Due Process In Criminal Justice

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Due Process In order for a crime to occur there are elements to a crime. First the act that was committed has to be justified illegal, next there has to be a victim, and a location the alleged crime occurred. Unless a police officer has witnessed the crime when it occurred, they cannot respond until the crime has been reported. After a crime has been reported then the criminal justice system begins. The person who allegedly committed the crime has just as many rights as the victim, and their rights start the moment the arrest is made. The Due Process is a process designed to “guarantee 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” (Due Process of Law. (n.d.)). People who are in jeopardy of becoming incarcerated for either a short of long period of time are entitled to legal protections such as: a right to an attorney and a trial by a jury of peers. It is services like this that help provide due process of law. These services ensure that a person accused of a crime is not unfairly deprived of his or her freedom. The due process does not only apply to people who are accused of crimes before being sentenced to prison, it also applies to people who are already incarcerated. If an inmate is in jeopardy of disciplinary action, which could lead to the…show more content…
(n.d.) West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. (2008). Retrieved November 9 2011 from http://legaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Due+Process+of+Law Meyer, J. F., & Grant, D. R. (2003). The Courts Get Involved: The History of Courts and theArrangement of Modern Courts. In The Courts in Our Criminal Justice System, 1e (pp. 53-54). Retrieved from
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