In ancient societies, people believed that the hierarchy of human society was based on the divine right of certain people to lead and the divine permission to keep others as lower class members of society. This shamed the parameters of social order until the Age of Enlightenment and Reformation in the 16th and 17th Centuries. The American and French Revolutions laid the foundation for the creation of a system of civil liberties and human rights which required some basic rights to be accorded to all human beings without exception. Human rights is defined as “a set of freedoms guaranteed and protected by constitutions of nations believed to belong to all human beings within the jurisdiction of the country and the world at large”. Human rights include a set of classical rights that are basic and universally applicable to all people by virtue of the fact that they are born human and these fundamental rights include – right to life, liberty, quality, a fair trial, freedom from slavery and torture and freedom of thought and expression.
This essay is a philosophical critique of the conflict between human rights and the activities of law enforcement officials. Therefore, it will commence by conducting an empirical study of the relationship between human rights in America and the arms of government in general. This will lead to a discussion on the role of human rights in criminal procedures of the law enforcement officials and how this clash leads to some problematic conflicts in general.:
The constitutional position of human rights in the United States;
The limitation of human rights on the actions of law enforcement officials in the United States;
An evaluation of the role of human rights in criminal procedures and activities of law enforcement officials;
An examination of problematic areas where human rights and criminal justice clash with problematic consequences.
Human Rights and the US Constitution
As identified above, human rights evolved over the years when fundamental rules were made by states to protect all human beings. The United States is a beacon of democracy and human rights. The American Revolution alongside the French Revolution forced nations to take human rights seriously around the world. The United States instituted human rights by identifying that a government without checks and balances will result in tyranny. Therefore, the American War of Independence against Britain, which was the colonizer culminated in a system whereby a written constitution was compiled.
The US Constitution is the supreme law of the land and it overrides all forms of laws that exist in the country. However, unlike all other supreme laws of nations, the US Constitution was made on the premise that tyranny occurs when power is vested in the government and authorities. And in many ways, that was how Britain disregarded the rights of Americans and forced them to pay unnecessary taxes that were used for wars that the American people had no rights against. Therefore, the United States created a set of “inalienable rights or civil liberties that every American was entitled to and could go to court to seek protection against its infringement”.
Human rights and civil liberties are basic and fundamental rights that all Americans have in all situations by virtue of being human. No human being in America can be denied these basic and fundamental civil liberties. In cases of abuses, people can go to court and get their pleas and requirements heard by a court of competent judicature.
The civil liberties and fundamental human rights of all Americans, including people assumed of committing crimes are enshrined in various constitutional provisions known as Articles and their Amendments in the Bill of Rights. These are viewed as high-level legal provisions that protect the rights of individuals at all levels.
Therefore, in situations where a person’s fundamental rights and civil liberties in an established article or amendment of the US Constitution can be identified, that individual has the right to protection by all parties in the United States. Anyone who acts to protect the civil liberties of an American can be seen to be someone who is protecting the constitution and can in many ways, be seen as an agent to the United States. Therefore, human rights are central and are recognized by the US constitution. Criminals and suspects are duly covered by the human rights enshrined in the US constitution and this is something that inevitably has an impact on the application of the laws of the country and regulates the conduct of the representatives of the various arms of the US government.
Human Rights and Law Enforcement Officials
The US Constitution was also made on the basis of the separation of powers. The United States constitution was drafted at a time where it was believed that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Therefore, the Constitution moves to protect the ruled from the rulers. This means that the Constitution is a transparent tool that regulates the conduct of the officials of the state by dividing power into three arms of government – the Executive (Presidency and Cabinet), the Legislature (Congress and the Senate) and the Judiciary (Federal and State Courts).
This division defines the parameters within which laws can be made and the context within which laws can be enforced. The Executive is headed by the US President and they have the duty of heading the federal government and the military of the United States as well as the Executive agencies of government. The law enforcement agencies come directly under the authority of the Executive and they have to work within the policy of the Executive and its extension (relevant representatives).
The Legislature makes laws relating to taxes and law and order. They define acts that are lawful and those that are not lawful. They also define the mandatory sentences and sanctions that will be prescribed for specific acts and enforcements. This means that there is an objective framework of lawmaking that is headed by an independent and elected arm of government that plays various roles in spelling out the laws of the land. Therefore, law enforcement has to be done within the context of the laws that are made by the legislature.
Human rights become relevant to the entire law enforcement framework of the United States by virtue of the fact that every accused person has the right to a fair and speedy trial before a court of competent judicature. This is enshrined in the Sixth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. The Sixth Amendment of the Bill of Rights states that anyone accused of a crime must enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial. This means that role of the law enforcement official is to ensure that people accused of any crime or illegality will have to be arrested in a dignified manner and arraigned before a court.
In the process of arresting and trying a person, there must be an effort to ensure that the fundamental right of a person is respected even if there is evidence that the individual in question might have done a serious thing. Once arrest is done, there is a human right to a fair trial and this fair trial must bring out a proportionate punishment that is prescribed by the laws relevant to the offence in question.
The Judiciary, which is the third arm of government is by default the interpreter and applier of the laws to the facts of an individual case. This function of government intersects with the Bill of Rights and the Sixth Amendment by virtue of the fact that the Judiciary must use due process. This implies that the relevant process of questioning and gathering evidence must be done. Court procedures must be in place. And where necessary a jury must be called up on to provide a decision.
