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Innocent until proven guilty?
In the USA as far as I know we are innocent until proven guilty(correct me if i am wrong please).
However in the court the first question the defendant is asked is, is he innocent or not?
Why is this?
what will happen if you refuse to answer this question?
Is there other way to answer this question(except of "Innocent your Honorable" or "Guilty your Honorable" ).
Because of if you are guilty it is not in your interest to answer this question, because the plaintiff might not sufficient evidence to prove that you are Guilty, and if they do and your answer was Innocent you have lied to court which is another crime(and likely this will reflect how much you will be fined or added to time that you have to spent in prison).
might not have sufficient evidence
5 Answers
- Lone CatLv 77 years agoFavorite Answer
They ask you how you PLEAD. That's a very different question. When I plead "not guilty", I'm NOT saying that I didn't do the crime. I'm not making any statement of fact, or admitting to anything. When I plead not guilty I'm saying that I'm willing to go to trial and ask a jury or a judge to make a finding of not guilty.
However, pleading guilty is completely different. This is important to keep in mind. If you plead guilty, then the court considers that a confession and they consider that to be proof that you committed the crime.
That's why you ALWAYS plead "not guilty". There's no penalty for pleading not guilty. If later your lawyer wants you to plead guilty, then that's allowed. You NEVER plead guilty, because that's almost impossible for a lawyer to fix, and then your just done.
- Capt. ObviousLv 77 years ago
Don't confuse civil law with criminal law. The plaintiff is in civil law.
In a criminal proceeding, you have a right to a speedy trial. The first court appearance is the arraignment. At that proceeding, the only choice you have is to plead guilty (and skip the trial), or plead not guilty (and then go to trial). Technically, you're not asked if you are guilty or not, but I guess it's a matter of semantics.
Since it is not a question, refusing to make a plea will cause you to be in contempt of court. You plead guilty or not guilty, indicating whether you intend to go on trial or not. This is not a question asked under oath, it's a statement of intentions, that's all.
- BflowingLv 77 years ago
The first question asked by a judge is how do you plead. The answer could be guilty, or not quilty, or perhaps no contest
The accused is not asked if he is innocent.
By the way, the charge of perjury is never added if you are later found guilty. The accused is not under oath at the time, and any statement made is protected by the 5th Amendment.
- ?Lv 77 years ago
You are guilty the minute you commit the crime.
The law can not PUNISH you until it proves that you are guilty.
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