Constitution Of The United States

By:John Lambrecht, Craig Jahnke,Demetra Zografakis,Tom

DiDonato, Jerry Glensworth

United States v. Miller • -Suspected bank robbers Jack Miller and Frank Layton were

arrested for possessing an unlicensed sawed-off shotgun which is a violation of the national firearms act

• -In May of 1939 the Supreme Court made a unanimous decision that the National Firearms act did not conflict with the second Amendment. The Supreme Court said that the defense cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms in this instance involving a shotgun with a barrel less then 18 inches, since it would never be used in a militia.

• -This has affected history in that the possession of a gun that is not a military-type weapon, such as a sawed-off shotgun, is illegal. It was also proven that the National Firearms act does not conflict with the Second Amendment.

US VS. LEON• -Exclusionary Rule: evidence illegally seized must be

excluded from criminal trials• -Leon was under surveillance by police.• -Police applied for warrant to search his home and were

granted it.• -The police discovered large quantities of illegal drugs and

Leon was indicted for violation of federal drug laws.• -However, the evidence was thrown out of court because a

judge concluded that the affidavit (witness to the signing of the warrant) was insufficient and therefore the warrant was invalid.

• Ruling: A provision was made the to Exclusionary Rule that allowed the admissibility of evidence allegedly in violation of the Fourth Amendment

Barron vs. Baltimore

• Barron v. Mayor of Baltimore- John Barron co-owned a profitable pier in the Baltimore harbor. He sued for damages and made $4500 from court ruling but it was soon reversed in the appellate court. The Supreme Court decided that the bill of rights were specifically restriction on the federal government, not state governments.( 5th Amendment- guarantee that government takings of private property for public use require just compensation.)