Fast food restaurant Essay Example for Free

Fast food restaurant Essay The pace of modern life is fast, and nowhere is it faster than in America. We want fast transportation, fast communication, fast computers, fast photos, fast music, fast repairs, and fast service from the businesses we patronize. It is from the last of these that we got fast food. At first, it was a matter of fast service. Fountain and Fast Food Service was the title of a trade magazine, which published statements like this from 1951: The partners have become old hands at spotting the type of conventioneer that will patronize their fast food service. Gradually service disappeared, and in 1954 we find fast food by itself in the title Fountain and Fast Food. Incidentally, the trade magazine renamed itself Fast Food by 1960. In February of that year, the magazine noted, Delicate scallops are really fast food because they come ready to cook. And in July it remarked, Fast food type restaurants do the lions share of business for breakfast and noon meals eaten out. The fast food revolution was a quick success throughout the land, and two decades later it was conquering the world. The U. S.outcry against infiltration from the south is matched in vehemence by our neighbors outcry against fast-food imperialism and the gradual Americanization of their own societies. noted the Christian Science Monitor in 1982. Thanks to fast food, families that formerly ate home cooking now eat out or bring back take-home fast food in record numbers. Its virtue is speed, not quality. Its less than ideal nutritional value may have influenced the coining of another term twenty years later, one that also puts a four-letter epithet in front of food: junk food (1973). Gale Encyclopedia of US History: Fast FoodTop. Home Library History, Politics Society US History Encyclopedia Fast food is what one eats in the vast majority of Americas restaurants. The term denotes speed in both food preparation and customer service, as well as speed in customer eating habits. The restaurant industry, however, has traditionally preferred the designation quick service. For hourly wage earners—whether factory hands or store clerks—take-out lunch wagons and sit-down lunch counters appeared at factory gates, streetcar stops, and throughout downtown districts in the late nineteenth century. For travelers, lunch counters also appeared in railroad stations nationwide. Fried food prevailed for its speed of preparation, as did sandwich fare and other fixings that could be held in the hand and rapidly eaten, quite literally, on the run. Novelty foods, such as hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, came to dominate, first popularized at various worlds fairs and at the nations resorts. Soft drinks and ice cream desserts also became a mainstay. Thus, fast food also came to imply diets high in fat and caloric intake. By the end of the twentieth century, the typical American consumed some three hamburgers and four orders of french fries a week. Roughly a quarter of all Americans bought fast food every day. The rise of automobile ownership in the United States brought profound change to the restaurant industry, with fast food being offered in a variety of drive-in restaurant formats. Mom-and-pop enterprise was harnessed, largely through franchising, in the building of regional and national restaurant chains: Howard Johnsons, Dairy Queen, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, and Taco Tico. Place-product-packaging was brought forcefully to the fore; each restaurant in a chain variously shares the same logo, color scheme, architectural design motif, and point-of-purchase advertising, all configured in attention-getting, signlike buildings. Typically, fast food restaurants were located at the roadside, complete with driveways, parking lots, and, later, drive-through windows for those who preferred to eat elsewhere, including those who ate in their cars as dashboard diners. Critical to industry success was the development of paper and plastic containers that kept food hot and facilitated carry-out. Such packaging, because of the volume of largely nonbiodegradable waste it creates, has become a substantial environmental problem. In 2000, Mcdonalds—the largest quick-service chain—operated at some 13,755 locations in the United States and Canada. The companys distinctive golden arches have spread worldwide, well beyond North America. Abroad, fast food came to stand as an important symbol of American cultural, if not economic, prowess. And, just as it did at home, fast food became, as well, a clear icon of modernity. Historically, fast food merchandising contributed substantially to the quickening pace of American life through standardization. