Criminal Law

What Are My Constitutional Rights?

Criminal Law Areas

All persons arrested in the United States, regardless of whether they are citizens of this country, have constitutional rights that are provided for their protection. In the State of Florida you have rights that are provided either from the United States Constitution or the Constitution of the State of Florida.

You are probably familiar with many of the rights from watching television and movies. You have a right in most cases to a trial by jury. In Florida, except for capital crimes, the jury is made up of six (6) residents of the county where the offense occurred. You have the right to have this jury hear the witnesses and see the evidence. You have a right to be present during the trial and while the jury is hearing the case. You have the right to see, hear and confront the witnesses against you. You have the right to call witnesses of your own. If you wish to obtain witnesses but you cannot be sure that they will appear in court you can have the court issue a subpoena or order directing them to appear. You have the right to testify yourself should you choose to do so but nobody can make you testify if you do not want to. This is part of your right to remain silent.

You have the right to an attorney should you want one. If you want an attorney but you cannot afford an attorney and you qualify under Florida law you can be appointed a public defender to represent you. You do not necessarily have the right to pick which public defender will be your lawyer. The lawyer will act on your behalf before the trial, during the trial and after the trial. You have the right to have your attorney ask questions of the State's witnesses at the trial. This is called cross-examination.

You have the right to have the state prove its case against you beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt using lawfully obtained and admissible evidence. Finally, should you be unhappy with the results of your trial or case you have the right to an appeal. An appeal is a review by a higher court to see that you were treated fairly. If the higher court believes that there was an error of law then the appellate court has the power to correct the mistake.

You keep all of these rights by pleading not guilty. Not guilty says you deny the charges. Should you choose to plead otherwise you may plead guilty which means you admit the charge or no contest which neither admits nor denies the charge but which allows the court to treat you as if you had pled guilty.

The rights that we are given by our constitutions are important rights which many people in this world do not enjoy. It may be wise that before you give up or waive any of your constitutional rights that you discuss this matter with an attorney. Only you can decide to give up your constitutional rights. It is strongly suggested that you receive competent advice from a lawyer whom you trust before giving up your constitutional rights.