CJ 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Clarence Earl Gideon, Equal Protection Clause, Due Process
18 Jun 2018
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Rights Consciousness and Civil Liberties
Americans are very conscious of their rights. Individual rights are rights that the government
cannot abridge. Often, citizens don't know the content of specific rights, but they assert their
entitlement to those rights anyway.
General versus specific rights
Belief in a specific rightspurred a convicted felon, Clarence Gideon, to contest his
conviction. The U.S. Supreme Court used this appeal as a means in Gideon v.
Wainwright (1963) to establish an indigent defendant's right to an attorney at felony
trials.
A general right can have applications beyond the case in which it is first established.
The right to privacy, for example, has played a part in thousands of cases dealing with
police procedures for conducting searches and seizures. Another general right is the
right to be treated fairly. Americans are very conscious of their due process rights
because so many rights are related to the procedures by which the government can
take away life, liberty, and property.
The Bill of Rights
The main source of citizens' rights in America is the Bill of Rights, the first ten
amendments to the Constitution. The Bill of Rights, which took effect in 1791, details the
rights of the American people and forbids the government to violate those rights. Four of
the amendments pertain directly to criminal justice. These amendments depict
procedural rights that apply to citizens accused of crime, defendants in criminal cases,
and inmates in jails and prisons.
The Fourth Amendment prohibits the government from conducting
“unreasonable searches and seizures.”
The Fifth Amendment provides the privilege against self incrimination, forbids ‐
the government to try a person twice for the same offense (double jeopardy),
and promises “due process of law.”
The Sixth Amendment sets out the requirements for criminal trials, including the
defendant's right to counsel.
The Eighth Amendment forbids the government to subject inmates to “cruel and
unusual punishments.”
Originally, the Bill of Rights imposed restrictions upon only the federal government. It
provided no protection to citizens against state or local action.
The Fourteenth Amendment and due process
After the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, was added to the
Constitution. It bars states from violating people's right to due process of law. It states
that “no State shall … deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws.” These rights of due process and equal protection were intended to protect
individuals from abusive actions by state and local criminal justice officials. The terms
“due process” and “equal protection” were left to the Supreme Court to define.
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Document Summary
Individual rights are rights that the government cannot abridge. Often, citizens don"t know the content of specific rights, but they assert their entitlement to those rights anyway. Belief in a specific rightspurred a convicted felon, clarence gideon, to contest his conviction. The u. s. supreme court used this appeal as a means in gideon v. Wainwright (1963) to establish an indigent defendant"s right to an attorney at felony trials. A general right can have applications beyond the case in which it is first established. The right to privacy, for example, has played a part in thousands of cases dealing with police procedures for conducting searches and seizures. Another general right is the right to be treated fairly. Americans are very conscious of their due process rights because so many rights are related to the procedures by which the government can take away life, liberty, and property.
