Why Is The Sixth Amendment Important
Kesha Ray
November 25, 2013
Constitutional Law
Judge Clariday
The Sixth Amendment
The Sixth Amendment is a part of the Bill of Rights which consist of the first ten amendments that gives citizens’ rights and privileges. “The Sixth Amendment was introduced as a part of the Bill of Rights into the United States Constitution on September 5, 1789 and was voted for by 9 out of 12 states on December 15, 1791” (Laws, 2013). James Madison implemented the Sixth Amendment into the Bill of Rights. The Sixth Amendment was created to protect the basic rights of the accused. In earlier years, kings and churches would abuse their power and accuse people of crimes that they did not commit to get the person to go away. The Sixth Amendment was founded by the founding fathers, who rebelled against the treatment that they received by the British in matters of crime and justice, so they felt that not only should the …show more content…
English citizens be protected by this right but all Americans should be protected and this is how the Sixth amendment became a part of the Bill of Rights.
The Sixth Amendment protects criminals in all criminal prosecutions. The Sixth Amendment states “the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense” (Bill of Rights Institute, 2010). Each line of the sixth amendment has specific meaning and rights that the courts must go by in order not to violate a citizen’s right.
The first line reads “the accused has the right to a speedy and public trial.” This simply means that a person cannon sit in jail for a period of 6 years and not have a trial. Although the amendment does use the term speedy, speedy does not mean within a week or a month, speedy means as soon as possible. The accused cannot be isolated or locked away by the state to ask questions about a crime. The accused has the right to have a public trial for the sake of fairness on their behalf. The second line reads “by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law.” An impartial jury means that the jurors cannot be prejudice or biased of the accused or the crime that they are being accused of. The trial must take place in the district where the crime took place. If neither of these are properly executed the accused may be seen as being treated unfair. The third line reads “to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witness against him.” The accused has the right to know what they are being charged with and who is accusing them of committing the crime. They also have the right to ask questions about the nature of the crime. The last line reads “to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.” The last line means that the accused has the right to make a person come to court for their trial if they feel that the person can help their case. The court also has this right, in which they use a summons. When a summons is involved the person has no choice of whether or not to go to trial, it is mandatory. Every accused has the right to an attorney, if they cannot afford an attorney then one will be appointed by the court. Each line of the Sixth Amendment plays a vital part of an accuser’s process from the jail all the way to their trial.
The Sixth Amendment applies to all states and is still used today. The sixth amendment is still being heavily applied in courts to make sure accusers are given fair trials. Today the Sixth amendment insures that each and every accuser has a lawyer, even if they deny to have one. The Sixth Amendment has really given guidance to the amount of time accusers sit in Jail and await trial. Before the Sixth Amendment was strictly enforced, accusers would sit in jail awaiting trial for as long as five years and sometimes longer. Special cases such as Strunk v. U.S gave light to the importance of giving accusers speedy trials.
The Sixth Amendment is very helpful for accusers when it comes to the amount of time they can await trail and the appointing of lawyers if they cannot afford one.
In my opinion the Sixth amendment gives accusers a lot of privileges being that they are being accused of a crime. The Sixth amendment does a lot for accusers from the time of their arrest to their trial. Accusers now have full knowledge of what they are being accused of and who accused them of crimes. They also have the right to question the accusations that are being brought up against them. This is very helpful to the accuser when it is time for them to collaborate with their lawyers and present themselves at trial. Jurors that are prejudice can no longer find a defendant guilty because of their race or ethnicity. If jurors today are accused of being a part of such activity, legal action will take place. Implementing that part of the Sixth Amendment to the court was brilliant idea. There have been accused person who have been found guilty simply because the jurors where prejudice or biases of the
case. In conclusion, the Sixth Amendment helps protect accused persons from being in jail long periods of time. Every citizen has a right to a lawyer if they can’t afford one. Jurors that are chosen cannot be impartial or biased to the accused or the crime the accused is being charged with. The History of the Sixth Amendment links all the way back to the late 1700s. The founding fathers created this amendment to protect every American from unfair treatment while awaiting trial.
