Section 23.5 Innocence

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

1. (§23.5) Innocence

The “presumption of innocence” phrase is probably better called the “assumption of innocence” because it describes the assumption that, in the absence of contrary facts, any person’s conduct upon a given occasion was lawful. Harold A. Ashford & D. Michael Risinger, Presumptions, Assumptions, and Due Process in Criminal Cases: A Theoretical Overview, 79 Yale L.J. 165, 173 (1969). This presumption of innocence is a real presumption in favor of the defendant and abides with the defendant...