Understanding The Safeguards Of Personal Rights Under The US Constitution

Write to identifying and evaluating the constitutional safeguards provided by the 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments to the United States Constitution as they apply to both adult and juvenile court proceedings. Discuss the impact that these safeguards (e.g., Right to Counsel, Miranda Warnings, speedy trial, the exclusionary rule, etc.) have on the day-to- day operation of adult and juvenile courts.

Overview of US Constitution Amendments

The constitution of United States presents the safeguards to the Americans rights and these have been provided through different amendments under the US Constitution. The immunity of the individual citizens has been spelled out in the bill of rights. The First Congress of US had, on September 25^th, 1789, proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution of US to the state legislatures (Hamilton, Madison & Jay, 2017). The cornerstone in the matter of personal rights for a single person, who has been charged with the criminal offense or cases of drunk driving were predominantly contained in the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th Amendments of the US Constitution (Powe, 2013). In the following parts, a discussion has been carried on these safeguards, along with the impact of these on the day to day operations of the adult and juvenile courts.

The 4^th amendment relates to the right to be free from any kind of unreasonable search and seizure. Under this right, the people have the right to be secure in their houses, effects, papers, and person, against any kind of unreasonable seizures and searches. This right cannot be contravened and warrants cannot be issued, save for probable cause which has been properly supported by affirmation or oath (Legal Information Institute, 2017a). Further, this probable cause warrant needs to clearly provide that the place which has to be searched has been properly described along with the things and the people to be seized. With regards to the juveniles, this amendment has certain restrictions (Sklansky, 2014). The juveniles who are under the age of 18 and have been accused of a criminal conduct, only such juveniles could be granted the 4^th amendment rights. Hence, both the juveniles and adults are given the right under the US constitution to be safeguarded from harassment. In case of the contravention of this right, the contravening party would face criminal charges (Rossum & Tarr, 2016).

The 5^th amendment relates to the right to remain silent, along with the due process of law (Carey, 2014). Under this amendment, an individual cannot be held to answer for an infamous crime or for a capital, till the time there has been an indictment or presentment of a Grand Jury, save for such cases where the issue relates to naval or land forces, or is in Militia when it is in the actual service in time of public danger or war (Legal Information Institute, 2017b). Further, a person can also not be subjected for the same office in twice to be put in jeopardy of limb or life, cannot be compelled for any kind of criminal case for witnessing against themselves, cannot be deprived of property, life or liberty save for due process carried under the law, and also cannot take the private property for the public use, till the time, just compensation is available (Mokoena, 2015).

The 4th Amendment: Protection Against Unreasonable Search and Seizure

This amendment acts as a safeguard where the person is not pressurized to answer for a crime till the time they are indicted by a grand jury. A depletion of life, property or liberty cannot be undertaken till the time, there is an approval through the law. The Miranda Bill prohibits the taking of private property of an individual without being adequately compensated. The juveniles and adults have the right to stay silent in the court and also have the right to not plead guilty to any offence. So, the suspect cannot be asked to reveal anything, till the time they are adequately protected under the law and have been protected through a counsel. As the juveniles are immature, they are often not aware of their rights. And under the law, the minors have the constitutional protections from any and all sorts of illegal exploitation (Dershowitz, 2008).

The 6^th amendment relates to the right of the person to counsel in all the criminal prosecutions (Legal Information Institute, 2017c). The accused can enjoy the right to public trial and speedy trial, in the criminal prosecutions, through an impartial jury of district and state where the crime would have been committed, in the district which shall have been ascertained by the law previously and also to be informed of cause and nature of accusation, for being confronted with the witness which is against him, for having obligatory procedure for obtaining the witnesses in his favor ad lastly, for the defense, to have the counsel’s assistance (Kamisar et al. 2009).

Through the constitution, there is a fairness and speediness in the public trials for both adult and juvenile criminal court proceedings. So, along with the right to a speedy and fair trial, the individuals have the right to be for the offenses which are brought to the criminal justice system (Find Law, 2017). This helps in making certain that the accused person’s right to place the defense on mistaken statement of fact or identities regarding the crimes for which they had been charged is given away with. The right of speedy trial allows the accused person to go on with their life in a normal manner, without having to face long drawn out procedure regarding the court system which has an undue influence over their lives. In case the justice is delayed, it brings a lot of frustration for the person who has been accused, and the public and speedy trial proves to be a great change to this (Arnheim, 2009).

