Constitutional Study Guide

• Congress does not have the power to set rules involving the establishment of religion or a religion’s practices, or limit free speech, press, or to peacefully assemble and petition the government.

• General Exceptions: Understandably, totally free speech is not legal, for example people are not allowed to directly cause violence through speech

• Schenck v. United States: Allowed laws that prevent a “clear and present danger” to limit freedom of speech

• Brandenburg v. Ohio: Somewhat modified the precedent created by Schenck, created the “imminent lawless action test” (ex: citizens can advocate violence, but they cannot compel others to immediately cause it)

1st: RAPPS

• Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation: Upheld that broadcast are subject to stricter regulation than printed press or direct speech, the FCC has the power to limit material that is “indecent” or “obscene” in order to prevent children from exposure, or to prevent unwanted speech from entering a home

• Texas v. Johnson: Made laws prohibiting flag burning unconstitutional. Set the precedent for allowing expression of an idea through potentially offensive means.

• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District: Argued that citizens cannot be expected to give up their constitutional rights simply because they are in a public school.

1st Cont.

• Bethel School District v. Fraser: Partially overturned the precedent set by Tinker, allowed schools to limit speech that is contradictory to the “fundamental values of public school education” (in this case limited sexual vulgarity, has expanded to prohibit promotion of illegal drug use, etc.)

• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: Granted corporations the First-amendment rights of citizens

1st Cont.

• A resident cannot be forced to house or feed soldiers.

• While this amendment is not necessarily that important to the function of our government today, there have been only a handful of cases directly involving the 3rd amendment, and none of them have made it to the Supreme Court, it is very important for what it implies. While it is not actually written out, the 3rd amendment is an extension of the idea that it is not the citizen’s duty to provide what the government needs or want. Beyond taxes and jury duty, citizens have very little that they are expected to do for the federal government.

3rd: Prohibits Quartering Soldiers

• Law enforcement cannot unreasonably search a citizen or his property without a warrant, and prevents use of illegally obtained evidence from being used in a trial

• If the party consents to a search, no warrant is necessary

• Officers can seize object that are in “plain view” if they have probable cause to believe the object would be illegal

• “Open Fields” and other places where citizens cannot expect privacy are not protected

• Citizens in areas close to a border (with other countries, including international airports) are not protected

• Mapp v. Ohio: Extended the 4th amendment to apply to State law enforcement and courts

• Terry v. Ohio: If an officer can present “specific and articulable facts” that warrant reasonable suspicion, they can frisk a person for weapons

4th: Searches and Seizures

• Chimel v. California: Established that searches, immediately following a lawful arrest, of the arrestee or areas within his direct control are subject to search without warrant

• New Jersey v. T. L. O.: Established that on public school grounds, law enforcement does not require warrants for searches

4th Cont.

• Guarantees that no person can face criminal punishment without receiving "Due Process"

• Grand Jury

• Miranda V. Arizona: Description of defendant rights (i.e. self-incrimination)

5th: Rules of Grand Jury and Eminent Domain

• Guarantees "Fair & Speedy" trial by jury

• Gives defendant the right to know what charges are made against them

• Carey V. Musladin: Defendants in murder cases have the 6th upheld

6th: Fair & Speedy Trial

• No excessive bail or unreasonable punishment

• Furman v. Georgia - The defendant accidentally murdered a person while attempting a burglary. He wasn’t convicted because the state of Georgia didn’t have a clear statute regarding the death penalty.

• Woodson v. North Carolina - The state of North Carolina passed legislation that mandated the death penalty for all first degree murders. The law was voted unconstitutional as it didn’t give the jury guidelines to determine which first-degree murderers shall live or die and it failed to allow consideration of the individual’s history/record.

8th: Cruel & Unusual Punishment

• grants people protection of unenumerated rights (those not stated directly in the Constitution) (ie: choice in regards to abortion, the right to privacy, etc..)

• Roe V. Wade (1973): Jane Roe challenged the state of Texas after being denied an abortion. The court ruled in favor of Roe (with a 7 to 2 vote) because the denial of her choice of an abortion was unconstitutional.

• Griswold V. Connecticut (1965): Estelle Griswold and Dr. C.

