The Constitution: The Constitutional Framework

How does the executive protect constitutional rights?

The executive branch needs to implement the laws and programmes which Congress passes and establishes in order to ensure that legislation is followed by delivery.

What is the Bill of Rights?

The first ten Amendments, added in 1791, are known collectively as the Bill of Rights, as they enumerate fundamental rights and freedoms. The most significant are: 1) Amendment I: freedom of religion, speech and the press, and the right to peaceful assembly. 2) Amendment II: right to keep and bear arms. 3) Amendment IV: freedom from unreasonable searches. 4) Amendment V: rights of accused persons (including the 'due process' clause). 5) Amendment VIII: freedom from cruel and unusual punishments. 6) Amendment X: rights reserved to the states and to the people.

What are constitutional rights?

The fundamental rights guaranteed by the federal Constitution, principally in the Bill of Rights - the first ten Amendments - but also in subsequent Amendments.

Why has the Constitution been so rarely amended?

There are five main reasons: 1) The Founding Fathers created a deliberately difficult amendment process. 2) The vagueness of the Constitution has allowed the document to evolve without the need for constant formal adjustment. 3) The Supreme Court's power of judicial review allows the Court to amend the meaning of the Constitution while the words remain largely unaltered. 4) The reverence with which the Constitution is regarded makes many politicians cautious of tampering with it. 5) Amendment XVIII, regarding the prohibition of alcohol, was repealed (by Amendment XXI) just fourteen years later.

How is the Constitution amended?

Amending the Constitution is a two-stage process: proposal and ratification. 1) Proposals to amend the COnstitution can be made either by Congress with a two-thirds majority in favour in both houses, or by a national Constitutional Convention called at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures. The latter has never been used. 2) Ratification can be made either by three-quarters of the state legislatures or by three-quarters of the states holding a Constitutional Convention. The latter has been used only once - to ratify Amendment XXI in 1933.

How are constitutional rights classified?

As we have seen, the Constitution guarantees certain fundamental rights. These constitutional rights can be thought of in two categories: freedom of or to, and freedom from.

How does the legislature protect constitutional rights?

Congress can pass laws to facilitate these rights - laws that enhance the rights of, for example, racial minorities. It can also, through its committee system and investigative powers, call the executive branch to account regarding the way it implements the laws that Congress has passed.

Which constitutional rights are freedoms from?

Freedom from: 1) Unreasonable searches (Amendment IV). 2) Cruel and unusual punishment (Amendment VIII). 3) Excessive bail (Amendment VIII). 4) Slavery and involuntary servitude (Amendment XIII).

Which constitutional rights are freedoms of/to?

Freedom of/to: 1) Speech (Amendment I). 2) Religion (Amendment I). 3) The press (Amendment I). 4) Assembly (Amendment I). 5) Keep and bear arms (Amendment II). 6) Remain silent (Amendment V). 7) Speedy and public trial (Amendment VI). 8) Vote (over-18s) (Amendment XXVI).

Are these rights, once protected, that way forever?

Having once safeguarded a right, the Court may at a later date back-track on this. The following examples come to mind: 1) The Court's in Gratz v. Bollinger (2003), which declared the University of Michigan's affirmative action-based admissions programme to be unconstitutional. 2) The Court's decision in Gonzales v. Carhart (2007), which banned a certain abortion procedure, having upheld it in 2000.

How effectively protected are the constitutional rights?

In order for these rights to be effective, the government - be it federal, state or local - must take steps to ensure that the rights are effectively protected. When it comes to the federal government, all three branches of government need to be involved.

How often do Amendments fail to be proposed or ratified?

Many Amendments have failed at the proposal stage. Recent examples include proposals to: 1) require the federal govenrment to pass a balanced budget. 2) impose term limits on members of Congress. 3) forbid desecration of the American flag. Six Amendments have been proposed by Congress but failed at the ratification stage, the most recent being one to guarantee equal rights for women, proposed by Congress in 1972 but ratified by only 35 states - three short of the required three-quarters.

Which of the three branches is the most effective?

Of these three branches of government, it is the judiciary - and in the end the Supreme Court - which plays the most vital role in trying to guarantee the effectiveness of citizens' constitutional rights. There have been times when the Court has been ineffective in guaranteeing these rights. Examples would include: 1) The Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which stated that blacks coudl not become citizens of the United States and therefore were not entitled to the rights of citizenship. 2) The Court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which upheld segregation of the races on public transport - and by implication in other areas of public life - on the basis of 'separate but equal'. There are also numerous modern-day examples of the Court upholding constitutional rights, such as: 1) abortion rights for women (Roe v. Wade). 2) rights of arrested persons (Gideon v. Wainwright and Miranda v. Arizona). 3) rights of racial minorities (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka). 4) gun rights (DC v. Heller).

How significant are the other Amendments?

Since 1791, just seventeen further Amendments have been added. Two of these - Amendment XVIII and Amendment XXI - cancel each other out. Amendment XVIII introduced the prohibition of alcohol (1919) and Amendment XXI repealed that Amendment (1933). Of the remaining fifteen Amendments, the following are the most significant: 1) Amendment XIV: guarantees of 'equal protection' and 'due process' applied to all states. 2) Amendment XVI: Congress given power to tax income. 3) Amendment XVII: direct election of Senators. 4) Amendment XXII: two-term limit for president. 5) Amendment XXV: presidential disability and succession.

Can it be argued that the Supreme Court doesn't always protect constitutional rights?

Some would say, for example, that by guaranteeing abortion rights for women (Roe v. Wade), the Court failed to protect the rights of the unborn child; that by interpreting Amendment II to guarantee an individual's right to own guns (DC v. Heller), the Court failed to protect other citizens from gun crime and violence; that by upholding the so-called 'separation of church and state' and banning prayers in public schools (Engel v. Vitale), the Court failed to uphold citizens' Amendment I right to, "the free exercise", of religion.

How is the Constitution today composed?

The Constitution today is made up of the original seven articles plus twenty-seven Amendments, ten of which were added almost immediately. Of the original seven articles, the first three are the most important: 1) Article I: the legislature, including the powers of Congress. 2) Article II: the executive, including the powers of the president. 3) Article III: the judiciary.

How does the judiciary protect constitutional rights?

The Supreme Court has an important role in safeguarding the constitutional rights of citizens through its power of judicial review.