Download Group Eight

Constitutional Study Guide
Cameron Gardner
Tawni Gurney
Laurelle Field
Gabby Suarez
The First Amendment
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Protects the rights to freedom of religion, speech, freedom to the assemble, and freedom to petition the
government.
– Religion: Citizens are free to choose what they believe and how they practice their religion.
(Separation of Church and State)
• Free Exercise Clause: Citizens can choose how they practice their religion with the exception of
dangerous practices such as sacrifice.
– Speech/Press: Citizens have the freedom to share their opinions, including opinions about the
government.
– Assembly/Petition: Citizens are allowed to get together in a peaceful way and petition the
government in order to express their opinions.
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Court Cases:
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Near v. Minnesota: Near put on trial for bashing local officials two years after the Public Nuisance
:aw was passed which forbids publications of “malicious or defamatory” newspapers and magazines.
Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional because it violated the rights to free speech and press laid
out by the First Amendment.
Engel v. Vitale: A New York school required public school students to recite a prayer.. Ten parents
who teach their children opposing religions at home took the matter to court. The ruling was that
making students pray in a public school went against the right to freedom of religion explained in the
First Amendment and the Establishment Clause.
The Second Amendment
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Ensures citizens and the nation the right to security.
Was put into the Constitution to prevent the national government from taking actions the
British had taken during the Revolution, taking weapons away from the colonial militia.
Citizens can own weapons, but Congress can limit the sales of these weapons.
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Court Case:
– United States v. Cruikshank (1876): Cruikshank was charged with conspiracy by klansmen
to prevent African Americans from exercising their civil rights, including the bearing of
arms for lawful purposes. Court decided that because the right to keep and bear arms
existed outside of the Constitution, the Amendment only guarantees that the right shall
not be infringed by Congress. Court doesn't’t have the power to punish a violation of a
right by a private individual.
The Fourth Amendment
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Guards against search and seizures and protects an individual’s right to privacy.
Britain used “writs of assistance” or general search warrants to seek out smuggled
goods. We wanted to guard against these seizures.
Requires authorities to have a specific reason to search a premise or seize
evidence or people.
Search and arrest requires a search warrant or an arrest warrant that needs to be
signed off by a judge.
• Court Case:
– Mapp v. Ohio: The police forcefully entered and searched Mapp’s home because they
believed that she was a suspect in a bombing. They found no evidence of the suspect,
but found pornography. She was placed under arrest and found guilty of having these
materials. The conviction was overturned and the court found that they cannot used
evidence found illegally to convict.
The Fifth Amendment
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Contains four importance protections for people accused by crimes.
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1. Non one can be tried for serios crimes unless grand jury has decided there’s enough evidence for a
trial.
2. A person found innocent of a crime cannot be tried again for the same offense.
3. No one may be forced to testify against themselves.
4. Defines the government right of eminent domain—power of government to take private property
for public use to build a highway, park, etc. Government must pay fair price for property and it must
benefit the public.
Court Case:
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Chambers v. Florida (1940): The Supreme Court ruled that physical torture is not the only condition
that could make a confession unreliable and inadmissible in court. In this case, officers had arrested
forty black men for the murder of a white man. The men were not informed of their selfincrimination clause right to remain silent. The men were treated in this manner for a week, after
which time four of them confessed to the murder. The Court held that the confessions weren’t
voluntary, but were coerced and case against them was thrown out.
The Sixth Amendment
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Allows those charged with a crime the right to defend themselves in court. Right for the accused include
the following:
– A speedy public trial by an impartial jury
– Right to be judged alone/moved to another community
– Know the charges of the accused
– Hear/compel witnesses
– Right to be defended by a lawyer (with one appointed if the accused cannot afford their own)
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Court Cases:
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Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): Clarence Earl Gideon was charged with breaking/entering but had no
money to hire a lawyer. He was convicted when the court refused to appoint one. The court later
ruled that the Sixth Amendment guarantee of counsel was a fundamental right and that the states
were bound to the Sixth Amendment; Gideon had the right to a court-appointed attorney.
