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.
Breanna Ellison English 150 11 February 2014 Should Felons Permanently Forfeit Their Right to Vote? Our country was founded on democracy; it is what sets us apart as a nation. How can we consider ourselves a true democracy when we don’t let certain members of our society have the right to vote and participate in that democracy? The answer is that we simply cannot. I believe that convicted felons should be allowed to vote upon release from prison because they exercise good judgment: in addition, withholding their rights to vote would be a violation of the United States Voting Rights act of 1965 and the eighth amendment of the Constitution.
The movie “Death Wish” portrays a constant struggle between the due process and crime control models. The due process model of criminal justice expects a lawful fairness to all citizens. Also, this model attempts to protect a defendant’s rights more than the victim. It relies on authorities powers to be controlled by rules and procedures in order to prevent excessive use of their power. Also, it is important in this process to prove a person guilty by legally-found facts and evidence.
The Bill of Rights Introduction to Criminal Justice March 3, 2013 There are many legal rights that we have during a trial. This Bill of Rights provides certain rights to criminal defendants during trial. There are two aspects of the U.S. criminal justice system and they are the defendant is innocent until the prosecution can prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt (NOLO: Law for All, 2013). Defendants have many other rights and here they will be discussed. The right to confront witnesses is stated that in the sixth amendment “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to be confronted with the witness against him.” They are allowed to participate in the accused’s trial process.
The prosecutor also has the task of protecting the state in consumer related matters. Some prosecutors are called District Attorneys and others are called States Attorneys but they are the same thing ("Role of the Prosecutor", 2013). These types of attorneys are the ones that the state selects to represent them in court. These attorneys also have what is called prosecutorial discretion. This means that they basically have absolute power of what happens in the case such as whether or not to pursue charges, what sentence the state wants, deciding how severe the charges are, and whether or not to plea bargain ("Prosecutorial Discretion", 2001-2013).
However, with the “due process an individual is allowed their day in court if suspected of a crime because of United States constitution. Therefore giving that individual a right to a fair trial with an option for a jury of his or hers peers. It is the responsibility of the courts system to provide strong evidence on an individual accused of committing a crime beyond reasonable doubt. Strong evidence is important to avoid sending an individual to prison if they are innocent (Siegel, J. L.,
Prosecutorial Discretion Prosecutors play very important roles in the courtroom. Prosecutors are granted the right by the courts to have discretion upon a case. Although, prosecutors are obligated to execute the law at both federal and state levels, they still hold the discretion of what charges to try and convict the defendant on. Prosecutors have a wide range of authority in the courts; therefore, the active prosecutor(s) must efficiently analyze any evidence being presented in a case in order to determine if the case will be strong enough to withhold a trial or even if the accused defendant is chargeable. In the case of Bordenkircher v. Hayes (1978), the court stated, “so long as the prosecutor has probable cause to believe that the accused committed an offense defined by statute, the decision whether or not to prosecute, and what charge to file or bring before a grand jury, generally rests entirely in his discretion.” Although there are many factors that come into play when a prosecutor is considering dismissing a case, the most prominent issues are state and federal resources, time, and investigative teams.
This could be avoided if more caution was observed during the investigation process. Proper and accurate evidence should be the key to solving all investigations. An important piece of evidence is an eyewitness. Anyone can say he did it or she did it, but an eyewitness has to actually be at the scene of the crime and witness it taking place in order to stand and testify in a court of law as defined in The Oxford Dictionary.(“eyewitness”). Everyone has different features even if we are of the same race.
In the 18th century most individuals were allowed to have his or her defense attorney present during criminal cases. There are certain fundamental rights that are safe guarded by the first set of eight amendments against the federal actions, and against those actions of the state by due process of law and the fourteenth amendment. Among these rights are fundamental rights of the accused individual to have aid from a counsel during criminal prosecutions. The rights of a defendant during a criminal trial to have aid from a counsel is a fundamental right that can lead to a petitioners trial and a fair trial, but a conviction without the aid of a counsel will violate the rights of that individual under the fourteenth amendment. Most of the time it is common for an individual to have assistance from a counsel offered to him or her in most cases, but it is not always necessary to have one.
According to the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution it reads: “In all Criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy trial with an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crimes shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in is favor, and to have counsel for his defense.” (The Sixth Amendment, 2008-2013, p. para 3) A criminal trial is a chance for both sides to present their case to the jurors---the prosecuting attorney maintains its case by proving the defendants “guilt,” while the defense