首页
登录
职称英语
Citing Ohio ordinances that allow individuals to seek charges against someone
Citing Ohio ordinances that allow individuals to seek charges against someone
游客
2023-12-25
57
管理
问题
Citing Ohio ordinances that allow individuals to seek charges against someone they’ve seen commit a crime, seven Euclid residents claim to have "witnessed" the encounter between Officer Michael Amiott and driver Richard Hubbard III by virtue of viewing a four-minute video on Facebook. Their unique argument has triggered discussion in the legal community about the role that "social media witnesses" could play in such cases.
"It used to just be the police officer’s word against the victim’s word," notes lead petitioner Richard T. Montgomery II. "Now, in the age of cellphone videos and social media, we as a community have the opportunity to participate in ensuring police accountability."
The racially and economically diverse group scored its first victory in late December when a municipal judge responded to its request by requiring the Cuyahoga County prosecutor to investigate Amiott for felonious assault during the August 2017 traffic stop.
The cellphone video, which has more than 11 million views on Facebook, shows the officer repeatedly punching Hubbard’s head as the 25-year-old man lay in the street. Separate video from a police cruiser’s dash cam shows Amiott wrestling Hubbard to the ground moments after he was ordered out of his car for a suspended driver’s license.
Amiott was fired two months later for excessive force. But in the majority-black city, emotions flared anew this October when he was rehired following an arbitrator’s ruling in his favor. The ensuing outcry included the NAACP announcing a travel advisory to people of color who might be driving through Euclid.
The legal issues raised by the citizens’ petition and the prospect of witnesses via social media are largely untested.
Cleveland attorney Rebecca Maurer, who wrote a popular blog about the "Serial" podcast’s recent focus on Cuyahoga County’s criminal justice system, expects such witnesses might have to first establish that they were somehow personally affected before being allowed to initiate charges.
"The judicial system relies on the idea of ’standing’ to regulate the type of cases that go to court," she said. "A judge who borrows from standing theory will want to know exactly why social media witnesses should initiate the case. Perhaps it’s enough if the petitioners are local residents claiming a personal stake in the security of their community."
In his ruling referring the matter to the county prosecutor, Euclid Municipal Judge Patrick Gallagher did point out that the petitioners fail to claim any "personal knowledge of Mr. Hubbard’s injuries." Had they done so, he could have taken more
drastic
action, the judge seemed to imply. Under Ohio law, Gallagher also could have used the citizens’ petition to circumvent the prosecutor’s office and issue an arrest warrant for Amiott.
Nearly a dozen other states also allow private citizens to initiate criminal charges — including Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas and Idaho.
In all but one, however, the decision to actually file criminal charges is left to a prosecutor or grand jury. The exception is South Carolina, where police also have that power.
Testimony from people claiming to have witnessed something via social media can be problematic, cautions Seth Stoughton, a University of South Carolina law professor and former officer, since video posted online, even unedited, often provides limited information about an event.
"Beyond what they see directly in front of them, officers also rely on peripheral, aural and tactile information ... That doesn’t always come across accurately, or at all, on video," said Stoughton, who writes extensively about police regulation and use of force. By definition, he added, social media witnesses will always have such limitations.
Some attorneys worry that the very community such individuals hope to protect could instead be negatively affected. Civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley, a former board chair of the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board, an independent police oversight agency, warns of implicit bias in the criminal justice system that could favor a white social media witness over one of color. [br] The word "drastic" underlined in Para. 9 is synonymous with______.
选项
A、violent
B、dramatic
C、severe
D、difficult
答案
C
解析
语义题。drastic意为“严厉的”,与severe意思相近,故正确答案为C。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3305462.html
相关试题推荐
ProfessorSmithissomeoneweall______.A、lookuptoB、lookintoC、lookthroug
Theremusthavebeensomeonewhohasinstigatedarebellionbecausethepeoplea
Manystudentsagreedtocome,butsomestudentsagainstbecausetheysaidtheyd
Hewasfacingchargesonforgeryinacourtoflawbuthehiredagoodattorney
Thevoterswereoverwhelminglyagainstthecandidatehisproposalscalledforhi
Psychologistshaveerrantlymountedanoffensiveagainstwhattheydescribeasn
Individualsexposedtoloudnoiseforlongintervalsmaysuffertemporaryorper
Manystudentsagreedtocome,butsomestudentsagainstbecausetheysaidtheyd
Thousandsofpeopleturnedoutintothestreetsto______againstthelocalautho
TheblunderofArgentina’sgoaliecostthemthegameinthematchagainstBrazil
随机试题
________Manhasjusttakenthefirststeptoexplore________space.A、/;theB、/;
Notonly________asacookeddishallovertheworld,butalsoitisusedinmaki
[originaltext]Goodmorning,I’mMichael,housingdirectorhereattheunive
Ithasbeenarguedthathighratesofeducationareessentialforcountriest
财政政策的传导机制是()。A.收入分配B.货币供应C.价格D.商品的供应
制定企业标准应遵循的一般原则有()。A.贯彻国家和地方有关的方针、政策、法律、
男性,36岁,心悸、气急10余年,反复咯血。查体:第一心音亢进,可闻及开瓣音,P
某跨国公司在我国某沿海城市投资建设自动化食用油生产厂,用国际市场上的大豆为原料生
邓小平同志在1986年曾指出:经济建设这一手我们搞得相当有成绩,形势喜人,这是我
银团贷款协议签订后,按相关货款条件确定的金额和进度归集资金向借款人提供贷款由(
最新回复
(
0
)