Criminal Defense - Why Not Testify In Your Own Defense?

In every criminal trial, the defendant faces a critical strategic decision: to testify or not to testify. Those outside the criminal justice system tend to view this decision in simple terms, believing that the innocent will take the stand and tell their side of the story while those with something to hide will not. Experienced criminal lawyers know that the decision is far more complex and rarely has anything to do with guilt or innocence.

Testifying is fraught with peril for any defendant. Guilty or innocent, if the defendant takes the stand, the case will likely turn on his performance as a witness. With so much at stake, the pressure on the defendant is enormous. One false step and he could lose his case. During cross-examination, a skilled prosecutor will attempt to confuse him and twist his words to make it appear that he is lying. If hes a bad public speaker or gets nervous and says the wrong thing, he may appear guilty even though hes not. If the jury is turned off by his tone or demeanor, or simply doesnt like him for inexplicable reasons, the defense may never recover.

Apart from the impression the defendant makes during his testimony, the mere act of testifying may have the unintended effect of lowering the burden of proof. In a criminal case, a conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the highest standard of proof in our legal system. When the only evidence presented comes from the prosecutor, the jury focuses on whether the prosecutor has met that high burden of proof. Once the defendant testifies, however, jurors tend to focus solely on who they believe, the defendant or the alleged victim. Rather than weighing the prosecutors case against the extraordinarily high standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the jurors tend to weigh the defendants story against the prosecutors or the victims story. This effectively lowers the standard of proof to something approaching a preponderance standard (more likely than not) and dramatically reduces the chances the defendant will win the case.

Finally, in some cases, there is truth to the widely held belief that a defendant who chooses not to testify is hiding something. Court rules normally limit the evidence admitted at trial to that which bears directly on the alleged crime. Evidence of uncharged misconduct and prior criminal convictions is usually excluded for fear that jurors who are exposed to such evidence will convict the defendant just because they believe him to be a bad person rather than because they have been presented proof that he actually committed the charged crime. If a defendant testifies, however, he may open the door for the use of such evidence by the prosecution. Knowing that evidence of prior bad acts may prejudice the jury against him, the defendant may elect not to testify so as to avoid any risk of exposing the jury to such damaging evidence.

Because of all the risks involved when a defendant testifies, many criminal defense attorneys advise their clients, regardless of perceived guilt or innocence, not to testify unless absolutely necessary. This advice frustrates the countless defendants who desperately want to proclaim their innocence to the jury. Most criminal defense attorneys have learned the hard way, however, that it is usually much safer to attack the prosecutors case than to put on one of your own.

Tito Rodriguez is a Seattle criminal defense attorney with over a decade of criminal defense experience. Mr. Rodriguez accepts all misdemeanor and felony cases including juvenile cases. In addition to Seattle, he serves neighboring cities such as Bellevue, Everett, and Tacoma, Washington. More information on Seattle criminal lawyer Tito Rodriguez is available at http://www.titorodriguez.com.

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Cricket Facts, Cricket Records, and the True Meaning of "Nelson"

Cricket facts have been generated for over 1000 years, and detailed records have been kept since the first test match in 1877. By nature, the game has created vast amounts of statistics and records, as well as a rich collection of cricket terms and stories. So, when youre facing a tricky question about, say, Nelson, or a Doosra, or whether both batsmen were ever run out at the same time, then you need to know where to look.

Wisden Cricket Almanack (Wisden for short) is the most famous cricket reference book on the planet. It was first produced in 1864 by the English cricketer John Wisden, and has been published annually ever since then. At around 1500 pages long, it is simply the Bible of cricket facts.

The modern editions are complementary to Wisden's associated website Cricinfo. This is possibly the most comprehensive cricket site in the world, and contains a vast archive of cricket records and statistics. The Cricinfo Statsguru is a great tool for finding any cricket facts about countries, players, grounds and officials. Whether you need to settle a debate between cricket fans, or simply to check on form, then this is the place to look.

