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The Bill of Rights: the Story Behind the Amendments
Part
4: Amendments V, VI, and VII
- Amendment
V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or
indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in
the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in
actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall
any person be subject for the same offence to be twice
put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled
in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor
be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor shall private property be taken for
public use, without just compensation.
 Americans
were sometimes convicted of murder or treason by a simple
decision of a judge or a small judicial panel. Also, people
could be tried again and again on the same charges, no
matter the previous outcomes. A rich revolutionary like
John
Hancock
could afford a good lawyer to help him persuade a judge or
jury to vote not guilty once or twice maybe, but British law
at that time put no restriction on how many times the
government could prosecute people for the same exact
offense. Lastly, soldiers and government officials would
take nearly everything they could get their hands on from
the houses of Americans and give it to soldiers and other
public officials, and the Americans would get nothing in
return.
- Amendment
VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy
the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial
jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall
have been committed, which district shall have been
previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the
nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with
the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the
Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
This
seems so natural to us today. But in the 18th Century, none
of these things was normal. People were often convicted by
judges who didn't hear much evidence (and didn't really want
to) or never asked for any. Trials, if held at all, were
rarely public. Witness testimony was often kept secret, and
defense lawyers were not exactly common.
- Amendment
VII
- In
suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall
be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be
otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States,
than according to the rules of the common
law.
 This
Amendment really reinforced the need to abide by the laws as
written. Since many suits were more than 20 dollars, this
Amendment served to reinforce the Sixth Amendment provision
for trial by jury. The second part of the Seventh Amendment
reinforces the idea that the courts should adhere to the law
of the land and not make up their own laws, something not
always found at British courts.
Next
page > Amendments
VIII, IX, and X
> Page 1,
2,
3,
4, 5
Graphics
courtesy of ArtToday |
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