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CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE

What is due process?

Create a definition in your own words, and provide the constitutional reasons due process is required along with your own assessment of its significance in the criminal justice process today.

Make sure that your primary response explains the notion of ethics and fairness as these terms relate to criminal due process.

THIS ASSIGNMENT IS COMPLETED ABOVE; YOUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT IS TO:

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

Direct your questioning and comments to notions of equality and fundamental fairness.

What is due process?

Create a definition in your own words, and provide the constitutional reasons due process is required along with your own assessment of its significance in the criminal justice process today.

Make sure that your primary response explains the notion of ethics and fairness as these terms relate to criminal due process.

THIS ASSIGNMENT IS COMPLETED ABOVE; YOUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT IS TO:

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

Direct your questioning and comments to notions of equality and fundamental fairness.

EACH STUDENT FEEDBACK MUST BE 200 WORDS EACH (TOTAL OF 2 STUDENTS FEEDBACKS).

ANY OUTSIDE SOURCES MUST BE PROPERLY CITED IN APA FORM… Remember; do not merely agree with your classmates without additional information. A substantive response advances the discussion in a meaningful way; merely agreeing with your classmates is not a substantive response….

FIRST STUDENT RESPONSE FROM: Pedro Ramos

Due process as a major component in regards to criminal proceedings yet it is not clearly defined as to what due process is. This is ironic, as some of the most common sense things have definitions and descriptions assigned to them in most law manuals. According to Bradley (1998), due process is as an open-ended word as reasonableness.

According to Wright (2013), the concept of due process is mentioned in only the 5th and 14th Amendment of the Bill of Rights and cannot be located anywhere else in the Constitution. The 5th Amendment is related to the protection of self-incrimination, double-jeopardy, and just compensation for private property taken by the government. The 14th Amendment is broken down into five sections. According to Wright (2013), the first section of the 14th Amendment deals with citizens that are born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of both the United Sates and the State in which they reside, and no person will be denied equal protection under the law. Both the 5th and 14th Amendments have a sentence that reads almost identically to each other with the exception of one keyword. According to Bill of Rights and Later Amendments(2013), the sentence is as follows, “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”. The keyword that I am referring to is “states” in the 14th Amendment. This was where the states were required to adhere to the due process concept.

My definition of due process would be the fair application of people’s rights from the time that a person enters the criminal justice system until they have completed their entire process according to their crime. This would include from the time that they are arrested, their time through the judicial system, and their punishment. I believe that due process is determined through the application or misapplication of Constitutional Rights, legislative directions, and case law. A person who is convicted in a criminal trial can have their case overturned if an upper court determines that a person was denied due process. This week’s reading provides the Brown v. State of Mississippi, 297 U.S. 278 (1936) as a good example.

The Bill of Rights and the Constitution were written with the intent of limiting the power of the government. The framers knew that there did need to be some government control however, they wanted limits on government control and for criminal procedure to be ethical and fair. The idea of due process means that a person will get fair and equal treatment and that it will be handled in a proper manner. A good portion of the United States Constitution was written and designed to provide citizens of the United States with certain rights. I believe that when the words “due process” were written they were referring to doing what is right and complying with the United States Constitution. Due process today is implemented in all court hearings, especially with criminal cases and in regards to areas that our forefathers did not even imagine(such as race cases). The criminal justice system is constantly changing when it comes to ensuring that everyone is getting a fair trial, or due process.

References:

Bill of Rights and Later Amendments (2013). US History.org. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/documents/amendments.htm#amend04

Bradley, G. V. (1998). Criminal procedure as constitutional law. Criminal Justice Ethics, 17(1), 58-66. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/209761715?accountid=32521

Wright, R. (2013). Introduction to criminal law and procedure. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

SECOND STUDENT RESPONSE FROM: Noah Courtney

What is due process?

What is due process in my own words? Due process is the process that allows each person to have the right to a fair trial. It is the given right that each suspect criminal is innocent until otherwise proven guilty. Due process ensures that all offenders are treated fairly, not discriminated on because of their race, sex or ethnic background. It also ensures that a person is not treated harshly because of their actions. “Adopted after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment clarified that the due process and equal protection of the law guarantees enshrined in the Constitution would also apply to the states. The 14th Amendment serves as the foundation for many subsequent cornerstone decisions and laws.” (Wright, R. 2013)

Due process is required because:

Due process is required in the court house because is ensures that the law will be kept and a standard will be set and met when considering punishment of an offender. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the juris­diction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” (Wright, R. 2013)

The significance of due process:

Due process is significant because it guarantees that each offender is given their rights and that their rights are protected under the law of the Constitution. It also guarantees that the offender is not treated unfairly and discriminated against. Due process ensures that each person will receive a fair trial and are punished according to the crime they committed.

Reference:

Wright, R. (2013). Introduction to criminal law and procedure. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.