Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The pro-defense Constitution envisioned by the framers had its shortcomings. State power was unconstrained by it. More importantly, the Constitution’s protections only applied to white people; African Americans had no legal rights. The drafters of the Reconstruction Amendments attempted to change this reality in the field of criminal law by making the Bill of Rights applicable to the states. Put another way, the pro-defense Constitution was to protect all persons charged with crimes in the United States. The author avers that this vision of the Constitution must be reclaimed.
Source: Utah law review
DOI: 10.63140/nco2voq8bw
Author: Zamir Ben-Dan
Institution: Temple University
Language: English
Topic: Criminal Law and Evidence
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4411446100