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Supreme Court of the United States - 391 U.S. 145
Tags: Criminal law, Trial by jury
The Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the right to a trial by jury in all criminal cases, including state criminal proceedings. The right to a jury trial is a fundamental protection against infringement of liberties and arbitrary power, and is considered an essential component of the US justice system. Petty offenses are exempted from the Sixth Amendment's jury trial provisions, but crimes punishable by two years in prison are considered serious crimes and entitle the defendant to a jury trial. The appellant was denied a jury trial in error, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
The author challenges the Twining doctrine that held that Bill of Rights provisions were not enforceable against the States, arguing that the Bill of Rights were made applicable to the States by the Fourteenth Amendment. The author believes that any interpretation of "privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States" that excludes the Bill of Rights renders the Fourteenth Amendment meaningless. The author argues that the first eight amendments' personal rights should be included in the privileges and immunities mentioned in the second section of the fourth article of the Constitution. The Due Process Clause guarantees all Americans the right to a trial by independent and unprejudiced courts using established procedures and applying valid pre-existing laws. The author believes that States should not be allowed to experiment with the protections afforded to citizens through the Bill of Rights under the guise of federalism.
Justice Harlan's dissenting opinion argues that the Constitution does not prohibit Louisiana from trying charges of simple battery to the court alone. The States have the duty of running their individual criminal justice systems ensuring that their procedures are fair as per the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court's decision to overturn the conviction was based on an incorporation of the Sixth Amendment's demand for trial by jury in federal criminal cases into the Due Process Clause, which the author views as misguided and contrary to historical interpretations. The Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the general principle of free speech and privacy protection against police intrusion as part of "ordered liberty" and enforceable against States through the Due Process Clause. Due process procedural requirements, such as the right to counsel in a capital case, are essential to ensure procedural fairness. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees fundamental rights in American legal history, regardless of whether they are found in the Bill of Rights. The Fourteenth Amendment requires only those rules of procedure that are essential to protecting liberty.
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