Chapter 20 Reading Questions
Treason can only consist of two things
making war against the united states and aiding the nation's enemies
the federal and most state court may release defendants without bail on what is known as
"their own recognizance meaning on their honor, to return "
What are the three features of an ex post facto law?
*(1)* A criminal law, one defining a crime or providing for its punishment; *(2)* applied to an act committed before its passage; and *(3)* a law that works to the disadvantage of the accused. Neither Congress nor the state legislatures may pass such laws.
*****American Government: Civil Liberties
****American Government: Civil Liberties
What guarantees and rules exist to ensure the accused the right not to incriminate themselves?
*Miranda Rule.* *Miranda Rule* A listing of the Constitutional rights that suspects must be advised of before police questioning: *(1)* they have a right to remain silent; *(2)* anything they say may be used against them in court; *(3)* they have a right to an attorney before questioning begins; *(4)* an attorney will be appointed for them by the court if they cannot afford one; *(5)* they may bring the questioning to an end at any time.
Third Amendment
*Quartering of troops *No soldier may be quartered in any house without consent of the owner *December 15, 1791 *James Madison *The Third Amendment is one of the least cited parts of the Constitution in legal cases. It has never been addressed by the Supreme Court in over 200 years, but it has been referred to by the Court a few times. *The only significant case involving the Third Amendment to be addressed by any court was called Engblom vs. Carey, which was decided in 1982
Describe probable cause.
*Reasonable ground, a good basis for the belief that something is true— e.g., that a crime has been committed.* *probable cause*—-that is, reasonable grounds.
For what reason does the Constitution protect the rights of those accused of a crime?
*Right to an Adequate Defense* Every person accused of crime has the right to offer the best possible defense that circumstances will allow. The 6th Amendment says that a defendant has the right *(1)* "to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation," *(2)* "to be confronted with the witnesses against him" and question them in open court, *(3)* "to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor," and *(4)* "to have the assistance of counsel for his defence." These key safeguards apply in the federal courts. Still, if a State fails to honor any of them, the accused can appeal a conviction on the grounds that the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause has been violated. *Right to an Adequate Defense* Every person accused of crime has the right to offer the best possible defense that circumstances will allow. All persons accused of a crime are believed to be innocent until they are proven guilty.
Tinker Test
*determines whether a school's disciplinary actions violate students' first amendment rights 1. assess if it is speech (symbolic, pure) 2. individual right of speech vs. substantial disruption 3. reactive vs. proactive (reactive=need disruption first, proactive= enough evidence that it will cause a disruption)
In what ways does the constitution protect the rights of the accused?
*double jeopardy* means that once a person has been tried for a crime, they cannot be tried again for the same crime. *Speedy Trial* The guarantee of a speedy trial is meant to ensure that government will try a person accused of a crime in a reasonable time, without undue delay. *Public Trial* The right to be tried in public is also part of the 14th Amendment's guarantee of procedural due process. A trial must not be *too* speedy or *too* public, however. Champions of the publics rights to know hold that the courts must allow the broadest possible press coverage. The Supreme Court has often held, however, that the media have only the same right as the general public to be present in a courtroom. The right to a public trial belongs to the defendant, not to the media. So as long as steps are taken to avoid too much publicity and protect the defendant's rights.
How does the exclusionary rule help protect citizens?
*exclusionary rule* Any evidence gathered against a defendant that is in violation of their constitutional rights is inadmissible. **Evidence gained by illegal or unreasonable means cannot be used at the court trial of the person from whom it was seized; based upon Supreme Court interpretation of the 4th and 14th amendments.
Along what two lines has the Supreme Court developed the meaning of due process?
- Procedural Due Process: The "how" or methods of government action. - Substantive Due Process: The "what" or policies of government action. In which *requires that both the ways in which government acts and the laws under which it acts must be fair*
the use of bail is justified for 2 reasons
- a person should not be jailed until guilt is established -a defendant is better able to prepare for trial outside of jail
Basis for a speedy trial
1. How long is the delay 2. Reason 3. Harm to defendant 4.Did defendant ask for speedy trial
Which Amendment says that state and local government cannot deprive someone of life, liberty, or property without due process of law?
14th Amendment
in Estelle v gamble
1976, ruled that a texas prison inmate could not be denied needed medical care
What was the Tinker vs. Des Moines about?
2 Tinker siblings and Christopher Eckhardt wore armbands that were in protest of the Vietnam war--> school told them to take them off--> refused & suspended 2 Tinker siblings wore armbands that were in protest of the Vietnam war--> school told them to take them off--> refused & suspended
4th amendment
4th Amendment is this: Police officers have no general to search for evidence or to seize either evidence or persons. Except in particular circumstances, they must have a proper warrant obtained with *probable cause*—-that is, reasonable grounds. prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any search warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause.
