1. Rights When Arrested Objective 2.01 Recognize types of courts. Business Law

2. Rights When Arrested  One of the major objects of the Constitution of the United States is to protect individuals from certain actions of the federal government. The authors of the Constitution believed it was better for our society to give individuals too much liberty than to allow the government too much power. Thus, in this country, people suspected or accused of criminal conduct have rights that are not available in many other countries.

3. Rights When Arrested (continued)  The constitutional right to due process requires fundamental fairness in governmental actions. It requires fair procedures during an investigation and in court. For example, criminal defendants may not be compelled to testify against them-selves. They have the right to cross-examine witnesses. Perhaps the most important right is the right of the accused criminal to be represented by a lawyer. For a person who cannot afford to hire a lawyer, a public defender or a private lawyer is provided by the state.

4. Rights When Arrested (continued)  To convict a person of a crime, the evidence must establish guilt with proof beyond a reasonable doubt. This means the vast majority of the evidence supports the guilty verdict. Defendants have a constitutional right to a trial by jury. There will be a jury if either the state prosecutor or the defendant requests one. In jury trials, the defendant is usually found guilty only if all the jurors vote to convict.

5. Rights When Arrested (continued)  A person who aids another in the commission of a crime is also guilty of criminal wrongdoing. For example, one who acts as a lookout to warn a burglar of the approach of the police is an accomplice in the burglary. Similarly, one who plans the crime, or otherwise intentionally helps, is guilty of the same crime. In most jurisdictions, if someone is killed during a felony, all accomplices are guilty of the homicide.

6. Rights When Arrested (continued)  Corporations can be held vicariously liable for the conduct of their employees. Also, officers of corporations may be criminally liable for their actions as managers. The state must prove that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But even when it appears this has been done, the defendant may escape criminal liability by subsequently establishing a defense.

7. Rights When Arrested (continued)  A defense often allows the defendant to escape liability. The defendant must produce the evidence to support any defense. There are two types of defenses: procedural defense and substantive defense.

8. Rights When Arrested (continued)  Procedural defenses are based on problems with the way evidence is obtained or the way the accused person is arrested, questioned, tried, or punished. Example: a defendant who had confessed to a crime might assert the defense that she signed the confession only because she was threatened by the police.

9. Rights When Arrested (continued)  Substantive defenses disprove, justify, or excuse the alleged crime. Example: an eyewitness may have placed the defendant at the scene of the crime. The defendant may establish a substantive defense by showing that he was in the hospital at the time of the alleged crime. Examples: Self-defense, criminal insanity, and immunity

10. What are Miranda rights?  Criminal Law  The Police & Your Rights  Police generally read these rights to individuals about to be questioned in custody. "You have the right to remain silent. If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you desire an attorney and cannot afford one, an attorney will be obtained for you before police questioning."

11. What are Miranda rights?  The Miranda rule was developed to protect the individual's Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The Miranda warning ensures that people in custody realize they do not have to talk to the police and that they have the right to the presence of an attorney.

12. What are Miranda rights?  If the Miranda warning is not given before questioning, or if police continue to question a suspect after he or she indicates in any manner a desire to consult with an attorney before speaking, statements by the suspect generally are inadmissible at trial— they cannot be used against the suspect.