On January 23, 2012, a Cleveland County jury was taken to the apartment where Jeremiah Swafford was murdered on February 13, 2009. The jury had seen several diagrams and photos of the apartment, but the jury was taken to the apartment to see the apartment as part of the State's presentation of evidence. Swafford's stepfather Dwight Justice was on trial for first degree murder and child abuse of Swafford. The Defendant's trial began on January 18, 2012.
The Charlotte Observer article does not examine how determinative the visit to the scene of the crime was as compared to the rest of evidence in the case. In fairness, such an examination would be almost impossible for anyone other than those most intimately familiar with the trial. However, the article does illustrate the importance that evidence can play in a criminal trial and the importance of obtaining a competent attorney well versed in the Rules of Evidence. According to the Rules of Evidence, such information that is unduly prejudicial to the Defendant is not admissible. Although the article does not indicate whether Mr. Justice's defense attorney objected to this presentation of evidence, it should be noted that traveling to the scene of a crime could have been unduly prejudicial to Justice. As noted, one would need to be intimately familiar with the facts of the case, the presentation of the State, the defense strategy etc. to begin to analyze both the State's request and the Defendant's response.
In Justice's case, the trip to the scene of the crime was found not to be but so prejudicial, as the jury only found him guilty of felony child abuse. However, it should be noted that not every jury reacts to the presentation of evidence in the same way. It may have been harder for other jury members to suppress their emotions or bias towards Justice, especially after visiting the scene of a crime. In theory, jury members are supposed to suppress these prejudices when determining the guilt or innocence of a defendant, but in reality, it is impossible to assure that the jury is one hundred percent unbiased.
As indicated, it is unknown whether Justice's attorney objected to the presentation of this evidence, but it should be noted that it is important to object to evidence whenever there is a good faith basis to believe that the evidence will be prejudicial. The presentation of evidence plays a crucial role in determining the guilt or innocence of a defendant. Even if the judge admits the evidence, the objection will be noted, which will allow the defendant to file a future appeal if necessary.
As always, it is important to obtain competent representation as soon as you have been charged with a criminal offense. Many of these evidentiary tactics are decided contemporaneously with the trial, including hearings on the admissibility of certain issues of evidence. A competent criminal defense attorney will be able to review the facts of your case and help advocate the admissibility or inadmissibility of critical evidence. Additionally, a competent attorney can determine what evidence to present in negating your guilt.
CharlotteObserver.com, Jury visits where Jeremiah died, 1/24/12
CharlotteObserver.com, Jury finds stepfather guilty of child abuse, not murder, 1/30/12
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