Criminal Justice History

The Constitution and Criminal Justice

The 5th , 6th , and 8th Amendments

The United States Constitution sought to limit governmental power in all areas , including criminal justice . The Bill of Rights , in particular , is relevant to the practice of criminal justice . The first ten amendments to the Constitution compose the Bill of Rights

The authors of the document came from a system of absolute governmental power and extremely limited individual rights . The Constitution , in the criminal justice sense , balances the necessary controls in civil society with certain fundamental individual rights . It is

the interpretation of those constitutional goals by the courts and legislature that shapes the practice of criminal justice today . It is not a static process Different interpretations have emerged over different eras

There are three fundamental building blocks of criminal justice however , that cannot be violated . The 5th , 6th and 8th amendments lay down an individual 's rights within the criminal justice system

The 5th Amendment

The 5th amendment to the Constitution is contained within the bill of rights written by James Madison . It protects suspects in criminal proceedings from double jeopardy (Roth , 2004 . For example , if a defendant is acquitted in a murder trial he can not be tried again by the state even if new evidence surfaces of his guilt

Prosecutors can , in some circumstances , bring other charges . A victim may a civil complaint , or the federal government may choose to try the individual alleging a violation of civil rights . There are options for the state after an acquittal , but the double jeopardy clause establishes a vital civil right . It is a check on prosecutorial power

Another fundamental right within the 5th amendment is the defendant 's right not to testify against himself during trial . These rights dictate how a trial must be held . There is no presumption of guilt . The onus is on the prosecution to prove its case

Of equal importance , the amendment also ensures the defendants right to due process

The 6th Amendment

This amendment confers a right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed (Roth , 2004 . What is speedy ? What is an impartial jury ? Those are questions that are argued about frequently

At the most basic level , this amendment prevents the police from detaining a suspect indefinitely without proving sufficient cause . They jury makeup is argued case by case . In reality , the prosecution never knows what type of jury it will get . Therefore , it must come up with compelling proof of the accusation . This is a far cry from past societies where summary judgments and unmerited show trials were common

In trial , the defendant must also be allowed to confront his accuser The prosecution cannot present evidence through unknown accusers

The defendant also has the right to assistance of counsel . Courts have since interpreted this to mean effective ' counsel . This clause opens itself to abuse . Convicted killer Charles Ng was able to delay his trial for several...