Amendment6W1

== Sixth Amendment guarantees that 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 the 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 defense. ==



Essential Question: What issues prompted the creation of your amendment? What impact did your amendment gave on society at that time?

Questions and Answers on the Sixth Amendment:

1. Was it a bad period of time in history when the Sixth Amendment was created? Answer: Yes, it was a bad period in time in history when the Sixth Amendment was created because there were no official prosecutors or judges. It was a bad time because cases were brought by the victims and neither side had lawyers so they represented themselves. The trials turned into screaming matches as both sides argued about who was right. By creating the Sixth Amendment, the framers helped shape the criminal justice system as it is today. - Zachary Santana



2. Who was the person(s) who created the Sixth Amendment? Answer: On June 8, 1789, Representative James Madison introduced a series of thirty-nine amendments to the constitution in the House of Representatives. The Sixth Amendment was included in these amendments. -Zachary Santana

3. Did the development of the amendment cause the government to become more organized? Answer: Yes, with the development of the Sixth Amendment, it did cause the government to become more organized because it meant that people had the right to their own trial or lawyer before going to jail. Before the creation of the Sixth Amendment, if people could not afford a lawyer, they were forced to sit in jail for many months until they could be tried for their crime. However, this all changed with the Sixth Amendment. - Zachary Santana

4. Why did the Sixth Amendment have seven specific protections for the defendant? Answer: The reason the Sixth Amendment was created was to ensure that Americans would receive a fast and fair trial with people who would defend them and speak in their favor. Under British law, Americans did not have this right and many people suspected of committing crimes suffered for years in jail while they awaited trial only to be found “not guilty” and released. The early colonists were angered against this treatment and the laws imposed by the British led to the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Therefore, the founding fathers created the seven specific protections to protect the rights of the accused. These protections are: the right to a speedy trial; the right to a public trial; the rights to be judged by an impartial jury; the right to be notified of the nature and circumstances of the alleged crime; the right to confront witnesses who will speak in favor of the accused; and the right to have a lawyer. - Ava Liosatos []



5. Was it a long process in passing the Sixth Amendment? Answer: It took exactly 1 year and 19 days to pass the sixth amendment. The reason why it took so long was because of all of the complaints by the people staying in jail just because they didn't have a lawyer in time and have no choice but to stay in jail till they have the money to afford a lawyer. - Zachary Santana

6. Who was the president when the amendment was passed and what was his point of view on it? Answer: The president was George Washington when the 6th amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791. President Washington eventually was in favor of this amendment as he was to create a stronger central government. -Ava Liosatos []



7. What does the Sixth Amendment really mean for an everyday person? Answer: The Sixth Amendment is very important for the everyday person because it offers many protections and rights to a person being accused of a crime. It also protects him from being improperly prosecuted. When a person is arrested, he has the right to be told what he is being charged with. He is known as a defendant. The defendant has the right to have a fair and speedy trial by jury. This is one of the most important rights in the Constitution. This means that the defendant cannot be held in jail for an unnecessarily long time while the prosecution gathers evidence against him. This is also to protect defendants who are innocent. The defendant also has the right to have a lawyer whether or not he can afford to pay for his services. That lawyer is to be present during the trial and he will question witnesses who testify against the defendant. The defendant also has the right to have his own witnesses testify on his behalf. He is entitled to have a trial by jury, which is made up of everyday people, like himself. Trials by juries are often viewed as more impartial than a judge only trial. - Ava Liosatos []



8. What challenges does the Sixth Amendment face? Answer: The challenges that face the Sixth Amendment are that many times a defendant does not have good legal representation or any representation at all. This means that many times the defendant has a lawyer who is not very competent or too overwhelmed by his case load that he does not have enough time to spend on the defendant’s case. Also, in many cases, defendants who cannot afford to pay for their lawyers, are not informed that they are entitled to free legal representation, to be paid for by the government. Another challenge is when a defendant is denied the right to a trial by jury. Many times people give up this right without meaning to.- Ava Liosatos []

9. Is the Sixth Amendment applied equally in all 50 states? Answer: The Sixth Amendment applies to all the states and should be followed in the same way by all the states. The 14th amendment made sure that the 6th amendment applies to the states as well as to federal prosecutions.- Ava Liosatos []

10. At what point does the sixth amendment apply? Answer: The rights under the 6th amendment are triggered once formal criminal proceedings begin against a defendant. -Ava Liosatos []

For more information about the Sixth Amendment, please visit the following websites: (Google was used to find most of this information.)

