Law Assignment Paper 4: Relation to Criminal Justice (Essay Sample)

Law Assignment
Name
Institution
Law Assignment
Due process can be defined as the means, assured by the Constitution, for ensuring that the government accords justice to all its citizens during all legal proceedings. In relation to criminal justice, due process provides that a defendant who is accused of an offense must be made aware of the charges brought against him or her, must be given an opportunity to present a defense against such charges, and provided with the services of an attorney and the right to appeal. Notably, these due process rights are derived from the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Constitution Amendments. Even though the initial ten Amendments were meant to be applicable only to actions of the Federal Government, over the recent years the criminal judicial system have been able to extend the rights of due process to individuals accused of violating state laws through the 14th Amendment.
Due process rights are significant to the criminal justice process as they work together to protect a person from unreasonable persecution by the government. It can be noted that the right to a fair trial is the cornerstone of the due process rights. Moreover, other due process rights are in place to ensure that a fair trial takes place prior to the government depriving the accused of other rights. Concerning ethics and fairness, without due process rights, all other human rights are usually in dire jeopardy (Fredericks, 2009). Hence, a fair trial cannot exist without these rights as they keep the government’s power in check.
A country’s government is a powerful institution that affects the lives of people living within its borders in the most intimate ways. Usually, governments regulate trade, provide essential services to its citizens, wage war with other countries, and most importantly regulates personal behavior of its people. L...