Miranda v. Arizona (1966): Ernesto Miranda was arrested based on circumstantial evidence and was
asked to sign a written confession after a two hour interrogation in which he was never informed of
this right to counsel, right to remain silent, or that his statements would be used against him in
interrogation. This case has a significant impact on the law enforcement of the United States though
through a routine police procedure, known as the Miranda Rights, where a suspect is informed oft
their rights as they are arrested.
The Eight Amendment
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Prohibits excessive bail; prohibits judges from ordering an excessive fine. Bans “cruel
and unusual” punishment and the punishment must be proportional to the crime.
• Court Case:
– Hudson v. Mcmillian (1992): Hudson was beaten by prison guards and sued for justice.
The court ruled that cruel and unusual punishment means regardless of whether injuries
were sustained or not, the only punishment that is constitutional must be a judicially
imposed sentence.
The Tenth Amendment
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People and states have rights that the national government may not assume. If specific
powers are not specifically delegated to the United States government in the
Constitution, those powers automatically fall to the people and states.
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Court Cases:
– Wickard v. Filburn (1942): Congress could regulate production on a family farm to keep
prices of goods steady under the Commerce Clause.
– South Dakota v. Dole (1987): allowed federal government to dictate drinking age by
withholding highway funds under the Taxing and Spending Clause.
The Twelfth Amendment
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Ratified in 1804- Required the Electoral College to use separate voting ballots in voting for
the President and the Vice President and provided procedure for electing the President and
the Vice President.
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Solidifying Court Case:
– The Election of 1800: In the original Electoral College, everyone running for office ran for
president and whoever was the majority contender, won the presidency with the runner
up becoming Vice President. However, in the election of 1800, a problem was exposed:
If each member of the Electoral College followed party tickets, there would be a tie
between the two candidates (Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr) from the most popular
ticket. As a result of Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, the House of Representatives voted
for the winner among the top finishers in the election but no winner emerged until
voting had taken place 36 times, thus rendering the changed needed in the election
process which became the Twelfth Amendment procedures.
The Thirteenth Amendment
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Abolishes slavery and authorizes Congress to pass legislation to enforce its abolishment.
• Court Case:
– Plessy v. Ferguson (1890): Plessy was found guilty for sitting in an all-white railroad car
thus violating the Louisiana statue that provided for “separate but equal” facilities. This
ruling did not conflict with the Thirteenth Amendment in that “slavery” implies
“involuntary servitude and a state of bondage.” However, the Thirteenth Amendment
was regarded as insufficient in protecting the rights of former slaves and was resolved in
the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Fourteenth Amendment
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Section 1: One is a citizen of the United States and the state in which they live if they are born or naturalized in the US;
States cannot make laws that take away privileges or immunities of citizens including those of life, liberty, and property,
without due process of the law and they cannot deny equal protection of the law.
– Citizenship Clause: Defines the definition of a United States citizen(as stated above) and it also overruled the Dred
Scott v. Sandford ruling that black people were un able to be citizens of the US.
Section 2: The number of representatives is chosen for each state according to the number of people in the sate. This
number does not consider Indians (who are not taxed); The proportion of representatives a state gets will be reduced to the
number of males denied the right to vote to the whole number of male citizens in the state if a male is denied the right to
vote in any election and is both a citizen of the US and 21 years of age
Section 3: A person cannot hold the US or State positions of:
– Senator
– Representative in Congress
– President
– Vice President
Section 4: All public debts of the US are legitimate if authorized by the law; both the US and the states won’t pay debts that
will aid in rebellion of the US, nor that aids in the loss/emancipation of a slave (all such debts are considered illegal and void)
Section 5: Congress can enforce (appropriately) the provisions of this amendment.
