The Rights Of The Defendant In The American Criminal Justice System

The pitiful aloneice place ment enforces im clean-living statutes through the social and legal institutions in accordance with the overconfident iniquitous procedure and regulations. It consists of sub organisations such as the rightfulness enforcement, the judiciary, the public prosecutors and defenders, probation and tidings agencies and the corrections department, and the prison institutions (Frase and Weidner, n. d. ). The savage statutes define abominations and their respective vindications. On the separate hand, criminal procedure delineates the the stages of the criminal wreak from arrest through pursuit, sentencing, conjure and release from prison (Jacobs, 2007).The criminal legal expert system work some(prenominal) in the federal and state levels. Each has its own set of criminal laws, tourist courts, enforcement agencies and probation systems (Jacobs, 2007). The foundation of criminal procedure is the U. S. piece (Jacobs, 2001). Specifically the Bill of Rights is determined in the Constitution to protect the citizens from the vast powers of government. It grants fundamental a justlys and liberties to all those animate in the United States (Jacobs, 2001). The defendant in a criminal prosecution is authorize the presumption of innocence.This necessarily symbolizes that the burden of proving his guilty conscience beyond earthable doubt rests upon the prosecution (Jacobs, 2001). The repayable dish clause of the Constitution accorded the defendant a wide array of protections and guarantees such as large him an opportunity to be heard. The Fifth Amendment ensures that the defendant is non tried twice or more for the similar offense and by the same authority. This is the righteousness against double jeopardy (Jacobs, 2001) Moreover, the Constitution protects the defendant by guaranteeing that he does not designate against himself or the right against self incrimination (Jacobs, 2001).The rights enumerated under the 6th Amendment refer to the codified rights of the accused in criminal prosecutions. The rights of the defendant in criminal prosecution are 1) right to a speedy test 2) right to a public political campaign 3) right to a psychometric test by jury 4) notice of the accusation (5) right to confront the debate witnesses 6) right to compulsory process for obtaining favorable witnesses and (7) the assistance of talk over or right to counsel (Oxford Companion, 2005). The right to a speedy discharge prevents tyrannical incarceration in the start place trial and ensures defense by the accused of his cause.The right to a public trial acts as a safeguard against execration of discriminative power. Moreover, it in any case assures the accused that he is informed of the charges against him. This is part of cod process (Oxford Companion, 2005). The right to confront opposing witnesses refers to the right of the accused to penetrate examine said witnesses. He is similarly entitled to su bpoena witnesses in his behalf (Oxford Companion, 2005). Finally, the accused is also entitled to be re chip ined by counsel or a lawyer. The Eight Amendment on the former(a) hand proscribes high-spirited bail, cruel and unusual punishments (Jacobs, 2001). The rate of crime in the U.S. is quite terrific and this is blamed on the ineffective criminal legal expert system. The ineffective system is cod to the adversarial character and its irrational maze of procedural technicalities. match to Maechling, the trial is characterized by artificiality whereby it is reduced into nothing tho a sport game where defense lawyers try to come inwit and use technicalities against the prosecution in their tactical defense theories. Frivolous objections and dilatory tactics mar the trial. By reason of this growing recognition, authorities have started to look into the possibility of reform in the criminal justice system.Synopsis of Gideons Trumpet The h sure-enough(a) up written by Anthony Lewis was inspired by the actual court case, Gideon v. Wainwright (1963). Clarence Earl Gideon was arrested for a felony in 1961 in Panama City. The felony under Florida law involved the breaking and entrance the Bay Harbor pool hall. During trial earlier the trial court, Gideon communicate for the court to appoint a lawyer to handle his defense. The judge denied his solicit on the ground that state law allows appointment of counsels for indigents for capital offenses and con expressionring that the felony he was being affianced for is not one with a capital penalty besides a misdemeanor, i.e. petty larceny he is thus not entitled to have a counsel found for him. Gideon had no choice but to represent himself. Gideon has been previously convicted of four felonies, homeless and destitute. He had exactly the tuition of an eighth grader. He conducted his trial and lost. He was sentenced to imprisonment of five years. Subsequently, he applied for a writ of habeas corpus before the state sovereign courtroom based on the alleged violation of his rights under the federal Constitution. This was denied.He filed his five-page Petition for Certiorari directed at the autocratic Court of Florida requesting for the Court to take cognizance of his case. He also filed an application to litigate in forma pauperis. His main argument was that his trust violated the delinquent process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. He claimed that when he was bared the right to counsel during a trial for a felony, it was tantamount to depriving him his right to repayable process of the law. The Supreme Court of U. S. granted Gideons petition and the judgment of conviction was reverse and remanded to the Supreme Court of Florida.In so doing, the ruling in the case of Betts v. Brady and effect was overturned. In the Betts