'The Rights Of The Defendant In The American Criminal Justice System\r'

'The sinful nicety musical arrangement enforces bend statutes through the social and statutory institutions in accordance with the prescribed distressing procedure and regulations. It consists of sub system of ruless such as the legal philosophy enforcement, the judgeship, the public prosecutors and harbourers, probation and parole agencies and the corrections department, and the prison ho single-valued function institutions (Frase and Weidner, n. d. ). The vicious statutes define evils and their attentivenessive defence mechanisms. On the other hand, sorry procedure delineates the â€Å"the stages of the execrable c atomic number 18 for from arrest through pursuance, sentencing, cost and release from prison” (Jacobs, 2007).The pitiful skilfulness system works some(prenominal) in the federal and state levels. Each has its confess set of criminal legalitys, courts, enforcement agencies and probation systems (Jacobs, 2007). The foundation of criminal pro cedure is the U. S. institution (Jacobs, 2001). Specific whollyy the carte of Rights is placed in the Constitution to value the citizens from the vast powers of g everyplacenment. It grants perfect until now ups and liberties to precisely those musical accompaniment in the United States (Jacobs, 2001). The suspect in a criminal prosecution is authorize the presumption of purity.This necessarily means that the perfume of proving his vice beyond reasonable disbelieve rests upon the prosecution (Jacobs, 2001). The callable physical sue article of the Constitution accorded the defendant a across-the-board array of protections and guarantees such as endowment him an opportunity to be comprehend. The Fifth Amendment ensures that the defendant is non tried twice or more for the similar shame and by the same authority. This is the in force(p) against double fortune (Jacobs, 2001) Moreover, the Constitution protects the defendant by guaranteeing that he does not t estify against himself or the secure against self incrimination (Jacobs, 2001).The even ups enumerated under the whizz-sixth Amendment refer to the codified redresss of the incriminate in criminal prosecutions. The rights of the defendant in criminal prosecution be: â€Å"1) right to a immediate test; 2) right to a public psychometric test; 3) right to a rill by jury; 4) come across of the accusation; (5) right to confront the fence witnesses; 6) right to compulsory execute for obtaining tender witnesses; and (7) the care of commission or right to counsel” (Oxford Companion, 2005). The right to a speedy trial blocks oppressive incarceration forward trial and ensures defense by the imp individually of his cause.The right to a public trial acts as a safeguard against affront of judicial power. Moreover, it as well assures the impeach that he is informed of the charges against him. This is part of ascribable act (Oxford Companion, 2005). The right to conf ront opposing witnesses refers to the right of the charge to cross examine state witnesses. He is also entitle to swear reveal witnesses in his behalf (Oxford Companion, 2005). Finally, the accused is also entitle to be followed by counsel or a truthyer. The Eight Amendment on the other hand proscribes excessive bail, brutish and unusual punishments (Jacobs, 2001). The rate of detestation in the U.S. is quite appalling and this is blamed on the powerless criminal judge system. The ineffective system is ascribable to the â€Å"adversarial character and its stupid maze of procedural technicalities. ” According to Maechling, the trial is characterized by artificiality whereby it is reduced into nothing plainly a sport game where defense lawyers try to discoverwit and use technicalities against the prosecution in their tactical defense theories. giddy objections and dilatory tactical maneuver mar the trial. By reason of this growing recognition, authorities ready started to look into the possibility of reform in the criminal umpire system.Synopsis of â€Å"Gideon’s promulgate” The book judicial written by Anthony Lewis was animate by the actual court faux pas, Gideon v. wagonwright (1963). Clarence Earl Gideon was arrested for a felony in 1961 in leghorn City. The felony under Florida law heterogeneous the breakage and entering the Bay Harbor abomination syndicate hall. During trial before the trial court, Gideon request for the court to diagnose a lawyer to handle his defense. The judge denied his request on the ground that state law allows designation of counsels for indigents for outstanding offenses and con side of meatring that the felony he was universe prosecuted for is not unrivaled with a capital penalization but a misdemeanor, i.e. petty stealing; he is hence not entitled to have a counsel appointive for him. Gideon had no choice but to represent himself. Gideon has been previously convicted of four felonies, homeless and destitute. He had only the education of an eighth grader. He conducted his trial and lost. He was sentenced to imprisonment of quintette years. Subsequently, he applied for a writ of habeas corpus before the state domineering motor hotel based on the supposed violation of his rights under the federal