Status Updates From John Adams Under Fire: The ...

Now, it is the party with the burden of proof that gets the last word.

"Neither he [John Adams] nor Abigail ever owned a slave..." Noted.

"Objections were rarely, if ever, raised." Now, objections must be raised so that they can be included in the record and argued on appeal. This is making me wonder how appeals worked back then, and how much has changed.

"...in England, defendants were not afforded the presumption of innocence; rather it was believed that an innocent man should be able to prove it." But starting in 1657, things were different in Massachusetts, when the general court had decreed that the presumption of innocence applied.

"The concept of a building dedicated solely to the law, a courthouse, was growing in America; in most towns and villages, trials and hearings were still held in town houses and taverns."

"The Pilgrims brought the jury system to the New World with them." It was enshrined in a law passed in 1623.