The 5th Amendment: Right to Remain Silent and Due Process of Law

The amendments which have been added to the US Constitution helps in guaranteeing the needed transformation to the criminal justice system of the nation. Through these amendments, the US citizens have been properly informed of their rights. When this is done, a better understanding is attained in between the relationship of citizenship and government and thus there is a harmony between this relationships as it not only brings a sense of understanding but also a relief for the individuals. The accused is given an equal stance in the court by being given a right to an attorney, which allows them to defend the accusations which have been laid on them through a just and fair trial. This entire process allows the US citizens to be properly represented and also rebuilds the notion that there cannot be an abuse of power by the government against the US citizens (Tushnet, Graber & Levinson, 2015).

By including the Miranda warnings, the accused are protected from self incriminating owing to undue influence or pressure. The tactics are adjusted through the law enforcement by moderation of powers for collecting the information by use of unwarranted measures, playing subjects against each other and deceit, which are the common techniques used for getting a voluntary confession. Through the Miranda warnings, the accused individual has been granted the right to be silent and also to state any such thing which can result in their incrimination against themselves (Ruschmann, 2007). Through the right to counsel, the attorney is given to the accused, which makes the accused know about his legal rights and also the extent to which he/ she should make the statements. This offers the protection to the person, who has been accused, from all sorts of unlawful, illegal and unfair questioning while being interrogated by an unwarranted authoritative figure (Carmens & Hemmens, 2016).

By giving the accused the right to a speedy and fair trial, the justice is made available at a pace which can be deemed as reasonable for delivering the sense of comfort to the person who has been accused, as the long drawn out trials are eliminated which can distort the normal life experience which the accused would have had with fair and speedy trials. When the justice system is delayed, not only the accused has to bear the brunt, but so does everyone. This is because this process is expensive and is accompanied with the stress which harms the daily lives of the individual and even creates a chaos in particular situations. Hence, the constitutional rights make certain that the accused are granted fair treatment and that the citizen rights are known to be readily available to them (Carmens & Hemmens, 2016).

The 6th Amendment: Right to Counsel in Criminal Prosecutions

The dignity of the individuals, along with their privacy is protected through the safeguards against illegal search and seizure and this right cannot be disregarded. Hence, the citizens of the nation have a sense of stability, along with comfort that force would not be used against them, owing to the protections offered through these constitutional safeguards. The view towards the law enforcement has been changed due to these factors and the communities are now more open towards them and have accepted their position. This is due to the clarity of the job being done by the law enforcement through community actions and the other theoretical methods (Rossum & Tarr, 2016).

Conclusion

On the basis of the discussion carried above, it can be concluded that the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th amendments of the Bills of Rights have safeguarded the rights of the US citizens. Through these amendments, the fairness and justice has been promoted in the nation and the conflicting rights have been given away with, under the criminal justice system. In situations where the juveniles or other people are not aware off their rights, the right to legal counsel protects these individuals and also educates them about their rights. Hence, the citizens are not only safeguarded, but are also educated about their rights.

References

Arnheim, M. (2009). U.S. Constitution for Dummies. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Carey, J. (2014). A Student's Right to Remain Silent. Journal of Law & Education, 43, 575.

Carmens, R.V., & Hemmens, C. (2016). Criminal Procedure: Law and Practice (10^th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Dershowitz, A.M. (2008) Is There a Right to Remain Silent?: Coercive Interrogation and the Fifth Amendment After 9/11. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Find Law. (2017). What the Sixth Amendment Guarantees. Retrieved from: https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-rights/what-the-sixth-amendment-guarantees.html

Hamilton, A., Madison, J., & Jay, J. (2017). The Federalist Papers. New York: Quarto Publishing Group.

Kamisar Y., et al. (2009). Criminal Procedure (12^th ed.). New York: Aspen Publishers.

Legal Information Institute. (2017a). Fourth Amendment. Retrieved from: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/fourth_amendment

Legal Information Institute. (2017b). Fifth Amendment. Retrieved from: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/fifth_amendment

Legal Information Institute. (2017b). Sixth Amendment. Retrieved from: https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/sixth_amendment

Mokoena, M. T. (2015). The right to remain silent: a one-eyed approach to truth-seeking?. Journal of Law, Society and Development, 2(1), 120-139.

Powe, L.A. (2013). October term 1963: “The second American constitutional convention”. Journal of Supreme Court History, 38(2), 194-260.

Rossum, R. A., & Tarr, G. A. (2016). American Constitutional Law, Volume II: The Bill of Rights and Subsequent Amendments (10^th ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Ruschmann, P. (2007). Miranda Rights. New York: Chelsea House.

Sklansky, D.A. (2014). Two More Ways Not to Think About Privacy and the Fourth Amendment. University of Chicago Law Review, 82, 223-242.

Tushnet, M.V., Graber, M.A., & Levinson, S. (2015). The Oxford Handbook of the U.S. Constitution. Oxford: Oxford University Press.