must
In deciding whether or not a person is good, all of their characteristics must be looked at. That person might look good on the outside, but if their heart is exposed, they may not look as perfect as they thought. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Brutus is a perfect example of this idea. He is sympathetic, kind, and generous, but when his motives are questioned, he does not look so sensitive. Brutus is not an honorable man.
What is having good professional character? In order to answer that question, one must first understand what professional character is. The Texas Board of Nursing, defines professional character as, “the integrated pattern of personal, academic and occupational behaviors which, in the judgment of the Board, indicates that an individual is able to consistently conform his or her conduct to the requirements of the Nursing Practice Act, the Board's rules and regulations, and generally accepted standards of nursing practice including, but not limited to, behaviors indicating honesty, accountability, trustworthiness, reliability, and integrity” (Nursing, Texas Board of, 2013). What does this mean? The Board of Nursing, is referring to the temperament of the nurse, their behavior. How does this integrate into the many facets of our lives? Whether one is referring to an academic, personal, or professional setting a person’s character should remain constant. There is no difference between these settings, some challenges may be different, but the person’s chara...
The criminal trial process is able to reflect the moral and ethical standards of society to a great extent. For the law to be effective, the criminal trial process must reflect what is accepted by society to be a breach of moral and ethical conduct and the extent to which protections are granted to the victims, the offenders and the community. For these reasons, the criminal trial process is effectively able to achieve this in the areas of the adversary system, the system of appeals, legal aid and the jury system.
Doing good deeds makes one a good person, right? One definition of a good person is someone who does good acts but doesn’t truly mean and feel it in their heart. Lane A. Dean Jr. is an example of
In the short story, “The Good Man Is Hard to Find” the grandmother describes a “good man” vaguely. The grandmother pertains the label “good” broadly, putting a shadow over the definition of a “good man” until it loses its meaning completely. She first applies it to Red Sammy after he furiously complains of the universal untrustworthiness of people. Red Sammy states, “Two fellers come in here last week, driving a Chrysler. It was an old beat-up car but it was a good one and these boys looked all right to me. Said they worked at the mill and you know I let them charge the gas they bought? Now why did I do that?” (1,045). The grandmother said he did this because he is “a good man.” She next relates the label “good” to the Misfit. After she identifies him, the grandmother asks, “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?” (1,049). Even though he hates to admit it, The Misfit says, “I would hate to have to” (1,049). Because being a lady is such a meaningful part of what the grandmother believes as being ethical, the Misfit’s answer confirms to her that he does not share the same moral principles as she does. The grandmother begins to desperately call him a good man and that he comes from ...
In the film “ A Few Good Men” the rule of law and fundamental justice were not followed by Lance Cpl. Harold and Pfc. Louden Downey. The rule of law was disobeyed as soon as Cpl. Lance and Pfc. Louden acted above the law. They committed a criminal offence and disregarded Pvt. Santiago's rights. Although, the orders were given by superior officer, Col. Nathan Joseph, the fact of the matter still remains the same, a crime was committed . Pvt. Santiago’s rights were not taken into consideration, which inevitably lead to his death. Although Cpl. Lance and Pfc. Louden clearly disregarded the rules of law and acted above the law, procedural justice was still exercised. Both Cpl. Lance and Pfc. Louden were given rights to a fair trial and the
On Bloodsworth’s appeal he argued several points. First he argued that there was not sufficient evidence to tie Bloodsworth to the crime. The courts ruled that the ruling stand on the grounds that the witness evidence was enough for reasonable doubt that the c...
... resemble the perpetrator and also documenting identification procedures to ensure there wasn’t any contamination to the decision. This will be the most effective way of determining an accurate testimony and ensuring that the justice system is fair. It is also important for governments to provide funding for research for eyewitness to be reliable source of evidence due to that wrongful conviction of offenders is not only against the constitution however it damages the life’s that have been wrongly accused. Cognitive psychology plays an important role in any investigation to a crime and it can determine that through the use of this study of psychology, we are able to be that one step closer to having eyewitness testimony as concrete evidence in court. Till we find a system that enables an accurate testimony, eyewitness is still the most unreliable form of evidence.
How can one know if an admission of confessional evidence is not false? One test proposed on confession is that without independent evidence which corroborates the admission, the confession should not be admitted in evidence. One viewpoint would suggest this would help the authenticity of confessions and deter people from creating false confessions and protect the innocent from unjust convictions, though the justice system requires a balance between this and the ability to convict those which are guilty. Furthermore, a reform implemented as such would undermine the value that is put on confession as being regarded as the highest form of
...n the case of Bacchan Singh, it was given not to restore the interest of the plaintiff but to show what punishment should a person have to for committing a crime with that much level of seriousness.