case, Court ruled that the appointment of counsel is not a fundamental right essential to a fair trial 316 U. S. 455 (1942). It located gloomy the principle that the right to be represented by counsel is not necessary in state cases involving non capital offenses except in special circumstances. In Gideon, the Court in abandoning the Betts reasoning ruled that the right to assistance of counsel is imperative, basic and fundamental and the Fourteenth Amendment requires that the same be available and applicable in state courts.Synopsis of The Onion Field This book was written by Joseph Wambaugh. The novel is about the two felony car officers who patrolled the side streets of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard. Ian Campbell was breaking in Karl Hettinger, who was newly assigned to felony cars. In the evening of March 9, 1963, two were patrolling and noticed a suspicious 1946 Ford. both decided to check it out. The two men in the Ford were amenable for the robberies in the area. Powell exited the car and poked a gun at Campbell while smith exited the passenger side.Hettinger was asked to hand his gun to Smith and both cops were forced to generate in the Ford. Campbell at gunpoint drove the Ford while Hettinger placed flat on the trading floor of the backseat. They were assured that they would be released when they get to the contradictory area so that it would take cartridge holder for them to get help. After drive for sometime, they stopped and both were asked to get out of the car. Powell fired at Campbell and get him in his mouth. Hettinger ran to the field while he heard four more shots. Both culprits were perceiveed and went through custodial investigation. Both pointed to severally other as to who shot Campbell.After many years of dilatory motions, appeals and lengthy trials, both were found guilty and sentenced to death in 1967. Since death penalty was abolished in the early 1970s, their sentences were commuted to life. Discussion and Analysis The main theme of Gideons is that confederation essentialiness protect a soul aerated with an offense. The rights and liberties afforde d to him by the law and the Constitution must be strictly observed and enforced. The accused must be presumed poverty-stricken until proven guilty and he must be afforded the right to have counsel because this is part of the right to collect process.The strike of law requires knowledge, skill and experience in trial proceedings. Even an improve and intelligent man who is not properly educated and trained in law is considered incompetent and unable to defend himself. Courts are created to punish and deprive the guilty of their liberties through imprisonment and other imposable penalties. Thus, it is imperative that if a person is charged with an offense in court he must be able to put a defense and be heard by a properly trained counsel. To deprive him of this would be tantamount to depriving him of due process and would render nugatory the basic tenets of the Bill of Rights.A person charged of an offense would need the expertise of a counsel so that he does not risk himself of b eing convicted even if he be ingenuous simply because he does not know how to establish his innocence. More so an uneducated man, a feeble minded person or an indigent. Consequently, it becomes the responsibleness of the court to appoint counsel so that such person whitethorn not be denied due process of law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. The central theme in The Onion Field is that the defendants brought to trial are guilty already.It also justifies the use of deadly force by the police to achieve their ends so that it sack serve to prevent crime. It also portrays the weakness of the legal system when it can be manipulated to prolong and defer the trial by legal tactics and dilatory measures by the defense which further victimized the cop who survived the crimeHettinger. He was asked to relive and testify over and over again the details of the incident. The courts have been overly antifertility of the rights of the defendants that it defeats the very ends of a ca lmful and safer society. Similarly, there are two prototypes of criminal law that are subject of heated debates.Central to this controversy is rooted from the goals of the criminal justice system commencement exercisely, the need to enforce and implement the laws to maintain peace and social effectuate and secondly, the need to protect people from being victims of injustice. The first goal is the crime reassure form, as developed by Herbert pugilist in 1960s while the second is the due process model (Schmalleger, 1999). The crime reign over model has placed its priority upon arrest, prosecution and conviction of criminals. This model supports and justifies all acts of the police and prosecution on an all out war against crime.This includes profiling, sting operations, patrolling areas that are high risk and the like. It entails aggressive identification, pursuit, closing off and prosecution of the criminals. This model allows collateral damage or acceptable losses even if thi s be a human life (Perron, n. d. ). For instance, a 75-year old minister was handcuffed during a raid on drugs. He suffered and died of a affectionateness attack. Later it turned out that the informant gave a wrong apartment number. The minister is considered a collateral damage in the war against drugs (Perron, n. d. ).Moreover, the crime control model assumes the defendant is already guilty even before trial. In the book, The Onion Field the investigating police officers already fancied that Powell and Smith are guilty of the crimes for which they were being investigated even before their trial. This can be seen from Smiths apprehension when he was thrown to the floor of his bedroom and shouted at by the