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| ===Risks of Alibi Disclosure=== | ===Risks of Alibi Disclosure=== | ||
| A concrete example of how the prosecution used its knowledge of a defendant's whereabouts (i.e. her alibis and/or lack thereof) to bias the evidence against her is the case of ] in The Netherlands. Some details of the case can be found here http://www.luciadeb.nl/english/summary.html |
A concrete example of how the prosecution used its knowledge of a defendant's whereabouts (i.e. her alibis and/or lack thereof) to bias the evidence against her is the case of ] in The Netherlands. Some details of the case can be found here http://www.luciadeb.nl/english/summary.html and one of the relevant passages reads: | ||
| :"...the selection of alleged incidents was extremely biased. A natural death changed into an unnatural death as soon as Lucia could be associated with it, just by her having been on the ward at the time. Conversely, an initially “suspicious” death was removed from the list as soon as it turned out that Lucia had not actually been present, after all. Concerning one alleged murder Lucia was found guilty of at the first trial, it later transpired that she had not been in the hospital for three days around the supposed event. This fact was only uncovered at the appeal. That particular “murder” immediately reverted to being a natural death; exactly what it had been, at the actual time it occurred." | :"...the selection of alleged incidents was extremely biased. A natural death changed into an unnatural death as soon as Lucia could be associated with it, just by her having been on the ward at the time. Conversely, an initially “suspicious” death was removed from the list as soon as it turned out that Lucia had not actually been present, after all. Concerning one alleged murder Lucia was found guilty of at the first trial, it later transpired that she had not been in the hospital for three days around the supposed event. This fact was only uncovered at the appeal. That particular “murder” immediately reverted to being a natural death; exactly what it had been, at the actual time it occurred." | ||
| This example illustrates how providing the prosecution with available (true) alibis can seriously hurt a defendants case. |
This example illustrates how providing the prosecution with available (true) alibis can seriously hurt a defendants case. | ||
| ==False alibi== | ==False alibi== | ||
Revision as of 06:04, 7 October 2009
For other uses, see Alibi (disambiguation).| Criminal defenses |
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An 'alibi is a type of defence found in legal proceedings by demonstrating that the defendant was not in the place where an alleged offence was committed. There may be legal ramifications for not disclosing a true alibi defence, as well as penalties for providing a false alibi.
Alibi Defence
An alibi is a judicial mode of defense under which a defendant proves or attempts to prove that the person was in another place when the alleged act was committed; as, to set up an alibi; to prove an alibi. The Criminal Law Deskbook of Criminal Procedure states: "Alibi is different from all of the other defenses...it is based upon the premise that the defendant is truly innocent." In the Latin language "alibi" means "somewhere else".
Duty to Disclose
In some legal jurisdictions there may be a requirement that the defence disclose an alibi defence prior to a trial.
In Canada, the defence must disclose an alibi defence with sufficient time for the authorities to investigate the alibi, and with sufficient particularization to allow for a meaningful investigation. Failure to comply with the two requirements will result in the court making an adverse inference against the alibi defence (but will not result in the exclusion of the alibi defence).
The mandatory early disclosure of alibis is controversial, possibly even unconstitutional in some countries (see e.g. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0399_0078_ZX.html).
Risks of Alibi Disclosure
A concrete example of how the prosecution used its knowledge of a defendant's whereabouts (i.e. her alibis and/or lack thereof) to bias the evidence against her is the case of Lucia de Berk in The Netherlands. Some details of the case can be found here http://www.luciadeb.nl/english/summary.html and one of the relevant passages reads:
- "...the selection of alleged incidents was extremely biased. A natural death changed into an unnatural death as soon as Lucia could be associated with it, just by her having been on the ward at the time. Conversely, an initially “suspicious” death was removed from the list as soon as it turned out that Lucia had not actually been present, after all. Concerning one alleged murder Lucia was found guilty of at the first trial, it later transpired that she had not been in the hospital for three days around the supposed event. This fact was only uncovered at the appeal. That particular “murder” immediately reverted to being a natural death; exactly what it had been, at the actual time it occurred."
This example illustrates how providing the prosecution with available (true) alibis can seriously hurt a defendants case.
False alibi
The giving of a false alibi, beside resulting in possible subsequent criminal offences (obstruction of justice, perjury, etc.), may, in some jurisdictions, result in negative ramifications for the trial itself.
In Canada, the giving of a false alibi may be used by the court as actual evidence of guilt, provided certain requirements are met. Specifically:
- The alibi must not be believed;
- There is evidence of an intention to fabricate the alibi that is independent from the evidence used to show the alibi is false; and
- The court must reject all innocent explanations offered that would explain why a false alibi was fabricated.
Alibi Agency
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An alibi agency provides fictional explanations for unexcused absences, eg. due to an extramarital affair. Originating in 1990s Japan, such services appeared in Europe in ca. 2004, where they were condemned as immoral by the Catholic Church in Germany. They are the subject of the 2006 movie The Alibi.
References
- 1988; ISBN 0-8205-1217-6
- R. v. Cleghorn, S.C.R. 175 at para. 3
- R. v. Hibbert, 2 S.C.R. 445
- R. v. O'Connor, (2002) 170 C.C.C. (3d) 365 (Ont. C.A.)