What a stupid teabagger, as if there are any other kind.
That didn't lay out..........anything, except, you're a dumbass.
U.S. Supreme Court
Taylor v. Kentucky, 436 U.S. 478 (1978)Taylor v. Kentucky
No. 77-5549
Argued March 27, 1978
Decided May 30, 1978
436 U.S. 478
CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEAL OF KENTUCKY
Syllabus
At petitioner's Kentucky state robbery trial, which resulted in his conviction, the trial court instructed the jury as to the prosecutor's burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt but refused,
inter alia, petitioner's requested instruction on the presumption of innocence. The robbery victim was the prosecution's only witness, and petitioner was the sole defense witness. The prosecutor, in his opening statement, related the circumstances of petitioner's arrest and indictment. In his closing statement, the prosecutor made observations suggesting that petitioner's status as a defendant tended to establish his guilt. The Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction, rejecting petitioner's argument that he was entitled to the requested instruction as a matter of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Held: On the facts, the trial court's refusal to give petitioner's requested instruction on the presumption of innocence resulted in a violation of his right to a fair trial as guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Howard v. Fleming, 191 U. S. 126, distinguished. Pp.
436 U. S. 483-490.
(a) While the legal scholar may understand that the presumption of innocence and the prosecution's burden of proof are logically similar, the ordinary citizen may draw significant additional guidance from an instruction on the presumption of innocence. Pp.
436 U. S. 483-485.
We know that it is a lot to ask, but do you know what PRESUMED INNOCENCE means? Hint, does not mean factually and beyond a doubt, innocent. In a court of law you can hope for innocence, pray for innocence, demand innocence but the best you are gong to get from a jury is NOT GUILTY. In addition, a not guilty verdict does not mean that you didn't do the crime. It just means that it can't be proven that you did what you are accused of. Argue all you want but being judged not guilty does not mean you are innocent.