The sport has also generated an extensive list of cricket terms, some of which are baffling to newcomers to the game. A Google search on Nelson reveals much about the English sea Lord and a town in Lancashire of the same name. However, to English batsmen, Nelson means a score of 111 and is the unluckiest number in the game. The superstitious custom is to remove one or both feet from the ground until the score has moved on.

Why 111? The term was invented in the belief that Lord Nelson was unlucky enough to have had only one eye, one arm and one leg. Nelson wasnt quite this unfortunate as he actually had two legs, but the cricket term has survived all attempts by historians to correct it. And the superstition watch out for the cricket umpire David Shepherd who keeps one leg off the ground by hopping from one foot to the other!

And what of the Doosra. This bowling delivery is a variation of the off spinner, developed by the Pakistan test player Saqlain Mushtaq. Conventional off spin is imparted by the fingers of a right handed bowler with the palm facing the batsman, and spins from a right handed batsmans off side to leg side. The Doosra employs the same finger spin, but is delivered with the back of the hand facing the batsman and spins from leg to off. Doosra is from the Urdu or Hindi for other or second.

The answer to the tricky question on run outs is that only one batsman can be run out at one time. The umpires must apply Law 29 to decide which batsman has to go. However, in a match between England and the West Indies, a throw from Michael Holding of the West Indies hit one set of wickets before going on to break the other set. Both batsmen were out of their ground, but the umpires were too confused to dismiss either of them.

Statistics and terms are fine, but there are also sources of more unusual cricket facts and stories on the web, as well as a whole cricket book industry. If you want some real in-depth records, you could try the various publications by Bill Frindall, who has been the scorer and statistician for the BBC Test Match Special team for 40 years, and his knowledge is unrivalled.

If you fancy testing your knowledge of cricket facts, there are a number of cricket quiz web sites that are good family fun and free to use. And for a real challenge, can you find out the details behind the headlines Rabbit burns down pavilion, Hot-air balloons stop play, or Cricketers arrested for dancing naked? The answers are via one of the resources in this article!

Anthony Jenkins is a cricket player and coach, and has been involved with the game for over 4 decades. He manages a junior cricket team, and plays in the Shropshire cricket league. He also manages http://www.cricket-for-parents.com where you can read more of his work.

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Finding Ways To Tell If Mesothelioma Is Present And Treating It Effectively

X-rays and CT scans are, typically used to confirm suspicions and diagnosis of mesothelioma. Biopsies, tissue samples and even diagnostic surgery are also used to verify the condition, diagnosis and severity, spread, treatment and overall prognosis.

It is normally formal medical procedures, done in hospital and requires anesthesia. The diagnosis itself is done using accepted medical science and microscopic analysis of specialized stains.

Ingestion and inhalation are seen as the most common way that asbestos gets into the human internal system. Mucus of the trachea and bronchi end up being swallowed. Some of them lodge in the intestinal tract and from there they can move through the intestinal wall into deeper into the body. Fibers lodged in the lungs can be taken into the lymph system and spread throughout the body.

Asbestos is a cancer-casing element that become malignant or cancerous and can lead to discomfort and even death. We are however extremely uncertain about what exactly causes it, how and why it develops.

There is not a cure. The size and stage of the thickening, fluid, fibers, their extent, spread, type and if and how it responds to any treatment all influence the diagnosis and final outcome.

Combination therapies have become popular in response to dealing effectively with mesothelioma. It is referred to as multimodal therapy. These could include any, some or all of the following, chemotherapy and other drug-based therapies, radiation regimens, surgery, gene therapy, immunotherapy, and anti-angiogenesis drugs.

Treatment tries to counter the disease moving inward and spreading outward. It is comprehensive, in-depth and holistic in its approach. Treatments are mostly focused on reducing pain and alleviating discomfort. Improving overall health, lung function and quality of life is the focus. It cannot be cured. Debulking and X-ray therapies have also been used in experimental studies. The battle, studies and research is on going and continues.

Elizabeth Perez, the webmaster of http://www.mesotheliomamedical.com/mesothelioma.htm is a part of the Sharing Information Group that provides useful information to the public through the syndication of free articles.

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