The Rights of the Accused

Term Paper # 103075

Law > Criminal
Law > Evidence

A review of the rights of the accused including case law examples, Federal Rules of Evidence and the exclusionary rule.

2,798 words () | 15 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the root of the criminally accused from the Declaration of Independence through the Federal Rules of Evidence. The paper also reviews case law concerning the specific questions of application of the constitutionally protected rights, including the exclusionary rule and other remedies for governmental violation of the rights of the accused. Finally, it reviews the Federal Rules of Evidence in the context of the relevance and reliability of the evidence presented in court, including hearsay and its exceptions.

Table of Contents:
Abstract
The Sword of the Law

From the Paper:

"The rights of the accused are natural rights that are created at the birth, as proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. There are several of these privileges that cannot be surrendered in the interest of creating a government, and these are outlined specifically in the Bill of Rights, and became enforceable against the individual States by virtue of the 14th Amendment. The specific applications of these protected rights are interpreted by the Courts, and at all times the rights of the citizen against improper conviction are kept paramount, sometimes at the expense of the victims. The Congress enacted rules of evidence to control what is presented in court to ensure that it is relevant and reliable. The 3rd President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson phrased it best, "the sword of the law should never fall but on those whose guilt is so apparent as to be pronounce by their friends as well as foes" (Kelly-Gangi, 2004, p.61)."

Sample of Sources Used:

Black, Henry Campbell. (1979). Black's Law Dictionary. St. Paul: West Publishing Company
Boyd v. United States, 271 U.S. 104, 1926.
Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387, 1977.
Brown v. Mississippi, 297 U.S. 278, 1936.
Constitution of the United States, The. (2004). St. Paul: Thomas West Publishing Company