Sen. John Schickel: Protecting liberty in the criminal justice system, different perspective

I want to offer a different perspective from all negative talk about the nation’s and Kentucky’s criminal justice system.

With all of its faults, the United States and Kentucky have the best and most admired justice system in the world. It is the envy for many reasons and is one of the reasons why people come from all walks of life to America. What makes the U.S. and Kentucky criminal justice systems different than those anywhere else in the world? Let’s review the three significant and central tenets that make a difference.

First, is the express right to a trial by a jury of peers.

In Kentucky, every criminal defendant has the sacred right to be tried by a jury, not the government. This is protected by the U.S. Constitution, and in Kentucky, our founders put special emphasis on it by calling it a sacred right in our Constitution of Kentucky. Our founders knew first-hand that kings and tyrants determining a person’s innocence or guilt is a great evil and a threat to the liberty of a free people. They wanted nothing to do with it in the great experiment of self-governance that they initiated so long ago.

Secondly, the accused are considered innocent until proven guilty.

The U.S. and Commonwealth of Kentucky are different from almost anywhere else in the history of the world. Citizens are not required to prove their innocence. The government, instead, must prove to a jury that a defendant is guilty of the crime the government has charged against him or her. A significant part of this right is protection from self-incrimination and the right to remain silent during a trial. This is expressly protected in the Constitution of Kentucky as part of the idea of innocent until proven guilty.

Thirdly, in Kentucky, for all crimes except for capital offenses, the courts must set a bond. A bond is something that is misunderstood these days but provides excellent protection for a free people in a government system that also values law and order. When necessary, bonds take the government out of the equation concerning who is released. The purpose of bond is to make sure a citizen appears back before the court. Any group of citizens can come together to raise a bond to remove a person they believe is innocent from custody before trial. It can be a church, a family, a nonprofit corporation, or any group of citizens, really.

These three central tenets uniquely separate the American criminal justice system from the rest of the world.

Our founders loved liberty, hated government tyrants, and lived in a society in which government powers had been abused. These sacred constitutional rights protect all citizens.

As your State Senator, I will always fight to protect them.

Senator John Schickel (R-Union) represents Kentucky’s 11th Senate District in Boone County. He is co-chairman of the Interim Joint Committee on Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations. He also serves as a member of the Interim Joint Committees on Banking and Insurance, Judiciary, Natural Resources and Energy, and is a liaison member of the Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice and Judiciary.