Wizarding Justice, again

[blpurdom]

No: HPFGUIDX 34126

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "ssk7882" <theennead at a...> wrote:
> It's possible that the rules of preponderance of the evidence are 
> just not very strict in the wizarding legal system.  It's also 
> possible that the onus of proof within the system falls upon the 
> defendant -- that it's a "guilty until proven innocent" system.  
> While both trials do strike us as rather dubious according to the 
> Spirit of Justice, they may well have been perfectly within bounds 
> of the legal system itself.

Given that Crouch seems to be both judge and prosecutor, it seems to 
be somewhat loosely based on the Napoleonic system, which I believe 
is still used in Spain.  (Possibly in other countries too, but I 
only have personal knowledge of Spain contuing to use this system.)

> However...
> 
> > The only other "justice" we know of is Sirius' being imprisoned 
> > without a trial--but it seemed that his deep-seated feelings of 
> > guilt for switching the Secret Keeper were as much to blame for 
> > this, as we never hear of him demanding a trial.  He seems to 
> > have gone off willingly (he's said to be laughing madly).
> 
> However, I don't know about this.  It's possible, I suppose, that
> by the laws of the wizarding world, the defendant only gets a trial
> if he *wants* one, or that confession obviates the need for a day
> in court...but I don't quite believe it.  Sirius certainly seems
> bitter enough in retrospect about having been sent to prison 
> without trial, and he speaks of it as if it were an extraordinary 
> event: an exception to normal legal proceedings, rather than an 
> unfortunate by-product of his state of mind at the time of his 
> arrest.
> 
> Although if wizarding law *did* hold that a criminal who confesses
> his guilt does not need to stand trial, that *would* cast the
> Shrieking Shack scene of PoA in a somewhat different light, 
> wouldn't it?

It's possible that it only occurred to Sirius with afterthought that 
he should have fought for a trial, but in that he was in Azkaban 
already, this probably would have been difficult.  At the time, his 
feelings of guilt certainly seemed to overwhelm his ability to 
behave in a rational manner (the insane laughter).  Also, it is 
unlikely that anyone on the "outside" would be willing to wage any 
sort of campaign to get him a trial, as most people--Dumbledore 
included--believed him to be guilty.

--Barb