Bill of Rights and Amendments to the US Constitution - Essay Example

The US constitution stipulates that before an amendment can be effected, it must be proposed to the s with a two third votes from bothhouses. Since the original signing of the US constitution, there are a total of twenty seven amendments that have been ratified to it. The main purpose of this research paper is to analyze the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th and 14th amendments to the US constitution. The paper also seeks to find out the relationship between these parts of the constitution and administration of justice and security in United States. Introduction Several amendments that have been ratified on the US constitution were aimed at improving the administration of justice while at the same time ensuring security of all citizens. However, there are several issues that still arise as most law enforcement agencies continue to ensure that justice for all is achieved and American citizens remain secure at the same time. Objectives of this paper are therefore to analyze the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th and 14th amendments to the US constitution. The paper also seeks to find out the relationship between these parts of the constitution and administration of justice and security in United States. a) To understand the objectives of and the challenges facing various federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. b) To understand the roles of the federal, state, and local court systems with respect to safety and civil rights. c) To understand the objectives of the juvenile justice system with those other agencies. d) To understand the roles of private security organizations with respect to both corporate and public protection. e) To recommend solutions to the various challenges facing criminal justice organizations and security organizations. Amendments to the US constitution First Amendments The first amendments to the US constitution formed part of the bill of rights. The amendments prohibit any legislation that impedes free exercise of religion, deny the freedom of speech, infringes on the freedom of the press, fails to respect the right to freely assemble, or prohibits a petition for government redress in matters of grievances (Amar, 1998). The Bill of rights contained in the US constitution is a complete replica of the English bill of rights. However, it can be noted that the English Bill of rights does not contain much of what the first amendments added to the constitution after their ratification, Fourth Amendments These amendments are also part of the Bill of rights which is against unreasonable searches and seizure. In addition to that, the amendments also pioneered a requirement that there is a need to ensure that all warrants should be judicially sanctioned with support by probable cause. In simple terms, it generally means that the warrant should be sanctioned by the judicially on the basis of the specific information that has been supplied and the officer in charge sworn by it (Burgan, 2002). Fifth Amendments As part of the bill of rights, the fifth amendments to the US constitution protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. The amendment stipulates that no single person shall be held to answer capital or otherwise an infamous crime (Burgan, 2002). Sixth Amendments Being part of the US bill of rights, the sixth amendment to the US constitution sets the rights related to criminal prosecution through the due process, which is stipulated under the fourteenth amendment of the US constitution. Rights that have been conferred under this section include speedy trial, public trial, impartial jury, notice of accusation among other issues related to prosecution. Fourteenth Amendment Dubbed as the reconstruction amendments, the amendments contain the citizenship clause that provides a comprehensive definition of what citizenship is. In the Due process clause, the amendment stipulates that a state or local government cannot deprive a person of his life, liberty or property unless several steps have been taken to ensure fairness in the matter. Lastly, the amendments prohibit any legislation that impedes free exercise of religion, deny the freedom of speech, infringes on the freedom of the press, does not respect the right to freely assemble or prohibits a petition for government redress in matters of grievances (Amar, 1998). Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and Justice Objectives In United States, most law enforcement agencies are aimed at ensuring that there is a complete social control system that deters and mitigates crime throughout the country. These agencies also work by sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and providing rehabilitation where necessary. However, with amendments above, these law enforcement agencies face a number of challenges in terms of dealing with suspects of crime and what is stipulated under the bill of rights in amendments above. Challenges A criminal justice system that is honest, fair and effective is what most crusaders of the said amendments have been on the forefront in advocating for. This is because law enforcement agencies form part of the larger criminal justice system of the United States together with courts and corrections. Some of the challenges that these law enforcement agencies encounter are poor data collection and organized crime Poor data collection Since proper data collection for any given crime requires that there is proper coordination within parties involved in law enforcement agencies, it is prone to many errors and therefore sometimes lead to contradiction. Some cases have been cancelled in the name of lack of sufficient evidence because data collection was poorly done. The amendment discussed above requires any given court to ensure that there is sufficient data to ensure fairness at the time of trial. Organized crime The first amendment on the US constitution provides for freedom of assemble without restriction and therefore provides an umbrella for crime to thrive in some areas. Determining whether people have assembled for the purpose of organizing crime of for fruitful purpose continues to prove it hard for most law enforcement agencies thus remaining a big challenge. These agencies have to therefore, protect the society while at the same time ensure that rights of all those who