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, it fully embraced mass production and mass marketing techniques, reduced to the scale of a restaurant. Chains of restaurants, in turn, became fully rationalized within standardized purchasing, marketing, and management systems. Such a system depends on a pool of cheap, largely unskilled labor, the quick service restaurant industry being notorious for its low wages and, accordingly, its rapid turnover of personnel. Bibliography Jakle, John A. , and Keith A. Sculle. Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999. Pillsbury, Richard. No Foreign Food: The American Diet and Place. Boulder, Colo. : Westview Press, 1998. Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. —John A. Jakle Gale Encyclopedia of Food Culture: Fast FoodTop Home Library Food Cooking Food Culture Encyclopedia What is termed fast food in the United States today most commonly consists of hot, freshly prepared, and wrapped food items, served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window. Known as both fast food and quick-service food in the restaurant industry, these items are routinely sold and delivered in an amount of time ranging from a few seconds to several minutes; they now vary widely in food type, encompassing virtually all kinds of meats, preparation methods, and ethnic cuisines. Inexpensive hamburgers and french fried potatoes are still the products most readily identified as fast food, but the list of items sold in the format continually increases. Fried fish and shellfish, hot dogs, chicken, pizza, roast beef, and pasta are commonly sold at quick-service outlets. In addition to these staples, many quick-service restaurants sell a broad menu of Americanized Mexican, Greek, and Chinese foods. Some fast-food outlets offer specialty items, such as sushi, clams, or ribs, and others even sell complete home-cooked meals over their counters. Though menus and delivery formats vary greatly, fast foods chief common denominators include immediate customer service, packaging to go, and inexpensive pricing. The precise origins of fast food are vague, probably predating written history. Hungry people are as old as civilization itself, as are entrepreneurs eager to satisfy their hunger. Food vendors in ancient cities sold prepared items to passersby on the street. The actual foods varied greatly, depending on period and culture, but they generally comprised simple, inexpensive fare sold to people of modest means. Immigrants brought a variety of food styles to America, often preserving these for decades as a comforting connection with their ethnic past. Though many immigrant foodways were elaborate and ritualistic, most groups had one or two simple items that they consumed on a daily basis. As a rule, immigrant groups preferred their indigenous grains: corn from the Americas, rice from Asia, and wheat from Europe. Often these served as the basis for the peasant foods of their homelands. Pasta and flat breads came over with Italians; tortillas, beans, and tamales arrived with northbound Mexicans; and Germans brought dark breads, along with a variety of fatty sausages (which later mutated into the hot dog). Asian immigrants continued to eat rice as the basis of their diet. In the early twentieth century fast food remained primarily the fare of the masses. Vendors wheeled their pushcarts daily to factory gates, selling their wares to hungry workers. Often catering to the tastes of the particular factorys dominant ethnic group, they charged customers pennies for basic items such as sausages, meatballs, or stew. Though popular among male industrial workers, this pushcart version of fast food never became mainstream cuisine. The urban diner was the transitional phase between the vendors pushcart and modern fast food. Most early diners were small restaurants, with limited seating, sometimes constructed out of converted railway carriages or streetcars. They served simple foods to working-class customers on a short-order basis, usually cooking each meal individually when ordered. Menus varied, but fried foods were common. Though diners often emphasized speed in delivering food, customers routinely lingered before and after eating. The hamburger still stands out as the single most important American fast food, though the precise origin of this meat sandwich is the subject of historical disagreement. People have eaten chopped beef throughout the ages, and it was long a fixture in many world cultures. The lineage of the American hamburger seems to point directly, as its name indicates, back to the German city of Hamburg. First appearing on American restaurant menus in the mid-nineteenth century, ground beef patties bore the title hamburg steak. By the centurys close, vendors regularly sold meatballs wrapped in slices of bread at county fairs and summer festivals. Regional legends attribute the invention of this snack to several different individuals, but its true originator remains a mystery. The Rise of Modern Fast Food Our modern image of the fast-food restaurant dates back to 1916, when Walt Anderson began selling hamburger sandwiches from an outdoor stand on a Wichita street corner. Anderson simply flattened a