How is the meaning of due process of law set out in the 5th and 14th amendments?
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What is police power and how does it relate to civil rights?
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What is the right of privacy and where are its origins in constitutional law?
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The Meaning of Due Process
(chart)
The 5th Amendment
provides that "no person... shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law...
The 14th Amendment
extends that restriction to State and local governments
Due Process
means that the government must act fairly and in accord with established rules at all times
Due Process is broken into two branches:
(1) substantive due process- the fairness of the laws themselves
(2) procedural due process- the fairness of the procedures used to enforce the laws
Procedural Due Process
refers to the HOW of government actions- procedures and methods
Substantive Due Process
refers to the WHAT of government actions- substance and policies
The Police Power
the authority of each State to act to safeguard the well-being of its people
The Police Power to Promote:
(1) health: states can limit the sale of alcohol and tobacco, make laws to combat pollution, and require vaccination of school children
(2) safety: states can forbid concealed weapons, require the use of seat belts, and punish drunk drivers
(3) morals: st
The Right to Privacy
The constitutional guarantees of due process create a right of privacy
Which Supreme Court cases have dealt with slavery and involuntary servitude?
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What is the intent of the 2nd Amendment's protection of the right to keep and bear arms, and how is it applied?
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What constitutional provisions are designed to guarantee the security of home and person?
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The 13th Amendment
ratified in 1865, ended slavery in this country. it also protects against involuntary servitude, or forced labor (neither the draft nor imprisonment can be classified as involuntary servitude). covers the actions of private individuals as well as that of
The 13th Amendment In Action #1
For a long time after it was passed, both citizens and members of the Supreme Court thought that the 13th Amendment did not apply to acts of racial discrimination committed by private citizens. After all, the discriminatory acts were social choices and di
The 13th Amendment in Action #2
Starting in 1968, the Supreme Court breathed new life into the 13th Amendment by upholding provisions in the Civil Rights Act of 1866, a little-known law that had escaped repeal in the late 1800s. In a series of landmark cases, the Supreme Court found tha
The 2nd Amendment
protects the right of each State to form and keep a militia. sets out an individual right to keep and bear arms
The 3rd and 4th Amendment
protect the security of home and person
The 4th Amendment
protects against writs of assistance (blanket search warrants) and "unreasonable searches and seizures." it is extended to the states through the 14th amendment
Aspects of the 4th Amendment
(chart)
What are the writ of habeas corpus, bills of attainder, and ex post facto laws?
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What issues arise from the guarantee of a speedy and public trial?
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What constitutes a fair trial by jury?
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Article I, Section 9 & 10
(1) writ of habeas corpus- a court order which prevents unjust arrests and imprisonment
(2) bills of attainder- laws passed by Congress that inflict punishment without a court trial
(3) ex pst facto laws- new laws cannot apply to things that happened in t
Writ of Habeas
corpus is protected against the National and Government in Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution. "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion of public safety may require it.
What does the writ of habeas corpus (writ of liberty) seek to prevent?
The writ of habeas corpus seeks to prevent unjust arrests and imprisonments
Bills of Attainder Laws
laws/legislative acts that inflict punishment without a court trial are prohibited and cannot be written by Congress or the States= Article 1, Sections 9
Ex Post Facto Laws
(after the fact) Retroactive criminal (does not include civil laws) laws are forbidden. ex: if a person steals a CD from a store, is caught, tried and convicted and the penalty at the time is 6 months probation and then the penalty law changes to 1 or 2 y
3 Laws that cannot be passed by Congress nor State Legislature
(1) a criminal law, one defining a crime or providing for its punishment
(2) a law applied to an act committed before its passage
(3) a law that works to the disadvantage of the accused
What is the reasoning for forbidding bills of attainder and ex post facto laws?
these laws are forbidden because they threaten individual freedom and the principle of separation of powers
Grand Jury
-is the formal device by which a person can be accused of a serious crime.
-is required for federal courts under the 5th Amendment.
-not a trial, rather a jury that determines whether there is enough evidence for a trial.
-only the prosecution presents ev
Indictment
-a formal complaint that the prosecutor lays before a grand jury charging the accused with one or more crimes
-grand jury deliberates on whether the prosecution's formal complaint presents enough evidence against the accused to justify a trial
The right to a grand jury
-not covered by the 14th amendment's due process clause.
-most states have legislated to skip the grand jury state
What is a grand jury?
-federal case grand juries include 16-23 persons selected from the district court area
-a minimum of 12 votes are necessary to return an indictment or make a presentment
-if they find there is enough evidence for a trial they return a "true bill of indict
Presentment
formal accusation brought by a grand jury on its own motion (federal level)
Double Jeopardy
once a person has been tried for a crime, he or she cannot be tried again for that same crime.-- protected by the 5th amendment protection against double jeopardy and the 14th amendment through the due process clause
What guarantees does the 5th Amendment guarantee to the accused?
