CONSTITUTIONAL
RIGHTS
CHAPTER 2
OUR NATIONS FRAMING DOCUMENTS
• Declaration of Independence
• Adopted on July 4, 1776
• Declared independence
from Great Britain
• American War of Independence
lasted 8 years
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
• Fun Facts
• Written by Thomas Jefferson in less than 3 weeks
• Jefferson Was Upset that Slavery was Edited out
• Jefferson died July 4, 1826 exactly 50 years after it was adopted
• The Sole Recanter: Richard Stockton
• Captured by British during Revolution; under duress of harsh
British confinement, Stockton recanted his signature on the
Declaration and declared his allegiance to the King George III
before he was released
• Bargain Hunter Bought an Old Copy of the Declaration of
Independence for $4, Sold It For Millions!
• Found in 1989 under an old painting; was one of 200 official
copies from the 1st printing; sold for $8.14 million
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
The 13 sovereign states united loosely in 1781 under a
charter called the Articles of Confederation.
Delaware
Georgia
Maryland
Virginia
Rhode Island
Pennsylvania
Connecticut
South Carolina
New York
New Jersey
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
North Carolina
U.S. CONSTITUTION
• Was drafted in the summer of 1787
• Provided a workable framework for a
federal government “of the people, by the
people, and for the people.”
• Was declared effective and binding by
Congress on March 4, 1789
• 9 of 13 states ratified
• Remaining 4 concerned with human rights
THE BILL OF RIGHTS
• The first ten amendments to the U.S.
Constitution
• Enacted as a shield against the
possible violation of specified human
rights
U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS: AMENDMENT I
• Freedom of Religion
• Freedom of Speech
• Freedom to Assemble Peacefully
TEXAS V. JOHNSON (1989)
• In a political demonstration during the Republican
National Convention in Texas, protesting the policies
of the Reagan Administration and of certain
corporations based in Dallas, Gregory Lee Johnson
doused an American flag with kerosene and set it
on fire. No one was hurt or threatened with injury,
but some witnesses said they were seriously
offended, and Johnson was charged and
convicted with the desecration of a venerated
object, in violation of the Texas Penal Code. In a
split decision, the Supreme Court determined that
Johnson’s actions were symbolic speech protected
by his First Amendment Rights.
U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS: AMENDMENT II
• A well regulated Militia
• Right to Keep and Bear Arms
U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS: AMENDMENT III
• 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.
U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS: AMENDMENT IV
• Security in person and property
against Unreasonable Searches and
Seizures
CALIFORNIA V. GREENWOOD (1987)
• Local police suspected Billy Greenwood was dealing
drugs from his residence. Because the police did not
have enough evidence for a warrant to search his
home, they searched the garbage bags Greenwood
had left at the curb for pickup. The police uncovered
evidence of drug use, which was then used to obtain a
warrant to search the house. That search turned up
illegal substances, and Greenwood was arrested on
felony charges.
• Did that violate the 4th Amendment?
• Voting 6 to 2, the Court held that garbage placed at the
curbside is unprotected by the Fourth Amendment. The Court
argued that there was no reasonable expectation of privacy
for trash on public streets "readily accessible to animals,
children, scavengers, snoops, and other members of the
public."
U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS: AMENDMENT V
• Right to Remain Silent if Accused of a Crime
• Right to Not be Tried for the Same Crime
Twice
• Right to Fair Compensation for Private
Property Taken by the Government for a
Public Purpose
• Protection from Taking of Life, Liberty, or
Property without Due Process of Law
MIRANDA V. ARIZONA (1966)
• Ernesto Miranda was arrested after a crime victim
identified him, but police officers questioning him
did not inform him of his Fifth Amendment right
against self-incrimination. While he confessed to
the crime, his attorney later argued that his
confession should have been excluded from trial.
The Supreme Court agreed, deciding that the
police had not taken proper steps to inform
Miranda of his rights.
U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS: AMENDMENT VI
• Right to enjoy a Speedy and Public Trial by
an Impartial Jury
• Right to a Defense Counsel in a Trial
• Right to Confront Witnesses Against Oneself
• Constitution supreme law of the land
GIDEON V. WAINWRIGHT (1963)
• In June 1961, a burglary occurred at the Bay Harbor Pool
Room in Panama City, FL. Police arrested Clarence Earl
Gideon after he was found nearby with a pint of wine and
some change in his pockets. Gideon, who could not afford a
lawyer, asked a Florida Circuit Court judge to appoint one for
him arguing that the Sixth Amendment entitles everyone to a
lawyer. The judge denied his request and Gideon was left to
represent himself. He did a poor job of defending himself and
was found guilty of breaking and entering and petty larceny.
While serving his sentence in a Florida state prison, Gideon
began studying law, which reaffirmed his belief his rights were
violated when the Florida Circuit Court refused his request for
counsel. From his prison cell, he handwrote a petition asking
the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case and it agreed. The
Court unanimously ruled in Gideon’s favor, stating that the
Sixth Amendment requires state courts to provide attorneys for
criminal defendants who cannot otherwise afford counsel.
U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS: AMENDMENT VII
• In Suits at common law, where the value in
controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the
right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and
no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States,
than according to the rules of the common
law.
• Jury
U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS: AMENDMENT VIII
• Protection from Cruel or Unusual
Punishment if Convicted of a Crime
ROPER V. SIMMONS (2005)
• Matthew Simmons was sentenced to death for the
murder of a woman when he was seventeen years
of age. In the 1988 case Thompson v. Oklahoma,
the Supreme Court ruled that executing persons for
crimes committed at age fifteen or younger
constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in
violation of the Eighth Amendment. Roper argued
that "evolving standards of decency" prevented the
execution of an individual for crimes committed
before the age of eighteen. A majority of the
Supreme Court agreed with Roper, and held that to
execute him for his crime would violate the Eighth
Amendment.
U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS: AMENDMENT IX
• The enumeration in the Constitution of
certain rights shall not be construed to
deny or disparage others retained by
the people.
• Gives power to the people
U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS: AMENDMENT X
• Sovereignty of all the states to govern
their own citizens within their own
borders
• Power to the state
MORE CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENTS
• Abolishing slavery – 13th Amendment
• African Americans right to vote – 15th
Amendment
• Intentionally excluded “gender”
• Women vote 50 years later - 19th Amendment
• Change voting age to 18 – 26th Amendment
OUR SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND
BALANCES
• Branches of governments
• Legislative branch
• Executive branch
• Judicial branch
• Changing the Constitution
• Our form of government
UNITED STATES V. NIXON (1974)
• A congressional hearing about President Nixon’s
Watergate break-in scandal revealed that he had
installed a tape-recording device in the Oval
Office. The special prosecutor in charge of the case
wanted access to these taped discussions to help
prove that President Nixon and his aides had
abused their power and broken the law. President
Nixon’s incomplete compliance with the special
prosecutor's demands was challenged and
eventually taken to the Supreme Court of the
United States. The Court decided that executive
privilege is not limitless, and the tapes were
released.
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
• Senate
• 2 members from every state, regardless of
populations (100)
• Six-year terms
• Power to try all impeachment cases
• House of Representatives
• Seats allocated to the states in proportion to
their population (435)
• 2-year terms
• Power to initiate impeachment
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
• President and Vice President
• Elections Regulated by a Combination of Federal
and State Laws
• Each State is allocated a number of Electoral
College Electors (total 538)
JUDICIAL BRANCH
• Supreme Court
• Primarily an appellate court
• Decides on constitutionality of statutes
• 1 Chief Justice; 8 Associate Justices
• Nominated by the President; confirmed by the
Senate
• Life Tenure