The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights: A Charter of Liberties Although the terms are used interchangeably, a useful distinction can be made between civil liberties and civil rights
Rights and Liberties CIVIL LIBERTIES are protections of citizens from unwarranted government action. CIVIL RIGHTS describe government s responsibility to protect citizens. The Bill of Rights emphasis on limiting the powers of the national government makes it more a bill of liberties
Civil Liberties As restraints on government action, there are at least two kinds of civil liberties: 1.Substantive liberties are restraints on what the government shall and shall not have the power to do. 2. Procedural liberties are restraints on how the government is supposed to act when it acts; for example, citizens are guaranteed due process of law when accused of a crime.
Nationalizing the Bill of Rights Throughout American history, the Courts have wrestled with the question of whether the Bill of Rights restrains only the national government or are its protections applicable to the states.
The 1 st Amendment
Establishment clause of the 1 st Amendment Government Can Teach about religions in school Allow voluntary prayer in many examples Transport students to a religious school Read Bible for culture or literacy content Cannot Set a state religion Government cannot order a prayer Teach religious doctrine in the school Pay seminary teachers Teach creationism
Free Exercise clause of the 1 st Amendment People Can Choose whatever religion they wish to worship. Lead a prayer in most examples Ask questions about religions Worship whomever want you Cannot Break the law and claim it is religious belief Raise children without education Deprive children of basic needs
Free speech The individual can: Profess any political belief Protest (without getting out of control) Say things about someone that are true Burn the flag Say racist and hate slogans Free speech means someone might say something you disagree with
Free speech limits on the person Threaten to blow up airplanes, schools or the president Sexual harassment Create too much social chaos Extremely crude language in a public form Disrespectful, vulgar language in schools Hate crimes
Freedom of the press-the press Can Print any political position Make fun of people, especially politicians Expose wrongs by the government Say things you might not agree with Cannot Libel intentionally injuring a person s reputation by false facts Disclose defense-security secrets Detail how to make a certain weapons
Freedom of Assembly The right to assemble is not an absolute right. There are some restrictions on this right as there are with other rights. The government may place restrictions on the right to assemble that will maintain law and order, facilitate traffic, protect private property and reduce noise congestion. Reasonable restrictions would include such things as requiring permits to hold a large public gathering in a park or to hold a parade downtown, making local curfews for teenagers or preventing protesters from holding up traffic.
2 nd Amendment This Amendment is a right of states to decide for themselves 3 rd Amendment No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
The 4 th Amendment
Fourth Amendment What does a police officer need in order to search your home or seize your property? A warrant given to him by a judge Probable cause is also needed
The 5 th Amendment
Fifth Amendment You cannot be tried for the same crime twice called Double Jeopardy You do not have to testify against your self. I plead the fifth You must have due process of law before you are convicted The government cannot take your land unless it pays you a fair price. You must be indicted by a Grand Jury before standing trial for a crime.
Sixth Amendment Right to speedy trial by impartial jury meaning not favoring either side
Sixth Amendment continued You must be told of charges You must be provided a lawyer if you cannot afford one
The 7 th Amendment The British Crown had created separate courts for the colonists that did not allow juries to decide the cases. Because the colonists' juries were consistently rejecting British law and undermining the wishes of the King and Parliament.
The 7 th Amendment This was one of the colonists' ways of protecting themselves from unjust laws and it leads to the second reason the Founders included the 7th Amendment in the Bill of Rights - trial by jury provides a bulwark for the people against the government. Juries are not required to base their decisions on the wishes of government officials, but can choose to declare a person innocent of a crime they are accused of committing if they think it is the right thing to do so.
The 8 th Amendment y w o n ' t w a n t t o b e e x e c u t e d. O t h e r s a r y w o n ' t w a n t t o b e e x e c u t e d. O t h e r s a r Capital punishment or execution is still argued about today and probably always will be. Some argue that it helps stop others from committing crimes because they won't want to be executed. Others argue that no matter how terrible the crime, the state does not have the right to kill a human being. Each state decides whether or not to have executions.
Eighth Amendment No excessive bail No cruel and unusual punishment Prisoner kissing his Mom in prison Firing Squad - 3 Hanging - 4 Lethal Gas - 7 Electric Chair - 11 Lethal Injection - 33 The U.S. Supreme Court rule in 1976 that the death penalty was constitutional. Since 1976 there have been 628 inmates executed.
9 th Amendment The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. It assures people that there are rights that members of a free society are entitled to, although neither Madison nor any of the other founding fathers ever stated just what they thought these rights were. Some people believe that they include the so-called natural rights including life, liberty, and property, or the right to pursue happiness.
10 th Amendment The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. The governmental powers not listed in the Constitution for the national government are powers that the states, or the people of those states, can have. Examples: The states determine the rules for marriages, divorces, driving licenses, voting, state taxes, job and school requirements, rules for police and fire departments, and many more.
14 th Amendment Protects against state infringements, defines citizenship, prohibits states from interfering with privileges and immunities, requires due process and equal protection, punishes states for denying vote, and disqualifies Confederate officials and debts No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. This clause of the 14 th Amendment made it unconstitutional for states to deny someone their constitutional rights. Before the 14 th Amendment and the incorporation cases states could infringe on constitutional rights. The Bill of Rights only applied to the Federal government.
Questions to Consider Some would argue that "A well regulated militia" means that the right to bear arms protected states and not individuals. They say that since we now have standing militaries, we no longer need militias, and if we don't need militias, then people have no need for guns. Do you believe that Americans need guns? There are those who believe that we need guns to protect ourselves and our families from criminals. Is this a good reason to have a gun in the house? There are those who believe that people need guns to protect themselves and their families from government. Does this sound like a good reason to keep a gun in the house? What about the type of gun the amendment protects? Should the government have the right to say that there are certain guns that people cannot have? What if you are a gun collector, and you have every gun ever made from 1921-1999 except for the AK47. You don't want to shoot anybody, but you collect guns and want an AK47. Should the government be allowed to tell you that you can't have this model gun?
When the police search your house and your car and find illegal drugs, do you think that they'll believe you when you say, "It's not mine, I was just watching my friend's stuff?" Do you think it matters if it isn't your stuff, but was in your house and your car? Why is this amendment so important to law abiding citizens? One judge ruled that a man convicted of killing a family while he was drunk driving had to not only spend 12 years in prison, but he had to also display pictures of the family members in his prison cell, and mail the survivors a check each month for $1.00 just to make sure that he didn't forget what he had done. Does this sound fair to you? Another judge, in a child molestation case, ruled that the man was guilty of molesting children while giving them piano lessons. His punishment included 6 years in prison and he was never allowed to play the piano again, as long as he lived. Does this sound fair to you?