Citizenship
Constitution
&Courts
2015 Constitution Day & Citizenship Day
Could you pass the test?
• Where are these questions from?
• To pass the civics portion of the United
States naturalization test you are
required to get 6 out of 10 questions
correct.
What is the supreme law of
the land?
What does the Constitution
do?
Under our Constitution, some
powers belong to the federal
government. What is one power of
the federal government?
The idea of self-government is in
the first three words of the
Constitution. What are these
words?
How many amendments does
the Constitution have?
What is the “rule of law”?
What stops one branch of
government from becoming
too powerful?
What does the judicial
branch do?
When was the Constitution
written?
The Federalist Papers
supported the passage of the
U.S. Constitution. Name one
of the writers.
How did you do?
• Xavier University 2012 study revealed
that:
 One in three natural born citizens failed the
civics portion of the US Citizenship Test.*
 97.5% of immigrants passed the test in
2010.
Xavier Study Continued
◦ 85 percent did not know
the meaning of “rule of
law.”
◦ 71 percent were unable to
identify the Constitution as
the “supreme law of the
land.”
◦ 75 percent were not able
to correctly answer, “What
does the judicial branch
do?”
Responsibilities and Duties
of Citizens
•
•
•
•
•
Voting
Participate in government/community
Selective service
Pay taxes
Jury Service
Examining Article III of the U.S.
Constitution
THE CONSTITUTION AND
THE JUDICIAL BRANCH
The U.S. Constitution
• Preamble
• 7 Articles
• 27 Amendments
Did you know?
Of the written national constitutions, the
U.S. Constitution is the oldest and the
shortest.
The Role of the Courts
• Resolve disputes through a legal process;
• Interpret and apply the law;
• Determine if a law is unconstitutional;
• Protect the rights of the people.
The Jury by Norman Rockwell
Constitutional Protections
RIGHTS OF THE
ACCUSED
Rights of the Accused
•
A guarantee that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without
the due process of law
Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures
•
Protection against being tried for the same crime twice ("double jeopardy")
•
The right to a trial by an impartial jury
•
The right to cross-examine witnesses, and to call witnesses to support their
case
Right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation/charges against
you
•
•
•
The right to legal representation (an attorney)
•
The right to avoid self-incrimination
•
Protection from excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and
unusual punishments
Right to a speedy and public trial
•
What do you think?
Article III, Section 2
The Trial of all Crimes, except in
Cases of Impeachment; shall be by
Jury…
Juries and the
Constitution
Article III,
Section 2
•
Guarantees that the trial of all crimes,
except impeachment, will be by jury
5th
•
Guarantees due process of the law,
including indictment by a grand jury
for a capital crime.
•
Guarantees the right of a jury trial in
criminal proceedings.
•
Guarantees the right of a jury trial in
civil cases.
Amendment
6th
Amendment
7th
Amendment
The Founding Fathers
THE FAIR AND
IMPARTIAL JURY
The Role of the Jury
• The jury listens to the evidence during a
trial, decides what facts the evidence has
established, and forms their decision
based on those facts.
• How does the role of the jury prevent government
oppression of the accused?
What should juries look like?
Buschell’s Case
1670
Independent juries free to
come to their own verdict.
Sheppard v. Maxwell
1966
Verdict to be based on
evidence presented in
court, not from outside
sources.
Duncan v. Louisiana
1968
Guaranteed the right to
trial by jury in criminal
cases.
Williams v. Florida
1970
Permitted the use of a 6person jury as opposed to
the historically
implemented 12-person
jury.
Taylor v. Louisiana
1975
Jurors cannot be excluded
on the basis of gender;
juries should represent a
cross section of the
community.
Batson v. Kentucky
1986
Jurors cannot be excluded
on the basis of race; juries
should represent a cross
section of the community.
Six Ordinary People
What if your life was in the hands
of six or twelve ordinary people?
If you walked into the courtroom
accused of a crime what qualities or
characteristics do you want in
those six people?
Importance of the Jury
System
Well before the Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution were
even an idea, the jury trial was held as an
inherent right – representing a great
protection against government
oppression and tyranny…… the Supreme
Court affirmed and made clear that the
Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial is
absolutely fundamental to the bedrock
principles of liberty and justice, stating
that the jury is “an inestimable safeguard
against the corrupt or overzealous
prosecutor . . . .”