The trial of Priscilla Van Acker
Introduction (Abstract)
As the prosecuting attorney in this case, it is imperative to reiterate the fact that my brief essentially entails ensuring that the ends of justice are met. In that breadth, I wish to submit that it is not justice if the interests of the complainant and indeed in this case the prosecution are served without due consideration of the accused’s interests. Ideally, balancing the two contrasting and conflicting interests would be the most essential in this case. That notwithstanding I wish to deliver my side of the bargain. It is my contention that indeed the accused is guilty. I shall be seeking to prove the guilt beyond reasonable doubt. In the same strain, I shall be ready to cooperate with the accused and his attorney towards the successful conclusion of this case. That notwithstanding let it be appreciated from the onset that with the law, the evidence and the fact on my side, I do believe that the accused is guilty of the offence of murder of Lois Romney. I shall be seeking to convince the court and secure a conviction of the accused.
Charges
Despite the fact that the accused and her accomplices not before the court can be found with several charges, it is in the interests of justice that the charge be narrowed down to one only. This is ideally because of the gravity of the singular offence that I wish to prosecute. The offence is murder and such is considered as the worst offence that can ever be. In that regard, for purposes of fairness, justice and proof beyond reasonable doubt I would be pressing only one charge. I do not intend to cloud the case with several charges which according to the evidence herein could easily be pressed.
Witnesses
In this case I categorize the witnesses into two groups. These include the expert witnesses and the non-expert witnesses. For the latter, I shall be seeking to rely on what they perceived using any of the acknowledged six senses of human beings. For the former, I shall be seeking to equally rely on the inferences they derive from the perceptions and the related circumstantial evidence. It is my contention, I do stand advised that expert witnesses evidence shall be admissible and binding and, therefore, need to add value to the overall decision that the jury would arrive at. In addition, it is my contention that the jury should be correctly guided by the judicial officer in this case as to the extent of application of the expert witnesses’ testimonies and the weight they shall attach to the said witness. However, concerning the non-expert witnesses, theirs shall be limited to the perception which must be reasonably within the realm of what the law permits. In general, I urge the defense attorney to be ready for cross examination of these witnesses and equally be alive of the fact that I shall cross examine his witnesses.
For the non-expert witness category, I wish to rely on the following witnesses: Becky, Dale Van Acker, Goren and Eames. It is my strategy to use only as few witnesses as possible. It is my contention that the weight attached to the witnesses statements is what matters. It is on this premise that I seek to submit as few witnesses as possible. In the ensuing sections are brief summaries of their testimonies.
Becky
She needs to bring out clearly her master. It is evident from the evidence available that she was the actual perpetrator of the offence. However, as it shall be proved in the case, she was not the mastermind of the case. Her evidence would be crucial in showing the actual masterminds of the murder. In that breadth, I shall be relying on her to bring out the account of the transactions that would eventually lead to the murder of the deceased. In addition, she must explain her role in the murder, her financial motives and how she was secured and finally committed the murder. Lastly, it is crucial that she admits to the actual killing and explains in detail how she got the deceased to the hotel room and finally dispensed with her.
Dale Van Acker
This is the witness whose evidence would be crucial in showing the interest in the defendant. It is evident from the case that this man was the center of all activities. In that vein, I shall be seeking to have him explain to court the nature of relationships between himself and his mother (defendant) and his relationship and his girlfriend (now deceased). It would be equally crucial to have him explain why he could not get rid of the girl despite the mother’s reservation. Lastly, I would be seeking to show the fact that the witness could possibly be in the know of more that he wishes to admit. In that context, I have with me some leading questions that I would implore the court to allow me interrogate the witness on. It is equally my submission that the witness’s evidence would be crucial in gauging the honesty and motives of the defendant and the consequential determination of innocent or guilty by the jury. In that vein, this evidence is crucial and would be corroborated by expert evidence to be mentioned in the ensuing discussion.
Goren and Eames
Lastly on the issues of non-expert evidence, I shall rely on the detectives who acted in this case. It is my contention that the two detectives are crucial in showing the guilt of the defendant. Indeed, it is they who conducted the investigation and their evidence would be leading in my efforts to prove the guilt of the defendant. At this juncture, I would like to remind the court that I have substantially relied on their (investigators) evidence and findings. In that light, any doubts and clarifications may be sought by the jury in understanding the events well are welcome and may be forwarded to the two as and when it arises.
