I wasn’t taught to use my rights
September 12, 2002 | 12:00am
Click here to read Part II
We received an e-mail from Jonimae M. Capinig, a reader of my column and a product of the OB Montessori elementary school who is now residing in America. In response to my column "Adding ‘Laws on Persons and Family Relations’ to the High School Curriculum", he says, "One of the things I enjoyed at OBMC, even at that young age is the joy of freedom. I learned that effective learning is guidance with limited adult interference. Well, it sure made me love to learn. That is why when I got into a regular school where teachers were telling us what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and what to think about, I got frustrated.
"…How can there be growth and learning if we are not allowed to mature? How can we mature politically if our lawmakers, who tend to ignore the law, refuse to give OFWs the right to vote?
"…But you know what, Mrs. Soliven I also realized that unlike Americans, Filipinos are not taught to use their rights. We aren’t taught to assert our rights. We aren’t taught that we could demand for our rights. We were only taught to accept our circumstances, to adjust to our circumstances, and to accept our fate. That is why I was indifferent. That is why I was uncaring. That is why I was trying to just save my own skin…"
In the past two columns, I wrote how the Laws on Persons and Family Relations or the rights of man from birth to death is essential to "the Birth of a Nation". The national educational policy and practice, the governance style of the country and parental childrearing influence our sense of liberty. Just reflect on how the conservative way of adults dictating to children until their adolescent years keep the national spirit timid and dependent.
Unless the national culture enhances self-confidence and promotes skilled, competent and economically independent citizens, our political maturity is not possible.
There will be a scarcity of true leaders since the ordinary citizens will only look for politicians who will continue to dole out material things instead of guiding and helping them to help themselves. That is why we have failed to acquire the national will or political will. That is why our democracy is taking a long time.
Until our leaders assume the role of civil servants and make possible a government truly of the people, by the people and for the people, we remain a democracy in name only. What makes Americans, French, British, Italian and several European countries great? Their people know their Constitutional rights.
As early as 1986 when I added Laws on Persons and Family Relations to our high school curriculum, I requested Ambassador Jacques Le Blanc of France, Ambassador Keith MacInnes of England and Ambassador Mario Crema of Italy to send me copies of their Constitutions.
Let me continue defining the rest of the US Bill of Rights, which have strongly influenced the Philippine Constitution.
Amendment 4: A person’s home cannot be broken into and searched
Amendment 3 was written simply because during the US Revolutionary War, England told the people they had to make room in their homes for soldiers to eat and sleep to protect them against warring Indians since there were no big army camps like today. Thus, Amendment 3 says that in time of peace no soldier can stay in a person’s home without the owner’s permission.
Amendment 4 says that a person’s home cannot be broken into and searched. A person cannot be arrested unless there is a reason to believe a crime has been committed. That sounds like people can run out and commit a crime, run back home and can never be arrested. That is not true. The government or police can enter a person’s home and arrest him if they have a warrant. A warrant is a piece of paper given to the police or the government by the courts, granting them the right to search a house or arrest a person.
This does not mean that a police officer or the government can just go to the court and say, "I think Rod has drugs in his house," or "I have a hunch that Ann has stolen furniture in her apartment." The police or the government must give good reasons why a person should be arrested or their house should be searched before a warrant will be given to them. There has to be evidence that a crime has been committed.
However, if a crime occurs and the police or someone else sees this taking place and tells a police officer, then a warrant is not needed. The police can arrest the person committing the crime.
Amendment 4 enables people to be safe in their homes and safe from being arrested for no reason. The Constitution is not meant to make life easy for the criminal. This Amendment has to do with the government or police breaking into one’s house. If a thief breaks into your home and steals everything you have, he has broken the law, not one of your Constitutional rights.
Amendment 5: Pleading the right to remain silent
There have been a lot of TV shows that mentioned the Fifth Amendment. I watched such a show in the early ’90s.
