Page 243 - Beers With Our Founding Fathers

A Patriot’s view of the history and direction of our Country

colonists. John Adams, our second president and Founding Father,

defended the English soldiers charged with killing citizens at the
Boston Massacre (1770). As soldiers in service to England, they

were entitled to an attorney. If the Boston Massacre would have
been reversed, at that time the Bostonians charged with killing

soldiers would have been transported to England and tried without
the assistance of counsel, witnesses, or proper advisement; and

they may have remained unjustly incarcerated until such time that
the decision to move forward with a trial was made. The jury, if

empaneled, would not have been of their community peers or in the
venue of the crime. Finally, they would not have been able to

confront or compel witnesses, who would have been required to
travel from the colonies to England at their own expense. This

example, though unusual, demonstrates the necessity of a fair and
just judicial system our Founding Fathers envisioned when crafting

the Fourth to Sixth Amendments.

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