Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Criminal Justice - Essay Example It is important to note here that among the said guarantees are the right to confront accusers and answer charges brought against one. The defendant has the right to be present when charges are brought against him/her. It is, thus, and as shall be argued through reference to the due processes of the law, civil liberties and constitutional guarantees, that the absence of defendants from Grand Jury hearings is a violation of the defendant's right to hear the charges brought against him/her. The dual concepts of substantive and procedural due processes are integral to any proper understanding of criminal law. As Fletcher (1998) explains, they concern both the how and the why of law. In direct relation to criminal procedure, substantive and due processes are expressive of defendants' constitutional rights and importantly, outline the means by which these rights are guaranteed or implemented. Within the context of the stated, procedural due process refers to the how of the law and as pertains to the US criminal justice system, how defendants are presumed innocent until otherwise proven and how the said presumption, which is a Constitutional guarantee, is embraced by the criminal justice system.