meatball and placed it between two halves of a bun. His sandwich quickly became popular, attracting long lines of hungry buyers. By 1921, Anderson had joined local insurance broker Edgar Billy Ingram to form the White Castle System. After opening several identical restaurants in Wichita during their first year, the partners quickly spread their business to neighboring cities, then to nine major urban areas throughout the Midwest and on the East Coast. What separated the White Castle System from earlier short-order restaurants was its very streamlined menu, comprising only hamburgers, coffee, Coca-Cola, and pie; a uniform architectural style; and strict standardization of food quality, preparation methods, and employee performance. By the close of the 1920s, White Castles aggressive marketing and rapid spread had made the hamburger one of the most popular foods in America. Other entrepreneurs soon noticed White Castles success in the hamburger business. Very closely copying White Castles products, architecture, and company name, competing new chains also thrived, carrying the hamburger craze across the nation to smaller cities and towns. The White Tower chain appeared in 1925, eventually challenging White Castles dominance in several northern cities. Krystals, opened in 1929 in Chattanooga, soon became the hamburger powerhouse of the southeastern states. White Castles hamburger sandwich, along with its many imitators, became a daily staple for many working-class Americans. It proved so successful, in fact, that by 1930 the president of the American Restaurant Association identified the fast-food hamburger as the most important food item in the nation. Hamburgers became even more a mainstream food during the 1930s. The larger restaurant chains began marketing their products to middle-class buyers, and even more Americans became burger lovers. Despite the harsh economy of the Great Depression, most fast-food chains continued to thrive, and in many cases grew considerably. Most continued selling the White Castle–style hamburger, but late in the decade the Big Boy chain spread east from California, introducing its new double-decker hamburger sandwich along the way. By the end of the Depression, America was a solidly hamburger-eating culture. After prospering in the Depression, however, the fast-food industry suffered a serious setback during World War II. Shortages of necessary foodstuffs, such as meat, sugar, tomatoes, and coffee, meant limited menu offerings and often a significant loss of business. Attempting to continue providing meals to their customers, fast-food restaurants experimented with different items that were still in abundance, including soy patties, chili, and french fried potatoes. Even more damaging than commodity shortages was the very low unemployment rate, which meant that most workers bypassed the restaurant industry in favor of higher-paying work. Adjusting to this labor shortage, chains soon replaced their all-male workforce with women and teenagers, two groups who would become their most common employees. Despite attempts to find palatable alternative foods, and despite the shifts in workforce, much of the fast-food industry was a casualty of the war; by 1945, more than half of Americas restaurants had closed down, including several of the major fast-food chains. Rebuilding the fast-food industry after the war proved a slow process. No single chain emerged to claim dominance, and little innovation occurred. Individual companies struggled to restore their prewar prosperity, and new regional chains tried to gain a foothold. Suffering the effects of escalating costs and still under the threat of continued shortages due to unstable food supplies in war-torn countries, fast-food restaurants often had to double prices to remain in business. As population shifted from Americas cities to suburbia during the 1950s, the fast-food industry quickly followed. Early chains such as White Castle and White Tower, resisting moving to the suburbs, were quickly eclipsed by upstart franchised chains. Burger King and McDonalds outlets became common fixtures at suburban crossroads, selling burgers, fries, and shakes to hungry families. Burger Kings Jim McLamore and McDonalds Ray Kroc each sought to build one of his restaurants in every American town, and they opened hundreds of new Burger Kings and McDonalds each year in the 1960s. To accomplish this rapid expansion, they relied heavily on franchise investors, enforced strict product uniformity throughout their chains, and aggressively advertised in every newly opened territory. With McDonalds and Burger Kings success, Burger Chef outlets soon appeared nearby. Arbys, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Taco Bell were not far behind. By the late 1960s, fast food no longer meant just hamburger restaurants, but had diversified to include quick-service pizza, roast beef, chicken, and tacos. To give an idea of the dimensions to which the fast-food