defendant

Examples of defendant in the following topics:

• The Sixth Amendment and the Right to Counsel

  • Brewer goes on to conclude that once adversarial proceedings have begun against a defendant, he has a right to legal representation when the government interrogates him and that when a defendant is arrested, "arraigned on an arrest warrant before a judge" and "committed by the court to confinement . . . there can be no doubt that judicial proceedings have been initiated."
  • Subject to considerations such as conflicts of interest, scheduling, counsel's authorization to practice law in the jurisdiction, and counsel's willingness to represent the defendant (whether pro bono or for a fee), criminal defendants have a right to be represented by counsel of their choice.
  • Whether counsel is retained or appointed, the defendant has a right to counsel without a conflict of interest.
  • Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458 (1938), the Supreme Court ruled that in all federal cases, counsel would have to be appointed for defendants who were too poor to hire their own.
  • A criminal defendant may represent himself, unless a court deems the defendant to be incompetent to waive the right to counsel.

• U.S. District Courts

  • A copy of the complaint is "served" to the defendant who must, subsequently, appear for a trial.
  • Meanwhile, criminal cases involve a U.S. attorney (the prosecutor), a grand jury, and a defendant.
  • The purpose of the grand jury is to review evidence presented by the prosecutor to decide whether a defendant should stand trial.
  • Most defendants will plead guilty at this point instead of going to trial.
  • Those defendants who plead not guilty will be scheduled to receive a later trial.

• The Rights of the Accused

  • Currently, in many countries with a democratic system and the rule of law, criminal procedure puts the burden of proof on the prosecution – that is, it is up to the prosecution to prove that the defendant is guilty beyond any reasonable doubt, as opposed to having the defendant prove that s/he is innocent; any doubt is resolved in favor of the defendant.
  • Similarly, all such jurisdictions allow the defendant the right to legal counsel and provide any defendant who cannot afford their own lawyer with a lawyer paid for at the public expense (which is in some countries called a "court-appointed lawyer").

• The Sixth Amendment and Jury Trials

  • The right to a jury has always depended on the nature of the offense with which the defendant is charged.
  • When, under the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court extended the right to a trial by jury to defendants in state courts, it re-examined some of the standards.
  • It has been held that twelve came to be the number of jurors by "historical accident," and that a jury of six would be sufficient, but anything less would deprive the defendant of a right to trial by jury.
  • Defendants may not challenge a conviction on the basis that a challenge for cause was denied incorrectly if they had the opportunity to use peremptory challenges.
  • The jury panel must represent a fair cross-section of the community; the defendant may establish that the requirement was violated by showing that the allegedly excluded group is a "distinctive" one in the community, that the representation of such a group in venires is unreasonable and unfair in regard to the number of persons belonging to such a group, and that the under-representation is caused by a systematic exclusion in the selection process.

• The Sixth Amendment

  • Describe the rights a defendant is due under the 6th Amendment

• Federalists and Antifederalists

  • These essays explained the Constitution and defended its provisions.
  • The Federalists defended the weakest point of the Constitution—a lack of a Bill of Rights—by suggesting that current protections were sufficient and that the Congress could always propose Amendments.

• The NAACP

  • During this period several groups began organizing, particularly around defending rights won under the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments.
  • Du Bois was one of a small group of Black participants in the first meeting, and his focus on defending the rights granted in the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments and eliminate race prejudice were adopted by the group.

• The Fifth Amendment, Self-Incrimination, and Double Jeopardy

  • United States (1932), the Supreme Court announced the following test: the government may separately try and punish the defendant for two crimes if each crime contains an element that the other does not.
  • If the defendant moved for a mistrial, there is no bar to retrial, unless the prosecutor acted in bad faith.
  • For example, the prosecutor goads the defendant into moving for a mistrial because the government specifically wanted a mistrial.

• The Miranda Warning

  • If the defendant asserts his right to remain silent all interrogation must immediately stop and the police may not resume the interrogation unless the police have "scrupulously honored" the defendant's assertion and obtain a valid waiver before resuming the interrogation.
  • The police must immediately cease all interrogation and the police cannot reinitiate interrogation unless counsel is present (merely consulting with counsel is insufficient) or the defendant contacts the police on his own volition.
  • If the defendant does reinitiate contact, a valid waiver must be obtained before interrogation may resume.

• Individualism

  • Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labor, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right to privacy, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and the right to marry and have a family.