Your trial rights. This short 5 minute video basically sums up all of your rights at a trial, and before one. A friend on mine deserves the credit for making the animations in this video, and a I would like to give her credit for it.
Pre-arrest
Search and seizure
The fourth amendment says that we have the right to be secure in our “persons, houses, papers, and effects” against “unreasonable searches and seizures”.
This translates to the police needing a warrant in most cases to search you or your belongings, seize evidence, and arrest you.
The warrant must specify the exact place to be searched, as well as exactly what the police are searching for.
However, exceptions to this rule exist.
The police do not need a warrant to search your home if you consent to the search.
By voluntarily letting them in, you are waiving your right against searches and seizures.
It is crucial to understand that you never have to let the police into your house if they do not have a warrant. They cannot retaliate against you for refusing to give consent.
Additionally, they can search your home without a warrant if there are exigent circumstances—meaning that a reasonable person would believe that entering your home is necessary for safety reasons or to prevent the destruction of evidence—
In order to search your person without a warrant, officers need to have reasonable suspicion that you pose a serious threat to public safety. They need to act on more than a hunch. You cannot be stopped and frisked randomly.
In order to search your car without a warrant,
Full stopped car searches can only be conducted when the safety of the officers is at risk.
If there’s probable cause to search your car, all subsequent searches of its contents are legal as well.
More
As all these exceptions show, the safety and health of citizens is always the primary concern. Thus, police can search you on the scene of a violent crime or robbery, if the evidence is in plain sight, or if the discovery of the evidence is inevitable.
So what about your rights in schools? You don’t completely shed your fourth amendment rights in public schools; however you aren’t as protected as you would be anywhere else in the country.
The Supreme Court case NJ v TLO established that if you violate a school rule, school officials do not need a warrant to search you or your belongings.
It is also important to mention that schools don’t need a warrant to search your locker, because it is their property.
Pre-trial
Due process
Under the fifth and fourteenth amendments, you cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property by the state or federal governments without due process.
This means that the government must respect all of your legal rights throughout the criminal process before inflicting some sort of punishment.
It includes your right to know the charges against you, the right to defend yourself in court, the right not to be tried for the same crime twice, the right to be represented by counsel, and the right to an unbiased trial.
In the case Powell v Alabama, the Supreme Court held that defendants must be provided reasonable opportunity and time to secure counsel in their defense.
The 6th amendment gives you the right to legal counsel in federal criminal cases.
The case Gideon v Wainwright applied this right to state courts as well.
Said that the state must appoint an attorney for defendants who cannot afford one.
Throughout your police interrogation, trial, sentencing, and your initial appeal.
Bail
The 8th amendment states that “excessive bail shall not be required”.
An excessive bail is one that is unreasonable in with regards to the severity of the crime or the individual’s ability to pay it.
However, the 8th amendment doesn’t give you an absolute right to be released on bail before your trial. Courts can, in some situations, refuse bail (this could happen if the defendant poses a significant flight risk or a danger to the community).
Informed of charges
Under the 6th amendment, you have the right to “be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation”. This is another protection meant to ensure that you receive a fair trial.
After all, if you don’t know what you’re being charged with, how can you defend yourself properly? Being aware of the charges against you gives you the opportunity to face your accuser in court and secure proper counsel.
Remain silent
The 5th amendment gives you the right to remain silent during police questioning and your trial, which can help you avoid incriminating yourself.
The Supreme Court ruled in Miranda v Arizona that officers have to inform people of their right to remain silent, among other rights of the accused, when they are arrested. These Miranda warnings remind you that:
You have the right to remain silent
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.
Remaining silent can protect you from making yourself seem guilty even if you aren’t guilty.
Trial Rights
Speedy trial
As a criminal defendant, you have the right to a speedy trial.
This right protects defendants from waiting indefinitely to clear their name.
Without a speedy trial, a defendant could possibly not have a fair trial. If there is too much time between the crime and the trial, witnesses could die or relocate, or their memories of the incident could fade.
Public trial
The 6th amendment gives you the right to a public trial in criminal cases.
Your right to a public trial protects you from secret (behind closed doors) and unfair proceedings.
But: The criminal defendant can waive this right, or the judge may limit public access to the trial in certain circumstances (for example, to prevent witness intimidation or keep order in the courtroom).
Jury
The 6th amendment guarantees you the right to a criminal trial by an impartial jury of the district in which the crime was committed (in federal trials).
The 7th amendment guarantees you the right to a civil trial by a jury. ***** (in federal trials).
The Supreme Court case Duncan v Louisiana gives you the right to a jury for a state trial.
In criminal cases, the jury must find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a unanimous decision.
The Supreme Court case Strauder v WV says that juries have to be representative of your community.
Case Taylor v Louisiana sets a national standard: women must be allowed to serve on the jury; states can’t forbid women from serving on juries.
So, no matter your gender, level of education, etc… you have the right to serve on a jury (if you are over 18).
Self-incrimination
Goes along with your right to remain silent.
The government cannot force you to testify against yourself or answer any questions that may make you seem guilty and your silence cannot be held against you.
You need to verbally invoke the right by saying “I plead the fifth,” or the like.
However, this right only applies to testimonial evidence. You can’t plead the fifth for blood tests, handwriting samples, urine tests, lineups, etc.
Additionally, subpoenaed witnesses can be forced to testify.
Legal counsel