What is the difference between the due process guarantees in the 5th and 14th Amendments?
5th - federal due process of law; 14th - no state can deprive someone of due process of law
Writ of Habeas Corpus
A court order which prevents unjust arrest imprisonments.
Indictment
A formal complaint before a grand jury which charges the accused with one of more crimes.
ex post facto law
A law applied to an act committed before its passage.
Bill of Attainder.
A legislative act that inflicts punishment without a court trial.
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988)
A public school principal removed two articles from the school newspaper due to content he considered inappropriate. Principal found their content objectionable. One story about teen pregnancy and the other about divorce. Cathy Kuhlmeier And two other students sued the school, claiming their First Amendment right had been violated. The school district did not violate the right of the students. Public schools can regulate with some interactions of the content of the student newspapers & other publications that are paid for by the school, their take. The Ruling set/held: That a school newspaper can be regulated if it does not fall inline, basically, with the teachings of the school. Educators are not in violations of the 1st Amendment besides involvement of/when centering school sponsored publications.
Bench Trial
A trial in which the judge alone hears the case.
What does the 4th Amendment require in order for a search to be proper?
A warrant attached by probable cause
American government chapter 20
American government Ch. 20
What were the facts of this case? (Mor v. Fred)
As the Olympic torch relay passed outside of Joseph Frederick's school in Juneau, Alaska, he unfurled a sign that read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus". The principle of the school, Patricia Morse, felt the banner had a pro drug message and made him take it down and suspended Frederick for 10 days.
How has the court interpreted cruel and unusual punishment?
Barbaric tortures like burning, crusicfixtion, drowning and quartering.
The court found that the First Amendment applied to public schools, and school officials could not censor student speech unless it disrupted the educational process.
Because wearing a black armband was not disruptive, the court held that the First Amendment protected the right of students to wear them.
Double jeopardy
Can't be tried twice for the same crime
New Jersey v. T.L.O —>What happened...
Carried out by the school officials, it held that *"a school official may properly conduct a search of a student's person if the official has a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been or is in the process of being committed, or reasonable cause to believe that the search is necessary to maintain school."* Applying this standard, the court concluded that the search conducted by Mr. Choplick was a reasonable one. The initial decision to open the purse was justified by Mr. Choplicks well-founded suspicion that T.L.O. had violated the wall the wall for bidding smoking. * decided Jan. 15 TTTTH, 1985 S.C. Found - }}Public school officials are agents of the state Students should have basic rights like citizens on the street }Rejected N.J. argument{{ BUT, the court found that the same standard of probable cause required outside school is not required inside the school. Need only reasonable suspicion...
Due process/Due Process Clause
Constitutional guarantee, set out in the 5th & 14th amendments to the bar national Constitution and in every states constitution, the government will not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property by any unfair, or arbitrary, or on unreasonable action, and that government must act in accord with established rules. (5th-Fed-14th-state)
Expost facto laws
Criminal law that applies to an act committed before its passage
What is the 14th Amendment?
Defines national citizenship and forbids the states to restrict the basic rights of citizens or other persons
What is due process?
Due Process 5th and 14th Amendment declare that the Federal Government cannot deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without *due process of law;* Government must act fairly and in accord with established rules
What is due process and in what 2 locations in the Constitution will you find this guarantee? Why are there 2 provisions in the Constitution regarding due process?
Due process is the federal government. It cant deprive only person of life, liberty or property without due process of law. Will find it in the 5th amendment and 14th, Then was written in the 14th to extend this right against local state government. 5th-Fed-14th-state
What is the exclusionary rule and how has it been narrowed since Mapp VS. Ohio?
Evidence gained by an illegal act of the police cant be used in trial
What is the 8th Amendment?
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted
Grand Jury
The formal device by which a person can be accused of a serious crime.
Presentment
Formal accusation brought by a gran jury on its own notion
Indictment
Formal complain that prosecutor lays before the grand jury
Presentment allows..?
Grand jury to act when a prosecutor has some interest in not prosecuting
What was the ruling in this case? (Tinker vs. Des Mo)
In 1969 the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision in favor of the students. The court agreed that students rights should be protected and said, "Students don't shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gates."
Bill attainder protects what?
Individual freedom
Hung jury does not...?
Invoke double jeopardy
What is the general rule regarding wiretaps and the 4th A.?
It protects persons, just not places. The police can obtain a proper warrant before the install a listening device
The 3rd and 4th Amendments guarantee that government cannot disturb people or their homes without good reason.
It requires that, to search for or seize evidence or persons, police officers have a proper warrant obtained with probable cause—a reasonable suspicion of a crime. The exclusionary rule says that evidence gained by illegal police action, such as searching without a warrant, cannot be used against the person from whom it was seized.
