The Court found that while checkpoint programs clearly aimed at reducing immediate hazards posed by the presence of drunk drivers on the road remained constitutional, those checkpoints that were simply directed at a “general interest in crime control” would not withstand constitutional analysis. As the Court noted, if the prime reason of the checkpoint is to detect evidence of ordinary criminal wrongdoing there must be individualized suspicion.
The Fifth Amendment
The Fifth Amendment provides several imperative protections for persons accused of a crime. It requires indictment by a grand jury on a federal offense and protection against double jeopardy and self-incrimination. It also forbids deprivation of life, liberty, or property without Due Process of law and prohibits the taking of private property for public use without just compensation.
In the first entitlement of the Fifth Amendment, we are granted the right to a grand jury indictment. This jury decides whether a crime has been committed and if there is reason to go on to trial. On August 4, 1735, John Peter Zenger was brought to trial and charged with seditious libel. Philadelphia lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, defended him. The prosecution argued that the sole fact of publication was sufficient to convict him and excluded the truth from the evidence. Hamilton admitted that Zenger published the offending stories, but denied that it was libel unless it was false. A grand jury refused to indict Zenger, but the prosecution was somehow able to get an indictment. Hamilton made an eloquent appeal to the jury to judge both the law and the facts; as a result, Zenger was acquitted. His acquittal elevated the grand jury into a fortification against oppressive persecution.
The trial of Zenger was a precedent setting case, in that Zenger was found not guilty of the charge of seditious libel, specifically because what he printed was true. This began a nation wide movement against the present form of government and for freedom of the press, which continued until the close of the Revolutionary War and the establishment of the Bill of Rights. Zenger’s trial is referred to as “the germ of American freedom…which subsequently revolutionized America.”
Today, many states use the grand jury system, while others use a system in which a prosecutor may choose to proceed by grand jury indictment or by information. There are pros and cons to the grand jury system. For one, the proceeding is held in secret. A witness’s testimony is not made public and the names of the jurors are not disclosed. This confidentiality is to ensure that witness reveals as much information as possible, while feeling comfortable. This way, grand jurors, who are everyday people, also feel free to vote their consciences. With this, the accused is kept from the public and avoids embarrassment.
But some people compare the grand jury to an inquisition because of its secrecy. Defense attorneys sometimes feel that this system is unfair to the accused because they are not allowed to present a defense on their own behalf or even speak on their own behalf. Also, the grand juries are allowed to consider unfounded information as evidence, although it cannot be admitted at trial.
The constitutional prohibition against ‘double jeopardy’ was designed to protect an individual from being subjected to the hazards of trial and possible conviction more than once for an alleged offense.
This was the main argument in the case of Green v. U.S. The D.C. Criminal Code required that killing in the course of arson be classified as first-degree murder. The jury found Green guilty of arson and second-degree murder; they should have been instructed that Green either be found guilty of first-degree murder or not guilty. His lawyer’s argued that by accusing him of second-degree murder, they were hereby acquitting him of murder in the first degree. They claimed he could not be retried on the basis of double jeopardy. The Supreme Court ruled in Green’s favor, declaring that, “the underlying idea is that the State with all of it’s resources and power should not be allowed to make repeated attempts to convict an individual for an alleged offense.”
In some ways, this amendment is related to freedom of power. It shows that as much power as the US government holds, it has some major restrictions. Once a person is let free, they are free. They cannot take away the freedom that they had once already given over to that person.
The next clause of the Fifth Amendment states that, “No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself… This means that no individual can be made to testify against himself in any criminal case or give any type of information about him that might serve to incriminate him.
This right originated in England, where people were being forced to testify against themselves. After 1611, if anyone refused to take an oath requiring them to answer all questions truthfully without knowing why they were asked or the charges against them, he could be found in contempt of court and sent to prison until he agreed to swear the oath and answer the questions. This act not only violated the sanctity of conscience and the teachings of Jesus, but also presented people with an excruciating choice of facing eternal damnation or execution.
In 1637, a man was imprisoned for shipping seditious books into England, and refused to take the oath before the Star Chamber. “I was condemned,” he later wrote, “because I would not accuse myself.” This brought about the recognition of the right of self-incrimination.
I believe that this right is necessary. According to the US justice system, a person is innocent until proven guilty. This is a right and advantage in our society that must be upheld; people should be able to protect themselves from the law.