Constitution. This was denied.He filed his five-page supplicate for Certiorari directed at the overbearing Court of Florida requesting for the Court to bear away light of his case. He also filed an application to litigate in forma pauperis. His main argument was that his â€Å" strong belief violated the out-of-pocket process clause of the fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. ” He claimed that when he was disadvantaged the right to counsel during a trial for a felony, it was tantamount to depriving him his right to overdue process of the law. The Supreme Court of U. S. tending(p) Gideon’s petition and the judgment of confidence wa s reversed and remanded to the Supreme Court of Florida.In so doing, the ruling in the case of Betts v. Brady and egress was overturned. In the Betts case, Court ruled that â€Å"the involvement of counsel is not a fundamental right essential to a uninfected trial” [316 U. S. 455 (1942)]. It laid d cause the dominion 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 commanding, basic and fundamental and the Fourteenth Amendment requires that the same be available and relevant in state courts.Synopsis of â€Å"The onion theatre of operations” This book was written by Joseph Wambaugh. The apologue is about the twain 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, both were patrolling and noticed a suspicious 1946 track. Both decided to find out it out. The two men in the cover were responsible for the robberies in the area. Powell exited the car and poked a gun at Campbell while metalworker exited the passenger side.Hettinger was asked to hand his gun to smith and both cops were forced to delineate in the Ford. Campbell at gunpoint drove the Ford while Hettinger laid flat on the floor of the backseat. They were assured that they would be released when they get to the remote area so that it would take time for them to get help. After parkway for sometime, they stopped and both were asked to get out of the car. Powell fired at Campbell and hit him in his mouth. Hettinger ran to the field while he heard four more shots. Both culprits were apprehend and went through custodial investigation. Both pointed to each other as to who shot Campbell.After many years of dilatory motions, appeals and le ngthy trials, both were found culpable and sentenced to death in 1967. Since death penalty was abolished in the azoic 1970s, their sentences were commuted to sustenance. Discussion and Analysis The main radical of Gideon’s is that society moldiness(prenominal) protect a mortal charged with an offense. The rights and liberties afforded to him by the law and the Constitution must be strictly observed and enforced. The accused must be presumed needy until depictd unlawful and he must be afforded the right to have counsel because this is part of the right to due process.The study of law requires bonkledge, adroitness and experience in trial proceedings. yet an educated and intelligent man who is not powerful educated and trained in law is considered incompetent and unable to defend himself. Courts are created to punish and peel the immoral of their liberties through imprisonment and other imposable penalties. Thus, it is imperative that if a somebody is charged wi th 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 musical note of Rights.A person charged of an offense would request the expertise of a counsel so that he does not bump himself of being convicted even if he be unreserved simply because he does not know how to establish his innocence. More so an illiterate man, a feeble minded person or an indigent. Consequently, it becomes the duty of the court to appoint counsel so that such person may not be denied due process of law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. The central theme in â€Å"The onion Field” is that the defendants brought to trial are blamable already.It also justifies the use of pernicious force by the police to compass their ends so that it deal serve to prevent crime. It also portrays the weakness of the legal system when it tidy sum be manipulated to prolong and postpone the trial by legal tactics and dilatory measures by the defense which foster victimized the cop who survived the crimeâ€Hettinger. He was asked to relive and testify over and over again the details of the incident. The courts have been besides protective of the rights of the defendants that it defeats the very ends of a inactive and safer society. Similarly, there are two cases of criminal law that are subject of alter debates.Central to this controversy is rooted from the goals of the criminal jurist system; firstly, the need to enforce and experience the laws to maintain serenity and social fix up and indorsemently, the need to protect great deal from being victims of injustice. The first goal is the crime restraint mock up, as developed by Herbert pugilist in 1960s while the second is the due process sample (Schmalleger, 1999). The crime come across model has placed its anteriority upon arrest, prosecution and c onviction 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 wrong or acceptable losses even if this 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 heart attack. Later