The United States legal system is based on English common law, which is a combination of Roman law and the traditional legal practices of the Anglo-Saxon tribes that created the English nation.
The concept of the presumption of innocence existed in America during colonial times, and this legal tradition was carried over after independence.
Is "Innocent Until Proven Guilty" in the Constitution?
The phrases "innocent until proven guilty" and "presumption of innocence" are not found in the Constitution. Their existence is implied from the text of three different amendments.
Innocent Until Proven Guilty Amendments
Innocent until proven guilty amendment:
The 5th, 6th, and 14th amendments are the parts of the Constitution that create the legal basis for "innocent until proven guilty."
The 5th Amendment
The text of the 5th Amendment reads as follows:
"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 offence 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."
This text makes it clear that a person cannot be charged with a crime arbitrarily. He or she must be treated according to due process of law. This means that the suspected criminal must be given a trial and treated fairly. Even though this amendment makes exceptions for soldiers, military courts, for the most part, operate under the same bases as civilian courts. In other words, soldiers are also given the presumption of innocence.
The 6th Amendment
Here is what the 6th Amendment says:
"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."
The 6th Amendment guarantees the right to a trial. (Trials are the legal mechanism for determining guilt or innocence.) This amendment also ensures the fairness of the trial and guarantees the right of the accused to receive a lawyer.
Note: Both the 5th and 6th Amendments are part of the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments to the Constitution and contains a number of important legal rights that are afforded to all Americans.
The 14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment is one of the Reconstruction amendments. These three amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) were passed after the Civil War in order to abolish slavery and integrate former slaves into the Union. The relevant text of the 14th Amendment is as follows:
"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
This language, which is found in Section I of the 14th Amendment, prohibits states from taking away rights guaranteed by the Constitution. In other words, states cannot abolish the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" or selectively apply this right to only one segment of the population.
Unfortunately, because of racism, the 14th Amendment was not fully implemented in the South until the 1960s. Black people were usually considered guilty by law enforcement and were given sham trials before being executed or imprisoned.
Implied Right
The right to be innocent until proven guilty is, therefore, an implied right. An implied right is a right that can be logically deduced from the text of the Constitution even when that right is not specifically spelled out. The concept of implied rights is very important in American laws and has been the basis of numerous major Supreme Court decisions.
Coffin Case
Coffin v. United States was a Supreme Court case from 1895 that specifically dealt with the issue of "innocent until proven guilty." It clearly laid out the constitutional basis for this concept and is used by lawyers and judges to this day as a legal precedent for the presumption of innocence. This case was decided by a unanimous opinion by the court. The case originated in the state of Indiana and dealt with bank fraud. The three plaintiffs in the case were Francis A. Coffin and Percival B. Coffin.
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