Bill of Rights THE CONSTITUTION: THE AMENDMENTS DIRECTIONS: For each situation below, say if the action is constitutional (C) or not constitutional (N). Cite a specific Amendment to support your view, and say why that amendment is relevant Example: After a man is convicted of murdering an SHS history teacher, a court sentences him to be drawn and quartered in Chase Park. N: Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, and drawing and quartering is cruel. 1. A new federal law orders health teachers to stop teaching sex education on the grounds that some conservative religious groups find the curriculum offensive. Is the law constitutional? 2. A principal suspends a student from school for wearing a t-shirt with the slogan Stop US War Crimes in Afghanistan. Is wearing the shirt constitutional? 3. The Superintendent of Schools invites the head of Reform Judaism in the United States to offer the opening prayer at SHS graduation exercises. Is the prayer constitutional? 4. The SHS principal seizes all copies of Maroon before they are distributed and feeds them through the school shredder. He is angry that an editorial criticized him for reducing the number of senior parking permits, leaving many seniors unable to drive to school. Is this censorship constitutional? 5. When 312 SHS seniors sign a letter asking the principal to reconsider his parking decision, the principal cancels the senior prom and suspends the students who actually wrote the letter. Is the suspension constitutional? Page 1
Bill of Rights 6. SHS provides meeting space to a new club, the SHS Alliance for Jesus. Is this constitutional? 7. Attempting to protest Republican policies, a man burns a US flag in front of City Hall. He is convicted of flag desecration and sentenced to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Is burning the flag constitutional? 8. At a school-supervised outdoor event, a student stands across the street from the school holding a banner reading Bong Hits 4 Jesus. The principal suspends the student from school for 10 days. Is the student s banner protected by the Constitution? 9. A teacher assigns the Book of Job (from the Old Testament of the Bible) to an English class. Is this homework constitutional? 10. Concerned over shortages of weapons in Afghanistan, Congress passes, and the President signs, a law requiring the Texas National Guard to turn all of its weapons over to the US Army. Is the law constitutional? 10. Concerned with rising levels of gun violence, a state passes a law that all handguns in the state must be kept unloaded with trigger locks in place, and that no new handguns will be registered. Are these gun restrictions constitutional? 11. The 92nd Airborne division moves into the basement of a private home in Scarsdale, and demands the owner provide them with beer and pizza. Is the army s action constitutional? Page 2
Bill of Rights 12. The police receive a warrant to search the grounds of a Murray Hill estate. One policeman, desperately needing to use the bathroom, breaks a window of the house, and upon entering the living room discovers three dead bodies and $4 million worth of counterfeit money. The homeowner is arrested. Was the search of the house constitutional? 13. The police use a thermal-imaging device to detect areas of high-intensity heat, consistent with lamps used for indoor marijuana growing, inside a suspect s home. They use the evidence of such lamps from the device to obtain a search warrant for the home, where they discover a large number of marijuana plants. Was their use of the device constitutional? 14. The Scarsdale police pick up a student on suspicion of vandalizing school property. The police ask her many questions and insist that she must answer them immediately. Are the police s actions constitutional? 15. After being acquitted on charges of assaulting his public policy teacher, a man is tried again after prosecutors discover a cell phone video of the attack that had previously been hidden from them. Is the second trial constitutional? 16. The United States government wants to extend Interstate 684 south to New York City. The proposed extension goes through the middle of several Heathcote homes. The government offers the market price for each house, but the homeowners do not want to leave; the government insists that they move. Is the government s action constitutional? 17. While testifying in the trial of a coworker, a woman is asked a question that, if answered truthfully, would expose her involvement in a crime. She refuses to answer. Is her refusal constitutional? Page 3
Bill of Rights 18. Thanks to a clerical error in a district court, an accused man has to wait more than a year after his indictment before his trial on burglary charges begins. Is this delay constitutional? 19. Arrested for a crime of which he knows he is innocent, Walter Rothgery agrees to a hearing without having a lawyer in order to speed up the dismissal of his case. When, to his surprise, he is indicted and jailed to await trial, he demands a lawyer, but days pass before the Texas court provides him one. Eventually he gets a lawyer, who demonstrates his innocence, and Rothgery is released. Did Texas actions in delaying Rothgery s acquisition of legal counsel violate the Constitution? 20. Michael Crawford is arrested for stabbing a man he says attempted to rape his wife. He is convicted of assault after prosecutor s play a tape recording of Crawford s wife in which she says the victim was not trying to rape her. However, the wife was not called to the witness stand. Was playing the tape recording constitutional? 21. Terrence Graham was found guilty of burglary and attempted burglary while using a firearm, served a year in jail, and was paroled. A few months after his release he was tried and convicted of another armed robbery. Under Florida s three strikes law, this third conviction resulted in a sentence of life in prison without parole. Graham was seventeen years old. Was the sentence constitutional? 22. The federal government passes a law that calls on sheriffs and police chiefs to perform background checks on people who are trying to buy handguns. Is the law constitutional? 23. In order to insure equal education for all, New York state does away with the property tax and decides to finance education by means of an increased state income tax. Is this decision constitutional? Page 4