Court Cases:
– Brown v. Board of Education: Brown's daughter having to go to a "black" school a mile away when there was a much
closer "white" school closer to the Brown residence was deemed unconstitutional because the Fourteenth
Amendment demands a fair an equal opportunity for all citizens. Both schools simply having the same curriculum was
not considered equal enough, therefore the Plessy v. Furguson case was overruled.
– Baker v. Carr: Baker, a Tennessee citizen, felt that his Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection were not
being met because as population grew, the state government did not reappoint districts accordingly. The Supreme
Court agreed with Baker and better redistricting rules were implemented.
The Fifteenth Amendment
• Prohibits the government from denying a person’s right to vote based on
race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
• However, poll taxes and literacy tests prevented complete equality in the
voting system.
• Court Case:
– Guinn v. United States (1915): decided the provisions for states’ constitutions
in regards to all voters. It was ruled that such standards such as the
Grandfather Clause and literacy tests were unconstitutional and thus “null and
void” in determining voter eligibility.
The Sixteenth Amendment
• Grants Congress the power to levy individual income taxes
• Court Case:
– Polluck v. Farmers’ Loans and Trust Co.: The Supreme Court declared “certain
taxes on incomes to be unconstitutionally unapportioned direct taxes.” Polluck
changed the apportion method for taxing in the United States in the dividends
and rent incomes were to be apportioned by population and ultimately mad
the “source of the income relevant in determining whether the tax imposed
on that income was deemed to be ‘direct’ or, alternatively, ‘indirect’.”
The Seventeenth Amendment
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Establishes that the people elect United States senators by popular vote rather than by state
legislatures.
Congress has introduced an amendment for direct popular election of senators before.
Charges of “vote buying” in state legislatures in 1912 helped to pass this amendment.
• Court Case:
– Trinsey v. Pennsylvania (1991): A case decided by the Unites States Court of Appeals for
the Third Circuit that confirmed the validity of special elections held without a primary
under the Fourteenth and Seventeenth Amendments, state legislatures may give the
Governor the power to appoing officials to fill temporarily vacant Senate seats until a
special election can be held. Pennsylvanian law contained a statute executing this and
requiring no primaries for the special election. Instead, both the Democrats and
Republicans would each internally select their candidates.
The Nineteenth Amendment
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Guaranteed women the right to vote and put this right into practice in all state and national
elections on a constitutional basis.
Was the result of the women’s suffrage movement in the United States, which fought to
achieve the vote and both state and national levels.
• Court Case:
– Minor v. Happersett (1875): This was a case in which the court held that the Constitution
did not grant women the right to vote. The Supreme Court upheld state court decisions
in Missouri, which had refused to register a woman as a lawful voter because that state’s
laws allowed only men to vote. The Nineteenth Amendment effectively overruled this
decision by prohibiting discrimination in voting rights based on sex.
The Twentieth Amendment
• This amendment establishes the beginning and ending of the terms for
the elected federal officers, while also setting new dates for Congress to
begin its term and for the inauguration of the President as well as the Vice
President.
• By this amendment, the terms of senators and representatives ends on
January 3rd and the term for the President ends January 20th in the year
following the November elections.
• This amendment also deals with times where there is no president elect.
The Twenty-Second Amendment
• This amendment limited the president to a maximum of of only two
terms to be elected into office.
• The amendment was passed mostly in response to FDR’s election
into four terms of office between the years 1933-1945.
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment
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This amendment prohibited poll taxes, taxes paid in order to vote, in federal
elections.
Before this amendment, some states used these poll taxes to prevent low income
African American citizens from voting in elections.
• Court Cases:
– Harper v. Virginia (1966): This was a case in which the Supreme Court found that
Virginia’s poll tax was unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the 14th
Amendment. The 24th Amendment prohibited poll taxes in federal elections; the
Supreme Court extended this prohibition to state elections.
– Harman v. Forssenius (1965): Court ruled that Virginia’s law that partially eliminated the
poll tax violated the 24th Amendment. Virginia had attempted to avoid this anti-poll tax
constitutional amendment by allowing for the poll tax to be waived if the “would-be
voter” filed a certificate of residency six months prior to the election.
