Test #3

Based on recent developments, what is the current status of Adnan Syed's appeal for a new trial?

Adnan Syed, whose murder trial was dissected on the hit podcast "Serial," was denied a new trial on Friday by Maryland's highest court, which reversed a court decision from last year. Said although Syed's attorney was deficient in not calling a witness he was not prejudiced from the attorneys actions.

What were the primary arguments utilized by the Prosecution in the Casey Anthony case?

1. Didn't say anything about her daughter being missing for a month. 2. Sexuality issue: NY Post said she sashayed in the court room looking like a Florida sorority girl Prosecution said that she lived a lifestyle like she was single. Character witnesses said that she never discussed her kid. Some friends didn't know she even had a daughter. Four days after the girl is missing she participated in a hot body contest. Four days after she got a tattoo that said "beautiful life" The talked about her like she was sexually promiscuous. 3. She was perceived as a failed mother.

What were the three primary obstacles that the defense had to overcome when defending Casey Anthony?

1. Didn't say anything about her daughter being missing for a month. — Said that her father may be the father the prosecution knew that may be a defense so they had a DNA test done to refute this. 2. Sexuality issue — NY Post said she sashayed in the court room looking like a Florida sorority girl — Prosecution said that she lived a lifestyle like she was single. — Character witnesses said that she never discussed her kid. — Some friends didn't know she even had a daughter. — Four days after the girl is missing she participated in a hot body contest. — Four days after she got a tattoo that said "beautiful life" — The talked about her like she was sexually promiscuous. 3. She was perceived as a failed mother.

Make a case for Adnan Syed's innocence using at least 2 arguments discussed in the class.

1. Jay Wilds changes his story a lot. —His story keeps changing to match the facts of the case. — Jay is a known drug dealer. — Concerns that he was getting raided by the police. — He lived with his grandmother. — People thought he was protecting her home considering the large amounts of drugs they found in the home. — He is not charged at all with any crime even though he could of been. 2. Cell records are inaccurate. — Science to triangulate cell phone records is inexact. — His attorney who died should have brought this up in the first trial. 3. He was Muslim — They were saying he had no prior instances of violence. — Character witnesses all made him look innocent.

Make a case for Adnan Syed's guilt using at least 2 arguments discussed in the class.

1. Jay Wilds comes forward and cooperates with the police who came forward and says he helped him hide the body and said he told him he did it. — He leads police to her car that went missing. 2. Cellphone records is the second reason he was guilty. — Because of cellphone records they can place him where the body was found. 3. Because of their former romantic relationship. — Was his long term girlfriend and she broke up with to start dating another person. — He stopped calling once she went missing although he called her all the time.

What is the difference between standard self-defense claims and "Stand Your Ground" laws?

In stand your ground you have no duty to retreat.

Make a case for Lizzie Borden's guilt using at least 2 arguments discussed in class

Lizzie had a dress on the day of the murders and she burned it. She said because it got stained while doing housework. The police said it was destruction of evidence and that was the primary reason why they arrested her. The Ax was found in the basement clean with no handle. Neighbor saw her at the door the day of the murder.

Were "Stand Your Ground" laws relevant in the outcome of the Trayvon Martin case?

No, the only argument made was a standard self defense by the defense in the hearing. The legal arguments had nothing to do with stand your ground. The defense did not use it because it would have been harder to prove.

What were the primary arguments/evidence used to convict Jodi Arias?

Photos from the camera he had purchased to go out of town with the next day. — She came the night before to have a rendevouz and he took photos of her beforehand. — She was taking pictures of him in the shower during the time that she killed him. — They have an exact time frame for death with the photos and time stamps on the camera. She rented a car that they could track and prove that she drove pretty much round trip to where she lived in California. — She borrowed gas cans and bought some so she didn't have to stop for gas. — The car had no floor mats when she turned it in and dried blood on the seats

Why was there a delay in charging George Zimmerman with the shooting of Trayvon Martin?

Primarily there were no charges filed against Zimmerman. Three weeks went down before anyone started talking about this case. March 16, 2012 is in response to this Sanford police department released the 911 tapes. March 21, 2012 the Sanford city council issues a vote of no-confidence in the police chief. On 3/22/12 the chief police temporarily resigned. On 3/23/12 is when President Obama says that if he had a son he would probably look like Trayvon Martin. In response to Obama's comment, Rick Scott (R) appoints Angela Corey as the special prosecutor. Interesting thing about this special prosecutor is that the state realized that it needed to respond because the city wasn't going to do anything about it.

Who was Adnan Syed convicted of killing and what was his sentence?

Syed was convicted in the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee a 18 year senior in high school in Baltimore and sentenced to life in prison.

What were the primary arguments utilized by the Defense in the Casey Anthony case?

The cause of death could not be identified. The defense said she was already dead due to an accident. The prosecution could not prove how she died at all so the defense started with here's how she died. They said she accidentally drowned. When charging people with murder you have to prove intent. They said she was sexually abused They said she was grieving and drinking that's why she took place in the hot body contest. Drinking is the normal way that people grieve. They said the tattoo was honoring her daughter that's how they beat that. They beat the bad parent argument by saying There is zero evidence that she was a bad parent other than this one incident. They said there was evidence that she was very excited to being a girl. Her parents even testified that there was no reason to think she wouldn't be a good mother.

Why is the Lizzie Borden case referenced as a triumph of the rule of law over common prejudice?

The evidence and the case presented by the prosecution was not convincing enough to convict her of murder, even though the public was convinced she did it but it didn't mean anything in court. This case was the first instance of Casey Anthony trial.

What were the 2 initial explanations given by Jodi Arias when she was questioned by the police about her whereabouts on the night of Travis Alexander's murder?

The first explanation was that she said that she wasn't there and she was in California. The second explanation was that two masked intruders did it. They let her go. She didn't go to the police because if you go to the police they will come after you.

What was the most significant element of the Lizzie Borden's case that resulted in a "not guilty" verdict?

The prosecution did a lot of stereotyping of women in this case and it really hurt the prosecution. They said the person guilty of this trial was very sly and slick and only women are that slick.

Make a case for Lizzie Borden's innocence using at least 2 arguments discussed in class

There is a lack of forensic evidence Lots of potential suspects. — There were a lot of people in the house who could have done it including the family maid, uncle, older sister that all lived in the house with her, but only her father and step-mother were murdered. — The father was not well liked in the town. Head of the local bank. He would talk you down. People accused him of accumulating property because he wrote loans that people were not going to be able to live up to. — There were a lot of door-to-door salesman at that time. It was likely that someone doing there normal rounds stopped in to have a revenge killing on him.

How did Jodi Arias attempt to utilize battered wife syndrome as a defense?

They put her on the stand. — She testified 12 hours with super detailed explanations of their sex life. — She makes the argument that he forced her to have anal sex which was painful and unwanted.

What was the jury allowed to do in the Jodi Arias trial, that is only required in two other states?

They were allowed to ask questions. They asked over 100 of them.

Why was the Prosecution ultimately unsuccessful in convicting Casey Anthony?

This whole thing comes down to evidence. You can't convict her without evidence to prove she was guilty of murder.

What was the most substantial error made by the Prosecution in the Trayvon Martin case?

Zimmerman was found not guilty but the prosecution forgot to push the manslaughter verdict which was the better argument based upon the evidence.