Due Process

Due Process of law can be defined as a right guaranteed in the 5th and 14th amendments of the U.S.

Due process is the aspect of rule of law that deals with ensuring that every person accused of a crime is treated impartially by the government. In the section of the textbook regarding due process, race is specifically listed as something upon which

Presentence report provides key information into the case before the court of law. This report provides timely, accurate and objective information to court before a decision is reached about the period of sentence. (Parsons, 1964). The report

The American political system is an extremely diverse beast, ranging from radical liberals to radical conservatives and everything in between. Of the two sides being discussed, due process is considered be a more liberal view of the two, advocating for the rights of the defendant more so than the rights of the victim. The creator of the due process and crime control models, Herbert Packer, stated that there should be fundamental fairness under the law, and that if the due process model were to prevail, it would be achieved in a number of ways. (Packer) One way would be to limit the powers of law enforcement agencies. Another would be to assume innocence of defendants until entirely proven guilty, including law enforcement legally finding facts and safeguards being instituted in the criminal justice system to ensure that there are no wrongful convictions. These views directly contradict those of the crime control model, which focuses on the efficient arrests and convictions of criminals.

The criminal justice system has many different models. Among them are the crime control model and the due process model. The crime control model focuses on the “standardized, expeditious processing of defendants through the court system and the uniform punishment of offenders” (Rich, 1977, pg. 92). The due process model, however, focuses more on an individual’s procedural rights. History shows that the U.S. will follow a sort of pattern, swinging from due process model from 1781-1900, to crime control model in 1900-1960, back to due process model in 1960-1969 and back to crime control from 1969-2013 (Samaha, 2015, pgs. 44-46). Nowadays, U.S. criminal procedure seems to be favoring the crime control model; however, an ideal criminal justice system would

The criminal justice system in the United States has traditionally operated under two fundamentally different theories. One theory is the Crime Control Model. This theory is characterized by the idea that criminals should be aggressively pursued and crimes aggressively punished. The other theory is the Due Process Model. This theory is characterized by the idea that the rights of the accused need to be carefully protected in any criminal justice investigation. (Levy, 1999)

The Supreme Court first took issue upon the Due Process Clause. The Due Process Clause states that no state shall prohibit a state from taxing an out-of-state corporation unless there is a minimal connection between the company’s interstate activities and the taxing state. Due process centrally concerns the fundamental fairness of governmental activity. The Court found that Quill did have enough presence to establish nexus under the “minimum connections” due to the evolving market conditions as well as the fact they had availed themselves of the services of the state and directed its activities to their residents. Thus, the Supreme Court agreed with the North Dakota Supreme Court’s conclusion that the Due Process Clause does not bar enforcement

This occurs prior to the official trial and will often determine whether the suspect will be detained with or without bail. “The Judge must make sure the accused understands the charges, explain the rights the accused has in the particular situation the accused is in, explain the type of sentence and penalty the accused faces, and will discuss bail, release, or custody with the accused.” (The Law Dictionary, n.d.) During this step of the criminal justice process, the defendant has the right to receive adequate representation. After some time, the suspect will face the judge again during the actual trial. When the trial begins, the prosecution and defense will present their opening statement to the jury. This process is meant to be an opportunity for each party to give an overview of the case and the means in which they intend to present the case. A key point regarding the opening statement is it cannot be considered as evidence by the jury. Evidence will be presented by both parties and thoroughly examined by the jury. Towards the end of the trial, the prosecution and defense will give their closing arguments. This is a summary of the case and presented in a manner to show support for their side of the case. During this step of the criminal justice process, the defendant has the right to a public trial, a jury trial, a speedy trial, and to be represented by an attorney. A

While we must have due processes in place, we must make these processes smoother and not be so rigorous. Also for immigrants already taking part in our system not only should they be afforded equal rights to natural citizens but should be afforded citizenship as well. Most immigrants who do try an enter the country the correct way know it may take years before citizenship is granted to you and in some cases I’ve heard it taking up to 10 years. Although the due process is a necessary evil, most immigrants are coming from third world countries or conditions so extreme they are forced to flee to America. So why have we yet to allocate the resources to government branches to give them the staffing needed and resources to process these applications in a timely matter? For one

According to our reading due process has been around for over 100 years, when the 14th amendment was endorsed. This means giving the citizens a speedy and fair trial. When someone is arrested they are supposed to be read the Miranda rights and not beaten or made to confess to a crime they did not commit. If a criminal is arrested and not able to pay their own lawyer, they are entitled to one through the courts. The individual rights set forth in the Bill of Rights are critical components in due process (Wright, R. 2013). My own definition is everyone is entitled to be treated fairly. Not allowing the rich people to be treated better the poor people. The constitutional reason is so that everyone is guaranteed their rights to a fair and just

Under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, citizens are protected from national and state governments denying them their life, liberty or property without due process of the law and have a right to some form of trial or hearing. (Magleby, O’Brien, Light, Peltason, & Cronin, 2008., p. 470) Though the Supreme Court has refused multiple times to define due process conclusively saying instead that due process, “is not a technical conception with a fixed content unrelated to time, place, and circumstances,” but due process relates to the rules and regulations that restrain how the government exercises power. (Magleby, et al., 2008., p. 470) However, not everyone agrees what those rules and regulations should be or how the government exercises its

In this stage, a member of the district attorney’s office would take over the case from a prosecution standpoint. Additionally, the defendant’s lawyer will now be involved with the future events of the case. It is during the judicial stage that the case can be dealt with via plea deals, guilty plea, pretrial diversion, or retirement of charges. The results of this particular stage dictate the future direction of the incident such as a preliminary hearing, grand jury indictment, and circuit court trial (Bohm & Haley, 2014). Should there be a trail and the suspect is found not guilty, the suspect is now free to go. On the other hand, should the verdict of the trial result in a guilty verdict the accused is now sentenced to either probation, time served, community service, jail or correctional facility time. Furthermore, there is an appellate process that a convicted individual can request to file (The Criminal Justice Process,

The right of due process of law is one of the most profound principal in our lives today. It decreases the chance of giving an innocent person the death penalty and it protects people from condemnation. In Supreme Court cases like United Ex Parte Milligan, Due Process saved Milligan’s life from an unjust court trial. Due process also limits the power the government has such as search and seizures or to charge someone with an unreasonable crime.

However, where the charges are upheld, and the probationer convicted the revocation hearing is held after the trial (Palmer & Palmer, 2014). If the probationer was reported to have violated his release terms, the revocation hearing is held once the probationer is apprehended or as soon as feasible after the reporting. Procedurally, the defendant receives written notification appraising them of the venue, time and the charges facing

As we can see, due process has changed our justice system from hastily-prosecution to time consuming investigation of all the facts. We should stop pre-judging the accused person until all of the facts are made known unto us. Due process has given all accused citizens an equal opportunity to tell their story, and the right to question the evidence that was brought against them. Even though due process has guaranteed the accused person his or her right to be heard