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment
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Establishes a process for the Vice President to take over office when the President
is disabled.
The amendment sets procedures for filing a vacancy in office of the Vice President
as well.
It is controversial as to when a President should be considered unable to carry out
the duties of office. The amendment states that when the President/Vice
President, with support of the majority cabinet, writes to the president pro team
of the Senate and Speaker of the House expressing inability of the President to
carry out his duties, the Vice President will take over office. In conflict over this
issue, Congress must decide who will perform duties of office.
The 25th Amendment was significant because in the 1970s, Nixon used it to
nominate Gerald Ford to succeed the previous Vice President. When President
Nixon resigned in 1973, Vice President Ford immediately succeeded to the office
and took the presidential oath of office. Ford then pardoned Nixon.
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment
• Lowered the voting age in both federal and state elections to eighteen
years old.
• Court Case:
– Oregon v. Mitchell (1970): This was a case in which the Supreme Court held
that states could set their own age limits for state elections. Congress had
passed an act requiring all states to register citizens between the ages of
eighteen and twenty-one as voters, but Oregon didn't’t want to lower its
voting age, so they argued that the act was unconstitutional. The Supreme
Court found that while Congress could set requirements for voting in federal
elections, it did not have the power to set voting age for state elections.
The Commerce Clause
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Authorizes Congress to regulate foreign commerce and interstate commerce.
Supreme Court has promoted the expansion of this power by consistently ruling that the
meaning of commerce—whether international or interstate—far exceeds buying and selling
of goods and services.
Any widespread activity that could be considered interstate commerce is subject to federal
control.
Court Cases:
– Gibbons v. Ogden: Ogden sued Gibbons and the Court ruled that Livingston and Fulton
had no right to have exclusive navigation. Federal law triumphs state law in issues of
commerce. Ruled in favor of Gibbons because commerce is to be regulated by a single
authority (Congress) in order to promote uniformity in interstate commerce.
– Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States (1964): After Civil Rights Act was passed a local
business owner claimed that it didn’t apply to his private business because it wasn’t part
of interstate commerce. Court ruled that public places of accommodation served
interstate travelers and sold food that crossed state lines.
Full Faith and Credit Clause
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Provides that the various states must recognize legislative acts, public records, and
judicial decisions of the other states.
Ensures that judicial decisions rendered by the courts in one state are recognized
and honored in every other state.
• Court Case:
– Haddock v. Haddock: A suit of divorce brought in a state other than that of
residence of matrimony against a wife who still lives there isn’t a proceeding
justifying the court to enter a decree as to the marriage relation to be
enforced outside the territorial jurisdiction of the the court. Concept of
marriage and divorce must be respected in all states.
Establishment Clause
• Prevents government from making any laws “respecting the establishment
of religion.”
• Forbids the government from establishing an official religion and prohibits
actions that favor one religion over another.
• Court Case:
– Van Orden v. Perry: There was a six foot high statue of the Ten
Commandments around the Texas State Capitol. An Austin resident brought
this suit seeking a declaration that the monument’s placement violates the
Establishment clause and initiated an injunction requiring its removal. The
court decided that the establishment clause allows the display of the
monument.
Advice and Consent Clause
• Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution.
• The President may, with the advice and consent of the Senate, make
treaties with other countries and make appointments such as cabinet
members, federal judges, ambassadors, and other public positions.
• 2/3rds of the Senate must agree for this situation to occur.
Supremacy Clause
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Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution.
The Constitution is the “law of the land.”
This means the the United States Constitution, laws, and treaties are the highest
rule.
All states and judges must follow the Constitution, laws, and treaties and must not
make any rulings that contradict them.
• Court Case:
– Ware v. Hylton: Virginia allowed their debts to British creditors to be
confiscated during the Revolutionary War. However, the Supreme Court ruled
this “null and void” because it contradicted the Treaty of Paris that protected
the rights of British creditors.