The Sixth Amendment
The Sixth Amendment
The 6th Amendment focuses completely on the rights of a person accused of committing a crime by the government. The 6th Amendment contains seven specific protections for people accused of crimes. These seven rights are: the right to a speedy trial, the right to a public trial, the right to be judged by an impartial jury, the right to be notified of the nature and circumstances of the alleged crime, the right to confront witnesses who will testify against the accused, the right to find witnesses who will speak in favor of the accused, and, the right to have a lawyer. The reasoning behind all of these protections goes back to the days of our founding fathers; when under the English law none of these rights were guaranteed. The writers of the constitution felt it was very important that all of the rights that are given under the sixth amendment were guaranteed in reaction to the blatant suppression of individual rights and liberties that were being implemented in the “colonies”. As time has passed and our constitution amended in reaction to those times, the rights guaranteed under the 6th Amendment have been strengthened and justly implemented.
The Speedy Trial Clause guarantees that you must be tried quickly if you are charged with a crime. Why was this so important that the founding fathers would add it to the Bill of Rights? Well, if you weren't guaranteed a speedy trial, you could sit in jail for months or years without being tried. That was a frequent occurrence in English history. The founding fathers wanted to protect themselves and you from this in the new government they were creating. The Speedy Trial Clause serves three main purposes - to prevent lengthy incarcerations before guilt has been determined, to minimize anxiety and concern for the accused, who may eventually be declared innocent and to reduce the possibility that long delays could impair the accused’s ability to defend themselves due to fading memories, the death of
The 6th Amendment focuses completely on the rights of a person accused of committing a crime by the government. The 6th Amendment contains seven specific protections for people accused of crimes. These seven rights are: the right to a speedy trial, the right to a public trial, the right to be judged by an impartial jury, the right to be notified of the nature and circumstances of the alleged crime, the right to confront witnesses who will testify against the accused, the right to find witnesses who will speak in favor of the accused, and, the right to have a lawyer. The reasoning behind all of these protections goes back to the days of our founding fathers; when under the English law none of these rights were guaranteed. The writers of the constitution felt it was very important that all of the rights that are given under the sixth amendment were guaranteed in reaction to the blatant suppression of individual rights and liberties that were being implemented in the “colonies”. As time has passed and our constitution amended in reaction to those times, the rights guaranteed under the 6th Amendment have been strengthened and justly implemented.
The Speedy Trial Clause guarantees that you must be tried quickly if you are charged with a crime. Why was this so important that the founding fathers would add it to the Bill of Rights? Well, if you weren't guaranteed a speedy trial, you could sit in jail for months or years without being tried. That was a frequent occurrence in English history. The founding fathers wanted to protect themselves and you from this in the new government they were creating. The Speedy Trial Clause serves three main purposes - to prevent lengthy incarcerations before guilt has been determined, to minimize anxiety and concern for the accused, who may eventually be declared innocent and to reduce the possibility that long delays could impair the accused’s ability to defend themselves due to fading memories, the death of
References: Jerry Sandusky Case: Commonwealth v. Sandusky, No. 102 MM 2012 (Pa. June 4, 2012). Retrieved from: http://campus.westlaw.com.lib.kaplan.edu/result/default.wl?cfid=1&mt=CampusNewsBus&origin=Search&query=%22Jerry+Sandusky%22&db=ALLNEWS-AC&rlt=CLID_QRYRLT174341730191111&method=WIN&service=Search&eq=Welcome%2fCampusNewsBus&rp=%2fWelcome%2fCampusNewsBus%2fdefault.wl&sp=004042837-2000&srch=TRUE&vr=2.0&dups=False&fields=DA%28LAST+3+YEARS%29&action=Search&rltdb=CLID_DB533901530191111&sv=Split&fmqv=s&fn=_top&rs=WLW12.10 Richard Perry Bryant Case: Michigan v. Bryant, 131 S. Ct. 1143 (2011), Retrieved from: http://campus.westlaw.com.lib.kaplan.edu/result/default.wl?mt=CampusLaw&db=MI-CS&rlt=CLID_QRYRLT78322335191111&origin=Search&sp=004042837-2000&method=WIN&cfid=1&rp=%2fWelcome%2fCampusLaw%2fdefault.wl&eq=Welcome%2fCampusLaw&rltdb=CLID_DB9325335191111&srch=TRUE&query=%22Michigan+v.+Bryant%2c+131+S.+Ct.+1143+%282011%29%2c%22&vr=2.0&fmqv=s&action=Search&fn=_top&service=Search&sv=Split&rs=WLW12.10