|
|
|
|
|
5th Amendment
|
|
|
The 5th amendment of the U.S. constitution states that no person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. This provides several important protections for persons accused of a crime. It requires indictment by a grand jury on a federal offense and protection against double jeopardy and self-incrimination. It also forbids deprivation of life, liberty, or property without Due Process of law and prohibits the taking of private property for public use without just compensation. Indictment by a Grand Jury: The history of the grand jury is rooted in the common and civil law, extending back to Athens, pre-Norman England, and the Assize of Clarendon promulgated by Henry II.1 The right had been first mentioned in the colonies in the Charter of Liberties and Privileges of 1683, which was passed by the first assembly allowed to be elected in the colony of New York.2 Included from the first in Madison's draft of the Bill of Rights, the provision had no debate and no opposition. “The grand jury is an English institution, brought to this country by the early colonists and incorporated in the Constitution by the Founders. There is every reason to believe that our constitutional grand jury was intended to operate substantially like its English progenitor. The basic purpose of the English grand jury was to provide a fair method for instituting criminal proceedings against persons believed to have committed crimes. Grand jurors were selected from the body of the people and their work was not hampered by rigid procedural or evidential rules. In fact, grand jurors could act on their own knowledge and were free to make their presentments or indictments on such information as they deemed satisfactory. Despite its broad power to institute criminal proceedings the grand jury grew in popular favor with the years. It acquired an independence in England free from control by the Crown or judges. Its adoption in our Constitution as the sole method for preferring charges in serious criminal cases shows the high place it held as an instrument of justice.
|
|
|
|
Still Can't Find What Your Looking For? Then Try a Essay Search!
|
