The US Constitutional Bill of Rights - Essay Example

A precisely regulated armed force, being essential to the safety of a free state, peoples’ rights to keep and own arms, will not be disobeyed.

Amendment three

No combatant shall, in peace times be quartered in any home, without the owner’s consent, nor in wartime, but in a way laid down by the law.

Amendment four

People have the right to be safe in their houses, effects, and persons, against illogical seizures and searches, shall not be infringed, and no guarantees shall issue, but on likely cause, supported by affirmation or oath, and specifically describing the location of the search, and the individuals or items to be seized.

Amendment five

No one shall be answerable for a capital, or any renowned crime, except on an indictment or a presentment of grand judges, in the exception of cases occurring from naval or land forces, or in the military, when in real service in a war or public danger times; nor shall any individual be subject to similar offense to be placed in danger of life or extremity, nor shall be forced in any criminal case to witness against himself, nor his life, property, or liberty be deprived without the correct law process, nor shall personal property be taken to be used publicly, without being justly compensated.

Amendment six

The accused shall enjoy the right to a quick and public trial, by a neutral judge of the district and state where the crime was committed, the district should have been determined by law, and be made aware of the cause and nature of the allegation; to be dealt with the witness in opposition to him; to have an obligatory procedure for finding witnesses in his favor, and to be assisted by the counsel in defending him.

Amendment seven

At common lawsuits, where the value in disagreement exceeds twenty dollars, the jury’s right of trial shall be preserved, yet no reality by a judge shall be otherwise reevaluated in any U.S. court, than by the common law.

Amendment eight

Extreme bail shall not be necessary, nor extra fines imposed, nor brutal and strange punishments imposed.

Amendment nine

The details in the Constitution, of particular rights, shall not be interpreted to disparage or deny others retained by citizens.

Amendment ten

Those powers not provided by the Constitution to the U.S., nor forbidden by it to the states, are set aside for the states respectively, or the citizens.

The amendments related to due process protections and criminal procedures protect the rights of the accused and the suspected persons, convicted criminals, and criminal defendants. The rights are all provided in the 4th 5th, 6th, and 8th amendments as discussed above (Bruns, 1986).

Our group chose five U.S citizens to interview to get a clear understanding of how the public is aware of Human Rights and the procedures established by the amendments. The interviewees included a male University student, a soldier, a female lawyer, a businessman, and a female town clerk. The group interviewed the five citizens based on: their perceptions and awareness regarding the subject; knowledge of the violation of rights and protection; and knowledge of particular human rights institutions and the process of accessing them. The survey questions to the interviewees were:

• Have you ever heard of the U.S. Constitutional Bill of Rights?
• Are you aware that the Constitution has a chapter on criminal procedures and the protection of essential human rights?
• How much of the Bill do you have clear knowledge about?
• By how far have you read the U.S constitution?
• Do you think the rights are being exercised as provided?
• Are the rights included in the Bill sufficient or do some extra ones need to be added?
• Do you think citizens in America have freedom of speech? What if the press?
• Which one of the rights and protections do you regard as the most important to you as a citizen?
• Given a chance, which right will you omit from the amendments?
• How many amendments are there in the Bill of Rights as provided by the U.S constitution?

Further, there seemed to be a slight difference in the awareness level between the student, the lawyer, and the town clerk on one hand and the soldier and the businessman on the other. This shows that several types of citizens have varying levels of awareness about their rights. The results also indicated that male citizens had more knowledge of the Bill as compared to the females; perhaps the feminine is more ignorant. In this regard, only 40% of the participants thought the State had done enough to sensitize the public to the Bill of Rights.