The evidence of bad character

The evidence of bad character The evidence of bad character is an interesting area which have often been brought up by academician and judges like Professor Hoffman to its disputable and uncertainty of status, and so it have been describe as a law which is complex, unprincipled and riddled with anomalies by Professor Adrian Keane. The general rule was that the defendant may not be asked about his convictions or other bad character until he throws the shield himself i.e. he himself have adduce his own characteristic as evidence, in other words it means that evidence may not be given about his character as part of the prosecution case. The rationale of the rule has proved that the prejudice created by such evidence outweighed any probative value it might have. The basis of the rule can be trace from the dictum of Lord Herschell LC in Makin v Attorney-General for New South Wales: ‘It is undoubtedly not competent for the prosecution to adduce evidence tending to show that the accused has been guilty of criminal acts other than those covered by the indictment, for the purpose of leading to the conclusion that the accused is a person likely from his criminal conduct or character to have committed the offence for which he is being tried. On the other hand, the mere fact that the evidence adduced tends to show the commission of other crimes does not render it inadmissible if it be relevant to an issue before the jury. In other word, it means that the prosecution may not use the accuseds previous bad character to suggest to the jury that he acted in conformity therewith in relation to the offence charged. However, there was also exception following the above dictum he laid down: ‘†¦and it may be so relevant if it bears upon the question whether the acts alleged to constitute the crime charged in the indictment were designed or accidental, or to rebut a defence which would otherwise be open to the accused. In other word, Lord Herschell mean that the evidence which tends to show the commission of other crimes is wide enough to cover not just evidence of the defendants previous convictions, but also evidence of other offences which he is alleged to have committed but for which he has not been tried. Then he came out with two instances in which evidence of other offence may b relevant to guilt. Firstly, the defendant claims that the act of which complaint is made did take place but that it was an accident or so called ‘similar fact evidence and, secondly, where the defendant put forward some defence but his character shows that the defence is not open to him. Following the dictum, the case of Makin had illustrated that there was no direct evidence and an inference was drawn by the jury base on indirect evidence i.e. circumstantial evidence to reach a conclusion. Second, the admissibility of evidence of other offences depends entirely upon the issues in the case that the relevance of the evidence can only be judged by reference to the issues which arise for decision. The method had almost been an universal usage where the prosecution try to prove that on one or more occasions the accused has acted in a way similar to that alleged in the charge although it was not normally known as similar fact evidence. Moving on, the case of Thompson had shown the way the rule applies to evidence of the defendants character which does not disclose the commission of offences. In this case, the appellant was the man who had committed acts of gross indecency in a public lavatory. The issue was one of identity because the appellants defence was that it was pure coincidence that he turned up at the agreed time. It was held relevant to rebut by the context of evidence of defendants sexual behaviour towards young boys. Lord Sumner in this case said that there is a risk of prejudice by a jury after hearing the accused has committed other offences. Because of the risk, the prosecution is not normally allowed to call such evidence, but that it may do so where it is relevant to an issue in the case. Later in Harris v DPP, it develops the analysis of the part prejudice plays in similar fact evidence. Viscount Simon described there would be reasonable cause to adduce similar fact evidence and referred to the rule of practice requiting a judge to disallow reliance on admissible evidence if its probable effect would be out of proportion to its true evidential value. And this is the first time the House of Lord brought together the need for similar fact evidence to be probative on one or more of the issues in the case, and the need for the judge to consider the overall effect of the evidence on the jury. All this was later drawn together and fully explained in DPP v Boardman, which follow the dictum laid down in Makin. Lord Wilberforce comes out with: ‘†¦it is necessary to estimate (i) whether, the evidence as to other facts tends to support, i.e. to make more credible, the evidence given as to the fact in question, (ii) whether such evidence, if given, is likely to be prejudicial to the accused. Both these elements involve questions of degree. It falls to the judge†¦ to estimate the respective and relative weight of these two factors†¦ It simply means that the judge must weigh the probative force of similar fact evidence against its prejudicial effect and only allow it if it would not be unfair to the defendant to allow it to be given. Another case of Sim also applying the similar way to rebut the appellants defence, where the accuseds homosexual tendency is only admissible where it is of sufficient relevance. Lord Goddard CJ pointed out that, similar fact evidence is a form of character evidence admissible because it is relevant to guilt, it may b introduces as part of the prosecution case, and need not await the presentation of the defence or be limited to cross-examination of the accused.