In apartment 3C is Don’s dead wife. Don is seen coming out of the apartment. He has a gun in his hand. A police officer sees and arrests Don. Don hires Barney Barrister as his lawyer. Barney Barrister has a secretary named Betty who helps him with his cases. Betty asks, "Are you going to have Don take the stand?" Barney responds, "Not on your life, Betty. I will have him plead the 5th."
To understand the Fifth Amendment, you have to stop and think. A crime has been committed. Who knows more about the crime than the person who did it? But suppose Don had killed his wife. No one saw him do it. He was just seen with the gun as he was leaving the apartment. If he is forced by the law to say things against himself, he could be found guilty.
The Constitution won’t let this happen. People cannot be made to say things against themselves. When people, accused of crimes, don’t want to say things for or against themselves – they can plead the 5th. But if the people accused of crimes want to say things for or against themselves, they must waive the 5th. When you waive the 5th, you give up the right to be silent.
Taking the stand means going before a judge or jury in court and swearing to tell the truth. The truth can mean you have killed someone or perhaps explain why you could not have killed anyone.
In Don’s case, he had a jury trial. A jury is made up of 12 people. All 12 must listen to the witnesses and decide if the person on trial is guilty or innocent. If one person on the jury votes a different way, there must be a new trial. The jury must be unanimous. Unanimous means the people on the jury all vote the same way.
At Don’s trial, the jury was unanimous in saying Don was innocent. (He was. Remember, the window washer did it. Don was probably going after him.) What if the police or court did not like the way the jury voted and they decide to arrest Don again for the same crime? They could, if it were not for the Constitution.
In the Constitution, Amendment 5 also has the double jeopardy clause. Clause means a group of words that makes sense. Double means twice. Jeopardy means in danger of some kind. So, the double jeopardy clause means that a person’s life and freedom cannot be put in danger more than once for the same crime. Without this clause, you could be arrested again and again for the same crime.
Once a judge or jury says you are innocent, you can never be arrested again for that crime.
Amendment 6: Every accused person has a right to speedy and public trial
A long time ago, people were arrested, put in jail, and just left there. No one ever knew whether they would be found guilty or innocent because the government never got around to having a trial. Maybe the government would have a trial but it could be a secret trial. The accused could not have any witnesses at the trial to say something for him.
The founding fathers wanted to make sure this did not happen here. So the Sixth Amendment says that every accused person has a right to a speedy and public trial.
A speedy trial does not mean that if you get arrested at three in the afternoon, you will be on trial by four. How long you wait depends on how long due process takes or how many people are ahead of you also waiting for a trial. An important reason for having a speedy trial is that in our country, you are innocent of a crime until someone proves you are guilty. Without a speedy trial, an innocent person could spend years and years in jail.
A public trial means the public or the people have the right to know when and where the trial will take place. The public has a right to come to the trial.
Have you ever seen stories on the television news about a trial? They use only drawings of the trial and the people. The courts want to make sure a person gets a fair trial. Cameras and microphones in the courtroom might make it very noisy and confusing. The judge or jury might pay more attention to the cameras and TV people than to the witnesses. So to ensure a fair trial, the press can send only reporters and artists into the courtroom.
Another right of the Sixth Amendment is the right to have an impartial jury. Impartial means not feeling one way or the other about something. If, for example, a person was on trial, accused of going into an art museum and destroying thousands of dollars of art, would the jury be impartial if it were made up of 12 artists? Probably not. If the jury is not impartial, the accused could not get a fair trial.
One of the big problems in having a jury trial is finding an impartial jury. Remember that radio, television and newspapers all have freedom of the press. If a crime has been committed, the press can write about the crime and tell about the crime on radio and TV. Millions of people may have already heard about the crime before a jury is ever picked. When you hear a lot about something, it is pretty hard not to have feelings one way or the other about what you are hearing. You begin to become impartial – you begin to lean one way or the other.
