...Framers of the constitution made sure that the government they created would not engage in practices such as inadvertently convicting individuals of crime that they did not commit. The Bill of rights and the constitution protects individuals accused of committing crimes in the United States. Among such rights “Due Process of Law” is the protection against arbitrary deprivation of life, liberty or property that was preserved in Fifth and fourteenth amendments of the United States constitution. In simple words it states that any person who is accused of crime will be guaranteed a fair and unbiased trail in order to prove their innocence. Due process of law is again divided in to Procedural due process of law states that government must use fair proceedings and Substantial due process states that the laws under which the government acts must be constitutional. According to George, (1989), some of the protections under procedural due process are rights against unreasonable searches and seizures, rights against double jeopardy, rights against self incrimination, right to fair trail, right to counsel and right to jury trail in the civil cases. Substantial due process is often used to overthrow government actions when it interferes with individual freedom when no more specific constitutional argument can be found. Marriage and abortion laws come under substantial due process for the people of United States. The notion of Substantial due process flourished during the Franklin Roosevelt’s...
Words: 1007 - Pages: 5
...Rights of Accused Maurice Paul Professor: Dr. Jane El-Yacoubi. Course: POL 110 April 29, 2012 The rights of the accused gave individual’s person the security of which papers, houses and other effects against any unreasonable searches and seizures. Which shall not be violated, as a result, no warrants will issue upon a probable causes; No individual cannot be held for a crime and or otherwise infamous crime unless that individual’s is indicted by a grand jury. Also a person cannot or subjected to the same offence twice (meaning double jeopardy). Therefore, an individual cannot be retrial after a conviction, acquittal, mistrials and multiple punishments through the state of government. Hence, a person cannot be a witness against himself/herself and cannot be deprive of life, liberty or prosperity without due process of the law which, is written in the Constitution. Also in all criminal prosecution, the person accused has the right to a speedy and public trial by a jury. The accused must be informed of the accusation and can be confronted with any witness against him/herself in the court of law. The accused can provide any witness in his/her favor and have the rights to assistance of counsel by the court if necessary in his/her defensed. These rights were written in the fourth, fifth, six and fourteen amendment to protect each individual’s even if you are not a citizen of the United State of America. Our Constitution states one law in the fifth and fourteen amendments;...
Words: 742 - Pages: 3
...In clause 39 of the Magna Carta, John of England said, “No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.” Many a times, people have been wrongfully accused of crimes they did not commit and have faced unfair trials. The composers of the Constitution have gone to great lengths to ensure that our new government does not engage in such practice. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights now consist of a series of protections for someone who has been accused of committing a crime in the United States. The Constitution states only one command twice. The Fifth Amendment says to the federal government that no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments provide the assurance of fair procedure. The Bill of Rights gives a number of rights affordable to those who have been charged with crimes. The basis of these rights is the belief that all individuals are innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof is on the government to justify or give reason for the arrest and detention of a suspect in a crime. A writ of habeas corpus is used to bring a prisoner or detainee before the court to determine if the imprisonment is lawful. An individual cannot be held ...
Words: 613 - Pages: 3
...Rights of Accused Craig Bishop POL 110 Strayer University Professor Eaton May 2012 Due Process Due process is a set of rules that are in place to protect people’s rights, this process insure that state and federal governments do not abuse its powers and treats all fairly. Basically due process prohibits the government from taking in-appropriate actions that would take away a person’s liberty or property, without giving proper notice of any action is taken. The right to due process is in the fifth and fourteenth amendment, this is also known as the due process clause. (LawInfo, 2010) Due Process and Its Origins Due process goes back even farther. It can be traced back to the Magna Carta in 1215; the barons of England said that the powers of the King are not unlimited. They said that his powers were limited by the essential principles of justice and fairness; it also stated that the King could not seize anyone’s property indiscriminately. (Hornberger, 2005) However, the origin of due process in the United States began when Thomas Jefferson was writing the Declaration of Independence, he wanted to make sure that the rights of the people were protected. Thomas Jefferson knew from the past that a government with too much power could over run a person at their will. So he incorporated the ideas of the Magna Carta into our Constitution. (Hornberger, 2005) Over time this “Law of the Land” became “due process of the law”, in time the...
Words: 572 - Pages: 3
...Rights of the Accused Down through the years our Constitution has undergone many changes and revisions for the sake of equality. The Constitution defines the rights of a free people, whose rights and liberty are derived from their creator (Meese, 2009). After the Civil War new amendments were added to the Constitution in order to ban slavery and protect newly freed slaves. The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, implemented no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law (Wilson, 2011). The Fourteenth and the Fifth Amendment represent the right of due process. The due-process clause refers to fair procedures and equal protection of laws for all persons in the United States. The Fifth Amendment, ratified in 1791, also insists that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. Even though this amendment applies to the federal government, the due process clause guarantees that a party will receive a fair, orderly, and just judicial proceeding (Cornwell, 2005). The Constitution prohibits all levels of government from unfairly depriving individuals of their Constitutional Rights. Due process was designed to protect the accused against abuses by the federal government. Evidence gathered illegally or unlawfully can not be used in a trial. This method refers to the exclusionary rule. This rule allows evidence that was gathered in violation to the Constitution to be excluded and not permissible...
