In The News

Basic Rights of Accused Persons in Criminal Proceedings

A Court House
78views

When you are suspected or accused of a crime, knowing your rights is important to ensure you get fair treatment. These rights are stated in the Bill of Rights, and they provide numerous protections for people involved in criminal proceedings. It starts with the police investigation and continues through the trial and appeal process. Criminal law is a broad topic, but in this article, we will be walking you through some basic rights accused persons have in criminal proceedings. 

Access to Counsel and Other Assistance

One of the most important rights every defendant out to remember is their right to counsel. You must be allowed access to a lawyer of your choosing at every stage of the criminal proceedings. If law enforcement fails to inform you of this right or deliberately obstructs your ability to access counsel, face consequences as any statement obtained from you under such circumstances is deemed inadmissible. So, ensure you get the best criminal attorney Indianapolis money can get to adequately assert your interests and defend you.

Right to a Hearing and Effective Remedy

When accused of a crime, you have the right to a fair hearing and effective remedy. Rumors can be dangerous, as they can make the accused feel helpless, angry, and very anxious. As such, the judicial system is designed such that a criminal case cannot be concluded until the accused has been granted a chance to make himself heard. The accused also has the right to ask for new and potentially exonerating evidence to be taken into consideration by authorities, at least during the trial stage of the criminal proceeding.

Impartiality and Non-discrimination

Whether the accused is a person of significance or not, the judicial system requires the accused to be prosecuted and tried according to the same rule and with the same degree of diligence. Whether a police or judge agrees with the political, religious, or lifestyle choices of the accused, it should not influence their behavior. Any kind of discrimination must be avoided, such as:

  • Ethnicity
  • Gender
  • Age
  • Religion
  • Nationality
  • Employment
  • Sexual orientation

To ensure impartiality, in a case where a judge or juror has a personal stake in the matter, they would have to recuse themselves.

Presumption of Innocence

If a criminal proceeding starts from a presumption of guidance and puts you in a position to prove your innocence, it is inherently unfair. The presumption of innocence is a legal principle that every person accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty. The presumption of innocence is explicitly recognized not only in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 11 (1) but also by most constitutions and a plethora of international treaties.

Freedom from Self-incrimination

Also, the judicial system provides persons accused of a crime the right from self-incrimination. This principle protects the rights of people from being forced to incriminate themselves, either through torture or undue kind of pressure exercised to obtain a statement from an accused person who has expressed their will to remain silent. Law enforcement should be obliged to inform the accused of their rights to remain silent upon first contact.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments