The 5th and 6th Amendments

The 5^th Amendments

The 5^th amendment states that no person shall be held to answer for an infamous crime unless they are accused by a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in time of War. Also, no one has to be witness against themselves or be charged for the same crime twice.

A person can be tried for a serious federal crime only if he or she has been indicted (charged, accused of a crime) by a grand jury. No one may be subjected to double jeopardy – that is, tried twice for the same crime. All persons are protected against self-incrimination; no person can be legally compelled to answer any question in any governmental proceeding if that answer could lead to that person’s prosecution. The 5^th amendment’s Due Process Clause prohibits unfair, arbitrary actions by the Federal Government. Government may take private property for a legitimate public purpose; but when it exercises that power of eminent domain, it must pay a fair price for the property seized.

The 5^th amendment was created as procedural safeguards designed to protect the rights of the criminally accused and to secure life, liberty, and property. Another fact about the amendment is a saying. The saying is very common and it is, “I plead the 5^th”. People mostly say this when they don’t want to say anything at all. There are probably thousands upon thousands of examples I could use but the most recent and most interesting one was The Fast and Furious case. Not the movie. It dealt with an operation that had gone wrong. The US had sent more than 2000 guns to a Mexican drug cartel and later these weapons were found at the scene of a murdered border agent. The 5^th was pleaded by Patrick Cunningham, the chief of the Criminal Division of the US Attorney’s Office in Arizona.

The 6^th Amendment

The 6^th amendment guarantees the rights of criminal defendants, including the right to a public trial without unnecessary delay, the right to a lawyer, the right to an impartial jury, and the right to know who your accusers are and the nature of the charges and evidence against you.

A person accused of crime has the right to be tried in court without undue delay and by an impartial jury. The defendant must be informed of the charge upon which he or she is to be tried, has the right to cross-examine hostile witnesses, and has the right to require the testimony of favorable witnesses. The defendant also has the right to be represented by an attorney at every stage in the criminal process.

When the sixth amendment was being created there were localized sheriffs of sorts, there was no such thing as a police force yet. These sheriffs of sorts were normal people volunteering to be constables or night watchmen. Criminal cases were also brought by victims, not public prosecutors. Both defendants had to represent themselves. Trials were like shouting matches and each side brought in witnesses. These would last for minutes or hours, not days. The 6^th amendment would strengthen this to how it is now today.