Lee Buxton challenged the state of Connecticut after being arrested for distributing contraceptives. Connecticut law fined or imprisoned those who provided drugs or other instruments preventing conception. With a 7 to 2 ruling, Griswold won due to Connecticut's violation of the privacy of marriage and right of

9th: Powers Reserved to the People (1791)

• choice. The case actually overruled a previous case regarding contraceptives (Poe v. Ullman (1961)).

9th cont...

• Any power not specifically given to Federal level is assumed to be State rights

• New York V. United States 1992: Unfunded mandate seen as unconstitutional

• Printz V. United States: overturning Handgun Violence Prevention Act due to its unconstitutional grounds of requiring state officials to enforce a federal program

10th: Limits Federal Powers

• Limits the power of the Federal courts to hear cases involving state governments, regardless of origin (ex. from citizens or foreign states).

• While whole states are granted sovereign immunity, it does not apply to divisions of the government, or its officials

• States are free to renounce their sovereign immunity

• Ex parte Young: Set the precedent that state officials acting on behalf of a state can be sued to avoid the sovereign immunity of the state as a whole

• Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer: Set the precedent that Congress can abrogate a state’s sovereign immunity to protect the rights of citizens

11th: Supreme Court Jurisdiction

• In the election of 1800, Jefferson and Burr had a tie in the electoral college. The vote went to the House and Jefferson was made President while Burr was Vice President.

• Election of the president and vice-president are together on the same ballot rather than having the runner-up become vice-president.

• If the event of a tie in the electoral college now, the president vote is given to the House and VP vote is given to the Senate.

• During the Watergate Scandal, Gerald Ford (Nixon’s vice-president) assumed presidency as Nixon was impeached for his illegal activities.

12th: Separate Voting for President & Vice President

• abolished slavery in the United States after the Civil War.

• Plessy V. Ferguson (1896): Homer Plessy (a 1/8th African American man) attempted to argue that being arrested for sitting in the white railcar section was in violation of the 13th amendment, but failed to realize that "separate but equal" accommodations were completely Constitutional. Plessy was found guilty in both the state court of Louisiana and The Supreme Court.

13th: Abolition of Slavery (1865)

• Born in U.S.

• No state can strip one of citizenship

• Guarantee "Due Process of Law"

• Equal protection of the laws

• Repeal of 3/5ths clause

14th: Definition of Citizenship

• granted the right to vote for US citizens including all minorities post civil war; it disregarded race, color, and previous servitude conditions. *was somewhat voided with poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses.

• Guinn V. US (1915): Grandfather clauses in Oklahoma, which didn't permit the right to vote if one's grandfather was not given the right, were deemed unconstitutional due to the violation of the 15th amendment.

• Meyers V. Anderson (1915): Black Civil War veterans in Maryland were being denied the right to vote if they didn't possess at least $500 worth of property or if their ancestors did not hold the right to vote (Grandfather clauses). Like Guinn V. US, the case was deemed unconstitutional due to the violation of the 15th, but the verdict left room for open door policies and other restrictions.

15th: Right of Vote (1870)

16th:Collection of Income Taxes

• This amendment gives the federal government the power to tax a person's income and be used to pay for government programs.

• Wasn’t actually ratified because the ¾ required to start the ratification process wasn’t met, but the Secretary of State proclaimed that the conditions were met. And the states had actually altered the proposed amendment, which according to Congress, states could not do.

• Helvering v. Independent Life Ins. Co - The taxpayer lived and owned a building in which he was also renting out and was charged to pay taxes for the building he lived in. The Court agreed that taxing the rental value of the property on the owner could violate the Constitutional provision requiring apportionment.

• Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. - The income tax passed in 1894 violated the Constitution because it imposed taxes on real estate investments and personal property such as stocks and bonds. It was negated by the 16th amendment.

• Senators are directly elected by the people. Senators are voted in by popular vote.

• Each state has 2 senators who each serve for 6 years and each receives 1 vote.o If there’s a vacancy within the 6 years, the state

governor has the power to appoint people to fill the vacancy.

• In the recent 2008 election, the Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich attempted to sell and/or trade the senate seat previously occupied by President Obama for financial favors toward him. Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

17th: Direct Election of Senators By Popular Vote

• The repeal of Jim Crow Era poll taxes, denying many African Americans the right to vote.Six States still have not ratified the amendment.

24th: Revokes Poll Taxes

Section 1: The Vice President takes the office of President if there is a vacancy in the office

Section 2: If there is no Vice President, the current President shall nominate a candidate for the office that must be confirmed by a majority vote in both houses of Congress.