The Virgin Mary Essay -- Religion Christianity

The Virgin Mary â€Å"The turbulent course of Mary’s remarkable life, the difficult choices she made, the terrible ordeals she survived, changed history and transformed the lives of millions for all time† (Biography - Mary of Nazareth,1996). Mary, the mother of Jesus is thought highly of by all Christian faiths. In addition, Catholics hold Mary as the first saint and worship her. I feel Catholics are more accurate when it comes to praising Mary for her devotion to God. Mary should be more of a model for every Christian follower, because of the trust she had in God and the sacrifices she made for all of us. The New Testament does not mention Mary’s birth or her childhood; she is first brought up in the gospel of Luke as a thirteen-year old girl betrothed to Joseph. Thankfully there is a historical text called Protoevangelium of James, which was written around 120 AD and it discusses the events surrounding Mary’s birth, childhood and betrothal, and embellishes on the biblical account of Jesus’ birth (Devotion to the Holy Infant Mary, n.d., par. 5). The birth of Mary was also miraculous. Mary was born in Nazareth to her elderly Jewish parents Joachim and Anna. Anna was unable to bear children, so she prayed to God to grant her a child. An angel visited her and told her that she would conceive a child. Anne promised to dedicate the child to God's service. According to the Catholic doctrine the conception of Mary was without any original sin; known as Immaculate Conception (Biography - Mary of Nazareth, 1996). In Mary’s time the most education a child could ask for, especially a female would consist of learning the basic survival skills of cooking, faming and weaving. Mary was more than likely illiterate, and poor. As illustrated in t... ...m the New Testament:. About.com Christianity. Retrieved December 6, 2010, from http://www.christianityabout.com/od/newtestamentpeople/p/marymotherjesus.htm Slick, M. (n.d.). Did Mary Have Other Children?. CARM - Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry. Retrieved December 6, 2010, from http://carm.org Sri, Edward P. (n.d.). The Original Mary: Our Lady's Life Before the Annunciation. Holy Spirit Interactive - Catholic Information Resource. Retrieved December 5, 2010, from http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/columns/edwardsri/knowingmary/01.asp The Virgin Mary. (n.d.). Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Retrieved December 7, 2010, from http://www.deathreference.com Were Mary and Joseph Married?. (n.d.). Bible Truths, Salvation, Creation, Angels, Jesus, God, Holy Spirit. Retrieved December 4, 2010, from http://www.bibletruths.net/sermons/btso140.htm

Paleolithic

Our class will be going outside to try to help us understand Paleolithic times. We will experience the world as Paleolithic people did – bringing only what we can carry, having no permanent shelters, creating our own art from the materials around us and having to figure out the best place to stay. For this activity, we will assume that you are traveling in a small family group that Is part of a larger group of 31. You can be with either two other people or work with a partner, representing the core family group. It was typical of Paleolithic times that related core family groups would join together o form a larger group.This â€Å"family† would work together to gather food and protect each other. The group was usually between 15 and 30 people, though smaller and larger groups existed. As they traveled, different family groups would meet to exchange goods that they had made and they likely shared Information about the local environment. Young people likely moved between groups in order to share expertise (a group with several artists might exchange an artist for a skilled hunter) or to meet the needs of both groups (a group with extra males may send some to another group in exchange for goods or services).Over time, the larger group size allowed for some specialized roles to develop. The majority of people in the group would supply food for everyone, giving some people free time. For instance, a religious leader, artist or expert craftsman might supply the group's spiritual or technological needs rather than hunting or parenting. Women could take on a leadership role in the group. Women who gathered plants and hunted for small animals in many cases supplied most of the food for the group. In their role as mothers, they were protected from the most dangerous tasks, such as hunting or participating In battles with enemies.Instead, these types of tasks would be left to the â€Å"extra† males (the young and unattached men who were not yet In re ligious, artistic or craftsmen roles). Your task is to imagine yourself as part of Paleolithic times and to complete the following tasks. Your teacher will check that you are done at least Number 1 and Number 2 before the end of the period: 1. Use the map you have been given to decide where you will camp and have at least one person in your core family group record your reasons in the space provided. Consider the wants and needs of your group in addition to the geography of the area n your decision. . Using the tarp, sucks, butter knife and string, create a stable shelter. It will be 3. Using the modeling clay (which we are pretending is natural clay or soft stone), carve a Paleolithic figure and place it at the door of your shelter. 4. As a group or pair, explain what you think the daily life of Paleolithic people might have been like by creating a daily timeline to explain what your family would do at your campsite between the time you woke up and the time you went to sleep. Try t o include the challenges you faced today, such as weather, teamwork, etc. In your experience.

President Nixon Was Running For His Second Term President...

In 1972 President Richard Nixon was running for his second term in his presidency. Nixon was running against Democratic Candidate George McGovern, a senator from South Dakota. In his first term Nixon inherited the Vietnam War from President Johnson and for his second term Nixon wanted to win big and try to take attention away from losing the war. Nixon’s re-election committee decide to assign G. Gordon Liddy to find out information and tactics from the Democratic National Committee and they wanted to know more in their Chairman Larry O’Brian. Liddy brought on board former CIA officer Howard Hunt to help him with his assignment. Liddy and Hunt believed the best way to find out more on the Democratic National Committee and its chairman, was to break in the Committee’s headquarters which was located in the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C, they had plans to bug the place. Liddy and Hunt got permission from the Re-election committee to go ahead with their plan to br eak in the Watergate. Liddy and Hunt brought five former CIA agents and one former FBI agent to assist with this mission. The men were Bernard Barker, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, Frank Sturgis, James McCord and Alfred Baldwin. On May 28, 1972 the men perform their first break in to the, Democratic National Committee, DNC office successfully, bugging the all phones so the former FBI agent, Baldwin, could listen into the conversations and write down everything he heard during the phone calls andShow MoreRelatedRichard Milhous Nixon s Father s Side Of The Family1667 Words   |  7 PagesMilhous Nixon came from a family with a strong heritage. His father s side of the family were Methodists originally from Scotland. Then, in the early 1600s, they migrated to Ireland, and to America in the 1730s. His grandfather, George Nixon, died in the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil war. Richard s father, Frank Nixon, was born in Ohio. His mother died when he was only 7, and he left home when he was only 14. 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