industry has grown, in 1999 Americans consumed over 26 billion pounds of beef, much of it as hamburgers. In that year McDonalds alone had more than ten thousand restaurants in the United States, from which it grossed in excess of $13 billion in revenue. Criticism of Fast Food Despite the widespread popularity of fast food in modern American culture, critics abound. Since the 1930s, articles and books have condemned the industry, exposing allegedly poor sanitary conditions, unhealthy food products, related environmental problems, and unfair working conditions. Whether it warrants the attention or not, the fast-food industry is still regularly cited for exploiting young workers, polluting, and contributing to obesity and other serious health problems among American consumers. American beef consumption, and more specifically the fast-food hamburger industry, is often blamed for the burning of the Amazon rain forests to make way for more grazing lands for beef cattle. Early foes of fast food cited the deplorable filth of many hamburger stands, in addition to claiming that the beef ground for their sandwiches was either spoiled, diseased, or simply of low quality. In fact, many critics maintained that much of the meat used in fast-food hamburgers came from horse carcasses. The high fat content of fast food was also controversial. Despite deceptive industry claims about the high quality and the health benefits of their products, in the 1920s and 1930s concerned nutritionists warned the public about the medical dangers of regular burger consumption. This distrust and criticism of fast food continue today, extending even further to include dire warnings about the industrys use of genetically modified and antibiotic-laden beef products. Most major chains have responded to recent attacks by prominently posting calorie and nutritional charts in their restaurants, advertising fresh ingredients, and offering alternatives to their fried foods. Despite a few more health-conscious items on the menu, fast-food chains now aggressively advertise the concept that bigger is better, offering large super-size or biggie portions of french fries, soft drinks, and milkshakes. Critics point to this marketing emphasis as a reason for an excessive and greatly increasing per-capita caloric intake among fast-food consumers, resulting in fast-growing rates of obesity in the United States. Increased litter is another problem that critics have blamed on the fast-food industry. Selling their products in paper wrappings and paper bags, early outlets created a source of litter that had not previously existed. Wrappers strewn about city streets, especially those close to fast-food restaurants, brought harsh criticism, and often inspired new local ordinances to address the problem. Some municipalities actually forced chains to clean up litter that was imprinted with their logos, but such sanctions were rare. Fast-food wrappers became part of the urban, and later suburban, landscape. Since bags and wrappers were crucial in the delivery of fast food, the industry as a whole continued to use disposable packaging, superficially assuaging public criticism by providing outside trash receptacles for the discarded paper. Years later, environmentalists again attacked the industry for excessive packaging litter, criticizing both the volume and the content of the refuse. By the early 1970s, the harshest criticisms focused more on the synthetic materials used in packaging, and less on the carelessly discarded paper. Critics derided the industrys use of styrofoam sandwich containers and soda cups, claiming that these products were not sufficiently biodegradable and were clogging landfills. Facing mounting opposition from a growing environmental movement, most of the major chains returned to packaging food in paper wrappings or small cardboard boxes. Labor activists have criticized fast-food chains tendency to employ inexpensive teenage workers. Usually offering the lowest possible wages, with no health or retirement benefits, these restaurants often find it difficult hiring adults for stressful, fast-paced jobs. Many critics claim that the industry preys on teenagers, who will work for less pay and are less likely to organize. Though these accusations may have merit, the industrys reliance on teenage labor also has inherent liabilities, such as a high employee turnover rate, which result in substantial recruiting and training costs. Companies have countered criticism about their use of teenage workers with the rationale that they offer young people entry-level work experience, teaching them: both skills and responsibility. Despite the relentless attacks, hundreds of millions of hungry customers eat fast food daily. The media constantly remind American consumers about its supposed evils. Most are conscious of the health risks from fatty, greasy meals; most realize that they are being served by a poorly paid young worker; and if they choose to ponder it, most are