In a situation where the Judiciary or its agents fail to follow the principles of due process, the human rights of a person might be infringed. This is because human rights must be respected as per the civil liberties of a given individual. This means that the Judiciary must follow the right procedures and the right courts with the appropriate jurisdiction must hear the cases of specific persons. The right tools must be applied and evidence must be turned in according to the fundamental requirements of the law.
One of the principles of human rights that must be honored in criminal proceedings to preserve human rights is the obligation to assume an accused person is innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, in a case where the judiciary fails to assume a person as innocent until proven guilty by the court, that case might be viewed as partial case. Where evidence is tampered with, justice is perverted and the right of the person in question is viewed to be infringed upon. Therefore, the right to a fair proceeding that preserves the rights of people is on where the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The Sixth Amendment also requires that an accused person is informed of his crime and the nature of the offence. This lays the foundation for an individual to exercise his right to defend himself in a criminal case. This must happen within 24 hours after a law enforcement officer arrests a person and s/he is put in custody. From there, law enforcement must ensure that a prosecutor is brought up to present facts that show that the accused person is actually liable to a punishment.
Prosecution is part of the criminal justice system and law enforcement process because the state has to present a compelling case for the punishment of an individual. And this include the presentation of evidence that shows that the act in question is punishable and the accused person is liable. This include the right of the courts to compel witnesses to appear before it and give evidence.
The human right of an accused person must enable him to question a witness. This is in contrast to the pre-1700s where alleged witches were hanged with evidence from people collected outside court. And often by “expert” spiritualists who might have seen something superstitious. This was clearly an infringement of the human rights of accused persons and in modern law enforcement, it is limited by the fact that witnesses are compelled to appear before a court and are publicly examined and cross examined. The accused person have the right to question witnesses and witnesses must answer these questions as a means of preventing the abuse of human rights.
The standard of proof to convict a person is “beyond reasonable doubt”. This is because the prosecution must prove without an iota of doubt that an accused person is actually guilty and what s/he did is directly attributable to him. In line with this, a person is allowed to present his side and the facts must be presented in a clear-cut manner. Evidence must be protected from perversion and must not be tampered with. Through this, people can be given the right to defend themselves within the facts at hand. Furthermore, there is a standard of evidence that must be honored. This excludes evidence from metaphysical sources and things that cannot be proven. Thus, forensic science is accepted if and only if it is evaluated and viewed as fit for evidence in a given situation. Spiritual claims and demands are not accepted anymore although it was popular to accept them in colonial times.
Conflicts between Human Rights and Criminal Justice Delivery
In spite of the human rights defined by the Bill of Rights and Amendments to the US Constitution, there is the need for a police force to monitor affairs in the country and enforce the law. The police must be armed and given sufficient powers and rights to carry out actions such as arrests and the use of serious force. These things are often problematic and come with conflicts between the Constitution and human rights.
The Fourth Amendment protects the rights of Americans to unusual and unwarranted searches. This means that the police officers and other law enforcement authorities cannot just budge into a person’s home and make searches. However, this might be necessary in cases where an individual holds banned substances. It might be necessary to gather evidence for the prosecution of an individual.
The Eight Amendment prohibits the use of cruel and unusual punishments and the excessive use of force against an accused person. This means that when the police is carrying out its activities, it must only use the level of force that is permitted to conduct an arrest. When they go beyond what is allowed in the specific situation, there is a potential breach of human rights and this gives right to a person affected to sue the police service. This has happened in many situations in the past two years where police brutality against certain minorities have been identified as a problem in some communities in America.
Also, the human rights and civil liberty of US Law prohibits the use of torture and degrading punishments. Therefore, a police officer’s beating up of a criminal for doing something “stupid” is not permitted. Punishment can only be meted out by a court of competent judicature. Where force is used in the arrest process, it must be done to suppress a person and bring the person before trial. This means in cases where mobs lynch people, they infringe on the human rights of the accused persons and this is something that is punishable by law.
Furthermore, when a person is found guilty, that individual is not to be subjected to a cruel or unusual punishment as per the Eighth Amendment. Things like torture or flogging is considered cruel and unusual punishment in American Law. Although it happens in other jurisdictions around the world, it is considered an infringement of the human rights of an accused person because it is cruel and not part of the laws of the country. Until the Legislature accepts such punishments as acceptable within the law, they are to be considered an infringement of human rights. An example of such situations is the case of waterboarding.
The Tenth Amendment creates the largest and most significant problem with human rights in law enforcement. It states that the states have the right to make laws for matters that are not covered by the federal constitution. This creates a lot of grey areas where human rights is potentially abused and laws are made to infringe on the rights of people. This includes the issue of slavery and civil rights which led to many problems and issues relating to human rights.
Conclusion
This philosophical discussion indicates that the right to make laws and enforce them is a constitutional right given to the three arms of government who play different roles. However, the Bill of Rights provide amendments to the constitution and arms of government in order to protect the human rights and civil liberties of people. This provide a framework of how law enforcement can be done in order to preserve the human rights of citizens.
Works Cited
Claude, Richard Pierre and Burns H. Weston. Human Rights in the World Community: Issues and Action. Harrisburg: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014. Print.
Schultz, David and John Vile. The Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties in America. New York: Routledge, 2014. Print.
Witte, John. Religious Human Rights in Global Perspective: Religious Perspectives. Amsterdam: Martinus Nijhoff, 2012. Print.
