The Warren Court - Term Paper Example

But he was not what people assumed him to be. He changed a lot of things in his court. The remedial power of law was one of the things Earl Warren really believed in and he enforced this idea further as well. The center of attention of court was transferred to personal rights from property rights and great importance was given to ethical values as well as legal issues. The Warren court worked really hard for the civil rights of people. It strongly supported the Bill of Rights as well. The decisions made by the Warren Court brought about many vital changes in the society all over.

The decisions mainly covered the issues like one-man, one vote; desegregation and the decisions made in the criminal courts. The Warren Court was considered to be too lenient towards the accused and was hindering the work of the police by doing this. The law enforcement agencies have been among the more influential groups engaged in criticizing the Warren Court (Lytle 1968). Before the Warren Court there were not very clear and strong rights given to the accused for his or her defense. They were also hesitant to give the accused constitutional rights.

The right of the defendant to get a lawyer who is granted to him or her by the government was introduced in the Warren Court. The decisions which were made in the Warren Courts regarding various issues were undisputed while others were made through split court. The Warren Court mainly focused upon the constitutional regulation of criminal procedure instead of substantive criminal law. Some of the people argue that the efforts made by the chief justice Earl Warren to bring improvements to the criminal justice system are ambiguous and not certain.

Chief justice Earl Warren brought about some primary changes in the criminal justice system. During its last eight years the Warren Court revolutionized criminal procedures, taking the lead in the development of American law in the twentieth century (Belknap & Warren 2004). It is also considered by some to have brought about a criminal law revolution but on the other hand some think that it is barely and evolution in regard to the civil rights of the defendant. However, there is no doubt that the changes in criminal law system made in Warren Court have changed the way the criminal administration worked in United States permanently.

In the Bill of Rights there were amendments that protected the rights of the defendant. The fourth amendment stated that the criminal defendant could not be arrested unlawfully and that legal court notice is required in order to search or seize the accused. According to the Fifth Amendment in the Bill of Rights the defendant was guaranteed the advantage against the self-incrimination. Last but not the least; in the sixth amendment the accused was given the right to a fast trial, compulsory process for witness and the right to a counsel for his defense.

These amendments give rights to the criminal defendant and to further support these rights certain rules were made like for example the accused have to be brought in front of the judicial officer as soon as he is arrested. The Warren Court expanded the right to counsel by ruling that criminal defendants charged with felonies in state courts do have fundamental right to an attorney even if they