CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS:  MYTHS & REALITIES

by Christopher E. Smith, J.D., Ph.D.

Wadsworth Publishing (2004)  Available at amazon.com and other online booksellers

An examination of the Bill of Rights in practice to illustrate the extent to which many rights are purely symbolic.

Examples of provocative conclusions presented through the book's analysis:

 

Americans often use the term "right" to repesent concepts other than the legal protections enjoyed by individuals against governmental intrusion.  When the word "right" is used to represent the authority and power of governmental officials, the concept of rights can become confused with other concepts and thereby detract from people's ability to understand how rights operate.

 

Police have adapted their strategies to the requirements of Miranda warnings and developed techniques for eliciting confessions despite informing suspects of their rights.  These techniques involve many of the same psychological ploys and deceptions that the Supreme Court sought to prevent in the original Miranda decision.

 

Despite the Constitution's language mandating jury trials in "The trial of all criminal cases" (Article III) and "In all criminal prosecutions" (Sixth Amendment), the Supreme Court has decided that there is no right to trial by jury in cases of "petty offenses," even if the possible cumulative sentence on such charges could be many years in prison.

 

The Supreme Court has never said that there is a constitutional right to be free from execution for a murder that you did not commit, even under circumstances in which DNA testing and other newly discovered evidence demonstrate innocence.

 

Politically protected privileges, such as the mortgage interest tax deduction, are stronger and more secure than many rights listed in the Constitution.

THE REHNQUIST COURT AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE (Lexington Books, 2011).

 

Analysis of individual justices and their impact on constitutional rights in the criminal justice process.