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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neocon who wrote (23453)	7/10/2000 4:40:26 PM
From: lawdog	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

As my proof I put the following forward. E-bill claims that OJ Simpson is a felon because he committed a felony. Following your position, in which I can see some credibility, why is that OJ is not called an "un-convicted felon" or just "felon" in the press? If this usage is so common why don't I hear Dennis Miller talking about "OJ the felon". It is because felon and felony have little meaning outside of the criminal justice system. It is a term used to denote a crime that carries a more serious punishment. Felonies require more than just an act. They require more than the normal crime, a mens rea, an intent, etc all of which must be proven in addition to the act itself. Killing has meaning outside of the justice system. It describes the act itself. Felon and felony describe a variation of the act that carries a more serious punishment. One cannot know whether the actions will meet the criteria until a trial has been completed. As I stated before, you can witness person A shoot and kill person B in the head. Person A could have committed any of a number of crimes of varying severity or may not have committed a crime at all. Person A is a killer. Person A may not be a felon. To know that you need to know about facts for which you may have no knowledge. This is the law and the way that the term felon and felony are intended to be used. It is inappropriate to say that a person is a felon before a trial. You can say they are a killer, assuming you know they took another person's life. I can understand a person with no legal training being confused by this. However, a person who attended a law school of any merit SHOULD know the difference between a felony and an act.