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What are the rights of the accused?

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Ava Sanghvia
What are the rights of the accused?

The United States constitution has been drafted in such a way that every individual has equal rights and all of the rights are protected. The rights of accused persons in criminal cases protect every accused from being the victim of any kind of injustice. The rights of persons accused of crimes are explained in the Fifth, Sixth, and the Eight constitutional amendments that make up the Bill of Rights. The rights of the accused included in the amendments apply to both the State and the Federal Governments. Let's take a look at what are the rights of the accused and what role it plays in the amendments.

 

The 5th Amendment of the Bill of Rights

 

What is the 5th Amendment?

 

The 5th Amendment of the US Constitution states that no individual should be held captive to be answerable for a capital, infamous crime unless presented to an authority. The motive of the Fifth Amendment clause is to put a line over the constitutional limits on police procedures. The 5th Amendment of the US constitution has many clauses protecting the rights of the accused. 

 

The Fifth amendment Clause is further divided into 3 distinct constitutional rights: 

  

  1. Right to Due Process- Due process rights of the accused protect the accused property from being seized wrongfully. The accused is provided with complete knowledge about the law and proceeding in writing. The accused is made aware by understanding each phase of the trial. Due process states that the constitution must not deprive a person of life, liberty, and property and every accused must be informed about the charges against them. 
  2. Right to double jeopardy- The double jeopardy rights of the accused protect the individual from harassment of prosecutors of the same alleged act. It prevents the accused from being in any state of emotional, psychological, physical, and financial troubles that would lead to multiple trials for the same offense.
  3. Right against forced self-incrimination- The self-incrimination rights of the accused protect a person from a forceful interrogation process. The individual has the right to plead the 5th which means that he denies any further questions asked in the interrogation. The authorities then have to explain the Miranda warnings to the accused. The Miranda warning allows any individual to remain silent.

 

The 6th Amendment of the Bill of Rights

 

What is the 6th Amendment?

The 6th amendment of the US Constitution especially focuses on the rights of the criminal and laws for the criminals. The 6th Amendment of the US constitution has seven liberties protecting the rights of the accused so that they can have justified legal proceedings by the authority. 

 

The seven liberties to the rights of accused persons in criminal cases of the Sixth Amendment Clause are mentioned below- 

 

  1. Speedy Trial Clause- The Clause protects the accused from the delay between the presentation of the allegation and the beginning of the trial. 
  2. Public Trial Clause- The Public trial Clause protects the state from having a secret trial. The rights of accused persons in such circumstances are to ask for a public trial.
  3. The Impartial Jury Clause- The Impartial Jury clause works to take unbiased decisions. The impartial jury decides on the rights of persons accused of crimes without being biased and the entire process is witnessed by the jurors. 
  4. Right to be informed- The right to be informed lets the accused know about the charges by the authority with prior notice of the details being charged. 
  5.  The Confrontation Clause- The Confrontation Clause allows the accused to cross-question the witness so that the accused is ensured that there is no injustice in the legal proceedings.
  6. The right to call a witness- It gives the right to the accused to call upon his witnesses who can favor him. 
  7. Right to assistance for legal counsel- It gives the right to the accused to hire a lawyer and if the accused is not capable of hiring the lawyer, the state will provide one.



The 8th Amendment of the Bill of Rights

 

What is the 8th Amendment?

The 8th Amendment in the Us Constitution was passed to end the cruel punishments. A few centuries back the punishments for a misdemeanor so small as theft, included banishment by stone-pelting, crucifixion and skinning alive. The 8th amendment brought decency to the punishments given to the rights of persons accused of crimes.

 

The rights of accused persons in criminal cases under the 8th Amendment are as follows-

  1. Right to cruelty-free punishment- One of the rights of persons accused of crimes is the right to cruelty-free punishment in which no person is punished cruelly for a crime committed. 
  2. Right against excessive fines- The fines pressed on the accused Should be measured according to the felony committed. The Rights of persons accused of crimes can fight the court if the fine is charged excessively with the 8th Amendment rights. 
  3. The Right against excessive Bail- The bail amount is decided based on the crime committed. Having higher bail charges to less serious crimes and lesser bail charges to higher crimes committed is an unjust punishment. The fair practice is set in place under the 8th Amendment for the excessive bail amount.

 

Summary 

Justice is for equal every individual. The rights of persons accused of crimes have equal protection under the Bill of Rights. The important rights being the rights against self-incrimination and the right to have an attorney. The constitution helps the accused persons in criminal cases to present their case.  

 

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