Distinguish between the impacts of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments on defendants in criminal cases.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The liberties protected by the specific clauses of the Bill of Rights are not exhaustive. One clause of the Fifth Amendment has been interpreted to leave the door open for additional protections. The due process clause provides, "… nor [shall any person] be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law." Due process is one of those concepts that has long been the subject of judicial controversy and has no universally accepted definition. The American concept of "fairness" is probably the closest one could get to an acceptable definition, in layman terms, without burdening the effort with reams of judicial history and philosophy. Thus, the Supreme Court has its latitude to interpret the Constitution in any manner it deems to be fair and just under the American judicial system.
The Civil War was over. Slavery had been abolished. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments were all designed to guarantee the freedoms and equal protection of the laws for all citizens, especially the former slaves.
Interpretations of portions of the Fourteenth Amendment provide the foundation for much of modern criminal procedure in the United States today.