The condemn nation

Innocent until proven guilty. In the Canadian court system, and similar Western systems, the Crown or the state has the burden of proof. They must prove charges beyond a reasonable doubt and those accused of crimes are not tasked with proving their innocence.

I would be blind not to notice this is not how real life works, or at least the court of public opinion.

That phrase came up during the a scheduling hearing for Paul Braun, a local panhandler who has begrudgingly found his way into the spotlight as the city is taking him to court for multiple bylaw offences stemming from his preferred spot in front of a downtown breezeway.

The city's counsel Troy De Souza accused Bruan's counsel, Paul Varga, of trying the case in the media and through the court of public opinion — prior to the city putting out an unattributed statement which was obviously going to be picked up by the media.

I'm not going to argue one way or the other, as it's my job to cover this story as it unfolds in an unbiased manner, but I will come down firmly on one position: the public's opinions, allegations and discussions on this matter have left me disheartened as they have on the many other court cases I've covered.

We, the media, are often chastised for bias one way or the other, but there is no more important word I've used in my career than "allegedly."

Readers near and far seem to have some sort of temporary blindness to the word, so here's a refresher.

It's in reference to the allegations: a claim or assertion that someone has done something illegal or wrong, typically one made without proof.

Allegations come first, the proof comes later. The Crown will usually only lay charges if they believe there is a substantial chance they can prove those charges in a court of law, but it's not a 1.00 batting average.

While I'm on the subject of allegations, residents of this city have a problem with hearsay. At least once or twice a month someone will lay a bombastic theory on me only to follow up with little in the way of evidence. If I believed everything I heard, I'd be out of a job.

Lately I'm finding a personal annoyance in the people who demand I care about this or that cause or issue whether it's local or international.

However, if I could be hypocritical for just a moment, I beg of you Penticton, take a pause before you start hurling callous insults or shifted blame as I've seen many do in my time here.

You might think your comments on social media are throwaway, but often they depress me, and I've said this before, but whenever you get on your high horses, I'd like to buy one. That small joy you feel when casting someone you don't know down into the metaphorical pit? I know you only do it to make yourself feel better in a selfish act of callous whatever-ism.

I am not a man who prescribes to any religion, but I will partially quote the Bible on this one: "Let he/she/they without sin cast the first comment."

If only that was a prerequisite for social media.

Dale Boyd is a reporter with The Penticton Herald.