Criminal Attorney: Innocent Until Proven Guilty

If you find yourself in need of a criminal attorney, one of the most important principles that will affect you case is the presumption of innocence. This means that you are considered innocent until the other side (the prosecution) is able to prove that you have committed a crime. This concept isn't a new one. Here's a brief history of where it originated and why.

Beginnings

One of the first known mentions of the idea of innocent until proven guilty came from Rome sometime between the second and third century. The quote "Proof lies on him who asserts, not on him who denies," suggests that the accuser is responsible for showing that the person he accused has actually done something wrong. This suggests that the role of a criminal attorney is not only to defend the client, but also make sure that the prosecutor has not been able to prove anything of value against the client. The quote was later expanded to explain that it is not possible for a person who has been accused to present proof.

Reasonable Doubt

A defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty. How much proof needs to be delivered? Instead of just assuming or hoping that a person is guilty, the case must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. As a decision is made it is important that there is no doubt that the crime was committed by an individual (or company, or group) and they are responsible for the outcome. A criminal attorney many times works to create a reasonable doubt so that judge, jury or both cannot definitively say that the crime was committed by the defendant.

Defendant

In its simplest form it suggests that the defendant is not required to do anything. He or she does not have to testify. Witnesses do not have to be called. They can even forego their opportunity to present evidence. However in most cases it is to the benefit of the defendant for a criminal attorney to bring these things to light in order to show that there is some doubt as to whether or not a defendant committed a crime.

Jury

When a person becomes part of a jury he or she hears a variety of things about the law in general before a case will proceed. One of the most important things mentioned is the concept of presumed innocence. Just because a person is being brought to trial, represented by a criminal attorney, does not mean that they are guilty. In essence, a jury should pay attention to the trial and reserve judgment until the entire case has completed.

While this concept is not written explicitly into the Constitution of the United States, there are several places in which it is applied. No matter what type of criminal case is presented, the idea of being innocent until proven guilty applies.