Answer: Anytime people start talking about due process, I know they are clueless. It is most frequently used by inmates representing themselves and erudite law school wannabes. Due process is a term of art which refers to the manner in which the law is applied. It is not actually law. Similarly, with a jury of your peers. Your peers. Are my peers 60 year old while women? No, I am a black man with four degrees. So, my peers are 40 something black men with 4 or more degrees who have married a black woman and have children. SO, other than President Obama, I have very few peers. Two degrees is not four. And a law degree from Georgia State ain't the same thing as one from Cornell Law School. The same way a Honda is not a Porsche. So, jury of your peers is a term of art referring to citizens over the age of 18, who live in the county where you are charged, and that have no felony convictions. It does not mean your actual peers. What another example? You are entitled to a speedy trial. The constitution does not denote any specific time as a time limit. So, under federal law, a three year wait in jail for a trial may constitute a speedy trial. Therefore, each state has by statute constructed a statute, which does designate a specific drop dead date. However, in many counties, IF an attorney files a speedy trial at the earlier possible moment, the client may still sit in jail for 10-11 months before he has an actual trial. Is an 11 month wait in jail for a trial, a speedy trial demand? I would say no. However, as long as the attorney files the speedy trial demand after indictment and the prosecutor has the jury trial in month number 9, then the speedy trial demand has been met, and due process has been fulfilled. I assume that the 10 months in custody on a speedy trial demand offends you, because you are fretting (in your words about deprivation of liberty) about days spent after an arrest.

Answered by Lawrence Lewis - Criminal Lawyer in Metro Atlanta