Due Process Rights In Criminal Justice

Some of these rights are the right to be assumed innocent until proven guilty, the right against arrest without probable cause, the right against self-incrimination, the right to an attorney, and the right to fair questioning by the police. All of this is part of the Due Process Model but one thing the Due Process Model calls into question is, do the rights of the individual outweigh the rights of the many? (Perron)

The only similarity between Due Process and Crime Control Model is that they both relate to the framework of the United States Constitution. They both embrace Constitutional work and values relating to our adversarial system. Both models make it known that law enforcement including prosecutors and police are not allowed to act against a person unless there is some probable cause and evidence that illustrates that they violated the law.

Discretion in policing and the court system is a necessary and unavoidable facet of criminal justice work, yet it is still very controversial. Discretion exists when courtroom actors (police officers, attorneys, judges) have the flexibility to choose an appropriate response to a situation. Police discretion is defined as “The opportunity of law enforcement officers to exercise choice in their daily activities” (Nowacki, 2015). This means that actors with a great deal of discretion at their disposal may allow biases to affect their decision-making. These decisions lead to important implications throughout the criminal justice process, especially in the courtroom. The process begins with the decision to arrest by a law enforcement officer in the field. Once the case is forwarded to the prosecuting attorney, multifarious avenues of discretionary decisions are available to resolve a case. Potential issues that could arise and that are ever-present in everyday policing include racism, sexism and socialism (Miller, 2015). These issues ultimately have a negative affect on the criminal justice process, leading civilians to not trust the one process and actors that are there to help them. While discretion should play a role in the actions a courtroom actor takes and cannot be eliminated entirely, instead it should be limited and controlled throughout the criminal justice environment so that citizens can once again trust the process and so that there will be no disparities.

The Warren Court left an unprecedented legacy of judicial activism in the area of civil rights law as well as in the area of civil liberties—specifically, the rights of the accused as addressed in Amendments 4 through 8. In the period from 1961 to 1969, the Warren Court examined almost every aspect of the criminal justice system in the United States, using the 14th Amendment to extend constitutional protections to all courts in every State. This process became known as the “nationalization” of the Bill of Rights. During those years, cases concerning the right to legal counsel, confessions, searches, and the treatment of juvenile criminals all appeared on the Court's docket.

If during all of this process no agreement or deal has been made it goes to trial. “A trail is the proceeding during which the government and the defense present evidence to prove or disprove the charges” (Victim Assistance, 2013). If the defendant chooses to have a trial by jury than the jury selection process begins. “Twelve jurors are selected randomly from the jury pool, a list of potential jurors compiled from voter registration records of people living in the district” (Steps in the Federal Criminal Process, 2015). An ideal jury should consist of all types of people from different races and cultures (Steps in the Federal Criminal Process, 2015). Each attorney asks each potential jury member questions about their prejudices to help them decide whether or not they want them on the jury (Steps in the Federal Criminal Process, 2015). The judge is there to make sure that the attorneys are fair with their questions, and that the jury selection ends up fair and impartial.

The three components of the American criminal justice system are the police, courts, and corrections. These components operate independently of one another and maintain different goals, histories, and operating procedures (Neubauer & Fradella, 2017). There are two commonly accepted models of the criminal justice system, the crime control model and due process model. These two models vary at the basic level, the crime control model aims to protect society at all costs while the due process model protects the rights of individual citizens (Neubauer & Fradella, 2017). Americas criminal justice system is plagued with multiple issues that drive a wedge between the people and the criminal justice system, such as inconsistencies within the law,

The great promise of America that has made a British colony in the 50 States today is Freedom. Many Freedoms which still today cause people to flock to the United States. The history of these freedoms starts centuries ago and has developed, revolutionized, and persisted all the way through today. At the core of these Freedoms is the idea of Due Process, the idea that everyone has rights and freedom until they are deprived of them arbitrarily, or by the will of a just third party. Due process has been the most powerful force in American Criminal Justice since its creation and development. It has caused many people to win over the overwhelming odds in court cases and has presided over many righteous

Jurisdiction refers to a courts power over property within its geographical boundaries. The court cannot use jurisdiction unless the defendant has minimum contacts within the state where the court is located. Minimum contacts is legal term for a defendant from one state that can be taken to court in another state for a civil case due to the defendant's unlawful actions, which was committed in the state where the court exist. Minimum contact requirements are associated with the Fourteenth Amendment right of due process. Most case are resolved on a case by case basis after a consideration of all the facts. A decision on jurisdiction may depend on one or more different factors not present on other cases.

A mere violation of Defendant’s own policies, procedures, rules, regulations or State law, does not provide a basis for a due process violation.

The due process rights are a set of constitutional rights that are granted to the people of a democracy, and cannot be withdrawn by the government. Every United States citizen has the rights to life, liberty, and property, which are the three major due process rights. More specifically, there are other due process rights found in the fourth fifth, sixth, and eighth amendments. These rights protect citizens from things such as unreasonable search and seizures, being tried for the same crime twice, the right to a jury, a fair and speedy trial, and the protection of cruel and unusual punishment. Due process rights are created in a democracy to insure a fair form of government for all

Offenders going through the criminal justice system have many obstacles they will face. The United States Constitution contains rights for offenders which allows their process through the criminal justice system to be smoother and make sure they are being treated fairly. I will cover the impact of the United States Constitution for the offender in the criminal justice system. This will include the fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, and fourteenth amendments as well as due process for offenders.

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

What we try to accomplish is a balance or harmony of the two processes. Crime control is used at the lowest level to try and ease the stresses upon our court system. Then due process is set into motion once an offender reaches a certain point in our criminal justice system. We as citizens of the United States of America all have rights guaranteed unto us by God and our Constitution. If we were to strip individuals of these rights in order to facilitate an expedite trial and ruling where would the line be drawn? Who then would determine what rights a perpetrator should be stripped of and what would stop a person with that power from striping other rights from other individuals.

In our government today we have due process of law. Due process of law simply means that we have protection against a chance deprivation of life, liberty or property. Within the due process law, if you are to be accused of something it has to be under fair and reasonable circumstances. If we are ever to be arrested of something, under due process it commands that we are taken to court and showed a cause. It is very important that we have due process in the law for the people of the United States. Law enforcement always requires the balancing of two competing social concerns: on one hand, is the government's interest in protecting its citizens and prosecuting criminal conduct; on the other hand, is the right of

I have come to the conclusion after reading this article that the intended audience is anyone involved in the criminal justice system. Police officers, lawyers, judges, probation officers and everyone in between can find use in the article and its comparing and contrasting of the crime control model and due process model.