• schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de
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        9 days ago

        no he doesn’t need to prove it, in a criminal trial in most countries, the prosecution has the burden of proof; in the US “beyond a reasonable doubt”

          • schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de
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            9 days ago

            What context was this legal advice given in? This may be advice for a civil lawsuit too?

            In any case it is of course true that it is good to be able to present evidence in one’s favor in criminal court, but that is to establish that there is reasonable doubt, not because the defendant has the burden of proof.

              • Malfeasant@lemm.ee
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                9 days ago

                It’s irrelevant. We’re not talking about an accident. We’re talking about an intent to kill.

                Intent must be proved, and depending on the circumstances, can be hard or easy. Using a gun carries with it an assumption of intent - unless you’re hunting or target shooting, your intent can be assumed to not be good. With a car, there are a lot more things you could reasonably be doing, ill intent can’t be assumed.

                  • Malfeasant@lemm.ee
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                    8 days ago

                    It’s as good an analogy as any other… It’s wrong to expect an analogy to fit the situation perfectly, because that would not be an analogy, it would be the thing you are talking about. The purpose of an analogy is to compare things that are not identical, but have some similarities.

              • jatone@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                9 days ago

                I’m not getting trapped up in semantics.

                that is literally what the law comes down to.

              • schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de
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                9 days ago

                And I wasn’t talking about this or any other specific case, just attempting to make sure that people understood the general legal concepts.

      • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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        9 days ago

        Dude that’s now how any trial works. You cannot prove an accident is an accident. It’s the prosecutors job to prove that it wasn’t.

      • DrunkEngineer@lemmy.worldOP
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        9 days ago

        The max penalty for 2nd degree vehicular manslaughter is only 7 years. In theory he could be prosecuted for 1st degree or even aggravated, but those require DUI or multiple fatalities.

          • DrunkEngineer@lemmy.worldOP
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            9 days ago

            Nope. In New York, the law for vehicular manslaugher/homicide only applies where DUI is involved. Perhaps you are thinking of regular homicide/manslaughter, but those require proving intent – which as previously stated is hard to do where an automobile is involved.