6W6

Sixth Amendment

The 6th Amendment-

In all criminal trials, the accused person has a right to a speedy and public trial. They also have a right to a jury picked by the state. The accused person also has a right to a witness in their favor.

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


Questions:

1. Does every criminal have a trail no matter the crime?
Yes, even the most horrific crimes can be brought to court.

2. Did the people at the time agree with the amendment?
Yes, they did agree with the amendment at the time.

3.What is a speedy trial?
Its a trail that is held not that far in time from your arrest, but every state has it's own rules for a speedy trial.

4. What is the youngest age you could be tried as an adult?
Traditional it is the age 18, but it varies between states such as New York. New York states that anyone that is 16 or above is tried as an adult, but if anyone that is 13, 14, or 15 years old and commits a serious or violent crime can be tried as an adult.

5. What is a public trial?
Its a trial that family and friends can come to and watch, but if they interrupt for any reason they will be excluded.

6. What is a Criminal Prosecution?
A Criminal Prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting a case in a criminal trial against someone.


7. What does the "Assistance of Counsel" mean?
The Assistance of Counsel means that the criminal defendant has a right to a competent attorney representing them.

8. Does the type of crime affect how long a trial may take?
Yes, it does affect how long a trial may take. If you are being accused of foul play your trial can take around a year but, if you are charged for shoplifting, the trial can take around a month.

9. What will happen if the accused skips their trial?
If you skip your trial the Justice System will treat you differently.If this happens, the judge has the ability to get a warrant for your arrest.

10. Are the rights the same in every state or, do they all have different modifications?
All the states follow the same guidelines. The only parts that are different are the rules about the trial and how it may take place.

What issues prompted the creation of you amendment?

The issue that prompted the creation of the sixth amendment was that the English were throwing people in jail for a crime they didn't even commit. An important part of solving this problem was the creation of confrontation clause. An example of what happened before confrontation clause was created is, Sir Walter Raleigh was convicted and executed on testimony from a witness that was never in court, this is the reason why confrontation clause was added to the sixth amendment. Another important part of the 6th amendment was the right to a speedy trial. The right to a speedy trial basically fixed the problem that people might be innocent and would be incarcerated for an excessive amount of time. Another important part of the 6th amendment was the right to a public trial. A public trial basically serves a purpose to sway the public opinion greatly. An example of what happened before this right was created is that a citizen could be arrested and charged with treason, convicted, and executed and there would be no public record with which to ensure the process was fair to the accused. These are the issues that prompted the creation of the 6th amendment.

What impact did your amendment have on society at the time?

The 6th Amendment had an impact on society at the time. Before this amendment was created, the British jailed people. They jailed people for crimes that were not committed by most people that were accused. The 6th amendment changed this. After the 6th Amendment was passed people had fair trials and were not thrown into jail. The 6th Amendment gives people the rights to a speedy and public trial. It also gives people the right to a jury, a lawyer and a witness in their favor. What this means is, that the court can not take a long time to prove you guilty or not- guilty. Now if people were accused of crimes they have a way to defend themselves. This helped people in the past but it helps us today also. This is the impact the 6th amendment had on society at the time.



Pictures:


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