Case Presentation on Giles v. California. Law Coursework

Case Presentation on Giles V. California
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Brief/Summary of the Giles v. California Case
There have been several landmark cases around the globe that have not only set precedence but also established order in society. One notable case involved Dwayne Giles who was accused and was prosecuted by the state for murdering his girlfriend Brenda Avie, outside the garage of his grandmother. While there were no witnesses who saw the shooting and consequently testify, Giles’ niece who was inside the house heard all that transpired between the accused and the deceased. According to the niece, the couple was involved in a hot-tempered argument and eventually, the last thing she heard was Avie screaming “Granny” several times ensued by a series of gunshots. Both the grandmother and the niece then ran outside only to find Giles standing over Avie with a gun in hand. By the time the police arrived to the scene, Giles had fled the area and was arrested two weeks later and charged with the murder (LexisNexis, 2020). The police report indicated that Avie had been shot six times.
Considering that there was no witness to testify that they actually saw Giles shoot Avie, the prosecution had a daunting and tough task to prove that Giles was innocent. Consequently and based on this predicament, the prosecution in collaboration with the local law enforcement officers sort succeeded in introducing statements that were made by Avie during a domestic violence incident that occurred three weeks before the shooting. The police report indicated that Avie was in a terrified state and was crying nonstop. Avie narrated to the police how Giles had accosted with cheating allegations and proceeded to choke and beat her up (LexisNexis, 2020). Avie also shared that Giles held a knife to her neck and threatened to kill her if he actually found out that she was cheating on him.
Although Giles made attempts to prevent the prosecution from using the police report that detailed statements from Avie of not only his violent nature but also threats to her life, his efforts proved futile. According to LexisNexis (2020), “the trial court admitted these statements into evidence under a provision of California law that permitted admission of out-of-court statements describing the infliction or threat of physical injury on a declarant when the declarant was unavailable to testify at trial and the prior statements were deemed trustworthy”. Giles was then found guilty and convicted of first degree murder. His appeal that was heard by the California Supreme Court was also affirmed on the same ground.
How did the Media Broadcast the Giles v. California Case?
Media houses are usually at the forefront of highlighting and sharing with the public landmark cases such as the Giles v. California. During the trial period, the New York times was at the forefront of publishing regular updates on the case. For inst...