Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
It is the duty of the judge, in all jurisdictions, when requested, and in some when not requested, to explain the presumption of innocence to the jury in his charge. The usual formula in which this doctrine is expressed is that every man is presumed to be innocent until his guilt is proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Court membership; Chief Justice
The presumption of innocence is a legal principle that every person accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilty.Under the presumption of innocence, the legal burden of proof is thus on the prosecution, which must present compelling evidence to the trier of fact (a judge or a jury).
The Caroline test is a 19th-century formulation of customary international law, reaffirmed by the Nuremberg Tribunal after World War II, which said that the necessity for preemptive self-defense must be "instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation."
In criminal law, mens rea (/ ˈ m ɛ n z ˈ r eɪ ə /; Law Latin for "guilty mind" [1]) is the mental state of a defendant who is accused of committing a crime. In common law jurisdictions, most crimes require proof both of mens rea and actus reus ("guilty act") before the defendant can be found guilty.
In law, a presumption is an "inference of a particular fact". [1] There are two types of presumptions: rebuttable presumptions and irrebuttable (or conclusive) presumptions. [2]: 25 A rebuttable presumption will either shift the burden of production (requiring the disadvantaged party to produce some evidence to the contrary) or the burden of proof (requiring the disadvantaged party to show the ...
The origins of the doctrine of falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus in the common law have been traced as far back as the Stuart Treason Trials in the late seventeenth century. [7] However, the widespread acceptance of the principle in seventeenth century English courts suggests that the doctrine has much earlier roots. [ 8 ]
A statute is presumed not to remove an individual's liberty, vested rights, or property. [3] A statute is presumed not to apply to the Crown. A statute is presumed not to empower a person to commit a criminal offence. A statute is presumed not to apply retrospectively (whereas the common law is "declaratory": Shaw v DPP). [4]
The rule of lenity, also called the rule of strict construction, is a principle in criminal law that requires a court to interpret an ambiguous or unclear criminal statute in the way that is most favorable to the defendant.