References
Bill of Rights Institute. (2010). Retrieved from Bill of Right of the United States of America: http://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/bill-of-rights/
Laws. (2013). Retrieved from Sixth Amendment: http://kids.laws.com/sixth-amendment
November 25, 2013
Constitutional Law
Judge Clariday
The Sixth Amendment
The Sixth Amendment is a part of the Bill of Rights which consist of the first ten amendments that gives citizens’ rights and privileges. “The Sixth Amendment was introduced as a part of the Bill of Rights into the United States Constitution on September 5, 1789 and was voted for by 9 out of 12 states on December 15, 1791” (Laws, 2013). James Madison implemented the Sixth Amendment into the Bill of Rights. The Sixth Amendment was created to protect the basic rights of the accused. In earlier years, kings and churches would abuse their power and accuse people of crimes that they did not commit to get the person to go away. The Sixth Amendment was founded by the founding fathers, who rebelled against the treatment that they received by the British in matters of crime and justice, so they felt that not only should the …show more content…
English citizens be protected by this right but all Americans should be protected and this is how the Sixth amendment became a part of the Bill of Rights.
The Sixth Amendment protects criminals in all criminal prosecutions. The Sixth Amendment states “the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense” (Bill of Rights Institute, 2010). Each line of the sixth amendment has specific meaning and rights that the courts must go by in order not to violate a citizen’s right.
The first line reads “the accused has the right to a speedy and public trial.” This simply means that a person cannon sit in jail for a period of 6 years and not have a trial. Although the amendment does use the term speedy, speedy does not mean within a week or a month, speedy means as soon as possible. The accused cannot be isolated or locked away by the state to ask questions about a crime. The accused has the right to have a public trial for the sake of fairness on their behalf. The second line reads “by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law.” An impartial jury means that the jurors cannot be prejudice or biased of the accused or the crime that they are being accused of. The trial must take place in the district where the crime took place. If neither of these are properly executed the accused may be seen as being treated unfair. The third line reads “to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witness against him.” The accused has the right to know what they are being charged with and who is accusing them of committing the crime. They also have the right to ask questions about the nature of the crime. The last line reads “to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.” The last line means that the accused has the right to make a person come to court for their trial if they feel that the person can help their case. The court also has this right, in which they use a summons. When a summons is involved the person has no choice of whether or not to go to trial, it is mandatory. Every accused has the right to an attorney, if they cannot afford an attorney then one will be appointed by the court. Each line of the Sixth Amendment plays a vital part of an accuser’s process from the jail all the way to their trial.
The Sixth Amendment applies to all states and is still used today. The sixth amendment is still being heavily applied in courts to make sure accusers are given fair trials. Today the Sixth amendment insures that each and every accuser has a lawyer, even if they deny to have one. The Sixth Amendment has really given guidance to the amount of time accusers sit in Jail and await trial. Before the Sixth Amendment was strictly enforced, accusers would sit in jail awaiting trial for as long as five years and sometimes longer. Special cases such as Strunk v. U.S gave light to the importance of giving accusers speedy trials.
The Sixth Amendment is very helpful for accusers when it comes to the amount of time they can await trail and the appointing of lawyers if they cannot afford one.
In my opinion the Sixth amendment gives accusers a lot of privileges being that they are being accused of a crime. The Sixth amendment does a lot for accusers from the time of their arrest to their trial. Accusers now have full knowledge of what they are being accused of and who accused them of crimes. They also have the right to question the accusations that are being brought up against them. This is very helpful to the accuser when it is time for them to collaborate with their lawyers and present themselves at trial. Jurors that are prejudice can no longer find a defendant guilty because of their race or ethnicity. If jurors today are accused of being a part of such activity, legal action will take place. Implementing that part of the Sixth Amendment to the court was brilliant idea. There have been accused person who have been found guilty simply because the jurors where prejudice or biases of the
case. In conclusion, the Sixth Amendment helps protect accused persons from being in jail long periods of time. Every citizen has a right to a lawyer if they can’t afford one. Jurors that are chosen cannot be impartial or biased to the accused or the crime the accused is being charged with. The History of the Sixth Amendment links all the way back to the late 1700s. The founding fathers created this amendment to protect every American from unfair treatment while awaiting trial.
References
Bill of Rights Institute. (2010). Retrieved from Bill of Right of the United States of America: http://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/bill-of-rights/
Laws. (2013). Retrieved from Sixth Amendment: http://kids.laws.com/sixth-amendment