Bill attainder
Legislative act that inflicts punishment without court trial
What was the ruling of this case? (HazwoSchoolDistrict v. Kuhl)
Lower courts favor the students using the Tinker Method; in a 5-3 decision, the Supreme Court reversed and ruled in favor of the principal. The decision upheld the right of public high school administrators to censor stories
What is due process of law?
Means the government has to follow certain rules so that they don't take away an accused criminal's rights without them being proven guilty
Miranda rights
No person can be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself
What does the Constitution say about due process of law?
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process nor shall any state.
Due Process Clause
No state can deny basic rights to an individual. Why is there no exact definition of Due Process? Because the supreme court says we have to look at everything on a case by case basis
What is a general rule regarding automobiles and the 4th A.?
No warrant is needed when there is a probable cause
The accused can Be held without bail when there is reason to believe the person will commit a crime. In your opinion, does this law violate the principle of assumed innocence until proven guilty?
No, because it can protect peoples lives if it is believed they are that much of a threat to society.
What was the court ruling in Furman VS. Georgia and what was there reasoning?
Not letting the court decide death penalty because the court had too much discretion to judges or juries deciding whether to impose death penalty. Mostly gave it to colored people.
Morse v. Frederick (2007)
Olympic torch goes through Alaska, students held up roll out *"Bong Hits 4 Jesus"* banner during school time and are suspended. Frederick sued school arguing public property, but the Supreme Court disagrees citing that it was a school-sponsored event. Gave schools the right ability to take away and regulate free speech.
Bench trial
Only judge hears trial
Double Jeopardy
Part of the 5th Amendment which says that no person can be put in jeopardy of life of limb twice. Once a person has been tried for a crime, he or she cannot be tried again for the same crime.
in 1984 congress provided for the
Preventative Detention of some people accused of committing federal crimes.
Writ of habeas corpus
Prevents imprisonment of innocent persons
What was the impact of this case? (Mor v. Fred)
Principle wins (rule applies only to school speech). The reasonable interpretation of school policy (banning pro-criminal drug use). Enforced by the principle (during school hours; Tinker decried, but not dead, yet)
Indictment prevents...?
Prosecutors from recklessly charging people with crimes
At what point do you think punishment would be considered "cruel and unusual?"
Punishments that would be cruel and unusual I think are torture (the suffering, pain or humiliation it inflicts), deliberately degrading punishment, or punishment that is far too severe for the crime committed. This including the execution of the mentally incompetent/ intellectually and developmentally disabled and of people who were under 18 at the time of their crime is cruel and unusual.
Where does our right to privacy come from?
Right to privacy comes from due process. Isn't explicitly stated, but was upheld in Griswold vs. Connecticut
What is the importance of the Tinker vs. Des Moines trial?
Shows that students still have rights under a school zone that cannot be violated unless it causes a disruption in the school. Including the rights to use journalism freely
What is one argument against the Patriot Act?
Some have claimed that the act is unconstitutional because it allows access to private information of US citizens
What were the facts of this case? (HazwoSchoolDistrict v. Kuhl)
Student newspaper had articles the school principal found unsuitable. Reynolds censored the articles. Articles were about divorce and teen pregnancy, and student privacy was cited as a rationale. (Reporters for school newspaper had interviewed three pregnant high school students!)
What is the difference between substantive and procedural due process?
Substantive = what? of government action. Procedural = how? of government action
What is bail, its purpose and when is it considered excessive?
Sum of money. To guarantee they'll be in court. Set higher than a reasonable amount to make sure they'll be in court
Why was the Patriot Act passed?
The Patriot Act was passed in order to fight, limit, and reduce terrorism in the United States.
What is the Supreme Court's view of capital punishment?
The Supreme Court does not view capital punishment as a cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty is held to be constitutional if applied fairly, No person shall be "deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." That means the government may, in fact, deprive you of your life, but only after you've been properly charged, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death
What was the ruling in this case? (Mor v. Fred)
The Supreme Court ruled that Frederick's First Amendment rights were not violated and that "schools may take steps to safeguard those entrusted to their care from speech that can reasonably be regarded as encouraging illegal drug use."
What was the ruling of the supreme court? (HazwoSchoolDistrict v. Kuhl)
The U.S. Supreme Court held that the principal's actions did not violate the students' free speech rights. The Court noted that the paper was sponsored by the school and, as such, the school had a legitimate interest in preventing the publication of articles that it deemed inappropriate. Court noted that the paper was not intended as a public forum in which everyone could share views; rather, it was a limited forum for journalism students to write articles pursuant to the requirements of their Journalism II class, and subject to appropriate editing by the school.
Miranda Rule
The constitutional rights which police must read to a suspect before questioning can occur.
What is the main purpose of the Patriot Act?
