减刑的外文资料和翻译.docVIP

?THE EVOLUTION OF U.S. CRIMINAL LAWBy James B. Jacobs In this primer on the U.S. criminal justice system, James B. Jacobs (left), Warren E. Burger professor of law at New York University (NYU) and director of the Center for Research in Crime Justice at the NYU School of Law, explains the structure and basic jurisprudence of U.S. criminal law procedure. But its essential nature, he says, is grounded in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It is the Constitution that inspires the federal-state structure of the system and that serves as the ultimate authority on what is permissible. The foundation of U.S. criminal procedure is the U.S. Constitution, including the first 10 Amendments, which form the Bill of Rights. The Constitution guarantees all persons living in the U.S. fundamental rights, freedoms and liberties. Chief among these, as far as U.S. criminal law is concerned, is that defendants are entitled to a presumption of innocence. Defendants do not have to prove their innocence. The government must prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Rights such as these frame the federal-state system prescribed in the Constitution. Of particular importance are the Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments.The Fifth Amendment protects defendants against double jeopardy (being tried more than once for the same crime by the same authority), and against being required to testify against themselves in criminal cases. Most significantly, it also protects defendants rights of due process, a phrase of vast significance in the Bill of Rights that, especially in the 20th century, was interpreted by the courts to confer on defendants a broad array of protections and rights.The Sixth Amendment guarantees defendants a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed. It also entitles defendants to be confronted by (and to cross examine) the witnesses against them and to have the assistance of counsel for their d