This clause has been widely identified with the phrase “taking the 5th” used by witnesses testifying before congressional investigating committees or judicial bodies. Although its one of the best known of the Bill of Rights amendments, it is also one of the least popular. It is often viewed as a shield for the guilty, rather than a shield for the innocent, since an innocent person should have nothing to hide. This provision proves that the Bill of Rights does not always by the will of popular demand, but it tries to advocate just and reasonable practices as best as it can. People sometimes highlight that this clause may also protect innocent people who find themselves in incriminating circumstances, such as “Fifth Amendment Communists.”
Perhaps the most famous case concerning the Fifth Amendment is Miranda vs. Arizona. In this case the court was asked to decide whether or not incommunicado interrogation of suspects by police infringed upon the right against self-incrimination guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment. In their ruling the court stated that prosecutors could not use statements stemming from custodial interrogation of defendants unless they demonstrated the use of procedural safeguards. The court also specifically outlined the criteria that should be included in police warnings to suspects that included the right to remain silent and the right to have legal counsel present during questioning. These rights have come to be known as “Miranda Rights” over the years and they have been extremely important in law today.
The next part of the Fifth Amendment guarantees that all legal proceedings will be fair and that one will be given notice of the proceedings and an opportunity to be heard before the government acts to take away one’s life, liberty, or property. It also essentially guarantees that a law shall not be unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious. This provision differs from other facets of the Bill of Rights. Unlike other freedoms that are concerned with the substance and scope of the protection, the due process cause focuses on the actual procedure itself.
The concept of due process originated in English common law. The rule that individuals shall not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without notice and an opportunity to defend themselves predates written constitutions and was widely accepted in England. The Magna Charta is an early example of a constitutional guarantee of due process. That document includes a clause that declares, “No free man shall be seized, or imprisoned . . . except by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land” This concept of the law of the land was later transformed into the phrase “due process of law.”
The Fifth Amendment also provides that private property shall not be taken without just compensation. The government’s right to take private land for public use is known as the power of eminent domain. There is a great deal of controversy surrounding exactly how much compensation is just and determining whether the property has been taken for public use. Public benefit must be clear and significant.
As a result, in Poletown Neighborhood Council v. Detroit, The courts ruled that giving land to General Motors most certainly constituted public use , as it would provide some 6,000 new jobs and revitalize the city s economy.
This provision has been extremely crucial to society, for it shows the freedom of power. It is comforting to know that the government cannot come and force one to move without reason or without full and just compensation. Once again, this puts a limit on what the government can and cannot do.
The Sixth Amendment
The Sixth Amendment sets forth the rights of the accused in criminal proceedings: a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, the location of the trial in the area where the crime took place, full notification of the prosecution charges, a confrontation with witnesses for the prosecution, compulsory methods to obtain favorable witnesses, and counsel.
The right for a person to be tried by an impartial jury is in compliance with the Supreme Court’s belief that the jury as a group can reach a balanced result only if it reflects the different beliefs and attitudes of the community. A trial jury must be selected from a representative impartial cross-section of the community where the crime was committed, without excluding large or distinctive groups of the population. To ensure an impartial jury, lawyers from both sides conduct a “voir dire,” in which they question prospective jurors before trial to uncover any bias or prejudice.
This process is essential to the term innocent until proven guilty. It must be clear, even before the trial begins, that the jurors have not been previously swayed to believe that the defendant is either guilty or not guilty.
The next provision in this amendment is the right to confront. This guarantees defendants that trial witnesses will testify under oath, be subject to cross-examination, and be observed that the judge and the jury in order to assess their credibility. The accused person has the right to confront face-to-face any and all of the witnesses testifying in the case.
In Coy v. Iowa, Coy questioned the one-way mirror that had been placed between him and the two victims as to spare them from any more trauma. He claimed his right to confront had been disregarded. But here, the Court found that the welfare of the two female child victims was outweighed the defendant’s right to confront.
In 1988, the Supreme Court reversed on its previous opinion that a defendant can testify behind a screen or monitor. It now maintains that defendants have a right to at least see the ones against them face-to-face, emphasizing that this is an essential aspect to a fair trial. On the other hand, this right is still not absolute; a traumatized child may testify through a monitor, screen, etc.
