The Pros And Cons Of The Fourth Amendment

“[N]o free man shall be taken or imprisoned or disseized or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor send upon him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land,” King John says this in the Magna Carta in 1354 as a way to settle disputes between him and his barons (CRS). Some four hundred years later, there was another king of Britain, but he was not following this concept. The tyrannical British government had been infringing on the natural rights of the citizens of its colonies for far too long. The colonists knew that a new government must be created; one that prevents against the tyrannical laws and enforcements of their current ruler. Thus came the idea of “protection of life, liberty, and

There have been many cases in which the government has broken the defendant’s rights and then the defendant can easily win the case, if it even makes it to trial. These processes assure that the accused citizen’s have a fair, just trial and experience justice in the justice system. The Fourth Amendment “protects citizens against unlawful search and seizures” by the federal government, incorporated to the states by Mapp v. Ohio (Book). This incorporated the search warrant into due processes for police men and women of the states. The Fifth Amendment establishes the due process of law and protects the right to grand jury, protects against double jeopardy, and protects against self-incrimination by the federal government, incorporated by Miranda v. Arizona (Lineberry). The “due process of law” amendment itself is very important to the due process of law. The purpose of the grand jury was first to “protect from the biased British monarchy and has carried over into common law to decide whether or not to investigate further into a crime” (Strauss) and if further investigation had been decided, police, under due process, would then need a search warrant. Double jeopardy protects citizens from being badgered by prosecution and protected against deprivation of their lives. Protection against self-incrimination saves citizens from the government forcing citizens to deprive themselves of life and liberty. The Sixth Amendment “guarantees to criminal defendants the right to a quick and speedy public trial, right to an attorney, right to an impartial jury, and the right to face your accusers” (Bill of Rights). Incorporated to the states by Gideon v. Wainwright, the Sixth Amendment is very important to due process of law because of the idea around the right to a proper defense and that everyone’s voice be heard. The Eighth Amendment “protects