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The rights of the accused is a class of rights in that apply
to a person in the time period between when they are formally accused of
a crime and when they are either convicted or acquitted. Rights of the accused
are generally based on the maxim of "innocent until proven guilty" and are
embodied in due process. Promotion of the rights of the accused sometimes
comes into conflict with promotion of victim's rights. One example of this
is conflict between the right of the accused to personally confront his
accusers and the desire to protect child witnesses from the intimidation
that they may feel in the courtroom |