Section 3: The President can resign from his office by writing to both the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Section 4: If the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet tell both the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in writing, that the President is incapable of fulfilling his duties, then the Vice President immediately assumes the role of acting President. If the former President says that he is capable, then he immediately resumes his role as President. If the (original) Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet repeat their accusation, then the issue shall be decided by Congress. To replace the original President, 2/3rds of both houses of Congress must agree to kick him out of office, otherwise the original President shall keep his office.

25th: Defines Presidential Succession

• The Government cannot deny any citizen over the age of 18 from voting on the account of age.

• In Oregon v. Mitchell - The states argued that the Federal Government doesn’t have the authority to establish the minimum voting age. The Supreme Court ruled that the minimum age applied only to national elections and declared the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as unconstitutional. The 26th amendment was later added as States had trouble distinguishing who was allowed to vote which election.

• Defines the legal age for a person to become an emancipated individual.o Can affect various activities such as the ability to vote,

buy tobacco, and tried as a convicted adult for crimes.

26th: Right to Vote 18

• Any alteration to Congressional pay cannot go into effect until the next Congressional election.

• In response to Ohio legislature undergoing a large pay raise in 1873, the amendment gradually came into effect over the course of many years; it finally reached the mark of majority favor in Michigan (1992) and was amended.

27th: Restrain on Congressional Salaries (1992)

• The requirement that all states must respect and abide by the law and on-goings in other states (ie: includes laws, licenses, and married rights).

• It was created in hopes of strongly unifying the country while allowing for states to have some degree of freedoms while respecting other state's law

• struck down the bans on interracial marriage in all states.

• the question on whether same sex marriage is protected by full faith and credit still stands.

• Milwaukee County v. M.E. White Co. (1935): took into account the idea of taxes when coming from one state to another (the Framers hoped to have states respect one another)

• Courts must fully recognize and honor the rulings from the state which they are rooted.

Full Faith & Credit

• The power the Senate has over the presidential appointments. The Senate is in charge of reviewing cabinet officers, judges, and other officials. The only way presidential nominations can take effect is when 2/3 of Senate gives approval.

• also provides the Senate with the power to approve treaties

• Advise and Consent acts as a limitation on presidential powers

• The Senate rejected the ratification of the treaty to join the League of Nations (under president Wilson) in 1919

• In 1987 Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork (nominated by president Reagan) was voted down.

• In 1991 Clarence Thomas was confirmed as a SC justice after much struggle

• Many of George W. Bush's nominees were rejected in 2001

Advise & Consent

• The Commerce Clause grants the federal government the power to regulate interstate economy and foreign economic relations.

• Gibbons v. Ogden - Ogden operated a steamboat for a monopoly on waters under the jurisdiction of New York. Gibbons operated a steamboat that crossed waters under the jurisdiction of New Jersey and New York. Gibbons was forced to pay substantial fees in order to operate within New York waters. The Court found that New York was not permitted to implement licensing requirements for out-of-state operators because it had no jurisdiction over interstate commerce.

• Hicklin v. Orbeck - The Local Hire Under State Leases Act was implemented under the Alaska legislature. It required the employment of Alaska residents only in industries regarding exported natural resources (oil, gas, etc.). The Supreme Court ruled the Act unconstitutional as it discriminated against non-citizens of the state in an industry which affects the exportation of natural resources.

Commerce Clause

• The government established under the Constitution of the United States is the highest level of law, and applies to all states and state judges.

• Ware v. Hylton: First case in which the Supreme Court ruled that a state not be allowed to contradict a treaty of the federal government

• McCulloch v. Maryland: Established that states could not tax a federal establishment, as it would give them power over the federal government

• Martin v. Hunter's Lessee: First case which established the Supreme Court’s power over state courts, also established that federal courts could take over a case already ruled on by a state court

Supremacy Clause

• Separation of Church and State

• Prohibits Government to establish religion

• Engel V. Vitale 1962: Daily prayer in public school unconstitutional

• Lemon V. Kurtzman 1971: Government can assist religion if1. Primary purpose of support is secular2. Cannot promote nor inhibit religion3. No excessive entanglement between church and state

Establishment Clause

• McCulloch V. Maryland 1819: congressional actions are constitutional if they contain the "spirit of the constitution" and based on an expressed power

• Make laws necessary and proper by the use and support of the constitution.

Elastic Clause