I see Due Process changing in the future especially with the First amendment. This is due to the effect of the Internet on everything today. How can such ideas as “clear and present danger” from the Schenck vs. U. S. (1919) preside over the Internet, a battle ground that exists only as data and information? This is further complicated by Gitlow vs. New York (1925) that gives police the right to punish that which corrupts public morals, incites crime, or disturbs the peace. How can Internet and technological information transfer possibly be controlled due to its complexity and distribution?
Due Process will be upheld because it is specifically needed in the area of violence due to specific issues such as racism, drugs, and illiteracy. This was discussed in the “FBI expert predicts violent future” we received. If his ideas on violence are correct through 2005 Due Processes ideas on protecting the innocent vs. Crime Controls idea of enforcing law will be very important to spare those indirectly involved in crimes such as bombings, hijacking, terrorism, and organized crime. This is prevalent in the Race Riots currently occurring in Cinncinnati, where white police officers are killing an alarming rate of blacks during riots and outbreaks. Are they truly enforcing law and at the same time protecting the innocent or has their bigotry corrupted even the people on a level of justice we are supposed to live by?
Due Process has had a long history from its conception from the Magna Charta in the 13th century to its present day effects. I think in the future that those who deal with Due Process will continue to sway more and more towards the conservative side of politics. A good example of this is the recent case of Atwater vs. U.S where mother was arrested on the highway for having her three kids in the car without seatbelts. Is this treatment needed ? It is debatable, but I see officers gaining more and more power to do such things to enforce the public safety of the innocent and get away with it. In the this case I feel it would have been more appropriate to give the woman a ticket and make her buckle in her children as opposed to exposing them to an arrest of their parents at such a young age. This is the way the American Criminal Justice system seems to be shifting, however, we are constantly improving the wrong and continuing to uphold the right, so the ideals of Due Process continue their long tradition of providing for American citizens, and surely will for many years to come.