Rights of the Accused

Writ of Habeas Corpus English translation: that you have the body used to justify the imprisonment of a citizen Found in Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution Was suspended during the Civil War in parts of the Union and in Hawaii during WWII

Fifth Amendment Protection from Double Jeopardy (being tried twice for the same crime with the same evidence) Due Process: must be given notice and an opportunity to be heard before adverse action is taken against you No person may be put on trial for criminal acts unless indicted by a Grand Jury Protection from Self-Incrimination

A grand jury room awaits jurors A grand jury room awaits jurors. Photographs of a grand jury in session are impossible to obtain since grand jury proceedings are conducted in secret.

Sixth Amendment 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 wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation to be confronted with the witnesses against him to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor to have the assistance of counsel for his defense

The Constitution guarantees the right to a fair trial before an impartial jury. Why are these factors important for lawyers to consider when selecting a jury?

A defendant’s right to a trial by jury has led courts to create a selection process for those who will serve on a jury. How does this process help ensure an impartial jury?

Gideon v. Wainwright Clarence Earl Gideon was convicted of the felony of breaking and entering in 1962. In his case, he didn’t have the money to obtain a lawyer he had asked the Florida State Court to appoint one in his defense. He served five years in a state prison when the court denied his request because the judge had held that they were only required to appoint attorneys in capital cases for the indignent. This case considered the question of whether this denial of an attorney at state level violated his right in the sixth amendment to a fair trial. The decision was unanimously decided that Gideon had the right to be appointed an attorney by the court and it overruled the case of Betts v. Brady in 1942. 

Seventh Amendment Those charged with a crime have the right to a trial by jury Intended to protect private citizens from over-zealous police officers, prosecutors and judges Amendment VII: In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Constitutional protections for the accused include a prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment." Are overcrowded prisons “cruel and unusual punishment"? Why or why not?

Capital punishment has had a lengthy history, and so has the controversy surrounding it. How do these two opposing quotations summarize the debate on this issue?

Eighth Amendment Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.