apprehending officers as a cop-killer. referable to countless motions and re-trials, Hettinger was made to relive and recount his ordeal. He was on moral trial by his colleagues.He resigned and got involved in petty thefts and was never the same again. Hettinger was the collat eral damage. The Due Process Model focuses on protecting the rights and liberties of the defendant in criminal prosecutions. Perron, a certified criminal investigator claims that the due process model demands a careful and informed consideration of the facts of from each one individual case. According to this model, law enforcement agents must recognize the rights of suspects during arrest, questioning, and handling. In addition, inherent guarantees must be considered by judges and prosecutors during trials.The primary mission of the due process model is to protect innocent people from wrongful conviction. This model is guided by the principle that it is better to release guilty persons than to prosecute and incarcerate an innocent person. It recognizes the innocence of the accused before conviction and therefore prescribes as an imperative the observance and respect to the rights of persons during criminal prosecutions. It protects the rights of an individual first and foremost since the rights of one represent the rights of the many (Perron, n. d. ).The book, Gideons Trumpet whitethorn illustrate the due process model. The case was heard at the time when the Betts principle was controlling. This means that the accused can only be appointed a counsel in case where he is charged with a capital offense. The Supreme Court overturned this dictum and laid down a principle that indigent defendants in all criminal prosecutions must be given the right to assisted by counsel other than this will be a denial of his right to due process. Gideons upholds the rights of the accused in criminal prosecutions and considers him innocent until proven guilty.To a trusted extent, the book The Onion Field illustrates also a due process model principle in that the numerous trials and hearings manifested a system that allowed due process or the right of the accused to be heard and present his own evidence during trial. For the law enforcement, the due process model only frustra tes and delays the elimination of crime in the society. It is claimed that observance of the rights of the accused only lengthens the process of putting the criminal behind bars. It protects the guilty at the expense of innocent individuals.On the other hand, advocates of due process model believe that crime control model is prone to commit errors that result consequently in the conviction of the innocent. They believe that it is too harsh and believes in the philosophy of a police state (Perron, n. d. ). Conclusion These two models are susceptible to being conciliate and rationalized. As proposed by a noted criminologist Frank Scmalleger in his book, miserable Justice Today claimed that the American criminal justice system works as a crime control through due process. According to him, this new model counterpoises the different strengths and weaknesses of the previous two models.It harnesses the strong points of each model and avoids their respective pitfalls. This means that l aw enforcement strategies to control crime and apprehend criminals can continue under the philosophy of still brining the defendant to court for prosecution. Although evidence may be gathered as to prove actual guilt still the judiciary is left with the role of establishing legal guilt. The sterling(prenominal) challenge that is facing the criminal justice system is finding balance between the rights of the defendant in criminal prosecutions and the interest of the people in the society to impose punishment on the guilty.As between the crime control model and the due process model, I would prefer to live in the due process model of criminal justice. The United States symbolizes stability and state and its Constitution as the bedrock of society. Advocating crime control model would mean the higher risk of violations of civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and the principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence of our forefathers. All men are created equal with inf rangible rights in seeking life, liberty and happiness. By leaving to the power and goody of the police and law enforcement, the prerogative to adjudge guilt i.e. factual guilt would mean leaving the decision to curtailing freedom and liberties in the hands of men who are not properly trained to seek legal guilt. It would also mean that rules in determining factual guilt may be relative and subjective unlike if this was determined in accordance with laws and judicial pronouncements based on jurisprudence and sound judicial principles. In order to keep order and peace in a society, laws are to be observed with uniformity and with a clear and informed consideration of the facts before one is convicted.The due process model makes use of an objective and just standards of determination of guilt or innocence rather than one that may be subjective and error prone. 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Retrieved on November 20, 2007, from http//www. cosmos-club. org/web/journals/1996/maechling.html Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States, sixth Amendment (Oxford Oxford University Press, 2005). Peak, K. , Justice Administration, third editi on 2001, Prentice Hall. Perron, B. The crime control and due process models The Criminal Defense Training Council. Retrieved on November 21, 2007, from http//www. defenseinvestigator. com/article10. html_ftnref4 Schmalleger, F. , Criminal Justice Today, fifth edition, Prentice Hall 1999. Wambaugh, F. , The Onion Field, London genus Quercus 21 Bloomsbury Square, 2007 edition.