The main purpose of the Patriot Act is to combat terrorism by tracing money that funds terrorist groups.
How does the government police powers allow states to pass laws that may conflict with civil rights protection?
The right of a society to protect itself is more important than any individual
What is the right to privacy, and where in the Constitution does it comes from?
The right of privacy is "the right to be free, except in very limited circumstances, from unwanted governmental intrusions into one's privacy." The Constitution makes no specific mention of the right, but Supreme Court declares its existence
Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
What did the students do? (HazwoSchoolDistrict v. Kuhl)
The student journalists then brought suit alleging that their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech had been violated.
How was Roe VS. Wade evolved?
The supreme court struck down a Texas law that made abortion legal
What did the U.S. District Court rule? (Tinker vs. Des Mo)
They ruled with the school, saying that the armbands could be a distraction in schools.
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969 (528 pg.)
Three public school students wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. They were suspended from school for refusing to remove them. Kids were protesting the Vietnam War, they wanted to wear black armbands. The school district said NO(can do it/that) So the school district was held if kids wear this black armband that its gonna cause violates. The school district created a policy forbidding armbands. They sued the district for violating their 1st Amendment rights.
What does it mean to be held under the Patriot Act?
To be held under the Patriot Act is to be under surveillance, have communications be cut, and privacy non-existent.
There are still limits on what students can do in public schools.
Under the ruling, students can't violate rules that aren't targeted at expression — like attendance policies — as long as their school is applying the rules equally, regardless of whether students have broken them to protest or for other reasons. And students can't "materially disrupt" the functioning of their school, though what's considered disruptive can depend on the situation.
USA PATRIOT Act acronym spelled out
Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act
Describe the relationship between the states' police power and due process of law.
What a State and its local government can and cannot do in the exercise of their police power is decided by the courts. They must strike a balance between the needs of society and the rights of individuals to due process
AMerican government
american Gvernment
What did the Supreme Court rule? (Tinker vs. Des Mo)
armband were a form of freedom of protest & expression (1st Amendment) that did not disrupt the class--> students won
the 8th amendment also forbids
cruel and unusual punishment, such as burning at the stake or crucifixion.
what is considered probable cause?
factual evidence not based only on suspicion
preventative detention means that
federal judges may keep accused felons in jail without bail when there is reason to believe that they will commit additional crimes before a trial
no person
has ever been executed of treason. Most state constitutions provide for treason. John brown was hanged as a traitor to Virginia after his raid on Harper's ferry. he is the only person to be executed for treason against a state.
if the defendant does not come to court
he or she does not get the money back
What did the principal do? (HazwoSchoolDistrict v. Kuhl)
he prohibited these articles from being published in the paper.
the supreme court ruled that a state can impose thr death penalty only for crimes resulting
in the death of the victims
bail
is the sum of money that an accused person must pay the court as a guarantee that he or she will appear in court at the proper time
in Gregg v Georgia 1976
it held a well-drawn two stage law (a trail to settle guilt and then a separate hearing to decide whether the circumstance justify the death penalty) is constitutional and ensures that t is applied fairly
the 8th amendment
offers protections for American being punished for crimes. It forbids the setting of excessive or unreasonably high bail.
The supreme court has held that capital punishment
or the dealth penalty, is constitutional if applied fairly
what does the 4th amendment state?
people have the right to feel secure in their persons, papers, and effects from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.
3rd Amendment
places restrictions on the quartering of soldiers in private homes without the owner's consent, forbidding the practice in peacetime.
what are the two things required in order to get a warrant?
probable cause, particulars about what is to be searched and seized
The Hazelwood East Spectrum was distinguished as:
school-sponsored speech (school funded newspaper with a faculty advisor; compare to the status of Tinker armbands as non-school sponsored speech)
USA PATRIOT Act
significantly expanded law enforcement authority to surveillance and capture communications.
critics of the law argue
that it undercuts the presumption of innocence
treason is the only crime
the framers specifically defined in the constitution; they wanted to prevent tyrants from using the charge of treason to punish political opponents
What does the government need to have a reasonable search?
the government needs a warrant
once paid,
the person goes free until the time of trial.
What is due process of law?
the right to be treated fairly by the government
in furman v Georgia 1972
the supreme court struck down all existing state laws allowing the death penalty, not because they were cruel and unusual, but because they gave too much discretion too the judges and juries
in rummel v Estelle 1980
the supreme court upheld a texas court who imposed a mandatory life sentence on a man who committed three felonies (even though they were all petty and nonviolent and all together involved less than 230 dollars)
the supreme court has found mandatory death penalty laws to be
unconstitutional.
What is the 4th amendment?
unreasonable searches and seizures
a person can only commit treason in
wartime. Congress has established the death penalty as the maximum penalty
