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Due Process Rights

Due Process of Law
Of the 10 amendments that are the bill of Rights, Amendments Four, Five, Six, Seven, & Eight address criminal justice and rights of the accused. The fourth amendment was designed to prevent unreasonable or general searches and seizures without warrant or probable cause. This limits state police powers because it makes guidelines and restrictions for the search and seizure of "persons, houses, paper, and effects." These requirements however, don't necessarily apply to moving or movable objects and it's contents (i.e. cars and containers); because of safety concerns of both the public and police officers, the courts have been willing to limit the freedoms we have. As seen with the approved use of 'drug courier profiles,' drug wars have bent the interpretation of unreasonable search and seizure standards from 'with probable cause' to 'reasonable suspicion' and now 'slight suspicion that a person may have been involved in a crime. The Exclusionary Rule is used to remedy law enforcement violations of due process, which prevents the admission of illegally obtained evidence or information.
Rights of accused persons are further protected under the Fifth Amendment. The infamous cliché "I plea the fifth' refers to the right intended with "no person…shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." The 5th Amendment also requires those accused of a federal crime be indicted by a grand jury to determine whether or not there is enough evidence to warrant a trial (these proceedings have been criticized as a "rubberstamp" so that the prosecutor gets what they want). In addition, it prohibits double jeopardy and the denial of life liberty or property without due process of the law. Because of the decision made in Gideon vs. Wainwright, it is required that free legal counsel be appointed in all criminal cases, especially if it can't be afforded. Moreover, the Miranda vs. Arizona ruling set the requirement that all suspects be...