CH. 20-3 RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED

ADVANCED AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

HABEAS CORPUS

WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS—aka “Writ of liberty”

Demands the person being held is brought before the court

The officer must show cause to hold the person

Article I, Section 9 Cannot be suspended “unless when in

Cases of Rebellion or Invasion…”

President Lincoln suspended it in 1861 Habeas Corpus has only be suspended

once since 1861 Governor of Hawaii suspended it on

Dec. 8, 1941 but it was ruled unconstitutional in 1946

BILLS OF ATTAINDERS

Legislative act that inflicts punishment without a court trial

Article I, Sections 9 & 10 Ban protects individual freedoms and our

system of separation of powers. United States v. Brown (1965) An infrequent ruling by USSC Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 made it illegal

for a member of the Communist Party to be an officer of a labor union (law overturned)

EX POST FACTO LAWS

Definition--Law passed after the fact Three features: 1) is a criminal law, one defining a

crime or providing for its punishment 2) applies to an act committed before

its passage 3) works to the disadvantage of the

accused

Example—A law banning the sale of marijuana cannot be applied to someone who sold it before the law was passed

Carmell v. Texas (2000)—last ruling on ex post facto laws

USSC overturned a man’s sexual abuse conviction because of a change in State law

Retro-active civil laws are permitted It is legal for the government to

increase income taxes in November and have it apply to the entire year

GRAND JURY

“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous, crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury…”—Vth Amendment

Formal device by which a person can be accused of a serious crime

Federal cases—16 to 23 persons with at least 12 people agreeing to charge someone

INDICTMENT—a formal complaint that the prosecutor lays before a grand jury. It charges the accused with one or more crimes

PRESENTMENT—formal accusation by the Grand Jury

Grand Jury sessions are secret since they are not trials

The defense is not allowed to present material

DOUBLE JEOPARDY

Contained in the Vth Amendment DOUBLE JEOPARDY—once a person has

been tried for a crime, he or she cannot be tried again for that exact same crime

Example—O.J. Simpson Murder Trial It is possible to violate both federal and

state statues in one act Trials in this case would not be in

violation of Double Jeopardy

If a jury cannot decide on a verdict, a mistrial is declared and there is not jeopardy so the case could be retried with a new jury

SPEEDY AND PUBLIC TRIAL

SPEEDY TRIAL The government will try a person for a

crime within a reasonable amount of time

How long is too long? No specific time set

Barker v. Wingo (1972)—four criteria for determining if the time was too long

1) the length of the delay 2) the reasons for it 3) whether the delay has in fact

harmed the defendant 4) whether the defendant asked for a

prompt trial Speedy Trial Act of 1974 set time

between arrest and trial at 100 days with exceptions (extensive medical tests, etc.)

VIth Amendment says the trial must be public

Judges can regulate how many spectators can view and trial and make sure there are no disruptions

Members of the media have no extra rights to be in a courtroom than anyone else

Television is barred from all federal courtrooms

Most states allow some form of television during trials

Defendant has to agree to the TV coverage

Estes v. Texas (1965)—USSC overturned the conviction of a man because of too much press coverage

TRIAL BY JURY

VIth Amendment says that a person accused of a federal crime must be tried “by an impartial jury”

Trial by jury also mentioned in Article III, Section 2

Prospective jury members must be drawn from the state and district where the crime was committed

Defendant may request a “change of venue”

A defendant may also waive their right to a jury trial

BENCH TRIAL—Only the judge hears the trial and decides guilt or innocence

The defendant can plead guilty to avoid a trial

In Federal Cases, juries must vote unanimously to convict

Most states also follow this rule.

RIGHT TO AN ADEQUATE DEFENSE

Every person accused of a crime is entitled to the best possible defense that circumstances will allow.

VIth Amendment says that a defendant:

1) has the right “to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation”

2) has the right “to be confronted with the witnesses against him”

3) has the right “to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor” (subpoena—forced to testify)

4) have the right “to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense”

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) USSC held that an attorney must be

furnished to a defendant who cannot afford one.

SELF-INCRIMINATION

Guarantee set out in the Vth Amendment

In a criminal case, the burden of proof is always with the prosecution

Malloy v. Hogan—the prosecution cannot force the accused to “prove the charge against” him “out of his own mouth”

APPLYING THE GUARANTEE “Taking the Fifth” applies to any

governmental proceeding in which a person in legally compelled to answer any question that could lead to a criminal charge.

Escobedo v. Illinois (1964)—conviction overturned because defendant was refused an attorney and not told he was entitled to one.

MIRANDA v. ARIZONA (1966) A mentally retarded man, Ernesto

Miranda had been convicted of kidnapping and rape.

10 days after the crime, the victim picks Miranda out of a line-up

After being questioned for 2 hours, Miranda confessed

He was not told of his rights

His conviction was overturned. USSC said they would no longer uphold

any conviction if the suspect had not be told about their constitutional rights.

Miranda Rule: 1) right to remain silent 2) anything said can be used against

them 3) right to have an attorney present

4) If you can’t afford an attorney, one would be appointed at public expense

5) may end police questioning at any time

THE END