aware that the excessive packaging causes millions of tons of trash each year. But they continue to purchase and eat fast food on a regular basis. Fast food remains central to the American diet because it is inexpensive, quick, convenient, and predictable, and because it tastes good. Even more important, Americans eat fast food because it is now a cultural norm. As American culture homogenized and became distinctively American in the second half of the twentieth century, fast food, and especially the hamburger, emerged as the primary American ethnic food. Just as the Chinese eat rice and Mexicans eat tamales, Americans eat burgers. And fast food has grown even beyond being just a distinctive ethnic food. Since the 1960s, the concept has extended far beyond the food itself, with the term becoming a common descriptor for other quick-service operations, even a metaphor for many of the negative aspects of mainstream American life. Theorists and pundits sometimes use the term fast food to denigrate American habits, institutions, and values, referring to them as elements of a fast-food society. In fact, fast-food has become a frequently used adjective, implying not only ready availability but also superficiality, mass-produced standardization, lack of authenticity, or just poor quality. In the last two decades of the twentieth century, fast food gained additional economic and cultural significance, becoming a popular American export to nations around the world. Some detractors claim that it is even deliberately used by the United States, as a tool of cultural imperialism. The appearance of a McDonalds or Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on the streets of a foreign city signals to many the demise of indigenous culture, replacing another countrys traditional practices and values with American materialism. In fact, the rapid spread of American fast food is probably not an organized conspiracy, rather more the result of aggressive corporate marketing strategies. Consumers in other countries are willing and able to buy fast-food products, so chains are quick to accommodate demand. Thought of around the world as American food, fast food continues its rapid international growth. Bibliography Boas, Max, and Steve Chain. Big Mac: The Unauthorized Story of McDonalds. New York: Dutton, 1976. Emerson, Robert, L. Fast Food: The Endless Shakeout. New York: Lebhar-Friedman, 1979. Halberstam, David. The Fifties. New York: Villard Books, 1993. Chapter 11 discusses the origins of the McDonalds empire. Hogan, David Gerard. Selling em by the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food. New York: New York University Press, 1997. Jakle, John A. , and Keith A. Sculle. Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999. Langdon, Philip. Orange Roofs, Golden Arches: The Architecture of American Chain Restaurants. New York: Knopf, 1986. McLamore, James, W. The Burger King: Jim McLamore and the Building of an Empire. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. Mariani, John. America Eats Out. New York: William Morrow, 1991. Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Tennyson, Jeffrey. Hamburger Heaven: The Illustrated History of the Hamburger. New York: Hyperion, 1993. Witzel, Michael Karl. The American Drive-In: History and Folklore of the Drive-In Restaurant in the Car Culture. Osceola, Wisc. : Motorbooks International, 1994. —David Gerard Hogan AMG AllGame Guide: Fast FoodTop Home Library Entertainment Arts Games Guide Release Date: 1989 Genre: Action. Style: Maze Random House Word Menu: categories related to fast foodTop Home Library Literature Language Word Menu Categories Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier For a list of words related to fast food, see: Cuisines, Meals, and Restaurants fast food: cheap, mass-produced dishes served quickly at walk-in or drive-in outlets; convenience food Wikipedia on Answers. com: Fast foodTop Home Library Miscellaneous Wikipedia For other uses, see Fast food (disambiguation). A typical fast food meal in the United States includes a hamburger, french fries, and a soft drink. Pictured here are burgers from In-N-Out Burger McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut fast food restaurants in the United Arab Emirates Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away. The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam–Webster in 1951. Outlets may be stands or kiosks, which may provide no shelter or seating,[1] or fast food restaurants (also known as quick service restaurants). Franchise operations which are part of restaurant chains have standardized foodstuffs shipped to each restaurant from central locations. [2] Contents 1 History 1. 1 Pre-modern Europe 1. 2 United Kingdom 1. 3 United States 2 On the go 2. 1 Filling stations 2. 2 Street vendors and concessions 3 Cuisine 3. 1 Variants 4 Business 5 Employment 6 Globalization 7 Criticism 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links History.