Amendments 11-27 Directions: Answer the questions below. If the question asks is x constitutional, answer in the same form as the Bill of Rights questions you have already completed. 24. The Eleventh Amendment changed a part of the original Constitution which part? Please cite your answer by article, section, and clause. 25. The Twelfth Amendment changed a part of the original Constitution which part? Please cite your answer by article, section, and clause. 26. What is the most important change the Twelfth Amendment made in the election process? Why? 27. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments are sometimes called the Reconstruction Amendments. Other than the dates of their ratifications, why is this nickname justified? 28. The Rye Neck School District imposes a new graduation requirement on high school students: a mandatory public service project. Is the requirement constitutional? 29. John and Jane Doe are illegal immigrants living in the United States. Jane gives birth to a child in a hospital in New York. Is this child a US citizen? Why or why not? 30. Do the states have to offer their citizens the same rights as the federal government? Why or why not? Page 5
Amendments 11-27 31. The Virginia Military Institute, a state-sponsored school preparing students for a military career, refuses to admit women on the grounds that they were ineligible to serve in combat under US military rules. Is this admissions policy constitutional? 32. Section two of the Fourteenth Amendment changed a part of the original Constitution which part? Please cite your answer by article, section, and clause. 33. New York State organizes a Fourth of July Parade in Albany; can the state refuse to permit a Muslim group to march? Why or why not? 34. If the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an organization dedicated to Irish pride, hosts a St. Patrick s Day Parade, can they refuse to permit an Irish gay pride group to march? Why or why not? 35. For nearly a century after the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, many states denied black citizens the right to vote. Given the text of the Amendment, how was this possible? 36. Why do so many adherents of tea party groups want to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment? 37. The Seventeenth Amendment changed a part of the original Constitution which part? Please cite your answer by article, section, and clause. Page 6
Amendments 11-27 38. Under the terms of the Eighteenth Amendment, could a state choose to permit alcohol sales even after the federal government had banned them? Why or why not? 39. In an effort to enforce traditional gender roles, a state might ban transsexuals from voting. Would such a law be constitutional? 40. The Twentieth Amendment changed a part of the original Constitution which part? Please cite your answer by article, section, and clause. 41. Barack Obama wins reelection as President, this time with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as his running mate. Shortly after election day it is discovered that Obama really was born in Kenya, and that Granholm was born in Canada. Who decides who is president? 42. The Twenty-First Amendment changed a part of the Constitution which part? Please cite your answer by amendment number. 43. After passage of the Twenty-First Amendment, could the Tennessee legislature vote to ban the sale of alcohol? Why or why not? 44. Why do you think the Congress passed, and the states ratified, the Twenty-Second Amendment? Page 7
Amendments 11-27 45. How many electoral votes does the District of Columbia have in the next presidential election? Why? 46. South Carolina passed a law mandating that all voters present photo ID at their polling place before they are allowed to cast ballots. South Carolina is happy to provide photo IDs to potential voters, but they may decide to charge a fee for photo processing and handling. Would such a law be constitutional? 47. When Ronald Reagan underwent cancer surgery during the 1980s, he was placed under general anesthesia. While Reagan was out, was Vice President George H. W. Bush the president? 48. Imagine that Rep. Michele Bachmann wins the next presidential election. Shortly after taking the oath of office, President Bachmann appears on national television wearing a tinfoil hat. She says what a bizarre time we re in, when a judge will say to little children that you can t say the pledge of allegiance, but you must learn that homosexuality is normal and you should try it. She adds that compact fluorescent light bulbs are satan s tool to ensure the final victory of international socialism. Can anything be done to stop Bachmann from damaging the country? 49. Imagine you were born on 7 November 1994. Will you be able to vote in the 2012 presidential election? 50. If Congress votes itself a raise tomorrow, on what specific date will their new pay level take effect? Page 8