As a rule, I REALLY try not to discuss politics on Facebook because it is a cesspool of misinformation and uninformed rubes. That said, I’m going to tell you a little story about the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.
I hung around Duquesne Law for a bit in my younger days. One of my favorite classes was called “Constitutional Law” or “ConLaw” for short. ConLaw was the class that essentially determined if you were going to be a lawyer or not – Many a 2L washed out of law school because of that class. Tears were shed. Dreams were shattered. I loved it.
Most legal arguments are about finding “shades of grey” or casting “reasonable doubt” on a case, but I always found ConLaw to be the most straightforward, most logical, most “black and white” type of law to interpret. In layman’s terms: Sometimes the most common-sense answer is the right one. Don’t overthink it.
The Fifth Amendment deals with the fundamental human right to “Due Process” for everyone here in The United States of America. Here it is, word for word, for context:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Now, the FIRST thing we are going to notice is that it starts with “No person” and not “No American” or “No citizen” or any other qualifying factor. No person. Nobody. So that’s PRETTY cut and dry, yes?
You may notice attempts to dehumanize people to justify denying them their CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED RIGHT to Due Process. This is VERY important for those of you who love America and love The Constitution to understand. There are no exceptions. There CAN NOT be exceptions because if the Fifth Amendment does not apply to ONE person, it does not apply to any of us.
And… That’s bad. You get why that’s bad?
So for example: The government shows you a photoshopped picture of some tattoos and makes up some “reports” of criminal activity and says THAT is why someone doesn’t get their day in court. Constitutional Law would say that is unacceptable and illegal. Here’s the problem: If that is allowed, the government could LITERALLY do that to ANY PERSON that they deem a “criminal” without… and here is the BIG THING THAT WILL BE ON THE TEST… having to actually PROVE their claims.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a suspected gang member. It doesn’t matter if it’s an illegal immigrant. It doesn’t matter if it’s a guy who murders and eats children. In America, we take the baby-eater to court, we present our evidence, the baby-muncher gets to defend himself, and then a ruling is issued once the facts and testimony are presented.
Yes, you can’t just ship the baby-snacker off to a foreign prison. You can’t just shoot them in the streets. You can’t lynch them without DUE PROCESS.
Because here is the problem: What if they say that YOU are a baby-eater? Now let’s be clear – You ARE NOT a baby-eater, at least I hope you aren’t or I’m going to have to reevaluate my Facebook algorithm a bit. But they kick down your door, arrest you in the middle of the night, throw you on a plane to El Salvador and this is ALL some HUGE mistake.
But it’s too late. You’re gone.
“But I’m a US Citizen!” – It doesn’t matter. Who are you arguing with? The guards on the plane? You’re gone.
“But I have proof that I’m not a baby-eater!” Doesn’t matter. Who are you presenting your evidence to? You’re gone.
And that’s why a lot of students fail Constitutional Law. There is no way to justify deviating from The Constitution and if you TRULY BELIEVE in the Rule of Law and the founding principles of America, you are going to understand this, even if you don’t LIKE this. It’s ALSO why despite mass shootings we don’t take away everyone’s guns. It’s also why we don’t put journalists in jail or censor the Free Press. This is important stuff, and it’s important that We The People understand when our Constitutional Rights are under attack.
Nobody is saying that the baby-eater or suspected gang member should “get away” with breaking the law. What THE CONSTITUTION says is that we believe in a system of justice where these people have a right to defend themselves, a presumption of innocence until proven guilty, and a judicial system built on the idea of fairness and equal protection for EVERYONE, regardless of how delicious they may find a toddler.
And if you are a 2nd year law student right now: You’re welcome.
Spiffy Speaks 