Smoke but No Fire by Jessica S. Henry

Author:Jessica S. Henry
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780520300644
Publisher: University of California Press

SIX

Judges

TILTING THE SCALES OF JUSTICE

IN 2004, RAYMOND TUCKER WAIVED his right to a jury and instead chose to let a judge decide his fate through a bench trial. In a bench trial, the judge is the decider of the facts as well as the law, and determines whether the prosecution has proved the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.1 At Tucker’s bench trial, the prosecution called just one witness, Nicholas Sutliff.2 Sutliff testified that he was mowing his lawn on August 18, 2003, when he saw a person whom he believed was Raymond Tucker jump over the fence from his backyard into the Tucker family’s yard next door. The fence was twenty to twenty-five feet away from the back door of Sutliff’s home. Sutliff had not seen Tucker for a long time, because Tucker had moved away years before. Sutliff and Tucker had a “history,” and Sutliff had been “looking for [Tucker]” because there had been break-ins recently in the neighborhood. In fact, Sutliff warned police that Tucker had been paroled not long ago and that they should be looking for him; he further explained that he had been “tracking” Tucker using the Michigan Department of Corrections Offender Tracking Information System.

After he allegedly saw Tucker, Sutliff went into his home through his unlocked back door, which he claimed was slightly ajar. Sutliff also claimed that the top two dresser drawers were open. Initially, he did not notice that anything was missing. He then went to the Tucker family home to see if anyone there had seen Tucker. They had not. When he returned, Sutliff claimed that two rings he had placed on top of his dresser were missing. His watch, which he had also left atop the dresser, was still there, as were additional items and clutter.

At the conclusion of the bench trial, the judge ruled that the prosecution had offered evidence that Tucker had, beyond a reasonable doubt, committed the crime of home invasion, a second-degree felony:

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