A crime resulting in the death or severe injury to the victim can have a profound impact on a
spouse, children, co-workers, Christian brothers and sisters, and the community. Some contend that the
focus is too often on the troubled past of the defendant and not the devastating impact on the victim in
such cases.
Defendant and Victim
Thread:
Assume you are on a committee that will limit the information that may be presented at trial regarding the
defendant�s past and the impact of the victim�s injuries/death.
Propose 2 rules to guide the courts in this matter: 1 dealing with the defendant and 1 dealing with the
victim. Provide the scriptural and scholarly basis for each.
Replies:
Evaluate 1 rule dealing with defendants and 1 rule dealing with victims. You may choose to comment on
the defendant/victim rules of a single classmate or choose a defendant rule from 1 classmate and the
victim rule from another classmate.
DEFENDANT AND VICTIM 2
Introduction
The crime that will lead to death or injury is severe to the victim and able to cause a
greater impact on the spouse. In addition, it also cause the impact on the co-workers, Christian
sisters and brother and even to the community at large. Some suggest that the focus is always on
the defendant’s past troubles rather than the overwhelming impact on the victim. The vital
objective of this study is the assumption of the writer to be on the committee that will be able to
limit information. It will be presented on the trial on regards to the past of the defendant as well
as the injuries or death caused to the victim. Two rules are being proposed, one that is dealing
with the defendant and the other dealing with the victim. For this, scriptural and the scholarly are
going to be provided.
The proposed rules to guide the court in the matter are rule 404 that deals with the
character evidence of the defendant and rule 412 that deals with the victim.
The rule 404 deals with the character evidence that includes the crime. The character
evidence reveals that the evidence of the character of a person or the traits of the character is not
allowed. It is being proved that the person acted in conformity with the trait or character
(Maryland court digests, 2007, Jun 04). The exception to the rule in the crime case that includes
the victim and the defendant is that the defendant can offer evidence of the pertinent trait of the
defendant. If the evidence is being allowed the prosecutor offers evidences to rebut it (Buser,
2010, Aug 20). The rule 412 some evidence is not admissible in presiding than involves crime.
These includes the evidence that victim engaged in crime and was clearly assaulted.
DEFENDANT AND VICTIM 3
Work Cited
Buser, L. (2010, Aug 20). Defendant gave accurate crime details; jury told: Man faces a murder
charge in ’07 killing. McClatchy – Tribune Business News
Maryland court digests June 4, 2007. (2007, Jun 04). The Daily Record
