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Grand Jury

We rarely see the grand jury on Law & Order, possibly because the proceedings aren’t usually very dramatic (or, more likely, because a half-hour is barely enough time to hold a courtroom trial to begin with). In the rare instance that a grand jury is depicted on the show, the ADA reigns supreme. This is the case in real life.

Grand Jury proceedings are secret, and the defendant isn’t even present unless he’s testifying—which he must do if called to the stand (unlike a trial). The defendant isn’t represented by a lawyer during grand jury proceedings and can’t call witnesses. Grand juries send the vast majority of defendants to trial. (New York State judge Sol Wachtler famously once said that a grand jury would “indict a ham sandwich.”)

For these reasons, the system is subjected to an enormous amount of criticism, and numerous jurisdictions have done away with it, opting instead for hearings before a judge. New York City, however, still uses grand juries.

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Reasonable Doubt

What’s reasonable when it comes to doubt?

Beyond a reasonable doubt is often described as “to moral certainty.” Some legal analysts approximate the numerical value of reasonable doubt to be a 95 percent certainty, while others assess it as a 98 or 99 percent certainty.

The prosecution has the burden of proving—by means other than a defendant’s confession—that a crime has occurred and was committed by the defendant. The prosecution must also prove that defendant had the intent required for the act to be considered a crime. An act without criminal intent cannot be considered a crime. Additionally, a connection between the act and the intent must be established. A defendant cannot be convicted solely on the basis of his or her out-of-court confession.
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Psychopath or sociopath?

The terms psychopath and sociopath are often confused and used interchangeably because the two definitions are similar. However, there are differences between the two. A sociopath is a habitual offender. Today, criminologists use the term sociopath to describe repetitive offenders who do not respond to treatment or rehabilitation. Some experts believe that a sociopath is made, not born. In their view, a sociopath has not been properly socialized.

A psychopath on the other hand, may very well have been born already “broken.” Psychopathy involves a number of emotional, biological, and cognitive factors. While a great number of criminals have psychopathic tendencies, not all psychopaths are criminals.
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Indicting ham sandwiches

“The prosecutor can get the grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.”

Are grand juries really so eager to indict ham sandwiches? Any prosecutor worth his/her salt knows grand juries can be prickly, and are seldom impressionable enough to coerce into returning a true bill of indictment for deli meat or particularly weak cases.

Still, it seems like some pundit, reporter, or TV character is always making the “ham sandwich” declaration. If I had a quarter for every time I heard it, I’d be rich—or at the very least, have enough money to buy a few dozen ham sandwiches.

We can blame Sol Wachtler for introducing the phrase into the popular lexicon. Back in 1985, Wachtler was the newly appointed Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals when he told a reporter that prosecutors had such influence over grand juries they could convince them to “indict a ham sandwich.”
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Let’s do lunch

Fun with Forensics, Shenanigans Comments (0)

Administrator @ March 23, 2012

Bulger’s Blarney May Help Convict Him

Crime & Justice, True Stories of Law & Order Comments (1)

What are the two greatest lessons in life? Never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut. At least that’s what Robert DeNiro’s character tells a young Henry Hill in Goodfellas. Whitey Bulger apparently never saw that movie. Yes, I know, different mob, different city, different flavor. The Goodfellas were Italian; the Winter Hill Gang, Irish. Still the code of silence transcends cultural differences.

Despite his gangster cred, Bulger spent his career ratting on fellow criminals. When he wasn’t robbing, extorting, or killing, he was feeding info on his peers to disgraced FBI agent John Connolly. In turn, Connolly, who’s now serving a 40-year sentence, tipped Bulger off about investigations and basically helped him skip town and elude capture for 16 years.

Bulger’s stint as #2 on the FBI’s Most Wanted list came to end last year when he was arrested in California. He is set to stand trial for a series of pretty nasty crimes in November. Prosecutors are salivating over some damning new evidence. Investigators discovered not one but two memoirs the Irish gangster is alleged to have written about his criminal exploits and years as a fugitive. One of the memoirs is “My Life in the Irish Mafia Wars.”

Ah, hubris. Seems that transcends cultures, too.

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Fio @ March 20, 2012

Happy St. Paddy’s Day

Cat Detectives Comments (0)

Cat Detective O’Halloran chilling out before the parade.

Administrator @ March 16, 2012

Lindbergh Baby Redux

Crime & Justice, Rob Carbone's Crime Beat Comments (2)

BY ROB CARBONE

For many, July 4th is a day of celebration of our nations independence.  But in 1956, one Long Island family was torn apart by an event that would eventually help the nation.  On the morning of July 4th, Betty Weinberger did what young mothers all around the world had always done.  Peter, her one-month old son, had fallen asleep and Mrs. Weinberger wrapped him in a blanket and placed him in a carriage on the front patio of her family’s Westbury home.  Safe in the knowledge that her child would sleep and get fresh air, she went back inside for a few moments and returned to every mother’s nightmare.  Peter was gone and in his place was a ransom note.

While kidnappings had happened before, a case of child abduction touched nerves everywhere since the March 1, 1932 kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr.  Knowing how that ended could not have been reassuring for Mrs. Weinberger.  After contacting the Nassau PD and asking the local newspapers not to cover the story (The Daily News failed to comply and ran the story on the front page), reporters swarmed the ransom drop-off point and the chance to catch the kidnapper was lost.

Six days after the kidnapping, the Weinbergers received two phone calls from the kidnapper with new instructions for the ransom drop-off.  Both times the kidnapper did not show up but the police did find a blue, cloth bag with a handwritten note inside saying where the baby would be if the ransom were paid without any difficulties.  The next day the FBI, having to wait 7 days before getting involved, entered the case.  After establishing a local office to work from and bringing in handwriting experts to examine the notes, a match was found between the ransom note and the handwriting in the probation file of Angelo LaMarca.

A Plainview resident, LaMarca had a wife, two kids and a criminal record.  At the time of the kidnapping he was working as a truck and taxi driver who was struggling with a house he could not afford, mounting bills and a loan shark who was threatening his life.  As he drove through the Weinberger’s Westbury neighborhood trying to figure out how to pay his bills he saw Mrs. Weinberger placing Peter on the patio and the memories of the Lindbergh case gave him an idea.
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Administrator @ February 22, 2012