Follow the Sixth Amendment
A speedy and public trial for suspects is necessary for there to be justice for all
Justice is like a slice of bread; no matter how thin you slice it, justice has two sides. It’s vital to capture and convict criminals, but equally important to quickly free the innocent so they may get on with life and their contributions to our collective economy. The old saying that justice delayed is justice denied is on point. Our Founding Fathers knew this when they inscribed the Sixth Amendment in our Constitution. Speedy and public trials are essential to real justice. Somehow we Americans have forgotten this truth.
Are criminals quickly convicted and promptly confined? No; perps are routinely released on their own recognizance while innocent Americans accused of crimes are slammed into the Metropolitan Detention Center without the benefit of a speedy and public trial. An unverified accusation too often leads to pretrial confinement without conviction by a jury of one’s peers.
What does the Sixth Amendment require? We’ve forgotten the meaning of speedy and ignored the meaning of public. Our faulty memory has led to our “catch-and-release” problem and the ensuing epidemic of criminality. The solution is to comply with the Sixth Amendment. Speedy doesn’t mean those accused of crimes may be incarcerated for six months or a year or more before conviction in a public trial. Speedy means speedy. Public means public. Speedy and public means citizens must step up to the plate and serve on juries where prosecutors present real evidence of guilt warranting conviction and punishment. It also means taxpayers must foot the bill to resurrect a real system of justice from the ashes accumulated since 1789.
Speedy is a relative term that must allow time for collection of evidence prior to trials. How long does such collection and analysis take? Something is amiss if pretrial compilation of evidence takes over a month following apprehension. Law enforcement must have the resources necessary to collect evidence. Prosecutorial staffs must have the resources necessary to prepare for speedy and public trials without delaying those trials. Judges must have discretion to release those who are making positive contributions to society as well as to confine those who are dangerous to our fellow citizens.