Posted: April 6th, 2022

Court Proceedings Experience Reaction Paper

Court Proceedings Experience

 

Premise

 

year-old Nicholas Lindsay was charged for the murder of Officer David Crawford. Besides Lindsay’s own confession to the murder, there is no other evidence that he committed the murder. Lindsay made this confession at the urging and in the presence of his mother, without a lawyer present. He told the police officers that he shot David Crawford after being apprehended by Crawford.

 

The official police report stated that, after apprehending Lindsay, Crawford was reaching for his notepad when Lindsay pulled out his own handgun and shot him five times in the chest. Hence, Lindsay was arrested and charged for murder. The prosecution, which included the State Attorney, decided to prosecute 16-year-old Lindsay as an adult.

 

Lindsay was indicted on the count of Murder in the First-Degree, which is defined by Florid State law as “The unlawful killing of a human being perpetrated from a premeditated design to effect the death of the person killed or any human being. (s. 782.04(1)(a)(1). This is significant because Florida has a special Law Enforcement Protection Act, which mandates, for the murder of a police officer, a sentence of “life imprisonment without eligibility for release” when “The defendant committed murder in the first degree in violation of s. 782.04(1) and a death sentence was not imposed.” (782.051). Thus, Lindsay, who committed the murder as a 16-year-old, could be imprisoned for life in the jury finds that he shot Officer Crawford from a premeditated design to kill him.

 

Justification

 

Lindsey was being tried as an adult because his criminal history and actions at the time of the incident appeared to indicate, to the prosecution, that he understood the full significance and gravity of his actions.

 

Noteworthy Observances

 

Community Anger

 

It appears that Lindsay was bearing the brunt of the community’s anger over a rash of recent attacks on its police officers. Two police officers had been killed in gunfights with people in the community in the two months preceding the incident involving Lindsay.

 

The murder trial was scheduled very soon after the murder, less than 10 months after the events. Trials for murder are usually scheduled two years, on average, after the date of the crime. The Judge seemed overeager to give the angry populace what they wanted, swift “justice.” As the jury was inevitably going to be selected from the defendant’s peers in the community, this was a very bad decision.

 

If anything, the Judge should have given more time for the community to cool down in order to diminish the influence of emotion on their findings of fact, which could be very prejudicial to Lindsay in this trial. Preventing prejudicial bias is the very reason for voir dire and the modern jury selection process. It is part of the Constitutional right to a fair trial in criminal proceedings.

 

Taped Confession

 

The judge’s ruling that the taped confession was admissible did not make sense. The defendant confessed without the counsel or presence of a lawyer, which was requested by Lindsay’s mother. The judge reasoned that Lindsay waived his right to presence of a lawyer because Lindsay’s mother was in the room counseling him, urging him to confess.

 

Considering that Lindsay is being treated and tried as an adult in this proceeding, it does not make sense to change the application of 5th Amendment Miranda rights because he was a minor. By allowing waiver of Miranda rights by parental consent, the judge is effectively lowering the standard for protection of Constitutional rights. If Lindsay is going to be tried as an adult, the rules of criminal procedure regarding the waiver of Miranda rights should be applied to him as an adult.

 

The Defense Team’s Strategy

 

The defense team’s strategy was to convince the jury that manslaughter took place. They portrayed Lindsey as a scared youth who panicked because he thought he was going to be killed. They suggested a charge of aggravated manslaughter instead of first-degree murder because would allow Lindsay to avoid the LEPA statute and a mandatory life sentence.

 

Is it even necessary for the defense to propose an alternative charge? In their attempt to prove aggravated manslaughter, the defense argued, unpersuasively, that the defendant did not know the gun’s safety switch was off. As I understand it, all the defense should be concerned with is defending the charge of first degree murder. In this situation, this means showing that Lindsay did not have premeditated design to kill Crawford when he shot him.

 

According to the Florida State model jury instructions for first degree murder:

 

“Killing with premeditation” is killing after consciously deciding to do so. The decision must be present in the mind at the time of the killing. The law does not fix the exact period of time that must pass between the formation of the premeditated intent to kill and the killing. The period of time must be long enough to allow reflection by the defendant. The premeditated intent to kill must be formed before the killing.” (Jury Instructions).

 

The Prosecution’s Argument for Intent

 

In their effort to show that “killing with premeditation,” the prosecution argued that it was an intentional murder of a law enforcement officer because Lindsay shot Crawford five times and did not miss a bullet. However, the fact that Lindsay fired five shots and did not miss does not prove that he made a conscious decision to kill Crawford before shooting him and that the decision was in his mind at the time he fired the shots. He may not have had a clear purpose if he was acting out of panic and self-defense. If he did plan to kill Officer Crawford, he would not have waited until Crawford approached him and, apparently, pulled out his weapon.

 

Even if the jury believes that there can be no other reason for those shots other than to kill, they still have to find that Crawford formed the intent sometime before he started firing shots. He must have formed the decision to kill long enough beforehand to allow reflection. According to the police report, Lindsay, after seeing Crawford reaching for his pocket, pulled out his gun and started firing. In the period between Crawford’s action and Lindsay’s reaction, there did not appear to be enough time for Lindsay, or anybody, to reflect on his intentions were, about what condition he wanted Crawford to be in as a result of his shots.

 

The defense should have also emphasized the fact that Lindsey was not a violent person and had no history of violent offenses. Lindsay was not the type to go around looking to harm people. On the night of the incident, Lindsey was carrying the gun for protection.

 

Lindsey was an impressionable inner-city youth who was captivated by the gangster culture and even had a gangster name. The gangster culture promotes the notion that gangsters are constantly under threat from other gangsters. Lindsay was carrying a gun to protect himself from other gangsters, not police officers.

 

Bibliography

 

s. 782.04(1)

 

s. 782.051).

 

Florida Supreme Court, Jury Instructions – 7.2 MURDER — FIRST DEGREE. Available at http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/jury_instructions/chapters/chapter7/p2c7s7.2.rtf

 

“2 officers killed, man found dead after shootout inside Florida home.” CNN. 2010-10-18.

---

Get Professional Assignment Help Cheaply

Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?

Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.

Why Choose Our Academic Writing Service?

• Plagiarism free papers
• Timely delivery
• Any deadline
• Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
• Subject-relevant academic writer
• Adherence to paper instructions
• Ability to tackle bulk assignments
• Reasonable prices
• 24/7 Customer Support
• Get superb grades consistently

 

Online Academic Help With Different Subjects

Literature

Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.

Finance

Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.

Computer science

Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!

Psychology

While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.

Engineering

Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.

Nursing

In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.

Sociology

Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.

Business

We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!

Statistics

We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.

Law

Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.

What discipline/subjects do you deal in?

We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.

Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?

Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.

What if I don’t like the paper?

There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.

Reasons being:

• When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
• We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.

In the event that you don’t like your paper:

• The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
• We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
• Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.

Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?

Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.

What if the paper is plagiarized?

We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.

When will I get my paper?

You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.

Will anyone find out that I used your services?

We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.

How our Assignment  Help Service Works

1.      Place an order

You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.

2.      Pay for the order

Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.

3.      Track the progress

You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.

4.      Download the paper

The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.

PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!

---