What Issues Are Faced By The Defense Or Prosecution In Sex Crime Cases?
How Often Are Drugs Or Alcohol Involved In These Types Of Cases And Does That Make It Harder Or Easier To Defend?
Quite often, the people who commit these crimes have serious psychological issues which they try to medicate in a number of different ways, sometimes with drugs, sometimes with alcohol. Sometimes, they just don’t know and aren’t able to appreciate the limits of society, so in that case, you are going to find drugs and alcohol involved but at the end of the day, that’s every case.
People who are prone to failings tend to fail in more than one way. It doesn’t really complicate the case. It may take you from an intentional act to a negligent act but it’s still going to be a very serious matter. Where it’s coming more into play with alcohol and drugs is in the campus incidents, which behave by their own set of rules and their consent is often coming at the end of the party where young people have been drinking or doing drugs, where people want to sometimes correctly, sometimes incorrectly, say that there was not actual consent and the whole definition of consent is undergoing a legal discussion at this point, especially in terms of those cases on campuses. Interestingly, drink for the victim, meaning intoxicated, can negate consent but for the perpetrator, being intoxicated does not negate liability and intent. There have been a lot of studies that would say that’s inconsistent but that is what the law is and the law is often based on political populations and political advocacy.
What Is The Burden Of Proof On The Prosecution In These Cases? What Kind Of Facts And Evidence Do They Need To Have To Move Forward?
With any criminal case, in order for the police to make a stop of a vehicle or to apprehend a person, they have to have reasonable suspicion that they have been involved in the commission of a crime. In order for the police to make an arrest, they have to have probable cause to show that the crime has been committed and in some cases, they may need a warrant to make that arrest. Once you get to trial, you are dealing with a standard that in order to get a conviction, the police and the state must prove that the crime occurred and that the person committed it beyond a reasonable doubt.
How Hard Are Those Cases To Prove For The Prosecution And What Advantages Do Defense Attorneys Have?
The biggest advantage defense attorneys have is time. There may be a statute of limitations issue but in many cases, there are laws for suppressed memories. What happens with a suppressed memory case is that it is usually a battle of two psychologists interpreting and bringing out the memories of this person really and it’s a very difficult case for the state to prove. They are very expert-intensive cases and the law offices of James Abate have great relationships with all the top experts from the expert who testified in the Woody Allen case to the expert who wrote the New Jersey Megan’s law guidelines. So, having access to the experts makes it possible for the law offices of James Abate to defend their clients the way they do.
What About Cases Where Someone Says, “I Just Didn’t Tell Anyone When I Was 13 Years Old, X, Y And Z Happened” And Now It’s 20 Years Later.” Do They Even Have A Case In A Situation Like That?
They very well could. It’s going to be a question of the statute of limitations that’s applicable and the facts of the case are going to determine that. So, any victim reading this discussion should know that if they believe that something has happened and they want to pursue it, contact the police and the prosecutor and let them make the decision. And in terms of anyone who has perpetrated these offenses, be very careful in that you could still face criminal liability even many years after the fact. In some states, there is no statute of limitations already.
If you want to know more about the issues faced by the defense attorneys or prosecution in sex crime cases, call the Law Offices of James A. Abate for a free initial consultation at 908-643-7005 and get the information and legal answers you’re seeking.
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