Islam Essay -- essays research papers

Visiting a mosque for the first time for any non-Muslim can be quite a daunting and intimidating experience if one doesn’t know exactly what to expect. A mosque is the place of prayer for Muslims within the Islamic faith. It is a house of prayer, one very much like that of churches and cathedrals for Christians, Synagogues for Jews, and temples for Hindus and Buddhists, but with its own distinct rules, rituals, and services. Mosques are not only the center of religious prayer amongst Muslims, but rather also serve as the center of any Muslim community and society in the area. Muslims, however, don’t always have to pray in mosques, other than Friday, the Muslim holy day of the week, much like Sunday in Christianity. The reason why Friday is the holy day of the week for Muslims is because the Prophet Muhammad was born on a Friday. The Prophet Mohammed taught that prayers are obligatory at least five times a day, and subsequently, can be held anywhere as long as it is sin cere to Allah. The word â€Å"Islam,† in Arabic, means â€Å"submission to the will of Allah.† The Islamic Mosque, and or Masjid, as it is referred to in Arabic, is a place where Muslims bow before Allah declaring their obedience to His will. The history of the Islamic Mosque dates back to the time of the Prophet. Mosques usually contain a place for washing and cleansing oneself before prayer. This cleansing in Arabic is referred to as â€Å"Wudu,† a physical and spiritual purification of oneself before submitting themselves to Allah in prayer. I took a trip to a local nearby mosque in Miami two weeks ago with a Muslim friend of mine on Friday. His name was Ali, and he is a Pakistani-American. The mosque was called â€Å"Masjid AL Noor,† and is located in downtown Miami. It was a Sunni–Islamic mosque. Sunni Muslims comprise the worldwide majority of Muslim adherents, as opposed to Shi’ite Muslims, whom comprise the minority of Muslim adherents. However, the Sunni/Shi’ite schism within Islam is for the most part more political, rather than that of religious. My friend, whom I came with to the Sunni-Islamic mosque was actually a mainstream Shi’ite Muslim. He usually goes to this particular mosque because its closer to where he lives. According to him, a mosque is a mosque, and Muslims, all Muslims, are brothers in faith, regardless of sect. Friday prayers, also known as â€Å"Salat e Juma† in the Quran, is mandatory fo... ... keep up with their prayers, give alms (charity), pay their dues (zakat), the essence of modesty, as well as the frequent recitation of the Quran. The imam recited â€Å"ayahs,† which are passages from the Quran, and then gave an English translations of it. The mosque was comprised of a very diversified crowd of all backgrounds and ethnicities. One saw some Middle Eastern people, many Indians and other South Asians, people from the Far Pacific and Oriental looking, African Americans, as well as some Anglo Saxons. It felt like a tightly knit diversified community. My experience at the mosque was that of one of an extraordinary one. I didn’t feel like an outsider, nor uncomfortable at all, but rather, on the contrary, I felt quite welcomed. I find the Islamic religion very fascinating and unique. I am always keen and open to learning about new ideas, belief systems, and faiths. One acquires a greater understanding and perspective of others in how they think, and how they view the world and this life. Overall, I think that this was a rather rewarding experience because it broadened my horizons on the Islamic faith as a whole, something, which I had very little knowledge about prior to.

Ice Cubes Addiction Simulation

My 48 hour ice cube addiction simulation turned out to be very different than what i had expected. I don't put an ice cubes in my water cup at all. So my ice maker in the freezer is always empty. So I have to keep the ice maker full of ice cubes to use it in my addiction simulation. My first hour in the 48 hours simulation I was trying to fill my water bottle with ice cubes. I spilled some of ice cubes on the floor. My dad got suspicious when I filled a water bottle full of ice cubes, because I'm not used to put an ice cubes in my water bottle. My dad yelled at me and asked me why I needed that much ice anyways. I said that I needed to keep my water cold. He said we have a cold bottles in the refrigerator. I said it's better to drink water with ice cubes, he looked at me and said you weren't do that before. I said yeah, but i just want to try it. He didn't believe what i said. So it was so hard to keep my ice cubes addiction from my dad, and my friends also. My friend Johne when he saw my water bottle full of ice cubes, he kept asking me about, and made it very difficult for me to try to come up with a descent lie. It's easy to see how all the lies of an addiction can destroy a relationship and cause multiple problems. I noticed that the next morning while I was sitting in my room I was very thirsty even though I never am. I need a cup of water full with ice cubes, but my dad is sitting in the living room, and he can watch what i'm doing in the kitchen. I planned to get ice cubes in a smart way. I said dad I'll prepare the breakfast. I went to the kitchen and I started to prepare the breakfast, when my dad was watching the TV I turned on the microwave and I opened the freezer softly, and I kept looking to my dad if he realized what I'm doing. I filled my cup with ice cubes and water and I put it in a bag and I hid it under the couch. I must have gotten a little caught up in the whole ice addiction and started to want to drink the ice water. 2 days were easy to hide my addiction but after a while my dad would have probably caught on and i would have had to confess. This was a very eye opening and interesting experiment.