are suspected are protected. Federal, State and local courts and their role in safety and civil rights Federal, state, and local courts in United States have the responsibility of ensuring that security of the state is maintained while at the same time ensuring that rights of citizens are safeguarded. These courts ensure that the rights of citizens are not violated as well as they are protected from all forms of violations. For example, the U.S constitution ensures that its citizens exercise their religion freely, prohibits a petition for the government to readdress matters as well as freedom of press. The federal, state, and local courts also prohibit any legislation that impedes free exercise of religion, denies the freedom of speech. It does not allow any one to violate such rights, and thus ensures that their citizens are safe in the country, as well as are free to do what they want as long as it is not against the law (Kermit & Ely, 2005). They also make sure that crimes are investigated before proven guilty. The amendment stipulates that no single person shall be held to answer to infamous crime, as well as jailed before his crimes are investigated. These courts therefore, protect the security of all citizens, both criminals and non-criminals (Kermit & Ely, 2005). It also prevents and deters crimes by punishing, trying and apprehending the offenders. Additionally, they discover and seek truth and justice. They prevent non- criminal from criminals by jailing, house arrest, probation, rehabilitation and punishing in order to ensure the safety of the public. Juvenile justice and other agencies According to Hall (2005 the right of every child accused of, alleged of and recognized as having violated the penal law has to be treated in a manner that is consistent with promoting the child’s sense of worth and dignity. This has reinforced the respect of the child as well as fundamental and human rights of others, which takes the child’s age into account, as well as the desirability of promoting a child’s useful role in society. Juvenile justice refers to norms, provision, mechanisms, procedures, legislation, standards, bodies, and institutions that are only applicable to juvenile offenders. The government responds to children in conflict with law by dealing with them in a formal justice system. The objectives of juvenile systems are; prevention, in terms of ensuring boys and girls do not come into conflict with the law and as a result do not disagree with the criminal justice system. Additionally, it also diverts, meaning and ensures that both boys and girls are diverted from the system, into community-based restorative processes which addresses the causes of their behaviors, as well as identify activities in the community that will help prevent repeat of the offence. To add to this, it also protects children who violate human rights law. This is because it focuses on their development which deters them from re-offending and promotes their smooth and rehabilitation back into the society (Hall, 2005). The criminal justice is concerned with punishing and retribution of offenders. It concentrates more on the crime than the offenders. Juvenile systems and other agencies focus on restoring relationship that is damaged between the community, offender and the victim in order to ensure that they are all safe from harm. Its objective is to make sure that it reconciles all parties involved, as well as reassure harmony to the community. It also offers access to legal assistance (Diane Publishing Company, 2003). Security organizations and their role in corporate and public protection Security organizations have a role of protecting both the public and the public. It is the responsibility of the security to make sure that the environment has high security. Additionally, they should be ready in whatever public and corporate comes their way. The congress and Executive Branch have constitution responsibility under U.S policy. It requires the security organizations to promote stability and peace in both the public and corporate organizations. Additionally, it solves problems that both the public and private bring to it in the same manner of the mindset that created the problems (Burgan, 2002). Corporate sectors are on the rise in U.S and therefore, they are spending more money employing security personnel. Therefore, there should be dual enforcement in implementation of security. The security organizations should make sure that it protects the rights of citizens in both public and private sector. The U.S amendment constitution requires that each citizen, both from private or public be protected by the rule of law. This is to mean that each citizen has equal rights, as well as the amendment protects everyone. Therefore, security organizations should ensure both citizens from public and private corporations are free from any harm and danger (Burgan, 2002). Recommendations Some of the recommendations to solutions and various challenges facing criminal justice organizations and security organizations are; having established security personnel that are standard. The criminal system is not standardized in any way, especially in terms of training and checks. By being standardized, this will help shift the opinion of security organizations from jobs to careers. Additionally, trained and better officers will not only be effective but also have invested more on their positions. The criminal system should also be trained, in terms of being fair, honest and effective in their work, in order to promote justice. It should also come up with proper ways of collecting and storing data, to prevent case losses. For example, it should make sure that the computers they use in storing data are updated as well as backed up. This will help in ensuring that justice is always practiced in courts (Diane Publishing Company, 2003). References Amar.R(1998), The bill of rights : creation and reconstruction. New Haven: Yale.Univ.Press Burgan, M. (2002). The Bill of Rights. Minneapolis, Minn: Compass Point Books Diane Publishing Company (2003), Federal Regulation of state & Local Governments: The Mixed Record of 1980’s. Diane Publishing Hall.K(2005), The Oxford companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Oxford : Oxford University Press Kermit H, & Ely.J(2005), The Oxford companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Routledge Read More