General Question

luigirovatti's avatar

Does the USA Constitution allow redirect examination at a criminal trial?

Asked by luigirovatti (2963points) August 13th, 2020

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9 Answers

Tropical_Willie's avatar

It is not a Constitutional thing, it is allowed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redirect_examination !

luigirovatti's avatar

@Tropical_Willie: And why is it not in the constitution?

Tropical_Willie's avatar

It is in Tort law, what goes on in a courtroom.

Constitution is what goes on for the laws of the land or country, like voter rights or freedom of speech.

janbb's avatar

Yes, the Constitution has nothing to do with trial law procedures.

SergeantQueen's avatar

There are some things in the Bill of Rights that relate to legal/police procedures, such as the 5th amendment which is essentially your Miranda rights, and the 6th amendment which talks about legal counsel and such, and obviously there is the due process stuff.

When it comes down to specific things, I would say as long as it doesn’t violate any rights, it can be used as long as it is within whatever rules the court has to follow (which wouldn’t be a Constitutional issue, unless rights were violated).

DA’s and Defense attorneys need to do what they have to during a trial. And questions that need answers, need to be asked. So stuff like this wouldn’t be a constitutional issue. Unless like I said, rights were violated in the process, and there are already stuff put in the constitution to make sure people get fair trials.

The 5th amendment says that “nobody shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.”

This is reaching a bit but that is where it could be argued that the constitution allows for re-direct examination. because if new evidence comes out that could change a case, and in order for it to be brought to light they need to re-interview a witness, they need to do that then. I mean, that is reaching a bit but if they aren’t allowed to re-interview people during trials and that ends in someone getting wrongfully convicted, that isn’t fair to anyone involved.
so how would that be “due process”

SergeantQueen's avatar

And as @Tropical_Willie linked, it’s allowed anyways. I was just trying to see if I could find a sort of indirect thing in the Constitution that would allow for that

kritiper's avatar

The Constitution doesn’t cover every little item. The judicial system will take care of any loose strings, which it has.

luigirovatti's avatar

@kritiper: If it’s not in the Constitution (and I’m not saying it should not be), maybe it should be present in some written law, NOT as an unspoken agreement.

janbb's avatar

@luigirovatti This overview article will give you some good information about the American legal system.

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