Like millions of other Americans, I became obsessed with Netflix's documentary, "Making a Murder." I watched the documentary twice. I often check for updates and developments on the case. I was happy to learn that Brendan Dassey's conviction was recently overturned and that he'll be released from jail soon. I often check Kathleen Zellner's twitter account to see if she has any updates in her ongoing defense of Steven Avery.
I think this documentary is probably the best legal documentary ever made. Although this film is about the troubling investigation and prosecution of Teresa Halbach’s alleged murder, the documentary's real value is educating the public about the importance of "Due Process".
What Is Due Process?
Due process is the idea that our laws are created in an open and clear manner and that the enforcement of those laws through the criminal justice system are applied in a fair, transparent and unbiased manner. These laws prevent the government from depriving citizens of their rights by requiring the government to follow some rules in how they enforce the law. This means that law enforcement officials, judges, lawyers and prison officials have their own set of rules and procedures that they must follow when they try to determine if a citizen broke the law and what the consequences of the violation of that law should be.
Think of it this way. There are rules that govern how a specific sport or game is played. That means that the athlete must play the game within the bounds of those rules and that he plays the game in a fair and honest way. But there are also rules that the referees must follow so that they are not biased in favor of one team or athlete over another and that they apply the rules in a fair, open and consistent manner. As a result, due process protects the players and the referees by requiring that everybody is fair either in the following the rules or in the enforcement the rules.
Due Process is the both the foundation and the framework that provides the stability and structure that is required to make the sporting event work. If the players disregard the rules, unfairness will ruin the game. If the players are trying to follow the rules but the referees are disregarding the rules of how they determine if the players are playing the game properly, injustice will occur frequently.
For me, it is extremely important that the public be educated about the concept of Due Process. It isn't enough to know that the rules that people follow must me fair and that the process by which the judicial system determines if someone has broken the rules be fair, but that the public should be educated on the rationale behind Due Process. The "why" behind Due Process is a simple concept but even simple ideas need to be taught so that we don't forget the reasons behind the rules we have, especially when it comes to the criminal justice system.
Making A Murderer: The Failure of Due Process
Making a Murder may be the most important and best legal film ever because it educates the public about the importance of Due Process.
There is plenty of debate over whether or not Steven Avery really killed Teresa Halbach. He might have killed her. He may not have. Avery's guilt or innocence isn't the main point of the documentary. His innocence or guilt is irrelevant. I didn't say it was important. I just said it was irrelevant.
The reason why everyone is angry about what happened in this documentary isn't that the police got the wrong individuals who killed Teresa Halbach. It is entirely possible that Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey killed her. People are angry because the police, the prosecutors, and the judges failed to follow the rules which resulted in an unfair and unconstitutional investigation and trial of these two men. Nobody followed the law.
Due Process did not happen in this case.
For anyone who watched the documentary, it was clear that there was tons of gross misconduct that led to several serious violations of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey's constitutional rights. The police, the District Attorneys, Brendan Dassey's personal defense attorney and the Judges clearly didn't follow due process, ethics, or the Constitution.
Imagine if the Green Bay Packers played against the Patriots and the Patriots violated every rule known in football to get a touchdown. Yes, they got a touchdown but the touch down should not stand because the Patriots didn't play the game within the confines of the rules of the NFL. Now, imagine the shock to Green Bay when they complain about the Patriots' illegal touchdown to the referees and NFL...only to find that the refs or the the NFL leadership don't care about the illegal touchdown.
That's what happened to these two men. The police didn't follow the "rules" (the law) of the Constitution, state law or ethics or even the instructions of the neighboring District Attorney.
The District Attorney and Judges clearly didn't care that the police failed to follow the rules. In fact, the District Attorneys, Brendan Dassey's defense attorney and the Judges didn't follow the Constitution or state law either. The "referees" disregarded the rules that govern their conduct.
Dean Strang and Jerome Butting, the defense attorneys for Steven Avery, tried to warn government officials that they were not following the law in the investigation or trial of their client. But the judicial system didn't care that multiple violations of Brendan or Stephen's rights had occurred.
For me, I don't know who I am more angry with. Should I be more angry with the team (the police) that cheated or the referees (the Judges) that looked the other way when there was a clear violation of the rules?
Why Due Process Is Important To You
Due Process is important for anyone who is ever has been, or will be, under the scrutiny of the government for potentially committing a crime. Due process applies to all felonies, misdemeanors, and infractions. It doesn't matter if the crime is big or small. Due process applies at the start a criminal investigation and continues on until the accused is convicted and punished for his or her crime.
When someone is accused of committing a crime, the people who are investigating the crime cannot be breaking their own rules, especially when the accused is presumed to be innocent. When the judicial system doesn't follow the rules, people's rights are violated and unfairness occurs.
That's why the debate over whether or not Steven Avery and Brendan are guilty of killing Teresa Halbach is irrelevant. There seems to be plenty evidence to support guilt or innocence in this case. These men could be 100% guilty of murdering Teresa Halbach. Or they are completely innocent.
The greater crime in this case is that the judicial system failed to follow their own rules. These rules must be followed regardless if the accused is innocent or guilty of the crime. Injustice can occur even if the person is guilty of the crime. But it becomes even more terrifying when injustice happens to the innocent.
Due Process is important for both individuals and society. Citizens have a right to expect that the government will respect their rights and treat them fairly. The Government cannot trample over their own citizen's rights just to secure an arrest or conviction. The citizen is a mere bug that the government can quash at any time. Thus, the Constitution was designed to reign in the power the government can wield over people.
Society can accept that people will commit large and small crimes on a daily basis. There are people and institutions that can help cope with that. But a society cannot survive if the judicial system itself is lawless. Law is meaningless without enforcement of the rules. There is no order when there is no law.
Viewers of Making a Murder saw that the judicial system completely disregarded Due Process. They saw that if the government didn't follow the rules in investigating and prosecuting Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey, will the government be fair to them if they are ever accused of a crime?