Words: 948 - Pages: 4
...RIGHTS OF ACCUSED Assignment 1 Submitted to: Dr. Mehdi Nazer U.S. Government POL110 Prepared By: Nyleeche Perry July 26, 2012 RIGHTS OF ACCUSED Assignment 1 Define due process and its origins. Due process is a fundamental, constitutional guarantee that all legal proceeding will be fair and that one will be given notice of all the proceeding and an opportunity to be heard before the government acts to take away ones life, liberty or property. Due process originated in 1355 in chapter 39 of the Magna Carter although some believe that it goes back farther then that. When due process was discussed in the Magna Carter, it was know as the “law of the land”. Due process is discusses in the fifth as well as the fourteenth amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In the U.S. Constitution, it states that no person shall be denied the right of life, liberty, or property without due process of the law. The due process law means that a person has to be notified of any charges brought up against them. This also means that the accused person has the right to a fair hearing. Explain how due process protects the accused against abuses by the federal government. The due process clause in the Fifth Amendment was intended by the framers to prevent abuse of power on the part of the federal government. Before the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, the Bill of Rights only protected citizens from unfair treatment by the federal...
Words: 698 - Pages: 3
...Legal Rights Afforded to the Accused Damon Gordon Kaplan University Date According to the Fifth Amendment, police officers are supposed to give John Miranda rights. The rights involve explaining to John that whatever he said at that moment could be used against him in court. They should also let him know that he has a right to counsel. Miranda rights were created in 1966 and anybody in police custody like John is entitled to them. In case John needs an English interpreter, the rights say that he is entitled to one too. An equal protection clause together with a due process is therefore owed to John even though he is illegally in the country. If a suspect is not warned about their rights, any information got from them could be suppressed in a proper motion; it cannot therefore be used against them (Batra, 2009). The detectives were therefore not supposed to conduct an interview on him before explaining the Miranda rights to him....
Words: 618 - Pages: 3
...Accused Versus Victim’s Rights The United States of America relies on due process of law to ensure equal protection of life, liberty and property to all citizens. Police officers work tirelessly to accommodate regulations adopted to ensure only criminals are convicted. These restrictions have been part of the United States since the Bill of Rights was generated in 1791, but in the 1960s, as “Law and Order,” the view that crime must be dealt with harshly to deter citizens from breaking the law, the Supreme Court was forced to decide the constitutionality of the rules of interrogation. In the Sixties, crime was escalating and public safety was becoming a growing concern; police began to treat suspects harsher in an effort to raise conviction rates and promote public safety. In 1966, however, the jurisprudence of the entire US justice system changed when the court of Chief Justice Earl Warren was presented with the case Miranda v Arizona. In this case, the majority decision ruled to protect suspects’ rights, extending equality of protection regardless of legal knowledge or background, not only highlighting the trends of human rights and equality in the Sixties, but also the tensions between criminal rights versus public safety, demonstrating a shift from the conservative ‘law and order’ jurisprudence to more liberal methods of interrogation and conviction. On March 2, 1963, Ernesto Miranda kidnapped a woman (whose name was not released to the press for her safety), drove her into...
Words: 1921 - Pages: 8
...Perea BLAW 316-M30 New Mexico State University Nancy A. Oretskin 07/26/2013 The accused (Movie) Substantive Law is the basic law in written form and that defines rights as well as duties, which includes crimes together with punishments (contract law, criminal law, tort law, law of wills, etc.) responsibilities and civil rights within civil law. Procedural law on the other hand provides the mechanism through which the enforcement of the duties and rights would be realized. The procedural law therefore comprises of rules to be adhered to by a court while hearing and determining criminal as well as civil cases. This paper intends to analyze from the substantive law point of view of the unfolding events within the movie “The Accused” as written by Tom Topper in 1988 (Ebert para 1-10). The movie is a description of unfortunate happenings that involve Sarah Tobias who is the accused of luring herself into the unfortunate rape ordeal and who is accused of the same. Moreover, in a rather twisty way, the case moves from her accusation and she becomes the accuser in trying to seek justice for her own misfortune. The movie therefore depicts that rape victims would stand to be accused in causing it to happen. The drunkards in the bar where she goes and drinks uncontrollably, shows the substantive sides of the legal movie through the abuse of Tobias rights. The drunkard men blamed the accused for first over-drunkard-ness after which she engaged in provocative dance, which leads...
Words: 903 - Pages: 4
...Assignment 1: Rights of Accused Jeffrey R Herbert, Sr. Dr. Jane El-Yacoubi POL110 – U.S. Government Sunday, April 29, 2012 Due Process can be defined in one word: Fairness! An original definition from The American Heritage College Dictionary, 3rd edition, defines due process as a set course for judicial or other government activities designed to protect the individual’s legal rights. (Dictionary, 1997, 1993) The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside, also known as the due-process law (Wilson, 2009). No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” (Exploring Constitutional Conflicts, 2012) What the constitution is establishing is a judicial concept that guarantees that all legal proceedings against any individual will receive the right to fair trial and given an opportunity to be heard against the government before the actions of the government to take away life, liberty, or property. The 6th amendment says, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district...
