American federal government structure and functions

American Federal Government

Procedural due process is the term given to "procedures that authorities must follow before a person can be legitimately punished for an offence" (115). Although this concept had been commonly called upon in thirteenth-century Europe (Pennington), the term "procedural due process" actually came from the fifth and fourteenth amendments of the constitution, which state that, "no person can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law" (115). Today, due process of law includes both constitutional amendments and the Supreme Court cases needed to interpret these amendments. In addition to the fifth and fourteenth amendment, more specific constitutional amendments that set guidelines for due process include the fourth, sixth, and eight amendment. These amendments establish the necessity of probable cause for searches and seizures, provide the right to legal counsel, and protect against excessive, cruel, or unusual punishments respectively (115). These provisions exemplify that the United States has a limited government, and that its constitution has the force of law, which is meant to both restrict "the range of governmental authority," as well as establish "certain forms which the government must follow in dealing with the people" (Barth).

Despite the fact that procedural due process was established through constitutional amendment, its force did not continually apply to the states due to federalism. Because of this, a series of Supreme Court cases were required to bring the laws to the states. For instance, in Mapp vs. Ohio, the Supreme Court applied rules of search and seizure to the states by ruling that evidence obtained in an illegal search could not be admitted into court. Gideon vs. Wainwright established that the accused not only had the right to an attorney, but also the right to a free attorney if need be. Miranda vs. Arizona brought about the "Miranda rights," or that each arrested person must be informed of his or her rights (116-117). Thus, due process is an important part of citizens' freedom in the United States, a process that is written in its constitution and confirmed by its Supreme Court.