Provides for grand juries and prohibits double jeopardy
What are the provisions of the 6th Amendment concerning the rights of the accused?
The 6th Amendment guarantees a prompt trial in federal cases, calls for public trials and trial by an impartial jury, and gives defendants the right to know the charges against them and to have legal counsel
Speedy and Public Trial
the right to a speedy and public trial was extended as part of the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause by Klopfer vs. North Carolina, 1967
The Speedy Trial Act of 1974
-requires that the beginning of a person's federal criminal trial must take place no more than 100 days after the arrest
-a judge can limit who can watch a trial if the defendant's rights are in jeopardy
Trial by Jury
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Right to an Adequate Defense
(1) to be informed of the content and form of the accusation
(2) to be confronted with the witnesses against her/him
(3) to be able to subpoena witnesses to testify on his/her behalf
(4) to have a lawyer speak in his/her defense
The 5th Amendment
declares that no person can be "compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." this protection extends to the states, and sometimes to civil trials if the self-incrimination could lead to a criminal charge
Self-Incrimination
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How important is the Equal Protection Clause?
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What is the history of segregation in America?
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How does classification by sex relate to discrimination?
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Equal Protection Clause
The 14th Amendment's equal protection clause declares that citizens are protected equally under the law
Reasonable Classification
the government may reasonably classify, or draw distinctions, between groups of individuals. government may not discriminate unreasonably, however
The Supreme Court often uses two measures to determine the constitutionality of an action:
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Segregation
the separation of one group from another
Jim Crow Laws
passed in the late 1800s by several States, aimed at separating minorities from the white population
The Separate-But-Equal Doctrine
provided that separate facilities for African Americans were legal as long as they were equal to those provided for whites (upheld by Plessy vs. Ferguson, 1896)
De Facto Segregation
segregation in fact even if no law requires it, has emerged in housing and schooling patterns in some areas of the country
Segregation in America
desegregation and integration programs progressed through the 1950s and 1960s
Classification by Sex
-The only mention to sex in the Constitution is in the 19th Amendment, which forbids the denial of the right to vote "on account of sex."
-Overall, the Court has ruled that laws that treat men differently than women will be overturned unless (1) they are
Pierce vs. Society of Sisters, 1925
-Oregon voters had adopted a new school-attendance law in 1922 that required all persons between the ages of 8 and 16 to attend public schools.
It was written to destroy private, especially parochial, schools in the State
-The Society of Sisters (a Roman
Rochin vs. California, 1952
-3 L.A. County deputy sheriffs forced their way into Rochin's room. (They lacked a search warrant)
-When they noticed two capsules on a nightstand, Rochin swallowed them, but the police officers continued to violate Rochin's privacy when they tried to for
Drunk-Driving Cases (Normal Tests)
Normal tests: walk a straight line, touching the tip of your nose, breathalyzer and blood samples
-DOES THE REQUIREMENT THAT A PERSON SUBMIT TO SUCH A TEST VIOLATE HIS OR HER RIGHTS UNDER THE 14th AMENDMENT?
-DOES the test involve an unconstitutional sear
Drunk-Driving Case
Schmerber v. California, 1966: The Supreme court found that if a SEARCH WARRANT - a court order authorizing a search- had been sought, the evidence could have disappeared from the suspect's system. Hence, when the police officer had a blood sample taken i
Griswold vs Connecticut, 1965
held that a law outlawing birth-control was unconstitutional; the right to privacy
Stanley vs. Georgia, 1969
the right of privacy was defined as "the right to be free, except in very limited circumstances, from unwanted governmental intrusion into one's privacy.
Roe vs. Wade, 1973
the right of privacy provoked controversy when it was applied to a woman's right to an abortion
Jones vs. Mayer, 1968
Jones, an African American, had sued because Mayer had refused to sell him a home solely because of his race. Mayer said that the 1866 law was unconstitutional, since it sought to prohibit private racial discrimination.
-The Court upheld (supported) the 1
United States vs. Miller, 1939 (2nd Amendment Case)
The case involved a section of the National Firearms Act of 1934 that forbid shipping sawed-off shotguns, silencers, and machine guns across State lines without informing the Treasury Department and paying a tax. The Court upheld the provision
The 2nd and 14th Amendments
the 2nd Amendment has as yet not been extended to each State under the 14th Amendment. Therefore, the individual States have the right to regulate arms in their own ways.
Rights of the Accused
A court order directing a sheriff, warden or other public officer or a private person, who is detaining another to "produce the body" of the one being held in order that the legality of the detention may be determined by the court. (It commands that the p
Article I, Section 10
Powers Denied to the States-"No State shall pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law..."-- This provides an example of the Constitution separating powers and providing Checks and balances: The legislative branch can only pass laws that define crime a
Miranda vs. Arizona, 1966 (Miranda Rule)
the Supreme Court set an historic precedent when it would no longer uphold convictions in cases in which the defendant had not been informed of his or her rights before questioning. This requirement is known as the Miranda Rule.