CRIMINAL EVIDENCE - College of Southern Idaho刑事证据的爱达荷州南部的大学.ppt

U.S v. Williams128 S.Ct 1830 (2008) The Supreme Court reversed the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and held that the PROTECT Act was constitutional. The Act makes it a crime for a person to distribute information on the Internet in a manner that “reflects a belief” or is “intended to make another believe” the person is distributing child pornography. Distribution of child pornography can be a difficult crime to prove and the Act gives prosecutors the ability to prosecute if the image is of an actual child or appears to be a minor. Proving Corpus Delicti by Direct or Circumstantial Evidence 2122 In all criminal cases, the prosecutor must prove: A crime has been committed by someone (corpus delicti); and The defendant committed the offense Corpus delicti may be proven by a combination of direct and circumstantial evidence or by either alone. The corpus delicti of most crimes is ordinarily proved by direct evidence, as when the victim or an eyewitness tells the police about the occurrence of a crime. The corpus delicti of other crimes can be proved by physical evidence; e.g., a burglary is shown by a broken window and missing valuables. The corpus delicti of a murder could be proved by a dead body with a knife in the chest. When an attempt is made to prove corpus delicti by circumstantial evidence, the general rule is that the evidence must be so conclusive as to eliminate all reasonable doubt a crime was committed. Proving Corpus Delicti by Direct or Circumstantial Evidence 2122 State v. Barker945 N.E.2d 1107 (2010) The general rule is corpus delicti must be established beyond a reasonable doubt. In the Barker case the defendant was convicted of murder based in part on the testimony of two witnesses who stated the defendant confessed he had killed his girlfriend. The Ohio Court of Appeals held the corpus delicti rule required independent proof in addition to the confession. The Court noted the fact the victim had been missing for three years and had n