Anger Mangement

These days it seems that we are beset by people in a rage of one sort or another. Road rage, telephone rage, my burger is cold rage etc etc.

Well, why don't we send all these people on an Anger Management course?

It seems that they might not be effective for everyone, like Justin Boudin in Minnesota! Weird Cases: temper, temper - Times Online

But to top it all off comes this tale of Judge Rage Weird Cases: judges at war - Times Online

Makes a bit of fist shaking at the Britannia Roundabout seem positively civilised!!

DNA Evidence

We are all familiar with the use of DNA evidence in Criminal cases, and it is becoming quite common.

In Dallas County, Texas, however, there have now been 17 prisoners cleared by the use of DNA evidence to look at historical convictions. They include James Woodard, who has spent 27 years in gaol after prosecutors in his case withheld evidence from the defence.

You can read more about it here at CNN.

The part of the story that really disturbed me was the suggestion that it seems to have been a regular thing for evidence to be withheld by prosecutors, and that they would resist moves to prosecute them for it! There is a whole world of difference between an honest mistake, and a deliberate withholding of evidence.

It is interesting that this also comes at a time when the UK is looking at using prosecutors who are employed, rather than members of the independant Bar, and is one of the reasons given in favour of retaining the current system. Read more in this article at The Times online

Here in South Australia, trials are usually prosecuted by employees of the Director of Public Prosecutions, with some being briefed to Barristers, depending on workload. Perhaps because the profession here is fairly small, it does not seem to be a problem - any prosecutor who withheld evidence would soon lose all credibility in the profession.

What do you think we need to safeguard this?