A Whackadoodle Civics Lesson: Innocent or Guilty?
A short Whackadoodle discussion in which my student finally questions her country's Justice System.
“No, no, no, no, no,” I said for the umptieth time. “The United States Justice Department never declares people innocent; they declare people guilty, or not guilty.”
“I still don’t see the difference.” She was sounding as frustrated as I felt.
“Innocent, meaning you did not commit the crime. Not guilty, meaning that your guilt could not be proven by the State beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
“So are you saying that some guilty people get away with crimes because their crimes can’t be proven in a court of law?”
“Probably,” I told her. “And most likely.”
“But that sucks,” she informed me.
“Yes, it does suck,” I agreed. “But the alternative sucks even more.”
“What alternative?”
“Guilty unless proved innocent,” I reminder her. “There are many countries on this planet where people have to prove their innocence before a court of law. Those innocent people are often tossed in jail because they could not prove their innocence. What would you rather have, guilty people on the street, or innocent people in jail?”
“I don’t want either,” she grumbled.
“Neither do I,” I agreed. “But until someone comes up with a better system, this is the system we have. It’s even written into our constitution. All United State Citizens are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”
She didn’t respond. She just sat there looking uncomfortable. Eventually I asked, “Did you have another question?”
“I don’t want to ask because it’s gonna sound stupid.”
“I love a good stupid question.”
She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “Do juries members all have to agree on the verdict, or does the majority decide?”
“Not a stupid question,” I assured her. “And it depends on if it’s a criminal trial, or a civil trial. In civil trials, the jury decides by majority and a preponderance of evidence. Twelve people listen to the case, and if seven of them agree on a verdict, their verdict is rendered. In criminal trials, all twelve of those jurors must agree beyond a reasonable doubt. Twelve people must agree on either guilty, or not guilty. If one person disagrees with the other eleven, you’ll get a hung jury.”
“I don’t get why their rules are so different.”
“Civil trials are all about compensating people who have been damaged. The only punishments met out in civil cases are financial. They decide who owes whom what, and how much. Criminal cases on the other had are brought by the state against those they believe have broken laws. The punishment for criminal cases often includes an orange jump suit.”
“So because the stakes are higher,” she paused to get her wording right. “Because the stakes are higher the burden of proof is higher?”
“Exactly.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” she said at last. “It still seems awfully complicated.”
I laughed, “Might be why law degrees are so expensive.”