Presumption of Innocence in Adams County Criminal Cases Involving Children? – the Monster and the Angel
We take a lot of cases to jury trial in Adams County. Most of them involve children accusing an adult male in their life of sexual assaulting them. It has reached an epidemic volume, as kids learn from teachers and police that they will always be believed, and that if they want someone out of their life, they should accused them of sexual touching – Sexual Assault on a Child. The result is predictable: the problem man is quickly arrested, put in jail and never allowed to contact them again. In these cases, the Presumption of Innocence is dead.
Jefferson County Sexual Assault Attorneys – Fighting the Monster Presumption
Presumptions of guilt increase the more society deplores a particular crime. Give me a good old fashioned bar fight and no one will be presumed guilty. Give me a DUI, and I have a fighting chance. Even a defendant charged with theft in Jefferson County can get fair treatment. But, if you are charged with sexual assault on a child, you are seen as a monster and presumed guilty. Your criminal defense lawyer needs to spend a large percentage of their time proving that the monster presumption is incorrect. Yes, this takes time away from the real subject: that you did not sexually touch any child. But, if not addressed, the monster madness presumption can sink your case regardless of the facts or impossibility of a sex crime factually occurring. It is hard work trying to restore a constitutional Presumption of Innocence, and absolutely necessary in order to win any child sexual assault trial.
Sexual Assault on Child in Douglas County: Presumption #2 – The Angel Belief
There is one other really important presumption for your lawyer to battle when you are facing charges of sex with a child – whether alleged as touch or penetration. This is the Angel belief. It means that jurors will automatically presume that the child is an Angel and would never make up such a terrible thing against an adult. Even if the child is a teen or young adult looking back years earlier, juries are stupefied in this presumption. For some reason, they imagine their own kinds on the stand and commit emotional transference. They get emotionally distraught with the idea that a child would need to go through such a terrible court process and describe something which they KNOW happened. This is the second difficult presumption a criminal defense lawyer must face: how do you take the child’s credibility down without offending the Angel believer juror?
Denver Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Job #3: Prove it Could Not Have Happened
Sexual assault charges involving kids in Denver is serious business and one of the other important jobs a defense attorney has is to show the jury how the crime could not have occurred. Offering evidence of inconsistencies in what the kid is saying is good start. But, you must also find motive and bias evidence. Why would the child want to harm the accused? What does the child have to gain? Maybe the defense lawyer can find someone who knows the child and give an opinion that they are untruthful. Maybe it is an old friend or teacher. Finally, get some first-hand witnesses to come in and testify in court that the child and defendant could not have been in the place at the time which the child alleges.
Risks of Losing an Arapahoe County Jury Trial
It is always risky to take your criminal charges to trial. You could be convicted of all charges and face a lifetime in jail or prison. Plus, you are giving up any plea bargain. Our criminal defense attorneys know how to evaluate the best course and recommend whether you should go to trial or not. Of course, no one ever knows for sure whether you will win or lose. We can only give you an estimate of you chances one way or the other. In the courtroom, as the degree of harm associated with a loss increases, you should be more willing to seek a plea bargain. Since the price of a loss in a sexual assault on a child may mean a lifetime in prison, a plea bargain should always be given serious consideration. This is particularly true when the loss of your Presumption of Innocence is real.
Call our Denver area criminal defense lawyers at 303-731-0719, today. We can meet for no cost to you and discuss the best options for you to consider. As always, never give a statement to police. Together, we can protect your future.
Image Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net – David Castillo Dominici