On the other hand, for expert evidence I shall be relying on a handwriting expert who shall purposely be used to show the fact that the letter found at the deceased’s side was of forged handwriting. Indeed, in this complicated world, the place of expert evidence cannot be gainsaid. Ideally, the postulation by the perpetrators of this heinous act aims at suggesting that it was suicide. The forged handwritten letter is invaluable towards confirming that. However, it is my submission that the letter was forged. In addition, I shall be seeking to rely on the contents of the letter to prove that the boyfriend to the deceased who is equally the second witness in this case is aware of more than he has actually admitted. This would be crucial in showing the connection between the murder and the perpetrator who obviously had a controlling attitude on the young man whose girlfriend is the subject of the murder.
It is on those witnesses that I wish to submit my case. It is equally trite to appreciate the additional evidence that I would be relying on other than the witnesses. Some additional evidence I will rely on as a matter of fact include, the letter previously mentioned, the money paid to Becker and the hotel incident. I shall want to lay the relation between Becky, her money and the fact that it emanated from the defendant.
Evidence
Direct evidence
The direct evidence I wish to submit and rely on relate to the first witness, Becky. It is evident that she committed the act of the offence. In that vein, it would be crucial to bring out how she successfully committed that and equally show her motive and desire. Other than relying on her own testimony, I will equally rely on the evidence gathered at the scene, the forensic reports and the experts’ opinion on the evidence presented including the handwritten letter.
Use of circumstantial evidence
It is equally essential to appreciate the fact that the law affords me the use of circumstantial evidence which for purposes of this case would be corroborative. Much of the leads in as far as circumstantial evidence is concerned shall be derived from the investigation carried out by the last two prosecution witnesses. In this section, I wish to highlight some of the corroboration evidence. One is the compelling and evident attitude of the defendant mother towards her son. It is evident that the mother loved her son so much. That the deceased was a drug addict who was just rehabilitating. That the son of a rich family chose to interact with such a low life girl did not go unnoticed. Indeed, the reservation of the defendant mother is essential in proving motive. In addition, I wish to point out the fact that the mother was rich and could easily get her way in several matters. The pregnancy of the deceased equally worsened the situation further occasioning hate and disdain on the part of the mother. It is these factors that cumulatively contributed to her desire to actually get rid of the deceased. Indeed, it is essential to bring out these issues to prove the mental intent which is the most essential limb of crime. In other words, mere action without proving mental intent could be fatal to the case of the prosecution.
Anticipated defence
Ideally, I do expect that the defendant avail a strong defence in favor of her case. In that light, I do expect that the defendant attempts to use the weakest link in her case. For purposes of this paper, the weakest link perhaps would be Becky. It would be easy for the defence to portray her as an extortionist working at the whims of her own financial ineptitude. This could have motivated her to murder the deceased and attempt to implicate a rich woman. In addition, the defendant may want to submit that the mother was too social and overly loving or her son. In that vein, the defence may appeal to the emotions of the jury and submit that she was incapable of murdering the deceased as that would be tantamount to murdering her own kin (deceased was pregnant with child) and that it would offend the son. However, I would be relying on the corroborative evidence to oppose such a defence. I would want the court and indeed the jury to get it right that the defendant mother disliked the girl. In that context, it would have been convenient for the defendant to commit the murder so as to get her son’s attention and control him fully.
In conclusion, it is my contention that this case is rather straight forward. The law must be read and applied in the interest of meeting the fair ends of justice. In that context, it would be proper for the court to find for the prosecution and convict the accused defendant. Equally, it would be essential to allow the accused a fair hearing, a right to appeal and handle the case without any prejudice whatsoever. This would be essential in creating a culture of the rule of law. In that vein, I invite the defence attorney in this matter to advise his client well especially in regard to the already collapsed attempts at a please bargain. It would have been proper for the defendant to appreciate the gravity of the matter and be ready to incur the criminal liability. In that regard, a finding of guilty of murder is justified.
References
Herminda, J. (2010). Criminal Law. Toronto: Kluwer Law International.
Herring, J. (2011). Criminal Law. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Samaha, D. (2010). Criminal Law. New York: Cengage Learning.
Weigend, T. (2006). Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law, 2(1), 214-227.
