Bill Of Rights Study Guide

Fifth amendment

DEFINITION: *Due process of the law;* Nobody can be put on trial for a very serious crime, unless a group of people called a grand jury first decide that there is enough evidence to make a trial necessary. If someone is put on trial for a crime and the trial ends, they may not be tried again for the same crime. If they are convicted and serve their time, or if they are acquitted, they may not be put on trial again. LIMITATIONS: People in the military can be put on trial without an indictment or a grand jury, if they commit a crime during war or a national emergency. If there is an immediate risk towards the public, people can be put on trial without indictment.

Third amendment

DEFINITION: *No Quartering Troops.* The government does not have the right to force civilians to open their homes to soldiers. LIMITATIONS: None

Tenth amendment

DEFINITION: *Powers not given to federal government go to people and States;* 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. The national government does not control these areas because they are not mentioned in the Constitution, and so they are under the control of the states. LIMITATIONS: None

Eighth amendment

DEFINITION: *Prohibits excessive fines and excessive bail/and cruel unusual punishment;* The courts can not assign the accused an excessive amount for bail. LIMITATIONS: 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. Number of states that use which method of execution Firing Squad - 3 Hanging - 4 Lethal Gas - 7 Electric Chair - 11 Lethal Injection - 33

First amendment

DEFINITION: *Protect Freedom of Religion, Speech, Petition, Press, and Assembly.* You have the right to express one's beliefs without any form of governmental interference. LIMITATIONS: Most exceptions relate to health and safety concerns. Speech that promotes an unlawful end, such as a speech urging people to riot, is not protected. Ex: *Chaplinsky v State of New Hampshire*; yelling "fire" in a public area.

Fourth amendment

DEFINITION: *Protection against Unreasonable Search and Seizure.* Police may only search you, your house, or any other item with *"probable cause"* or with a warrant. If the police are chasing you from the scene of a murder, and you run into your apartment in an attempt to get away from them, they may follow you into the apartment and search the area without a warrant; if they see you destroying evidence or having dynamite and a blowtorch, they may investigate on "probable cause" LIMITATIONS: The police arrest you in your living room on charges of murder. They may open the door of your coat closet to make sure that no one else is hiding there, but may not open your medicine cabinet because an accomplice could not hide there.

Second amendment

DEFINITION: *Right to Bare Arms;* right to protection. The inherent right of self-defense, the right of law abiding, responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home LIMITATIONS: Government has restrictions on gun ownership. Every gun has to be registered and every person who buys a weapon is investigated. There are limitations on the types of weapons you may own. Owners have to be responsible and store them correctly (unloaded/locked).

Ninth amendment

DEFINITION: *Rights not included in Constitution go to the people;* the Ninth Amendment has not yet been used to justify the protection of any right not already listed in the Constitution. So it is still a mystery about which rights Madison had in mind when he wrote the Ninth Amendment. 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. LIMITATIONS: These rights were not specified by James Madison and are still a mystery today.

Sixth amendment

DEFINITION: *Speedy Trial;* The accused has the right to a quick trial. This does not mean that their trial must be over in one week. This means that the state can not make them sit in jail for 6 years while they wait to have a trial. That would be unfair to anyone who is innocent. The jurors can not be prejudiced against the accused or the crime that they've been accused of, or it would be unfair. The trial must also be held in the area where the crime was committed, or else that could be unfair to the accused also. LIMITATIONS: The courts can not change the location from case to case either. It is already decided where the trial will be. Except in some cases, where it is sometimes better to move the trial to a different area because the accused face has been all over the local news and it would be impossible to get an impartial jury in the town where he/she lives.

Seventh Amendment

DEFINITION: *Trial by Jury;* United States law forbids anyone from setting up their own court system. If someone goes to court, they will always go to a recognized court of the government, be it a national, state, county, or city court. A person will never have to defend themselves in Uncle Joey's Courthouse with Joey's cousins acting as jurors and lawyers. LIMITATIONS: None

*Chaplinsky v State of New Hampshire*

Example of limitations for the First Amendment. Walter Chaplinsky, a Jehovah's Witness, passed out pamphlets and called organized religion a "racket." Chaplinsky attacked the marshal verbally. He was then arrested. The complaint against Chaplinsky stated that he shouted: "You are a racketeer" and "a Fascist". For this, he was charged and convicted under a New Hampshire statute preventing intentionally offensive speech being directed at others in a public place.

Bill of Rights

These were the first ten amendments in the Constitution. This was articulated by James Madison. Put into effect on December 15, 1791, when the state of Virginia ratified it.