The_Bill_of_Rights_and_Administration_of_Justice_and_Security

The Bill of Rights and Administration of Justice and Security The comparisons between the Bill of Rights to the Administration of Justice and Security in America are many. This paper will focus on the Bill of Rights and in particular the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the Bill of Rights and how they compare to the Administration of Justice and Security. When defining justice many in this country are raised to believe justice stands for fairness, punishment for those who commit crime, equality between all citizens, and individual rights of each citizen. There are those in this country that have been accused of crimes and believe they were guilty before being proven innocent in a court of law. Many times this is the attitude many American citizens tend to follow when they look at the American criminal justice system as a whole, and that being of one that is not justice for all but more used against them than for them. Are fairness and justice synonymous' Many believe so, while others would say no. Some believe that fairness is treating all equally while justice is treating those according to their surrounding circumstances according to written law. Justice is after all suppose to blind in the fact that it does not treat any one party involved differently but only according to written law. In other words sentenced are handed down by the cause not by the person themselves. When we view the Sixth Amendment it was the purpose of the founding fathers that the purpose behind the Sixth Amendment was to protect citizens from lengthy trails and allow them to be tried by a jury of their peers in the town where the crime occurred in the first place. This amendment also allowed for the accused to face their accuser and question them as to their findings. However when the Sixth amendment was created there were not the huge caseloads we see in today’s criminal justice system, so in regards to a quick and speedy trial for all, this term gets greatly exaggerated especially since many trials take months to years mattering on the circumstance to finally come to a verdict. To compare the administration of justice and security to the Sixth amendment you would need to address the issues as a criminal justice administrator as what to you need to do to ensure citizens rights are protected under the Sixth amendment. Those rights a criminal justice administrator would need to adhere to would be to ensure that the defendant is made aware of all the charges against them and that they have fair and complete access to legal counsel in all matters pertaining to the charges. As a criminal justice administrator you could be placed on the side of either concerned party, working for the defense or prosecution, in either circumstance criminal justice administrators must be prepared to handle either occurrence. As criminal justice administrators we work with the Bill of Rights in mind, we assist in ensuring the rights of all parties concerned are not being violated, either through a violation of the rights of a defendant or victim. The Sixth amendment today is a much contested amendment, currently many argue that the detention of possible terrorist suspects without trial is a violation of this amendment however, many of those incarcerated for possible terrorist acts are not U.S. citizens and the belief is that they are not afforded the rights of U.S. citizens under the Sixth amendment. The sixth amendment does provide for those basic rights which we as Americans have. Under the first amendment of the Bill of Rights laws are not to be instituted that violate the establishment of one’s religion, or their freedom of speech or the freedom of the press to report what they view. The first amendment also includes that we as Americans are allowed to assemble peaceably and allow for U.S. citizens to protest and file grievance against any laws or polices we deem unacceptable. The first amendment was originally formed to control only the congress, but in later years was directed towards state government and local governments alike. The freedom of speech which the first amendment protects was a major focus for the founding fathers and still holds very true with many American Civil Liberty advocates. However not all suppression of speech by the state is necessarily a violation of the first amendment under the freedom of speech even though the belief by many is that it is a violation. It is also necessarily of violation of freedom of speech of private venues suppress freedom of speech; the only thing that matters is what the context of the violation may have been. Speech does not necessarily mean vocal but artistic and symbol, those who may decide to wear swastikas or other Para-military anti-government slogans are not in violation of law and are protected by the first amendment to do so as long as it remains a peaceful assembly. However if those trying to express their freedom of speech by defacing private or public property this is not protected under law and those responsible will be held accountable. As administration of justice and security followers we must know how to identify the differences involved with peaceful protest and unlawful protest. There are many clauses to the first amendment which does make certain forms of speech illegal such as issues dealing with defamation of ones character where publication may be produced which is false and leads to a harm of an individual’s character. The Supreme Court has ruled that certain words can hurt and thus are a violation of one’s rights as a citizen protected under the Bill of Rights. Other clauses protect harm of citizens from what some believe to be freedom of speech when they cause alarm or public panic which can lead to injury, death or panic. The Supreme Court has ruled this type of behavior unlawful. Other clauses that block would be freedom of speech are known as “fighting words” where an individual may threaten to cause harm to another or break the peace. This remains a violation of law and not a violation of the first amendment as long as the threat is just that only a threat and no true physical harm has occurred which would make it a different crime at that time. Other violations outside the first amendment include incitement to commit a crime, in other words trying to verbally entice another to commit a crime. This type of speech is not protected under the first amendment just as sedition is not protected under the first amendment, sedition is highly controversial. Another area is obscenity, Longley argued that obscenity in nature is not illegal under the first amendment it is found to be illegal in that if it violates one’s rights through sexual misconduct or lewd behavior in public, there is much confusion on the subject of what is considered obscene and what is considered art. In the field of administration of justice and security we must be aware of what type of freedoms individuals have especially in the area of security. When is peaceful protest now a violation of law or freedom of speech becomes unlawful' Knowing these differences will assist the administration of justice and security professional in completing their job lawfully. The fourth amendment of the Bill of Rights provides us as Americans the rights to privacy in our homes, on our person, in our documents and other personal belongings against any illegal search or seizure. As a criminal justice professional this amendment is very important, especially in regards to law enforcement personnel who this amendment affects the most, illegal searches often cause many cases that could have been found guilty being thrown out of court for a violation of the fourth amendment. The fourth amendment like other amendments has taken on many changes and challenges over the years, recent years the fourth has gone on to include such evidence gathering as blood draws and other bodily fluids for the purpose of evidence in a criminal case. Law enforcement must have probable cause enough to seek a warrant or voluntary consent to a blood draw or DNA test or breathalyzer test for purposes of a possible DUI arrest. Today the fourth amendment covers many areas of individual privacy, from medical records to financial records. A violation of one’s medical privacy or financial records is considered very serious offenses and has resulted in expensive civil suits being filed as well as criminal charges against violators of this area of protected privacy. The Fifth Amendment protects citizens from self incrimination, double jeopardy, protection of our personal property, and being advised of our rights prior to any questioning in a possible criminal matter. As criminal justice professionals the Fifth Amendment again like the previous other amendments discussed in this paper is vital to the profession to ensure fairness and equality under law. As criminal justice professionals we have a duty to ensure when we handle possible criminal cases or suspects that we follow the law and ensure that if we are in a capacity of law enforcement that we advise suspects of their “Miranda Rights” prior to any questioning for possible involvement in a crime. The Fourteenth amendment is the amendment that ensures all Americans are guided under the same equal laws and defines what a U.S. Citizen is under the law. The fourteenth amendment ensures states provide protection to all under that states jurisdiction. The fourteenth amendment contains the” Due Process” clause where in that the states must follow suit in regards to the Bill of Rights. The fourteenth amendment was initiated out of the civil war however; it took the fifteenth amendment to allow blacks in this country the right to vote. The fourteenth amendment also contains the “Equal Protection” clause which provides that all states must provide equal protection to anyone within their jurisdiction. This provides for equal protection to all within that state, except it does not necessarily provide for equal rights. The First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Bill of Rights is a key foundation for the administration of justice and security professional. These amendments provide the go by for anyone working in the criminal justice field and provide a means to ensure that all people are given fair and equal treatment under the law and rights protected under the Bill of Rights of the United States. References (2009). Constitution of The United States, Bill of Rights. Retrieved from http://www.ratical.com/co-globalize/BillOfRights.html Senate of the United States. (2001). H.R.3162. Retrieved from http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.pdf