"Foxy Knoxy"

   Picture this, you are a young American student studying abroad in Italy for a year. Your trip turns into a nightmare when your roommate was found murdered in the apartment the two of you share. You are arrested, interrogated in a foreign language, and put on trial. How much do you know about the Italian court system? Why is this so different then the trials in America? These are questions young Amanda Knox, a junior at the Univeristy of foreigners in Perugia, Italy must have need asking herself after the scenario you just read occured to her.

    There is infact huge differences in the judicial systems of Italy and America. “It’s a strange case to American ears,” according to prominent criminal defense attorney and Harvard University law professor Alan M. Dershowitz. He even went on to say the guilty verdict of Knox was “totally predictable” because the Italian court case was really just a “confirmation of the investigation.”(nytimes.com) In Italy an appeals court consists of about six jurors and two judges that reverse the case while in America only judges have the power to decide if the case will be reversed. The interrogation protocol is another huge difference in Italy and America. In Italy interrogation can go as long as they believe is necessary without sleep or a lawyer present. America follows Miranda decision, meaning that those being interrogated are entitled to a lawyer, that would monitor the amount of time their client was being interrogated. (examiner.com) In Italy prosecutors are allowed to use “character evidence” which allows them to fill the court in on their past life, most of it not relevant to the trial, but in America this does not come into play unless the defendant causes it to first. One main difference in the Italian judicial system is the “de novo” review that allows the defendant to ask the court to start the entire case over again during the first round of appeals.(nytimes.com) Unlike in America the Italian jury only needs majority ruling to come up with a verdict. The Italian judicial system in some cases orders guilty defendants, of murder trials, to pay damages that potentially can equal up to over one million euros. This type of punitive damage payment only occurs in America during civil trials. (nytimes.com) Another major difference in the two judicial systems was that in Italy one could be retried if proven innocent, while in America once proven innocent you can not be tried again even if new evidence appears. The Italian legal system “is not among Europe’s most distinguished” according to Mr. Dershowitz. (nytimes.com)

   Knox was personally affected by all of the differences in the Italian judicial system. After her arrest Knox was interrogated by Italian police officers for 56 hours without food, water, sleep, or a lawyer present.(examiner.com) Knox who became internationally known as “foxy knoxy” was tormented by prosecutors for her sex and social life during trial. It would have need in Knox’s favor to ask the court for “de novo” review if needed during her case. Knox was also sentenced to pay punitive damages to the family of victim, Meredith Kercher. The court ordered Knox to pay $4.24 million, which equaled 2.8 million euros.(nytimes.com)  Knox went through a total of four trials from 2007 to 2015. This is something most Americans may never be able to wrap their heads around. It is confusing how different judicial systems are throughout the world.