tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post3238526735354909671..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Divided court merges 'legal,' 'factual' sufficiency standards of appellate reviewGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-78313966247338535952010-10-20T14:28:37.521-05:002010-10-20T14:28:37.521-05:00Fair enough, Grits (10/11 3:51). But all Clewis d...Fair enough, Grits (10/11 3:51). But all Clewis did was allow the fact determination to be reviewed by three elected judges rather than 12 citizens subjected to the jury selection process. Does getting more votes than the next guy really make you a better judge of the facts than the people who are in court to hear the testimony first hand?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-72627971294050954752010-10-11T15:51:54.755-05:002010-10-11T15:51:54.755-05:0011:04, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find m...11:04, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find me praising the jury system too often. IMO they often convict based on insufficient evidence (e.g., the Tulia convictions) and as with OJ tend to get things wrong about as often as right.<br /><br />My views on juries are similar to Winston Churchill's statement about democracy - it's the worst system in the world except for all the others.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-77927138286848020862010-10-11T11:04:51.212-05:002010-10-11T11:04:51.212-05:00Anonymous 2:07:00 - the problem with your desire f...Anonymous 2:07:00 - the problem with your desire for an impassionate review later is essentially a distrust for the jury system. If you want judges to make these calls, then let's do away with juries altogether.<br /><br />The reason Clewis made no sense, Grits, was that it allowed for an appellate court to reverse a case for a new trial for factually insufficient evidence. In other words, without holding any of the evidence to be improper, the court of appeals would send the case back for a presumably identical trial before another jury, which could return the same verdict again on the same evidence.<br /><br />A finding that the evidence was legally insufficient, on the other hand, results in an acquittal, because the state failed to prove their case. Factual insufficiency amounted to the appeallate court saying "OK, you proved your case, but we want to make you do it again, because we don't think you proved it enough."<br /><br />If you want to have juries involved in making these verdicts, then you need to quit complaining about the inability of juries to make rational decisions about the facts. If you really believe that getting a majority of the voters to elect you judge makes you more rational and better able to make these decisions, then work to do away with jury trials. But don't praise the jury system when you like the result and condemn it when you don't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-4791417279373709872010-10-10T18:59:13.514-05:002010-10-10T18:59:13.514-05:00If you want an activist decision, try Clewis itsel...If you want an activist decision, try Clewis itself. It was predicted and proved to be unworkable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-55942198472006857592010-10-10T14:42:06.955-05:002010-10-10T14:42:06.955-05:001:00 - See Judge Price's dissent for your expl...1:00 - See Judge Price's dissent for your explanation.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-26705162624597072972010-10-10T14:07:05.889-05:002010-10-10T14:07:05.889-05:00Anon 1pm: sometimes the emotion of a crime--grues...Anon 1pm: sometimes the emotion of a crime--gruesome photos, victim impact evidence, etc. can affect the validity of a verdict. Cooler heads prevail don't you think? I for one lament the loss of this type of appellate reviewAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-73624146393232623162010-10-10T13:00:10.279-05:002010-10-10T13:00:10.279-05:00Explain to me, Grits, how it is that anyone can fi...Explain to me, Grits, how it is that anyone can figure that elected appellate court judges are better positioned than a jury to assess the credibility of witnesses and the weight of evidence presented at trial. The former reviews the testimony and evidence from a written record while the latter gets to see the trial in person.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com