CASE BRIEF
Case: State of Missouri v. David R. Bullock, 03CR679889.MO, [www.courts.mo.gov/casenet]
Facts: At the time of the filing of his appeal, Mr. David R. Bullock had been charged and convicted of attempted statutory rape (under RSMO 566.032 and 564.011) and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor (under RSMO 564.011 and RSMO 566.032). David R. Bullock engaged in several conversations via email and chat rooms with a Newton County Deputy Sheriff who was conducting a sting operation against pedophiles. The Deputy took on a persona of a thirteen year old female by the name of “Ashley Anne”. Many of the conversations that took place between Mr. Bullock and “Ashley” were of a sexual nature. During conversations between
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Mr. Bullock requested an appeal on the basis of entrapment and sufficiency of evidence. The appeal was granted and [The court determined] that [the defendant] in fact took substantial steps toward committing the crimes he was convicted of; and the theory of entrapment was extinquished because Mr. Brooks did not admit to committing the crimes and it was not proven that the commission of these acts were not of forethought [defendant being ready and willing to commit these acts]. The Appeal Court affirmed.
Issue: Should people be convicted of crimes that are initially staged to seek out such individuals and are there distinguishable characteristics of acts that can be considered as “substantial steps” when it comes to gaining a conviction on these grounds? Mr. Brooks argued that if it wasn’t for the Deputy (“Ashley”) engaging him in such conversations, he would have not carried out those acts. He stated that he was only expressing his fantasies (which he was not charged or convicted of) and would not have considered acting upon them without the inducement of the “Ashley”. Secondly, he stated that conversations regarding future plans, solicitation or arriving at the Page 3 planned location does not constitute a “substantial step” in committing the offenses that he was convicted of. The court
'No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury’
HOLDING: The defendant King made the statements when he was in custody so therefore the investigation was no longer a general inquiry into an unsolved crime, it was centered upon him violating the Criminal law which made an effect on the both defendants’ convictions.
``In criminal law, confession evidence is a prosecutor’s most potent weapon’’ (Kassin, 1997)—“the ‘queen of proofs’ in the law” (Brooks, 2000). Regardless of when in the legal process they occur, statements of confession often provide the most incriminating form of evidence and have been shown to significantly increase the rate of conviction. Legal scholars even argue that a defendant’s confession may be the sole piece of evidence considered during a trial and often guides jurors’ perception of the case (McCormick, 1972). The admission of a false confession can be the deciding point between a suspect’s freedom and their death sentence. To this end, research and analysis of the false confessions-filled Norfolk Four case reveals the
Letting circumstantial evidence and the phrasing of statements and testimonies sway them into convicting Robinson as guilty shows the prejudice of the jury. Circumstantial evidence such as the fact that Tom Robinson was on the Ewell property the day of the crime and the fact that he ran away was enough to make the jury believe that he was guilty. Racial slurs, along with offensive testimonies strengthened the prejudice of the jury. Mr. Heck Tate said, “some
In both cases, the black males were found guilty because individuals did not think for themselves and simply conformed to everyone else’s stereotypical beliefs (Schmoop Harper Lee).
and could be considered a crime, then he has not caused any harm voluntarily. In
A typical case was one that involved Dane Andrew who was arrested in Tampa for a felony charge of a bad conduct with a child. This charge came after Dane planned for a meeting with a girl; he believed was aged 15, whom he had encountered on the web two days prior to the meeting day (Johnson , 2012). The detectives of Hillsborough County said that Dane, who was a computer technician, was on a business journey in Denver when he came across the girl in the Internet and started a sexually explicit exchange with her. This teen turned out to be a detective. This version of investigative tactics is gaining popularity and according to a Law Enforcement Bulletin of the FBI in 1993, the police often use trickery and cheating to get their hands on those participating in criminal activity (Gardner & Anderson, 2011). The shocking thing was that this bulletin scarcely discouraged nor condemned the behavior but rather to explain out the police officers can best carry out inquests to avoid covert investigations that lead to successful entrapment claims. Investigative methods like those used on Dane,
Mr. Isaac Brock was convicted of refusing to divulge his journalistic source by a jury in the District Court of Bartlet. He was granted an evidentiary hearing for the purposes of impeaching the verdict of the District Court pending appeal. This action arose pursuant to the authority vested in the district court over federal questions under 28 U.S.C. § 1331.
The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an internal investigation. Sheriff Stanley Glanz decided to reassign the two deputies that were in the incident due to scrutiny that has come against them. He is standing behind his department. The family’s attorney for Eric has found information where the Sheriff’s Office has falsified training records for Robert Bates. He has worked directly with Stanley Glanz for years and in 2012, he was Glanz’s campaign manager. He has been known to give expensive equipment and cars as donations to the Sheriff’s
The case of Brady v Maryland in 1963, gave definition to exculpatory evidence in order to ensure a fair trial in the form of the Brady doctrine (Hall, 2015). In the case of Brady, he was convicted of first-degree murder, consequently, his partner, Boblit, had given a statement of his sole responsibility for the murder. This statement was withheld from the defense during the trial. The statement was discovered following the sentencing of Brady for the charge of first-degree murder. Upon appeal, it was not the guilt of Brady for his part in the crimes conversely it was the sentencing for the murder he did not commit.
had no evidence, no proof, just these nagging doubts. To falsely accuse a brother of treason
According to “The Lawful Use of Deception, a general rule is that deception can be used as long as it is not likely to induce an innocent person to commit a crime or confess to a crime that he or she did not commit (Rutledge,
On the basis of the recovery of the computer, the detectives obtained a search warrant for this address. The items to be searched for included, children and laptops. The offenses involved included, human trafficking, kidnap, smuggling, and sexual misconduct with underage minors. On February 09, 2001, members of the police department’s special weapons and
While typical ideals of law enforcement would dictate that Selden be arrested to the detriment of the overarching investigation, Holmes and Watson are able to operate outside of the official police system and ignore legal duties. Later, the only law-enforcement official
Common law also permitted the prosecution to adduce evidence that was relevant to the accused’s guilt of the offence charged,