Words: 1249 - Pages: 5
...about them. Many people can argue for the use of plea bargains, but many can also argue against the use of plea bargains. I personally think they are helpful, but may be offered to easily. Plea bargaining is the process by which a person accused of a crime may bargain with the prosecutor to receive a lesser punishment. Typically, the accused person will plead guilty, sometimes to a lesser charge than the original one (to manslaughter rather than murder, for example). As stated by the Boston College Law Review, the U.S. Supreme Court estimates that at least ninety percent of criminal convictions are based on guilty pleas. Typically, defense counsel and the prosecutor negotiate the charges to be brought. If the bargain pertains to the sentence to be meted out, a judge may also participate unless barred from doing so. The main purpose for plea bargains is this process saves the government the time and cost of a jury trial in exchange for a reduced sentence. Defendants who plead guilty as part of a plea bargain give up three constitutional rights: the right of trial by jury, the right to confront and question one's accusers, and the right to refuse to incriminate oneself. However, it can speed up the criminal justice system, and an accused person can get a lessor punishment. The two types of plea bargains are explicit plea bargains and implicit plea bargains. Explicit plea bargains are those in which some concession has been granted to the defendant in exchange for his or her...
Words: 1046 - Pages: 5
...and the accused rights from being violated. Appellate courts make sure that the rights of the accused have not been violated. In the state courts system an accused has a right to a jury of peers. It is up to the state to prove burden of guilt while the accused does not have to prove they are innocent. They are already considered innocent until they are proven guilty. In the appellate court the one that starts the appeal is the one that must prove that wrong was done to them, so if the accused files an appeal they must prove that there was an injustice to their rights during the trial to get justice from the appeal courts. In state trials a prosecutor argues the facts as they see it to a judge and possibly a jury (depending on if it’s a trial jury or a bench trial). The defense also gets this right. Both parties get to introduce witnesses and evidence for or against the accused. In the appellate court there can be an oral argument, but most appellate courts only see paper arguments that have been filed by the one who feels that their rights were not considered. If an accused rights are violated, such as lack of legal representation. If there are errors during the trial, such as the defense not doing proper representation is a reason for an appeal, but a lack of proper evidence is not. A person that is filling an appeal only has a certain amount of time to file, just like the state has a certain amount of time to file charges on an accused....
Words: 310 - Pages: 2
...laws or rules that are written down and are suppose to be enforced, but that’s not always the case. These laws are called Laws on books. Just because it is written down does not mean it is always enforced. How laws are enforced may depend on the characteristics of those who enforce it or those against whom it is enacted. These are laws in action. Because of the change in population new laws must be made to maintain control. The Fifth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment have a lot of effect on our laws and Due Process. Now, due process does not have a straight forward definition. It is however one protection provided by the Fifth Amendment and is intended to provide us with protection from government infringement on our civil (legal) rights. It is one of the most powerful provisions of the U.S. Constitution. The Fifth Amendment states that “No person…Shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The Fourteenth Amendment is almost the same in definition as the Fifth Amendment. The biggest difference is that “the Fourteenth Amendment explicitly refers to restraints on state government actions: … nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law… (1868)” (After Arrest: Law, the Court, and Post-Arrest Procedures. p. 55)... “The concept of due process embodies the idea of fairness and protection of individual against the power of the state” (After Arrest: Law, the Court, and Post-Arrest Procedures. p.56)...
Words: 715 - Pages: 3
...scrutiny is necessary (Merver, Grant 2003). Due process is intended to provide people with protection from government when it comes to our civil rights to liberty, life, and property without due process of law it would be very easy from to get in trouble for something they have not even done. Due process has a very big role when it comes to the public perception mainly because the systems seem fair concerning the legitimacy of the law, legal actors, and the courts. As stated by (Meyer, Grant, 2003) "perception of fairness or unfairness reflect concern with the process of justice as well as the outcome". The concept of due process is the protection of our lives, liberty, and property rights, according to due process of life the government cannot stop someone that has been convicted of a capital crime of his or her life before they can go through and complete the appellate process. Everybody that is a citizen of the United States has many different liberty interest and due process of liberty restrict that it keeps the government from taking this liberty interest from us without due process of law. The government has to take the appropriate and legal procedures before attempting to take an individual property. The United States legal system is a system that strongly believes in the idea that anybody that have been accused or that is being accused, must be considered innocent until proven guilty. One of the main focuses of our adversary system...
Words: 949 - Pages: 4
...discrimination in federally funded educational institutions. The policy was put into place so all sexes would be treated equally educationally and athletically. Title IX also includes equal rights for each sex pertaining to rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment. Among undergraduate students alone, 23.1 percent of females and 5.4 percent of males, experience sexual assault or rape. Title IX was instituted to prevent gender discrepancies for all aspects, from sexual assault to athletics, in federally funded academic institutions for both the accuser and the accused. Americans generally support one of the two different policies instituted by the Obama and Trump administration. Obama’s policy being a liberal view point, and Trump’s a conservative. The policy...
Words: 690 - Pages: 3