Criminal Justice and Your Constitutional Rights

Sometimes, life can take a bad turn. You’ve been arrested, arraigned, and are now set to stand trial. Fortunately, whether you are guilty or not, the U.S. criminal justice system offers you several constitutional protections. Of course, the overriding protection assured to all criminal defendants in America is that their guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. But thanks to the Due Process Clause of the Constitution, criminal defendants have other important rights, including the rights to: Remain silentConfront witnesses against themBe tried by a juryProtected from paying excessive bailGet a public trialGet a speedy trialBe represented by an attorneyNot be tried twice for the same crime (double jeopardy)Not to be subjected to cruel or unusual punishment Most of these rights come from the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments to the Constitution, while others have come from the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court in examples of the five â€Å"other† ways the Constitution can be amended. Right to Remain Silent Typically associated with well-recognized Miranda rights that must be read to persons detained by the police prior to questioning, the right to remain silent, also known as the privilege against â€Å"self-incrimination,† comes from a clause in the Fifth Amendment which says that a defendant cannot â€Å"be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.† In other words, a criminal defendant cannot be forced to speak at any time during the detention, arrest and trial process. If a defendant chooses to remain silent during the trial, he or she cannot be forced to testify by the prosecution, the defense, or the judge. However, defendants in civil lawsuits can be forced to testify. Right to Confront Witnesses Criminal defendants have the right to question or â€Å"cross-examine† witnesses who testify against them in court. This right comes from the Sixth Amendment, which gives every criminal defendant the right to â€Å"be confronted by the witnesses against him.†Ã‚  The so-called â€Å"Confrontation Clause† has also been interpreted by the courts as prohibiting prosecutors from presenting as evidence oral or written â€Å"hearsay† statements from witnesses who do not appear in court. Judges do have the option of allowing non-testimonial hearsay statements, such as calls to 911 from people reporting a crime in progress. However, statements given to police during the investigation of a crime are considered to be testimonial and are not allowed as evidence unless the person making the statement appears in court to testify as a witness. As part of the pre-trial process called the â€Å"discovery phase,† both lawyers are required to inform each other and the judge of the identity and expected testimony of the witnesses they intend to call during the trial. In cases involving the abuse or sexual molestation of minor children, the victims are often afraid to testify in court with the defendant present. To deal with this, several states have adopted laws allowing children to testify via closed-circuit television. In such instances, the defendant can see the child on the television monitor, but the child cannot see the defendant. Defense attorneys can cross-examine the child via the closed circuit television system, thus protecting the defendant’s right to confront witnesses. Right to Trial by Jury Except in cases involving minor crimes with maximum sentences of no more than six months in jail, the Sixth Amendment assures criminal defendants the right to have their guilt or innocence decided by a jury in a trial to be held in the same â€Å"State and district† in which the crime was committed. While juries typically consist of 12 people, six-person juries are allowed. In trials heard by six-person juries, the defendant can only be convicted by a unanimous vote of guilty by the jurors. Typically a unanimous vote of guilt is required to convict a defendant. In most states, a non-unanimous verdict results in a â€Å"hung jury,† allowing the defendant to go free unless the prosecutor’s office decides to retry the case. However, the Supreme Court has upheld state laws in Oregon and Louisiana allowing juries to convict or acquit defendants on ten-to-two verdicts by 12-person juries in cases where a guilty verdict cannot result in the death penalty.   The pool of potential jurors must be chosen randomly from the local area where the trial is to be held. The final jury panel is selected through a process known as â€Å"voir dire,† in which lawyers and judges question potential jurors to determine if they might be biased or for any other reason unable to deal fairly with the issues involved in the case. For example, personal knowledge of the facts; acquaintanceship with parties, witnesses or attorneys occupation which might lead to bias; prejudice against the death penalty; or previous experiences with the legal system. In addition attorneys for both sides are allowed to eliminate a set number of potential jurors simply because they do not feel the jurors would be sympathetic to their case. However, these juror eliminations, called â€Å"peremptory challenges,† cannot be based on the race, sex, religion, national origin or other personal characteristics of the juror. Right to a Public Trial The Sixth Amendment also provides that criminal trials must be held in public. Public trials allow the defendant’s acquaintances, regular citizens, and the press to be present in the courtroom, thus helping to ensure that the government honors the defendant’s rights. In some cases, judges can close the courtroom to the public. For example, a judge might bar the public from trials dealing with the sexual assault of a child. Judges can also exclude witnesses from the courtroom to prevent them from being influenced by the testimony of other witnesses. In addition, judges can order the public to leave the courtroom temporarily while discussing points of law and trial procedure with the lawyers. Freedom from Excessive Bail The Eighth Amendment states, â€Å"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.† This means that any bail amount set by the court must be reasonable and appropriate for the severity of the crime involved and to the actual risk that the accused person will flee to avoid standing trial. While the courts are free to deny bail, they cannot set bail amounts so high that they effectively do so.   Right to a Speedy Trial While the Sixth Amendment ensures criminal defendants a right to a â€Å"speedy trial,† it does not define â€Å"speedy.† Instead, judges are left to decide whether a trial has been so unduly delayed that the case against the defendant should be thrown out. Judges must consider the length of the delay and the reasons for it, and whether or not the delay had harmed the defendant’s chances of being acquitted. Judges often allow more time for trials involving serious charges. The Supreme Court has ruled that longer delays can be allowed for a â€Å"serious, complex conspiracy charge† than for â€Å"an ordinary street crime.† For example, in the 1972 case of Barker v. Wingo, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a delay of over five years between arrest and trial in a murder case did not violate the defendant’s rights to a speedy trial. Each judicial jurisdiction has statutory limits for the time between the filing of charges and the start of a trial. While these statutes are strictly worded, history has shown that convictions are rarely overturned due to claims of a delayed trial. Right to Be Represented by an Attorney The Sixth Amendment also ensures that all defendants in criminal trials have the right â€Å"†¦ to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.† If a defendant cannot afford an attorney, a judge must appoint one who will be paid by the government. Judges typically appoint attorneys for indigent defendants in all cases which could result in a prison sentence. Right Not to Be Tried Twice for the Same Crime The Fifth Amendment provides: â€Å"[N]or shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.† This well-known â€Å"Double Jeopardy Clause† protects defendants from facing trial more than once for the same offense. However, the protection of the Double Jeopardy Clause does not necessarily apply to defendants who might face charges in both federal and state courts for the same offense if some aspects of the act violated federal laws while other aspects of the act violated state laws. In addition, the Double Jeopardy Clause does not protect defendants from facing trial in both criminal and civil courts for the same offense. For example, while O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in criminal court, he was later found to be legally â€Å"responsible† for the killings in civil court after being sued by the Brown and Goldman families. Right to Not be Punished  Cruelly Finally, the Eighth Amendment states that for criminal defendants, â€Å"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.† The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the amendments â€Å"Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause† also applies to the states. While the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the Eighth Amendment forbids some punishments entirely, it also forbids some other punishments that are excessive when compared to the crime  or compared to the defendant’s mental or physical competence. The principles the Supreme Court uses to decide whether or not a particular punishment is â€Å"cruel and unusual† were solidified by Justice William Brennan in his majority opinion in the landmark 1972 case of Furman v. Georgia. In his decision, Justice Brennan wrote, â€Å"There are, then, four principles by which we may determine whether a particular punishment is cruel and unusual.† The essential factor is â€Å"that the punishment must not by its severity be degrading to human dignity.† For example, torture or an unnecessarily long and painful death.â€Å"A severe punishment that is obviously inflicted in wholly arbitrary fashion.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"A severe punishment that is clearly and totally rejected throughout society.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"A severe punishment that is patently unnecessary.† Justice Brennan added, â€Å"The function of these principles, after all, is simply to provide means by which a court can determine whether a challenged punishment comports with human dignity.†