Difference between revisions of "India Criminal Defense Manual - Various Defense Strategies"
From Criminal Defense Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to searchDdemetriou (talk | contribs) |
Ddemetriou (talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 137: | Line 137: | ||
Did your client play a secondary role in the course of the preparation and commission of the crime? | Did your client play a secondary role in the course of the preparation and commission of the crime? | ||
| − | + | == Is your client eligible for a lighter or mitigated punishment? == | |
| − | + | ||
| − | The court can be allowed to give the accused a mitigated punishment or | + | The court can be allowed to give the accused a mitigated punishment or exempt him from punishment under some circumstances according to law. |
| − | exempt him from punishment under some circumstances according to | + | |
| − | law. | + | Can the lawyer still seek a mitigated punishment for the client if there are no statutory specifications about mitigation? |
| − | Can the lawyer still seek a mitigated punishment for the client if there are | + | |
| − | no statutory specifications about mitigation? | + | Yes, The following are some points of evidence that may help in obtaining a mitigated punishment: |
| − | Yes, The following are some points of evidence that may help in obtaining | + | |
| − | a mitigated punishment: | ||
1. The accused does not have long-term criminal record. | 1. The accused does not have long-term criminal record. | ||
| − | 2. The accused has expressed sincere remorse and self-examination for | + | |
| − | having participated in the crime. | + | 2. The accused has expressed sincere remorse and self-examination for having participated in the crime. |
| + | |||
3. The accused has compensated the victim for all his or her losses. | 3. The accused has compensated the victim for all his or her losses. | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| + | 4. The accused is still a minor and also wants to continue schooling; his school also allows him to continue enrollment. | ||
| + | |||
| + | 5. The accused needs to take care of elderly and young household members. | ||
| + | |||
| + | 6. The accused is mentally retarded and cannot sensibly make judgments, and is thus easily taken advantage of by others. | ||
| + | |||
| + | 7. The accused had a difficult childhood (for example, he was ill-treated at home) that has affected his long-term personal development. | ||
| + | |||
| + | 8. The accused has had to overcome great hardships that have tested his limits and abilities as a person (for instance, domestic violence, drug- addiction). | ||
| + | |||
| + | 9. The accused has good work experience or educational background, or has made significant contributions to society. | ||
| + | |||
| + | 10. Any other mitigating circumstances about the accused. The legal aid lawyer should think of any means to describe the accused as pitiable and condonable. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In order to discover these points of evidence for a mitigated punishment, the legal aid lawyer must win the trust of the client, his family members, and other important persons in his life (such as his teacher or boss). The evidence for a mitigated punishment must form an important part of the theory of the case. When presenting the evidence for mitigated punishment in court, the legal aid lawyer does not need to conceal his own feelings. The legal aid lawyer's objective is for the court to see his client's more humane side and thereby to give him the opportunity for reform. | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Conclusion == | ||
| + | |||
| + | In the course of developing the theory of the case, the lawyer needs to carefully consider the prosecutor's burden of proof. Furthermore, after the conclusion of the investigation, the legal aid lawyer can judge whether the client's act constitutes a crime, whether there is any possibility that the client has a reasonable and legitimate defense, whether the client has actually completed the crime, whether the client is only an accessory, and whether there is evidence supporting mitigated punishment. Only after the analysis of the above questions can the legal aid lawyer present a complete, persuasive theory of the case in court. | ||
