User talk:Dormiebasne

Wilful can be spelt that way. That what it changed it to on my spellchecker.--UncleBastard 21:47, 14 February 2009 (CET)

• Ah, I see. Well, it shows up as being incorrect on mine. It's probably an issue of differing dialects, since your spelling of "spelled" as "spelt" also gets a red line. Oh well, it's no big issue for me. Dormiebasne 21:55, 14 February 2009 (CET)

Chris' Case Myths

NOTE: The writer of this text is not a lawyer, nor is anything here meant to constitute legal advice.

You probably have been sent this because you are curious about some element of Chris Chan's criminal charges of INCEST, and do not quite understand the outcome. How can someone who openly admits to something not be convicted of it in court? Well, this article exists to illustrate how this might have come to pass, as well as to disabuse you of some mistaken notions others have spread about. A brief summary response to several common statements will be given, and under them will be a more detailed answer:

“Chris was PROVEN INNOCENT!” TL;DR No, he was not. Courts don't prove innocence. DETAILED EXPLANATION:

	The US criminal justice system is meant to be centered around the presumption of innocence. The founders of this country recognized that a great imbalance exists between the individual and the State, and so deliberately hobbled the State when they pursue criminal charges against someone, imperiling their liberty. One does not “prove” their innocence, but rather the State is obligated to prove the guilt of the accused, and the standard in criminal proceedings is that this proof must be “beyond a reasonable doubt”, which is the highest standard of proof that exists in U.S. law. The idea of “proving” innocence implies that this burden is on the defendant. This is the reason that verdicts are designated as “Guilty/Not Guilty”,  not “Guilty/Innocent”. Chris' charges were dismissed by the prosecution, most likely due to a lack of evidence that would allow them to meet this burden.

“CHRIS GOT AN AUTISM DEFERRAL!” TL;DR: This is not consistent with the court records. Many variations of this claim are spread around, but the central idea is that some element of Chris' disability/gender identity allowed him to evade criminal responsibility. While Chris has in the past been treated with kid gloves by the courts due to his disability, being put on a “therapeutic docket”, for instance, consequences were still imposed when Chris' guilt was proven by the State. The records that are available to the public in regard to this Incest charge are very clear that this was a dismissal, not an instance of deferred adjudication. Deferred adjudication, generally speaking, is when an individual, usually by prior agreement of the defense and prosecution, enters a plea of Guilty or Nolo Contendere, and then the judge holds off on making a finding of guilt while the defendant goes through a period of probation. If the defendant completes this probationary period, the case is dismissed and does not enter as a conviction. With Chris' dismissal, however, there are no probationary conditions with which Chris must comply, as the judge has not made a finding of guilt, nor is the case still pending.