Monday, May 5, 2014

How's that for poisoning the panel?


Defense attorneys representing clients accused of child abuse (and other nasty crimes against children) can now breathe a slight sigh of relief as jurors will no longer be walking into the courthouse past a display from Child Protective Services declaring April to be Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Displays such as this have no business being placed outside a criminal courthouse where the accused is supposed to be presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial. Displays such as the one in Brazoria County serve only to inflame potential jurors. They also contribute to this belief (that is propagated in the media) that judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officials and court staff are all part of the "same team" while criminal defendants and their attorneys are "the other guys."

How about National Death Row Exonoree Month? Innocence Week? Or even Botched Execution Remembrance Day?

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