Criminal Defense Evlauation

Two interesting case are the State of Texas v. Andrea Yates and the State v. Miller These cases are really something the defense took into consideration trying to protect their clients. The defense lawyer is someone who it supposed to be there to protect their clients no matter what in a court case. Even if the lawyer knows the person is guilty they are still liable in making a defense to try and get them set free.  

The State v. Yates is a case where a women in mentally unstable and killed her five children in a bath tub by drowning them in 2001. She had record of having mental illness and no one ever stepped in to make sure she was stable enough to raise her children. In Texas in 2002 Yates, Andrea was convicted of murder. Yates, also proceeded to contact local law enforcement telling them what she did after she had drowned her children. The jury in took almost thirty minutes to make a decision on this case, coming back with a guilty verdict with up to forty years or more in a Texas prison. Yates, Andrea said that she had killed her children to save them, she thought it was the right thing to do.

Then there was a second trial after an appeal had been filed within the court system. This time she was found not guilty do to a further reviewed insanity plea. With Yates knowing what she had done was wrong she firmly believed it was the only way to save her children. Mrs. Yates was presumed not guilty by the reasons of insanity. Yates was suffering from post-pardon depression, schizophrenia and other mental illnesses leading her up to the point off this horrible tragedy. Doctors recommended to her not to have any more children after her last one was born. During this second trial evidence used by the jury was Mrs. Yates’s postpartum psychosis to make the finally ruling in the case. The jury decided that with this illness that Yates could not differentiate between what was right and what was right. She was then transferred to a treatment facility for her illnesses. The outcome of this case was at first horrible, putting someone in prison for having a disease they cannot control. Then in reality worked out for Yates being able to get help. Where the finally verdict was based on an insanity defense.

Then there is self-defense which is when someone is defending their selves, their family, house or properties and even from being harmed or killed by someone else who is wanting to cause them harm. The defense in the Miller use self-defense. There was a home invasion of a couple of males who walked up to where Miller was living with a shotgun, dressed in hooded sweatshirts, wearing masks. One was an under aged teenager who was sixteen and was killed and the other one was a nineteen year old being wounded really bad. When the males forced entry to the home where Mr. Miller was living, Mr. Miller went for a gun of his own and opened fire. Miller, James fled the scene of the shooting and did not make any time to contact local officers to explain what had happened. The officers that were called to the crime noticed this and thought it was something else that had happened. With Mr. Miller leaving the shooting and not contacting law enforcement it looked really bad on him. Luckily there were witnesses to the shooting who could verify that James lived in the house. After Mr. Miller was found he was charged with criminal homicide. Later in the trial the case was dismissed against Miller. It was said that he was acting in self-defense, all charges were dropped.