Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Nasty Cases
There is an hysteria in the land and has been since the “California day care” sex abuse allegations twenty five years ago. The hysteria is fueled by Fox news, sometimes Oprah, sometimes Dr. Phil, and sometimes your local news outlets. People (and many jurors) have become quick to believe in any allegation of an adult abusing a child. The first question they want answered is "why would the child be saying this if it didn't actually occur?" I submit there are many good answers to that question.
Throughout our country people are finding themselves charged with monstrous crimes. There is a well meaning system in place that has gone bad, terribly bad. There is an institution, almost a culture, in place peopled by police, prosecutors, and child advocates whose business it is to get convictions. The most ridiculous of allegations are repeated, pumped up, exaggerated, and supported by this institution to the point that the child sometimes actually believes their original lies because of the institutional grooming.
Local news organizations in small media markets thrive on these cases. They repeat and sensationalize allegations, thereby poisoning the potential jury pool. It doesn't matter that many of the allegations make no sense. It doesn't matter that the allegations are really about the mother and father splitting up. It doesn't matter that the child was caught touching another child in the bathroom and when asked has anyone ever done it to you, the child realizes that blaming someone else will get the child out of their predicament.
Many of these cases are rife with police and prosecutorial misconduct. Many early reports of these cases disappear so that the later, more polished versions of these statements can take center stage at trial.
By far the majority of these faux abuse cases are because one parent of the child wants to engage in score-settling. The tendency to believe a child is overwhelming, as is the fear of disbelieving the child unpalatable. The local news outlets are the most egregious at siding with the prosecution. They are quick to label anyone accused of a crime as a heinous monster. The media never mentions the shady tactics used by police, prosecutors, and experts. There are witch hunts that go on every day in every courtroom in our country and Geraldo Rivera is usually there covering them every weekend.
It was refreshing to see Tonya Craft acquitted yesterday. It gives many of us defense lawyers hope.
Throughout our country people are finding themselves charged with monstrous crimes. There is a well meaning system in place that has gone bad, terribly bad. There is an institution, almost a culture, in place peopled by police, prosecutors, and child advocates whose business it is to get convictions. The most ridiculous of allegations are repeated, pumped up, exaggerated, and supported by this institution to the point that the child sometimes actually believes their original lies because of the institutional grooming.
Local news organizations in small media markets thrive on these cases. They repeat and sensationalize allegations, thereby poisoning the potential jury pool. It doesn't matter that many of the allegations make no sense. It doesn't matter that the allegations are really about the mother and father splitting up. It doesn't matter that the child was caught touching another child in the bathroom and when asked has anyone ever done it to you, the child realizes that blaming someone else will get the child out of their predicament.
Many of these cases are rife with police and prosecutorial misconduct. Many early reports of these cases disappear so that the later, more polished versions of these statements can take center stage at trial.
By far the majority of these faux abuse cases are because one parent of the child wants to engage in score-settling. The tendency to believe a child is overwhelming, as is the fear of disbelieving the child unpalatable. The local news outlets are the most egregious at siding with the prosecution. They are quick to label anyone accused of a crime as a heinous monster. The media never mentions the shady tactics used by police, prosecutors, and experts. There are witch hunts that go on every day in every courtroom in our country and Geraldo Rivera is usually there covering them every weekend.
It was refreshing to see Tonya Craft acquitted yesterday. It gives many of us defense lawyers hope.
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