If one of your favorite TV or movie stars were kidnapped, how impartial would you be to the person accused to the kidnappings? It might be almost impossible to find people in your city who could be an impartial jury. When this happens, the accused can ask for a change of venue. A change of venue means that the trial will be moved to another place. People in nearby cities or towns might not know as much about the well-known and well-liked person who was harmed. They would be more likely to be impartial.
Abraham Lincoln, the American president who gave the meaning, honor and purpose to the Civil War, speaks to us still:
"What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence? It is not… the guns of our war steamers, not the strength of our gallant and disciplined army… Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God planted in our bosoms." (Edwardsville, Illinois 1858)
(Next week: Part 4, A good government is like a favorite friend)
(For more information please e-mail at [email protected])
"…How can there be growth and learning if we are not allowed to mature? How can we mature politically if our lawmakers, who tend to ignore the law, refuse to give OFWs the right to vote?
"…But you know what, Mrs. Soliven I also realized that unlike Americans, Filipinos are not taught to use their rights. We aren’t taught to assert our rights. We aren’t taught that we could demand for our rights. We were only taught to accept our circumstances, to adjust to our circumstances, and to accept our fate. That is why I was indifferent. That is why I was uncaring. That is why I was trying to just save my own skin…"
In the past two columns, I wrote how the Laws on Persons and Family Relations or the rights of man from birth to death is essential to "the Birth of a Nation". The national educational policy and practice, the governance style of the country and parental childrearing influence our sense of liberty. Just reflect on how the conservative way of adults dictating to children until their adolescent years keep the national spirit timid and dependent.
There will be a scarcity of true leaders since the ordinary citizens will only look for politicians who will continue to dole out material things instead of guiding and helping them to help themselves. That is why we have failed to acquire the national will or political will. That is why our democracy is taking a long time.
Until our leaders assume the role of civil servants and make possible a government truly of the people, by the people and for the people, we remain a democracy in name only. What makes Americans, French, British, Italian and several European countries great? Their people know their Constitutional rights.
As early as 1986 when I added Laws on Persons and Family Relations to our high school curriculum, I requested Ambassador Jacques Le Blanc of France, Ambassador Keith MacInnes of England and Ambassador Mario Crema of Italy to send me copies of their Constitutions.
Let me continue defining the rest of the US Bill of Rights, which have strongly influenced the Philippine Constitution.
Amendment 4: A person’s home cannot be broken into and searched
Amendment 3 was written simply because during the US Revolutionary War, England told the people they had to make room in their homes for soldiers to eat and sleep to protect them against warring Indians since there were no big army camps like today. Thus, Amendment 3 says that in time of peace no soldier can stay in a person’s home without the owner’s permission.
Amendment 4 says that a person’s home cannot be broken into and searched. A person cannot be arrested unless there is a reason to believe a crime has been committed. That sounds like people can run out and commit a crime, run back home and can never be arrested. That is not true. The government or police can enter a person’s home and arrest him if they have a warrant. A warrant is a piece of paper given to the police or the government by the courts, granting them the right to search a house or arrest a person.
This does not mean that a police officer or the government can just go to the court and say, "I think Rod has drugs in his house," or "I have a hunch that Ann has stolen furniture in her apartment." The police or the government must give good reasons why a person should be arrested or their house should be searched before a warrant will be given to them. There has to be evidence that a crime has been committed.
However, if a crime occurs and the police or someone else sees this taking place and tells a police officer, then a warrant is not needed. The police can arrest the person committing the crime.
Amendment 4 enables people to be safe in their homes and safe from being arrested for no reason. The Constitution is not meant to make life easy for the criminal. This Amendment has to do with the government or police breaking into one’s house. If a thief breaks into your home and steals everything you have, he has broken the law, not one of your Constitutional rights.
Amendment 5: Pleading the right to remain silent
There have been a lot of TV shows that mentioned the Fifth Amendment. I watched such a show in the early ’90s.
