§1561 Rights and Prohibitions

Summary

Protects basic rights and limits government power in the Virgin Islands. No one may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without a fair legal process or be denied equal treatment under the law. People accused of crimes must have a lawyer, be told the charges and given a copy, get a speedy public trial, face the witnesses against them, and force witnesses to come for their defense. No one can be tried twice for the same crime or forced to testify against themselves. A judge cannot decide a case if they acted as the attorney or prosecutor in it. Bail must be allowed with good sureties except for first‑degree murder or any capital offense when the proof is evident or the presumption great. Excessive bail or fines and cruel or unusual punishment are banned. Contracts, the right to habeas corpus, protection from retroactive criminal laws or bills of attainder, fair payment for taken property, and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures (search warrants need probable cause, an oath, and a specific description) are all required. Slavery and involuntary servitude are banned except as punishment after conviction. Protects speech, the press, peaceful assembly, petitioning the government, and free exercise of religion, and bars an official religion. Anyone who supports overthrowing the government by force cannot hold public office. Treasury money can be spent only under lawful acts and by proper warrant. Polygamy is forbidden. Children under 16 may not work in jobs harmful to health or safety. The legislature may still pass laws to protect life, health, or safety. No political or religious test for office is allowed except an oath to support the U.S. Constitution and Virgin Islands laws. The law extends specific U.S. Constitution parts (Article I §9 clauses 2–3; Article IV §1 and §2 clause 1; Article VI clause 3; the First through Ninth Amendments; the Thirteenth; the second sentence of §1 of the Fourteenth; and the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments). Certain prosecutions in the district court may be by grand jury indictment or by information under sections 1612(a) and (c), while others remain by information under section 1612(b). Any federal or local law that conflicts with these rules is repealed to the extent of the conflict.