How the Constitution Changes / Bill of Rights

Judicial Review

The power of the Supreme Court to decide whether or not laws are constitutional. This power was -not- specifically granted to the Supreme Court in the Constitution.

Pre-Marbury v. Madison Supreme Court

The role of the Supreme Court was not all that clear in the early days of the nation because Article III does not outline many details regarding the Supreme Court's operation.

Changing the Constitution through Informal Practices

These practices have developed over time and are not written into or outlined in the Constitution, yet have become accepted methods of how our government functions. Commonly referred to as the "unwritten constitution" (ex. political parties)

political parties as an informal implementation

While political parties are not mentioned (and in the earliest days of the republic were even scorned by some leaders), parties have nonetheless become crucial to the functioning of government in America at local, state, and national levels. Parties provide categories under which people organize, become informed, and influence the system. As part of this definition, please also consider some pros and cons of the role that political parties play in our system.

double jeopardy

a protection against being tried for the same crime twice. The government is not allowed to make repeated attempts to convict an individual for a suspected offense. If the government were allowed to do this, it could be tantamount to harassment.

Freedom of the Press

allows newspapers, radio, television, and increasingly the medium of the internet to write or announce what they want without fear of punishment. It is essential in a democracy to be able to obtain information about the government and make decisions accordingly. The media does not, however, have the right to publish provable lies and also may not use their platform to target or harm a person.

self-incrimination

an accused person cannot be forced to say things that will be used against himself/herself. This right also protects a person from having to testify at a trial. If you do not want to testify, no lawyer, prosecutor, or judge can make you take the stand.

legislative oversight

another informal (unwritten) practice in which the Congress claims that it is the legislative branch's right to ensure that existing laws are implemented in the way that the law was intended. This power expands the concept of checks and balances because the legislative branch did not originally have this power as outlined in the Constitution. The Executive branch is granted the power to "carry out" laws, but what happens if the Congress doesn't agree with the way the President is carrying out the laws that they passed? This informal practice provide some accountability to the president.

Commonly proposed amendment topics

balanced budget, campaign finance reform, term limits for Congress, flag desecration (flag burning), direct election of the president (removal of electoral college), equal rights for men and women. While many of these topics have significant public support, none have passed the super majority thresholds for ratification in order to be formally added to the Constitution.

Article V (5) of the U.S. Constitution

describes the process whereby the Constitution, the nation's frame of government, may be altered. It details the process for amending/ratifying changes to the Constitution.

To prevent frivolous changes to the Constitution, the framers designed the process to be...

difficult. More difficult than passing an ordinary law.

simple majority

half plus one. Much easier to obtain than a super majority.

15th Amendment

prevented the vote from being denied to persons because of their race, color, or having been a slave.

the rule of law

principle that the law applies to everyone, even those who govern. Therefore, no person who lives under the law is above the law.

Sixth Amendment

protects a citizen's right to have a jury trial. This amendment outlines the guarantee for a fair and imparial trial to all people accused of a crime. The accused person must have the charges against them outline, have the opportunity for a lawyer to represent them, and have their day in court.

Eighth Amendment

protects an person against "cruel and unusual punishment" or "excessive bail." This is a difficult matter to settle because of possible interpretations of the descriptor words. What is "cruel" or "unusual" to you might not be to me, and we may have different definitions of what we think is "excessive." This is the amendment in play when we debate about the death penalty. We agree that if you are found guilty of a crime, the government can punish you, but we are unsettled on exactly -how- we can punish you due to the different interpretations of "cruel and unusual."

Fourth Amendment

protects individuals from "unreasonable" searches and seizures (taking of property). If there is a reasonable cause, a judge must sign a search warrant and a police officer must present the search warrant in order to carry out the searching or seizing. There are exceptions to this rule, however, such as if the citizen consents to the search, if the criminal activity is in "plain view," or if there is an emergency, then the rule may be suspended.

eminent domain

refers to the power of the government to take property in its territory. Sometimes the government needs to land that is privately owned in order to build something else that is designed for a larger public good.

Anti-Federalists demanded the inclusion of...

the Bill of Rights.

Supreme Court

the highest court in the United States, decides whether a law has been applied correctly by the lower courts, and whether the law itself is within the power fo the federal government according to the U.S. Constitution.

Ninth Amendment

this amendment acts as a constitutional safety net; it's a catch-all which makes it clear that in addition to those rights listed in the Bill of Rights, individuals have other basic rights that are -not- specifically listed. Our default position is that people have rights unless otherwise specified, but it would have very impractical to list every single right that people have in the constitution. So instead, we listed the big ideas and most important functional rights, and the rest are assumed.

Tenth Amendment

this amendment clarifies federalism in the United States, which divides power between the federal and state governments. This amendment states that all powers not specifically given (or delegated) to the federal government are reserved (left) for the states or to the people. Due to the constitutional principle of limited government, the federal government can only do what the U.S. Constitution allows it to do, everything else is either a state, local, or individual citizen's decision.

