The Due Process Clause: Two Basic Goals Of The Fundamental Due Process Law

“The Due Process Clause serves two basic goals. One is to produce, through the use of fair procedures, more accurate results: to prevent the wrongful deprivation of interests. The other goal is to make people feel that the government has treated them fairly by, say, listening to their side of the story.” (exploring Constitutional Conflicts , n.d.)

My case involves a young boy by the name of George Stinney Jr, who at the time of sentencing was 14 years old from Alcolu, South Carolina. Who was accused of murdering two young white girls by beating them over the head with a railroad spike and dumping them in a water-logged ditch. After a two-hour trial and a 10-minute jury deliberation, Stinney was convicted of murder on April 24 and sentenced

Fundamental due process rights were violated such as: the right to counsel; this right ensures the right to legal counsel at all stages of a criminal proceeding. In this case, George Stinney lawyer wasn`t available to him until the trial, his right to a fair trial; this right allows the defendant case to be heard by a judge and to have the appropriate people available in their defense, and lastly, right to jury trial. This right allows a defendant to be judged by their fellow peers. George Stinney did not have that right since his trial only lasted 2 hours and with a 10-minute jury

However, the case of George Stinney was held in a state court. Primarily because of the lack of courts that were in favor of a black defendant, and the amount of racism that plagued the South at that time. Unlike in 1944, when Stinney was not given the chance to argue in court, and his then lawyer did not call witnesses or conduct cross examination, his new lawyer was given the opportunity to do so. Furthermore, this case was a state matter since it was a murder in South Carolina, and the jurisdiction of the crime was within the limits of the states to make the judgement. On the other hand, Stinneys` individual rights was violated, which then became a federal jurisdiction, and the federal court, then had judgement over this