In apartment 3C is Don’s dead wife. Don is seen coming out of the apartment. He has a gun in his hand. A police officer sees and arrests Don. Don hires Barney Barrister as his lawyer. Barney Barrister has a secretary named Betty who helps him with his cases. Betty asks, "Are you going to have Don take the stand?" Barney responds, "Not on your life, Betty. I will have him plead the 5th."
To understand the Fifth Amendment, you have to stop and think. A crime has been committed. Who knows more about the crime than the person who did it? But suppose Don had killed his wife. No one saw him do it. He was just seen with the gun as he was leaving the apartment. If he is forced by the law to say things against himself, he could be found guilty.
The Constitution won’t let this happen. People cannot be made to say things against themselves. When people, accused of crimes, don’t want to say things for or against themselves – they can plead the 5th. But if the people accused of crimes want to say things for or against themselves, they must waive the 5th. When you waive the 5th, you give up the right to be silent.
Taking the stand means going before a judge or jury in court and swearing to tell the truth. The truth can mean you have killed someone or perhaps explain why you could not have killed anyone.
At Don’s trial, the jury was unanimous in saying Don was innocent. (He was. Remember, the window washer did it. Don was probably going after him.) What if the police or court did not like the way the jury voted and they decide to arrest Don again for the same crime? They could, if it were not for the Constitution.
In the Constitution, Amendment 5 also has the double jeopardy clause. Clause means a group of words that makes sense. Double means twice. Jeopardy means in danger of some kind. So, the double jeopardy clause means that a person’s life and freedom cannot be put in danger more than once for the same crime. Without this clause, you could be arrested again and again for the same crime.
Once a judge or jury says you are innocent, you can never be arrested again for that crime.
Amendment 6: Every accused person has a right to speedy and public trial
A long time ago, people were arrested, put in jail, and just left there. No one ever knew whether they would be found guilty or innocent because the government never got around to having a trial. Maybe the government would have a trial but it could be a secret trial. The accused could not have any witnesses at the trial to say something for him.
The founding fathers wanted to make sure this did not happen here. So the Sixth Amendment says that every accused person has a right to a speedy and public trial.
A speedy trial does not mean that if you get arrested at three in the afternoon, you will be on trial by four. How long you wait depends on how long due process takes or how many people are ahead of you also waiting for a trial. An important reason for having a speedy trial is that in our country, you are innocent of a crime until someone proves you are guilty. Without a speedy trial, an innocent person could spend years and years in jail.
A public trial means the public or the people have the right to know when and where the trial will take place. The public has a right to come to the trial.
Have you ever seen stories on the television news about a trial? They use only drawings of the trial and the people. The courts want to make sure a person gets a fair trial. Cameras and microphones in the courtroom might make it very noisy and confusing. The judge or jury might pay more attention to the cameras and TV people than to the witnesses. So to ensure a fair trial, the press can send only reporters and artists into the courtroom.
One of the big problems in having a jury trial is finding an impartial jury. Remember that radio, television and newspapers all have freedom of the press. If a crime has been committed, the press can write about the crime and tell about the crime on radio and TV. Millions of people may have already heard about the crime before a jury is ever picked. When you hear a lot about something, it is pretty hard not to have feelings one way or the other about what you are hearing. You begin to become impartial – you begin to lean one way or the other.
If one of your favorite TV or movie stars were kidnapped, how impartial would you be to the person accused to the kidnappings? It might be almost impossible to find people in your city who could be an impartial jury. When this happens, the accused can ask for a change of venue. A change of venue means that the trial will be moved to another place. People in nearby cities or towns might not know as much about the well-known and well-liked person who was harmed. They would be more likely to be impartial.
"What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence? It is not… the guns of our war steamers, not the strength of our gallant and disciplined army… Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God planted in our bosoms." (Edwardsville, Illinois 1858)
(Next week: Part 4, A good government is like a favorite friend)
(For more information please e-mail at [email protected])
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