- In the United States, a person accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty. It is the governments job to prove that the person is guilty in a fair and legal process. Through this process, the person suspected or accused of a crime has constitutional protections of his or her civil liberties Some of the protections a person has are in article 1 of the Constitution. Others are in the amendments. Nine of these protections are described below.
- 1-An accused person in jail has a right to ask for a court order called a writ of haveas corpus. This calls a prisoner to court so the officer keeping the accused person in jail can explain why that person should not be let go. Habeass corpus is Latin for "you should have the body" meaning the court wants to see the accused in person. This right protects against unjust arrests and imprisonments. It is guaranteed against the National Government in Article 1 of the Constitution and against the states in all their constitutions.
- 2-A bill of attainder is a law that punishes an accused person without a court trial. The congress cannot make such a law and neither can the states. Congress and the States can make something a crime and decide the punishment. But they cannot decide that a person is guilty without a trial.
- 3-Ex post facto laws are ones that make an action a crime and also punish people who did that action before the law was passed. Ex post facto is Latin for "after the fact". Congress cannot make such a law and neither can the states. For example, a state can pass a law that makes selling a certain drug a crime. It cannot then issue warrants for the arrest of people who sold that drug a year ago.
- 4-Accused persons also receive some protections in the 5th Amendment. It says that a person accused of a serious crime must receive an indictment from a grand jury. An indictment is a formal complaint that charges a person with a crime. The prosecutor, a lawyer for the government, draws it up, and gives it to a grand jury. A grand jury is a group of people who together look at the evidence of a case and decide whether a person should be charged with a serious crime and prosecuted. In most states, however, grand juries are no longer used. Instead, the prosecutor promises in a sworn document to the court that there is enough evidence to have a trial.
- 5-Another guarantee in the 5th amendment is protection from double jeopardy. This means a person cannot be tried for the same crime twice. A person can have two trials if the crime committed was against both a federal and state law. If the jury in a trial cannot reach a decision, the accused person is not free to go. The prosecutor can schedule a new trial with new jurors.
- 6-The 6th Amendment to the Constitution promises that "the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial". The speedy trial act of 1974 said that the time between a persons arrest and the beginning of his or her federal criminal trial cannot be more than 100 days. Defendants or those accused of crimes are also guaranteed a public trial within the 6th amendment. But too much publicity can put the defendants case at a disadvantage. Sometimes the medias coverage of a trial puts fairness at risk. The media may push to have high profile trials on television. In a 1981 case, the Supreme court said that a state could televise a trial as long as steps were taken to avoid too much publicity and protect the defendants rights.
- 7-The 6th Amendment also gives a defendant the right to a trial by an "impartial jury". He or she may decide not to have a jury, as long as the judge agrees. In this case, a bench trial is held In this type of trial, only a judge hears the case. In federal courts the jury has 12 persons, called jurors. They must all agree on the same verdict or decision about whether a person is guilty or not. Most states follow the same rules. The supreme court has ruled over many cases about jurors. A jury must have both men and women with different ethnic and racial backgrounds and ages. Those picked should represent the local community. There should be no discrimination in picking jury members.
- 8-The 6th amendment also says that every person has the right to the best possible defense. This is true even when a person cannot pay for a lawyer. The 6th amendment says the defendant has the right to: know the crime they are accused of, face the witnesses against them, question the witnesses in open court, be able to call witnesses in their favor, and have the help of a lawyer. These protections apply to federal courts. Defendants have the same protections against State courts through the 14th Amendments due Process Clause.
9-The 5th amendment protects a person from self incrimination. This protection comes from the idea that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. The accused does not need to prove his or her innocence. Instead, it is up to the prosecutor to prove guilt. After Miranda v. Arizona in 1966, the Supreme court laid down the miranda rule. According to this, police must read a list of rights to the person they are arresting and make sure that the person understands these rights. The person is first reminded that he or she has the right to remain silent.