Re: What Did You Watch? 2024-05-02 (Thursday)

BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:

"Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

Law & Order - "Castle in the Sky" - A homeless man and his daughter are
squatting in a penthouse and when the real owner shows up one night he
winds up dead.

Everybody gets this wrong, including Steve Lehto in his videos. Living
in a unit not yet sold in a mostly finished building is not squatting.
It's trespass. Squatting has to do with a hostile encroachment upon
ABANDONED land after a number of years which varies by state. Getting
the semantics right makes a huge difference in these discussions and who
can be arrested for what.

The fact that this guy was HIRED as a security guard to PREVENT trespass
is evidence that the property wasn't abandoned and that he cannot
convert it for his personal use.

Fortunately for the man his daughter can alibi his self
defense claim. Doesn't the defense have to reveal that defense ahead of
time?  Doesn't matter, this is Law & Order.

I don't know if notice is required to assert self defense at trial.

Yes, it is. All affirmative defenses, of which self-defense is but one,
require advance notice to the prosecution because it changes the entire
nature of the case. When a defendant asserts an affirmative defense, he
is actually admitting to the crime and stipulating the basic facts. He's
basically saying, "I did it but here's why."

The burden of proof then shifts from the prosecution, who no longer must
prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and onto the defendant who now
has the affirmative burden to prove his legal innocence by clear and
convincing evidence, which is an evidentiary standard less stringent
than reasonable doubt but more stringent than preponderance of the
evidence used in civil cases.

Thank you for explaining that. Notice is required because the burden of
proof has shifted.

For practical reasons, would this have halted the trial for a couple of
days or even longer?