Seventh Amendment

this amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases. A $20 dollar amount grievance threshold is set for being able to settle matters in court.

Second Amendment

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Episode Chart

*Please read through and review your responses on the guide for the episode that we watched in class. Think about how the segments relate to each amendment in the Bill of Rights. You will turn your episode guide in on test day.

Methods of Changing the Constitution

1. Amendments 2. Supreme Court Decisions 3. Congressional Change through Laws 4. Informal Practices

Which amendments dealt directly with the right to vote?

15th, 19th, 26th

Total amount of times that the Constitution has been amended:

27

Review the Names and Lean of the...

9 current Supreme Court justices.

Number of amendments proposed to the Constitution

>11,000.

Free Exercise Clause

A First Amendment provision that prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion. Over time, the Supreme Court has determined that the government has to have a security, safety, public health, or other -really- good reason to stop a person from practicing their faith in a way that the individual wants to. This clause is one of the two ways in which your freedom of religion is protected in the first amendment.

due process of law

A citizen's guarantee that they cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property without being afforded fair and reasonable procedures.

supermajorities

A majority larger than a simple 51 percent majority, which is required for extraordinary legislative actions such as amending the Constitution or certain congressional procedures. For example, 2/3 of the House/Senate propose an Amendment and 3/4 of the states must agree. These fractions are much higher thresholds than half plus one to get a simple majority.

Fifth Amendment

Amendment which provides for the protection of due process, outlines the process of grand jury and indictment, protects a citizen against double jeopardy, and provides the protection against forced "self-incrimination" (the right to keep your trap shut.) This amendment also outlines the process of eminent domain.

Freedom of Speech

Another protect granted in the first amendment that has, over time, been defended and upheld by the Supreme Court. The alternative to this right is censorship, which our values have very consistently mistrusted. This freedom also includes, controversially, symbolic speech and using your money as a method of speech. We often legally consider the freedom of "speech" today to be "freedom of expression."

Third Amendment

At the time of the American Revolution, the question of quartering (housing) troops was a matter of great concern. The British government had "quartered" soldiers in colonists' homes. This amendment spoke to the concerns of the colonists and protected citizens from being forced to house soliders without their permission.

Changing the Constitution through Congressional Laws from the Legislative Branch

Congress can pass laws that clarify, reaffirm, or expand Constitutional functions/protections.

The Right to Petition

Congress cannot deny individuals the right to write their government representatives seeking a change in the law. Citizens have a right to complain about things that they don't like or would like to see changed. There are many methods of petitioning the government, such as writing letters, signing a list of names (a literal petition), visit with an elected official, etc.

The Right of Assembly

Congress cannot deny the right to "peacefully assemble," which means that groups and organizations of like minded people are protected to gather, exchange ideas, and perhaps support or oppose certain ideas.

Civil Rights Acts of 1957 & 1964

Congressional Civil Rights Legislation throughout the 1950s and 1960s established oversight of race issues at the federal level and banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, or ethnic origins in public places. These laws are instances in which the federal government went to great lengths to protect minority rights and reaffirm Constitutional principles, which is an example of how the Congress acts as a method of change to the Constitution.

Article III of the Constitution

Creates a basic outline for the Supreme Court as a branch of the U.S. government, but lacks as much detail as was put into the description of the legislative or executive branches.

Bill of Rights

First 10 amendments to the Constitution

Jim Crow Laws

Laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites overtly applied in the South.

Establishment Clause

Part of the First Amendment stating that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." This prevents the government from creating an official religion as the law that everyone would have to follow. This clause is one of the two ways in which your freedom of religion is protected in the first amendment.

two methods of amending the Constitution

Review your graphic handout which outlines the two methods of amending the Constitution ("How Government Works... Amending the Constitution"); recognize that while there are two methods, the first is by far the most common method of proposal and ratification. But also remember that while the proposition stage is frequently used in Congress, the ratification process has only been completed 27 times out of the nearly 12,000 times that amendments have been proposed. Method 2 is not common.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Supreme Court ruling that extends to the defendant the right of counsel (a lawyer) in all state and federal criminal trials regardless of their ability to pay.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

The Supreme Court (under Chief Justice John Marshall) ruled that part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 went against the Constitution on the grounds that the law challenged the Constitutional outline of the Supreme Court as an appeals court. This court case is immensely important because it transformed the role of the Supreme Court from a passive one to an active one.

Gibbons v. Ogden

The Supreme Court ruled that Congress (federal government) could regulate boatscrossing between New York and New Jersey as part of the power and control of "interstate commerce." This reinforced the federal government's right to regulate any commerce that crossed state lines and affected the balance of federalism in the United States.