In 1787, American leaders wrote a document that would serve as the law of land, the United States Constitution. The Constitution was imperfect. American leaders in 1787 could not predict what would happen in 1812 or 1960. As a result, the Constitution has been amended to address new legal problems facing the nation. The first ten of these Amendments to the United States Constitution are commonly known as the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights were enacted as limitations solely upon the federal government. [
Barron v. Baltimore
(1833)]. Though American leaders, after having gained independence from what they considered a tyrannical British government, wanted to ensure that governmental tyranny and despotism would not rule the day in America, they also found it necessary for the national Government to address the issue of crime, irrespective of whether or not this could be construed as an infringement upon the sovereignty of state governments. When we consider that of the 23 separate rights noted in the first eight Amendments, 12 concern criminal procedure, we begin to see the relevance that the issue of criminal justice has always played in American society.
The Fourth Amendment guarantees the right of the people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures and prohibits the issuance of warrants unless certain conditions are met. The Fifth Amendment requires prosecution by grand jury indictment in all infamous crimes (except certain military prosecutions) and prohibits placing a person in double jeopardy or compelling the person to testify against him/herself. This Amendment also prohibits deprivations of life, liberty, or property without due process of the law. The Sixth Amendment lists several rights which are applicable in all criminal prosecutions; the right to a speedy trial, to a public trial, to an impartial jury of the state and district where the crime was committed, to notice of the nature and cause of the accusation, to confrontation of opposing witnesses, to compulsory process for attaining favorable witnesses, and to the assistance of counsel. The Eighth Amendment adds a prohibition against requiring excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.