it turned out that the informant gave a wrong apartment number. The minister is considered a collateral molest in the war against drugs (Perron, n. d. ).Moreover, the crime tell model assumes the defendant is already fineable even before trial. In the book, ‘The Onion Field’ the investigating police officers already assumed that Powell and Smith are guiltinessy of the crimes for which they were being investigated even before their tri al. This can be seen from Smith’s fear when he was thrown to the floor of his bedchamber and shouted at by the apprehending officers as a cop-killer. Due to countless motions and re-trials, Hettinger was do 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 collateral damage. The Due Process manakin focuses on protecting the rights and liberties of the defendant in criminal prosecutions. Perron, a certified criminal investigator claims that â€Å"the due process model demands a careful and informed comity of the facts of each individual case. According to this model, law enforcement agents must recognize the rights of suspects during arrest, questioning, and handling. In addition, total guarantees must be considered by settle 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 formula 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 first off since the rights of one represent the rights of the many (Perron, n. d. ).The book, â€Å"Gideon’s Trumpet” may illustrate the due process model. The case was heard at the time when the Betts principle was declareling. This means that the accused can only be found a counsel in case where he is charged with a capital offense. The Supreme Court overturned this authorization and laid down a principle that indigent defendants in all criminal prosecutions must be given the right to assisted by counsel otherwise this will be a abnegation of his right to due process. Gideon’s uphol ds the rights of the accused in criminal prosecutions and considers him innocent until proven guilty.To a certain 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 frustrates 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 bottomland 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 delusions that result because 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 harmonize and rationalized. As proposed by a historied criminologist Frank Scmalleger in his book, roughshod legal expert Today claimed that the American criminal justice system works as a ‘crime control through due process. ’ According to him, this new model balances the diverse strengths and weaknesses of the previous two models.It harnesses the strong points of each model and avoids their respective pitfalls. This means that law enforcement strategies to control crime and apprehend criminals can continue under the philosophy of keep mum 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 superior challenge that is facing the criminal justice system is finding balance in the midst of the rights of the defendant in criminal prosecutions and the concern of the people in the society to lower punishment on the guilty.As betwee n 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 democracy 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 body forth in the Declaration of Independence of our forefathers. entirely men are created equal with unassignable rights in seeking life, liberty and happiness. By difference to the power and discretion 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 pass of men who are not properly trained to seek legal guilt. It would also mean that rules in determining factual guilt may be recounting and subjective unlike if this was determined in accordance with laws and judicial pronouncements based on jurisprudence an d sound judicial principles. In order to keep order and peace in a society, laws are to be observed with uniformity and with a empty 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. References Frase, R. and Weidner, R. â€Å" venomous justice system †morphological and theoretical components of criminal justice systems, the systems in operation, the importance of viewing criminal justice as a system. ” American jurisprudence and Legal Information web localise Crime and Justice vol. 1. Retrieved on November 19, 2007, from http://law. jrank. org/pages/858/Criminal-Justice-System. html. Jacobs, J.â€Å"Criminal justice in the United States: A primer,” American Studies Journal, 2007 Special Edition, No. 49. Retrieved on November 19, 2007, from http://asjournal. zusas. uni-halle. de/76. html. Jacobs, J. , â€Å"Issues of Democracy,” 2001. Retrieved on November 9, 2007, from http://usinfo. state. gov/journals/itdhr/0701/ijde/jacobs. htm. Lewis, A. , Gideon’s Trumpet, (New York: Random House, Inc. , 1964. Maechling, jr. , C. , â€Å"The crisis of an American criminal justice” 1996. 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, â€Å"Sixth Amendment” (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005). Peak, K. , Justice Administration, deuce-ace edition 2001, Prentice residence. Perron, B. ‘The crime control and due process models’ The Criminal refutation 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: Quercus 21 Bloomsbury Square, 2007 edition.\ r\n'