We are very mindful that ignorance of our rights may cause our rights to be ignored. When rights are not properly presented on behalf of those involved in civil and criminal matters the powers that be will ignore the rights constitutionally guaranteed to individuals. This is extremely evident in the reading of the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution known as the "Bill of Rights."  The careful reading of the amendments and an understanding of the Court's interpretation of those same amendments help guarantee individual freedoms. The ten amendments to the constitution were proposed in 1789 and adopted in 1791 but are still very much alive and well today and must be preserved for our future generations. 

Amendment VI states the following:

 "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of Counsel for his defense."

In that one paragraph the Sixth Amendment provides the following: (1) The right to a speedy and public trial by jury; (2)The right to be tried in the place where the crime was allegedly committed; (3)The right to confront the witnesses who have alleged a crime to have been committed; (4)The right to subpoena witnesses; (5)The right to an attorney.

It is important for us as a free and civilized society, one who believes that no man is greater than the law, remember and protect these rights. We can never take for granted, for example, the right to a public trial. A trial held in secret would be no trial at all as the verdict, most likely, would have been decided in advance. The scrutiny of the public ensures a fair and impartial trial for an individual accused and presumed innocent by our laws. It seems obvious to us today but at one point in the evolution of the law people were hauled into Court and never informed of the charges against them. The Sixth Amendment assures us that if we are to be charged with a crime we are to know what the nature and cause of the crime is and who has accused us.

While these rights seem so fundamental to our modern sense of justice they must be ardently defended so they continue to provide protection to future generations.