Freedoms and/or rights (attorney, accuse, FBI, suspect)

[Delta Planter]

What individual freedoms or rights do we as US citizens have? At U.S. Freedoms - United States Historical Freedom Information and Resources, comes this from the Bill of Rights*:

Consists of ten amendments

1. Freedom of speech, press, religion, peaceable assembly, and to petition the government
2. Right to keep and bear arms
3. Protection from quartering of troops
4. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure
5. Due process, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, private property
6. Trial by jury and other rights of the accused.
7. Civil trial by jury
8. Prohibition of excessive bail, as well as cruel or unusual punishment
9. Protection of rights not specifically enumerated in the Bill of Rights
10. Powers of states and people

* Took effect on December 15, 1791

Drop the politics for a few minutes, and think on this simple question: What real or perceived freedoms have you lost in the past, say, 15 years? I'm curious to know what others think/feel.

[TnHilltopper]

4th amendment. The ability of the government to search your person or home without a warrant is now, thanks to republicans and some democrats, been extended.

Secret searches. It expands the government's ability to search private property without notice to the owner. (Section 213)

Section 215 of the Patriot Act violates the Constitution in several ways. It:

* Violates the Fourth Amendment, which says the government cannot conduct a search without obtaining a warrant and showing probable cause to believe that the person has committed or will commit a crime.
* Violates the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech by prohibiting the recipients of search orders from telling others about those orders, even where there is no real need for secrecy.
* Violates the First Amendment by effectively authorizing the FBI to launch investigations of American citizens in part for exercising their freedom of speech.
* Violates the Fourth Amendmentby failing to provide notice - even after the fact - to persons whose privacy has been compromised. Notice is also a key element of due process, which is guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.

[TexasRR]

Well let's see.

The 1st ammendment seems to be going right out the window. We see that violated each and every day where local police are harrassing and arresting citizens for their exercising of the 1st ammendment.

The 2nd ammendment is constantly under fire from our government, senators, and anyone who feels we shouldn't have firearms. BATF agents routinely enter peoples homes who they suspect are a 'threat' to Big Brothers agenda, and have been known to kill innocent people such as in the David Koresh/Branch Davidian complex in Waco Texas and Randy Weaver case at Ruby Ridge where Weavers wife and baby were shot to death by BATF agents.

3rd ammendment. Protection from quartering of troops. Not a problem so far. Wait til they turn our military on us though.

4th ammendment. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure. Another ammedment going out the window each day as thug police officers decide to take the law into their own hands and ignore the 4th ammendment.

The 5th. Not bad if you can do it. Oftentimes when a person is arrested for an action, the police are expert at telling lies to get the person they arrested to either confess to something they really did, or even confess just because the police made them confess to get them off their back. Keep your mouth shut, is a golden rule. You have a right to remain silent and have an attorney present. Use that right.

6th/7th Trial by jury of your peers. If you suspect the jury is not made up of people you would consider peers, then exercise your right to have a new jury selected.

8th. Excessive bail? Since when has 1 million dollars been considered excessive? The 8th is also a modern day joke. Cruel and unusual punishment. Look at the police who are constantly being filmed on recorder beating people. Yeah.

9.... ? Could be anything. Rights seem to be very obscure these days.

10......Powers of states and people. Well, the power of the states and people has been waning a loooooong time. However it seems the states and people are getting fed up with the Federal Government and starting to take matters into their own hands on certain issues. It's about damn time.

[Delta Planter]

Originally Posted by TexasRR

Well let's see.

The 1st ammendment seems to be going right out the window. We see that violated each and every day where local police are harrassing and arresting citizens for their exercising of the 1st ammendment.

The 2nd ammendment is constantly under fire from our government, senators, and anyone who feels we shouldn't have firearms. BATF agents routinely enter peoples homes who they suspect are a 'threat' to Big Brothers agenda, and have been known to kill innocent people such as in the David Koresh/Branch Davidian complex in Waco Texas and Randy Weaver case at Ruby Ridge where Weavers wife and baby were shot to death by BATF agents.

3rd ammendment. Protection from quartering of troops. Not a problem so far. Wait til they turn our military on us though.

4th ammendment. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure. Another ammedment going out the window each day as thug police officers decide to take the law into their own hands and ignore the 4th ammendment.

The 5th. Not bad if you can do it. Oftentimes when a person is arrested for an action, the police are expert at telling lies to get the person they arrested to either confess to something they really did, or even confess just because the police made them confess to get them off their back. Keep your mouth shut, is a golden rule. You have a right to remain silent and have an attorney present. Use that right.

6th/7th Trial by jury of your peers. If you suspect the jury is not made up of people you would consider peers, then exercise your right to have a new jury selected.

8th. Excessive bail? Since when has 1 million dollars been considered excessive? The 8th is also a modern day joke. Cruel and unusual punishment. Look at the police who are constantly being filmed on recorder beating people. Yeah.

9.... ? Could be anything. Rights seem to be very obscure these days.

10......Powers of states and people. Well, the power of the states and people has been waning a loooooong time. However it seems the states and people are getting fed up with the Federal Government and starting to take matters into their own hands on certain issues. It's about damn time.

these rights/freedoms are still in place, are they not? I imagine that way more than 50% of the US populace has no idea of what IS a right or a freedom as dictated by the Bill of Rights. I'm not arguing with you, pls remember this.