This may seem like a silly question but I have to askit. What is needed for an arrest and conviction? I know people will say EVIDENCE but exactly what kind of evidence?
It seems some people are tried and convicted on circumstantial evidence or the testimony of a witness and others are acquitted when there is tons of evidence. Does it vary by jurisdiction? If the crime is murder, why are some cases prosecuted without a body and other never even an arrest because there is no body?
U.S History and Government REview
The issue which forces the hand of LE are The Rights of the Accused. These are outlined in the first 10 ( 5-10)amendments. In truth these right preceded the 1789 constitution and were in place from the first constitutional convention " articles of the confederation"( this constitution didnt work so the founders created a " more perfect one". These rights were dear to the
colonists who were frequently thrown in jail/executed with no evidence-These individual rights ( see below Bill of Rights):
Amendments in the Bill of Rights which pertain to the individual rights of the accused.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no
warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI
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 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.
Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than
according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
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These are the examples from the Declaration of Independence which relate to what the colonists were going through under King George.
"He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers."
".....He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures."
_
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
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http://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/constitution/
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