Procedural Law and the Bill of Rights

In the United States, the law has many levels; the most important among these is the Constitution. The constitution is the founder of all the federal government that runs the United States. There are five sources of law. Laws are termed to originate from sources like common law, administrative laws, statutory rules, constitutional laws and court rule. 

Common law has been the origin of the American law. It is the oldest type of law. Common law was brought by the colonialists to the United States. Common law was made by both judges in England and those in the United States. This common law is flexible that it changes with the expectations and values of a particular society. Common law also changes according to the social and technological developments. Changes in the common law come in different ways, for example, the court might decide to modify the common law to meet some contemporary situations. Another source of the laws is the statutory laws. The legislature creates statutory laws. The arm of the legislature possesses power that it can change or abolish the common law either wholly or partially. Though the authority of the legislature is more significant, it is bound by restrictions. The United States’ Constitution and that for other states contain restrictions of the particular states and the federal authority. The Bill of Rights provides these restrictions. For example, when federal Constitution had its first Amendment, it prohibited punishing of individuals for exercising the choice of religion. If a law violates the provision of the constitution, it’s the responsibility of the judiciary branch to affirm it canceled. 

Crime Justice involves a series of steps from criminal investigations to the release of a convicted offender from correctional supervision. Crime justices rely more on rules and decision making. Sources of the rules include the Bill of Rights, Constitution, Court rulings and federal rules. For example, all illegal proceedings in the courts of the United States are governed by the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Making decisions is more of understanding the rules and their application to certain cases. However making decisions without learning rules is common in criminal justice. For instance, police have to decide on whether to seizure, inspect, question, search or use force. Judges also apply discretion when rejecting or accepting appeal bargains and passing judgment. The members of the board also apply discretion while deciding if to discharge prisoners from jail or not. Two among the processes involved in justice process includes investigation and arrest. Investigating a crime is the responsibility of the police. The main reason for investigating is to find evidence to help find a suspect and finally arrest him/her. For an investigation to take place, it requires a search, an explanation explaining the person or his/her property. Probable cause is the main aim necessary for a search. Probable cause just means that the facts related the evidence of criminality can be referred from a particular place. The next step is the arrest. Arrest involves holding a person in custody until court hearings. Probable cause must be exhibited for an arrest. A probable cause will outline the link between a particular person with a specific crime. For a person to be prosecuted, the prosecutors need to consider many aspects including the gravity of the crime and the power of the evidence provided. A defendant appears in a court before a trial to enter an appeal. The next phase is plea bargaining. Plea bargaining involves the defensive attorney with the prosecutor in exchange for a charge reduction or sentence reduction. If the accused is declared guilty, the magistrate rules out a sentence. Penalties that can be ruled out include a fine, jail or prison. 

United States Constitutions’ Fourth Amendment protects all right of its citizens to be free from government intrusions into their citizens. Legal safeguards have been put in place to ensure that the law officers only interfere with people right under limited situations. This Fourth Amendment is called “search and seizure.” Its protection safeguards citizens during a search, detentions and prevents unlawfully things to be used as evidence in criminal cases Fourth Amendment can apply when police stop an individual walking down the street for questioning. It also protects an individual from police entering his/her house and placing an arrest and searching for evidence. This amendment prohibits police from going into a corporation business to find evidence. A police officer cannot search or seize an individual without him/her having a search permit, a legal arrest permit and probable cause that show that the person has been involved a certain offense. Sometimes the Fourth Amendment is violated. For example, if the police search a home without a valid search warrant hence violating the owner's Fourth Amendment rights, the evidence obtained in this scenario will not be used against the homeowner in a court hearing. Arresting an individual without probable cause or a valid arrest permit violates the Fourth Amendment rights. Any evidence obtained from such an arrest is kept out of the case and cannot be used as evidence. 

Reasonable suspicion is an assumption that an offense has been, is being or will be committed. It is a sensible belief that relies on police officers training also with experience. Probable cause is a belief reinforced by evidence an offense has been, is being or will be committed. Reasonable suspicion is more of a speculation and less than probable cause. The difference between Reasonable suspicion and probable cause is, of probable cause, solid evidence of a crime is present whereas reasonable suspicion creates room for wider explanation. Reasonable suspicion tells a crime seems to have been committed; this is mostly to explain an investigation into doubtful deeds once a crime has been done. Police officers need reasonable doubt to stop, question and search for guns in case a person is believed to be armed. Probable cause must be present for the police to have a search warrant. If an individual is arrested for committing a federal crime, he/she needs a lawyer who has experience in defending his clients in federal courts. The lawyer makes sure the investigators followed the rules of evidence gathering and arrest. 

The exclusionary rule implies that the evidence cannot be used against the defendant during his/her trial. The exclusionary rule is a remedy for the defendant for the searches that violates the Fourth Amendment. When the exclusionary rule is applied, its states that all the evidence obtained illegally should be excluded as evidence according to the Fourth Amendment. Also, this rule dictates that any evidence obtained afterward from an illegal search is also excluded as evidence. For example, if police officers illegally search an individual house and get a map that directs to a private field with marijuana and they seize the marijuana. Under the exclusionary rule, the marijuana will be excluded as evidence as it is stemmed directly from an illegal search. 

Use of force by police officers is only allowed under certain circumstances like self-protection or protecting a fellow citizen or a crowd. Police should only use force enough for self-defense or make an arrest. The level of force that an officer uses is based on many factors like his/her training and experience. Use of force is termed as the last action an officer should take to protect a community when all other efforts have proven ineffective. Injuries are likely to occur during use-of-force-events. It is the officer’s responsibility to ensure the injured receive medical attention and his/her family is notified of the situation.  

Reference 

Eagly, I. V. (2017). Criminal Justice in an Era of Mass Deportation. New Criminal Law Review: In International and Interdisciplinary Journal, 20(1), 12-38. 

Cohn, E. G., Farrington, D. P., & Iratzoqui, A. (2017). Changes in the most-cited scholars and works over 25 years: The evolution of the field of criminology and criminal justice. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 28(1), 25-51. 

Moriarty, L. J. (2017). Criminal justice technology in the 21st century. Charles C Thomas Publisher. 

Carter, R. L., & Hill, K. Q. (2014).  The Criminal's Image of the City: Pergamon Policy Studies on Crime and Justice. Elsevier.