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Question 1: The issues that prompted the creation of the Sixth amendment are that Americans were not treated fairly under British Law. At the time of the Constitution, English courts were controlled by the king. That meant that when and how a person was tried was up to the king or someone loyal to the king. Juries were never impartial. Under British law, Americans did not have the right to a speedy trial and an impartial jury. In fact, the king could punish people for any reason. Many people suspected of committing crimes suffered for years in jail while they awaited trial only to be found “not guilty” and released. The early colonists were outraged against this treatment and the laws imposed by the British led to the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Therefore, our forefathers created the 6th amendment to ensure that Americans would receive a fast and fair trial with people who would defend them and speak in their favor. The framers of the Constitution wanted to make sure that the abuses people suffered in the English courts never happened in America. -Ava Liosatos

question 2: The 6th amendment had a huge impact on society during the time. It gave people convicted of crimes to have a quick trial after they were convicted. It also gives convicts the right to a lawyer, even if the convict does not have enough money to afford the lawyer. It gave the people right to be informed of what they were charged with. It gave people an impartial jury as well. It also gave people less time in jail before their trial, because they would have a speedy and public trial. Before the amendment people were getting convicted and locked up in jail, and the convicts needed to wait a while for their trial. The society improved with the 6th amendment because it made it fair for criminals during their trial. Overall, this amendment had a huge impact on society and changed the justice system into a good direction-Zachary Santana

__Current Event__ Essential Question- How do our Constitutional amendments affect today's society?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/16/us/new-orleans-public-defender-lawsuit.html- Ava Liosatos

On Thursday, January 15, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, there was a lawsuit filed on behalf of Darwin Yarls Jr., Leroy Shaw Jr., and Douglas Brown. All three men were arrested on separate crimes and due to the underfunding of the public defender’s office were left without attorneys to represent them. There was no lawyer present during their arraignment to argue the charges, negotiate bail or other legal matters. The suit further claims Baton Rouge has an unreliable funding system for the public defender’s office. The office is funded by traffic violations which have decreased over the last few years. This flawed funding system has lead to other prisoners spending a great deal of time in prison without any legal representation. To make matters worse the Public Defender’s Office also announced that it would refuse cases such as attempted murder, certain types of rape, and armed robbery due to the overload of cases it already has. Also there have been many lawyers form the Public Defender’s Office who have resigned due to the lack of money, which worsens the problem.- Ava Liosatos

The 6th amendment is the foundation of our legal system. The 6th amendment is still relevant today because it is important that a prisoner receives a speedy and fair trial. We cannot have individuals who are accused of a crime spending years in prison. It protects an individual from spending unreasonable amount of time in jail, if they are innocent. The 6th amendment also provides the right for the accused to be respresented by an attorney. The attorney is responsible for protecting the rights of the accused. The accused also is to receive a public trial with an impartial jury. This means the jury can’t be prejudiced or biased against the accused individual.- Ava Liosatos

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/nyregion/congressmen-plan-bill-barring-us-prosecutors-from-reading-inmates-emails-to-lawyers.html?_r=0- Ava Liosatos

On Thursday October 29,2015, a bill was introduced to congress by Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (Democrat from Brooklyn) and Doug Collins (Republican from Georgia) which would prohibit federal prosecutors from reading emails between prisoners and their attorney. Many defense attorneys find that communicating with their clients in prison through email is far more convenient and less costly. They also don’t need to travel to the prisons and wait on long lines to see their clients. Defense attorneys argue if their client emails are read, they can’t provide proper counsel to their clients. Prosecutors argue they are entitled to read the emails because the email system is owned by the Bureau of Prisons. Also prisoners are made aware their emails are being read and they have signed off on it. Furthermore, it is very difficult to differentiate between emails the prisoners are sending to their attorneys and various other emails. To set up a system that would do that would be very expensive.- Ava Liosatos

The 6th amendment ensures the accused will receive a fair and just trial. Neither the prosecution or the defense should have an unfair advantage during the course of the trial. The prisoners could send their attorneys letters by mail as opposed to using email. However, this would cause an unnecessary delay in the proceedings. Allowing the prisoners to communicate with their attorneys by email will allow them to have more interaction than they would through weekly visits. This would allow the prisoners to take a more active role in defense. The 6th amendment relates to today because the prisoner should be able to communicate with their attorney freely and easily. They should not have to worry that any form of communication with their attorneys would not be protected by the 6th amendment.- Ava Liosatos

__ Current Event __ Essential Question: how does the past affect the present. [] This amendment is relevant today because she couldn't afford. A lawyer so they provided one to her because the sixth amendment states that everyone has the right to a speedy trial. But new Orleans did not grant it to her because it was negligent homicide unattended fire arm so it was technically her fault for letting the child die. It couldn't have been and accident all firearms should be locked away out of children's reach or stored in a draw. New Orleans pleaded her guilty without having a lawyer. []