The compulsory process includes the legal mechanisms to require people to give depositions and be present to testify at trial or pretrial hearings. If they do not wish to appear, a subpoena can be sent, thereby compelling them to appear. It also includes the right to compel the production of documents. All together, it gives the defendant the basic right to present a defense.
The defendant s need for evidence is so crucial that in a case where this provision conflicts with the First Amendment, the Sixth Amendment will take precedence. This decision of the Supreme Court is based on the grounds that the Sixth amendment is the paramount amendment, guaranteeing all our other rights, including our First Amendment rights, because it provides for a fair trial. In addition, it overwhelms the First Amendment right for the press to withhold information.
I agree with the decision of the Supreme Court on the basis that if the right to present a defense is perhaps the most basic right a criminal defendant has, how can courts deny the evidence which they claim is critical to exercise that right.
The right to counsel has been recognized by the Supreme Court as notably consequential. Of all the rights that an accused person has, the right to be represented by council is by far the most pervasive for it affects his ability to assert any other rights he may have. Without aid of counsel, the Supreme Court upholds that the accused may be put on trial and convicted upon improper evidence.
In the landmark 1863 case, Gideon v. Wainwright, the court was faced with a man who was convicted of felony breaking and entering in a Florida state court without any counsel appointed to represent him. The Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision that Gideon was guaranteed the right to be represented by a public defender in the Sixth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. It ruled that the right to counsel is so fundamental that it must apply to both the State and Federal governments and that any person brought to court that is poor cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.
The Supreme Court has long acknowledged that the right to counsel is the right to the effective assistance of counsel, but had not expressed standards by which effectiveness should be judged. The Strickland v. Washington case set new standards. Here, the courts declared that the purpose of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel is to guarantee a fair trial. Therefore, the standard for determining ineffectiveness is whether the counsel s conduct resulted in the trial having produced an unjust result. A two-part test is used to make this judgment. First, a defendant must identify specific acts or oversights by the counsel were outside the range of professionally competent assistance. Second, a defendant must show that the counsel s errors prejudiced the defense to the point where he was denied a fair trial.
The Seventh Amendment
The Seventh Amendment guarantees trial by jury in civil actions in the federal courts where the amount in controversy exceeds $20. It may be the on most likely to affect, and disrupt, an average citizen’s life.
Historically, The Seventh Amendment has been one of the most prized and accepted of all those in the Bill of Rights. It guarantees the right to a jury in a civil- as opposed to a criminal- trial. Like the criminal jury, the civil jury was designed to act as a check on the arbitrary power of the state. Recently, however, problems have arisen. As civil suits are becoming longer and more complex, many argue that the civil jury has become an “instrument of arbitrary power,” because jurors are deciding cases that they cannot possibly understand. Some argue that these juries are sometimes forced to make seemingly impossible decisions that should not be in their hands to decide, such as putting a price tag on a life or limb. This has prompted many experts to argue for the creation of a “complexity exception.” They say this exception would save time and expense for the judiciary, ensure a fairer result, and perhaps, spare the hapless civil jury.
The jury is sometimes seen as a safety valve in highly controversial cases, or cases that require drawing fine lines between certain kinds of behavior. When judges decide such cases, their rulings may appear arbitrary or be vulnerable to charges of corruption or bias. It is thought that a jury lends that appearance of fairness and legitimacy to such difficult cases. The “collective wisdom of the community” is sometimes considered superior to that of a single judge.
The US Supreme Court has never decided the Seventh Amendment complexity issue.
Illustrating the Court’s course of decision on this subject are two unanimous decisions holding that civil juries were required, one in a suit by a landlord to recover possession of real property from a tenant allegedly behind on rent, the other in a suit for damages for alleged racial discrimination in the rental of housing in violation of federal law. In the first case, the Court reasoned that its Seventh Amendment precedents ”require trial by jury in actions unheard of at common law, provided that the action involves rights and remedies of the sort traditionally enforced in an action at law, rather than in an action at equity or admiralty.” The legal cause of action, the Court found, had several counterparts in the common law, all of which involved a right to trial by jury. In the second case, the plaintiff had argued that the Amendment was inapplicable to new causes of action created by congressional action, but the Court disagreed. ”The Seventh Amendment does apply to actions enforcing statutory rights, and requires a jury trial upon demand, if the statute creates legal rights and remedies, enforceable in an action for damages in the ordinary courts of law.”