On a recent Sunday some rather inflammatory remarks were attributed to a priest who used them at the end of his homily. It was reported
that in addition to some incendiary vocabulary the priest also trotted out that
tired old truism, “He is innocent until proven guilty.” Implicit in the phrase
are the additional words, “in a court of law.”
There is much to like about the maxim, “Everyone
is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.” Any person on trial for a crime can take a
great amount of comfort from the maxim.
It’s right up there with, “It’s better that one hundred go free than
that we hang one innocent man.” For Mr. Joe Ordinary or Ms. Alma
Average Joe or Alma
is on trial for a crime the maxims have no applicability to them.
A criminal trial can result in the loss of liberty for the
defendant. In some jurisdictions a criminal trial can result in the death
penalty. So when the life or liberty of
a person is at stake extremely high standards are a good thing even when the occasional
John Gotti
