Thread 5 of 15
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Chiquita BaiteyAdmission and SuppressionCOLLAPSE
Jurors have rules to keep them from being biased, having a preconceived image of the defendant or knowledge about what happened prior to the trial. All jurors must be neutral. In order to them to remain neutral the use of technology use be avoided. If a juror found information pertaining to the case, they could form an opinion that is not fact based. This could cause the juror to return a verdict that could punish an innocent defendant or free a guilty defendant. This is why voir dire is important. Voir dire allows prospective jurors to be questioned about their familiarity of the case and hope they will be truthful. The jurors are questioned about their attitude about certain facts concerning the case and their willingness to judge fairly and unbiased (Neubauer & Fradella, 2017, pp 384-385). I believe a defendant’s guilt or innocence should only be determined by using information that has been gathered in compliance with the Constitution and approved by a judge because it has not been tainted by a person’s personal feelings or by the media only showing things that help their ratings. If there were no rules, there would be a countless number of wrong convictions and acquittals. It leaves room for corruption and lies from law enforcement officers’ part. There would be no need for the exclusionary rule. The exclusionary rule prohibits the use of illegally obtained evidence during a trial. The exclusionary rule allows evidence that was admitted because of its relevancy and trustworthiness (Neubauer & Fradella, 2017, p322). There should not be any exceptions to the rule because there will be no set standards, allowing too many opinions on what is the right. No juror should be allowed to make up their own rules because they may not have the knowledge to make the correct decisions causing a defendant to not have access to due process. They may also violate the 4th Amendment, protection against unreasonable search and seizure. If there are no rules law enforcement officers could plant evidence and causing the defendant to violate his 5th & 6th Amendments trying to explain away the evidence, incriminating themselves without counsel (Neubauer & Fradella, 2017, pp 322-323). Proverbs 21:15 says, “When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous and terror to evildoers.” When we do what is right and just, justice will be served.
References
David Neubauer, PhD & Henry Fradella, JD, PhD “America’s Courts and the Criminal Justice System”, 2017, 322-323, 384-385.
Proverbs 21:15 Bible Study Tools https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/bible-verses-about-justice/
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