Abstract
An examination of the Bill of Rights and how it extends the protection of the civil liberties to the population, with emphasis on the First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendments, and a description of a public policy implemented to protect the constitutional rights of suspects, when interrogated by the police.

The Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties
The Bill of Rights is the first initial inclusion of laws to the Constitution, collected as the first ten amendments out of a total of 27 other amendments. This paper discusses three amendments in the Bill of Rights which includes the First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendments, with explanation of each amendment, and how it extends the protection of civil liberties to the population.
The First Amendment
This Amendment enacts the protection of free speech, religion, press, assembly, and freedom to petition the government (Dautrich & Yolof, 2011). The purpose of this Amendment is to prevent any directive establishing an adherence to a specific religion or any law prohibiting free practice of speech, assembly, and freedom of the press (Volkomer, 2011)
The Amendment exclusively affects all individuals living in the U.S. including citizens within the U.S. government. It protects the right for an individual to express themselves freely, without fear of retaliation.
The First Amendment is so important, because it protects the rights of the citizens to engage in open discussions and debate on public issues, which are important in any democracy. It also prevents Congress from passing any laws that would establish an official religion, and with that limit religious freedom. Also the right to petition the government of press and freedom to gather peacefully, has also helped protect democracy, and has given people the right to petition the government, or change laws that are unfair. (USCIS, 2011)
An example of how this Amendment can be used in court is the case of Texas v. Johnson 1989. This case was brought to the Supreme Court, after Johnson, a young activist, burnt the American Flag at the Republican National Convention, in Dallas, Texas in 1984. This was done at a protest march against President Reagan’s policies, in front of the Dallas City Hall. The case was presided over by the State of Texas Courts, where Johnson was found guilty of vandalism, but ultimately was appealed, and presented to the Supreme Court in 1989. He was found not guilty of vandalism, and it was determined that it was his First Amendment Right to practice freedom of speech, as long as it was done to make a point, and not just to destroy property.(Cornell Law, 2012)
The Fourth Amendment
This Amendment gives the public the protection from unreasonable searches and seizures of homes, and searches without warrants, with the exception of probable cause or a judicial body allowing a warrant (Volkomer, 2011).
The purpose of this Amendment is to it to prevent a law enforcing body or government from exploiting or violating one’s personal space or their right to privacy.
The importance of this Amendment is to allow people to utilize their rights and freedom to personal privacy, whether it is in their homes or even cars, limiting how, and where the government can conduct a search without a warrant. (Volkomer, 2011)
The effects of violating this amendment can be very serious. The exclusionary rule which is bestowed within the Fourth Amendment permits any evidence gathered illegally by prosecutors or law enforcement agents, regardless of content, to be invaluable in court, rendering evidence unusable (Cornell Law, 2012). This rule is similar to the double jeopardy rule in the Fifth Amendment, since it protects a defendant from self –incrimination.
This Amendment is essential in court, because it acts as a counter – incentive factor towards prosecutors who are willing to use illegally procured evidence against a defendant. The amendment is very important in preventing abuse of state police powers. An example is the case Arizona v. Gant, 2009. In this case a man was arrested for driving with a suspended license after pulling into his own driveway. After being handcuffed and shoved into the back of the police car, his car was searched, and a gun and bag of cocaine were found. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that there had been no reasonable cause for the search, because there was no traffic violation, nor danger to the police officer. It was considered a violation of the man’s Fourth Amendment Rights. The previous “Belton” precedent was rejected by the Supreme Court. (Erowid, 2009)
The Sixth Amendment
This Amendment ensures that anyone accused of a crime has a right to a fair trial by a jury; have a lawyer; and is informed of the charges brought against them. (Ramsey, 2012)
The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that the criminal justice system is fair to everyone and that no one is tried without a fair trial. This amendment is important, especially considering the history of illegal lynching in this country. (Volkomer, 2011)
This Amendment affects anyone who is being prosecuted for a criminal offense. It gives the defendant some basic rights to a fair trial; to have a lawyer present even if they can’t afford one; to confront witnesses; to subpoena witnesses for their defense; and to be informed of their charges. (Dautrich & Yalof, 2011)
The Sixth Amendment is very important when it comes to criminal cases and the rights of the accused. When it comes to capital punishment, fairness and justice are extremely important to ensure that the defendant was given every opportunity to prove his/her innocence. Also the Sixth Amendment is important in preventing the public from taking the laws into their own hands, as was often seen in the Southern States during the civil rights struggle, where the lynching of Black suspects by White mobs was a common practice. (ACLU, 2011)
An example of how the Sixth Amendment was used in a case is the Gideon v. Wainwright case of 1962. Gideon was charged with breaking and entering by a Florida State Court. He couldn’t afford a lawyer, and asked for a public lawyer, but was denied one because his case was not a capital case. As a result of defending himself, he was sentenced to five years in prison. The case was ultimately brought before the Supreme Court, where a unanimous decision was reached, that the State Courts must provide counsel for poor defendants who can’t afford a lawyer, under the Sixth Amendment. (IIT Chicago-Kent College, 2012)
Policy Implemented when Interrogating a Suspect
A policy that protects the civil liberties of the suspect before or during interrogation by a law enforcement officer is called the Miranda Rights. This policy was named after a Supreme Court Case Miranda v. Arizona, where it was ruled that the self –incriminating statement of a suspect who was not informed of his rights, was unconstitutional and could not be submitted as evidence in court. (Volkomer, 2011)
This policy pertains to all types of crimes, which require an arrest or interrogation by the police. The suspect’s Fifth Amendment rights must be upheld at all times, before and during the interrogation process. The rationale for this policy is to let the suspect know, that he or she has the right to remain silent, and that any information during the interrogation can be used against the person. Also suspects have a right to know that they have a right to an attorney even if they can’t afford one, and they must understand what the interrogator tells them. This protects their Sixth Amendment rights as well. The flaws of this policy, is that everyone is not fluent in English, and if a suspect does not understand the rights read to them, the testimony is not admissible in court. (Cornell Law, 2012)
The Miranda rights are a protection against coercive interrogations by extending the Fifth Amendment. The only exception is a case where there is a “public safety” issue. In that case, the Miranda Rights can be waived.
Conclusion:
Based on the above discussed findings, the First, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments are instrumental in providing the protection of civil liberties to person accused of committing a crime.

References
Arizona v. Grant. (2012). Erowid. Retrieved February 6, 2012, from http://www.erowid.org
Civil Liberties. (2012). The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law | A Multimedia Archive of the Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved from http://www.oyez.org
Criminal Law Cases. (2012). LII | LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved February 6, 2012, from http://www.law.cornell.edu/
Dautrich, K., & Yalof, D. A. (2011). American government (2nd ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage learning.
Ramsey, U. (2012, January 29). American government. Lecture presented at Live Chat in Colorado Technical University Online. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
USCIS.org - Find Government Related Products And Services. (2011). Retrieved February 6, 2012, from http://www.uscis.org
Volkomer, W. E. (2011). American government (13th ed.). Pearson Education. is very important in a democratic society; this gives the people the power to be involved in their government. Freedom