...prayer (Bill of Rights Institute, 2010). The following information will show both sides of the argument of if prayer should be allowed in schools. Background information will be given on the history of prayer in school and prayer in congress, and my personal thoughts on this important position. Argument There are many different viewpoints on the argument of prayer in schools. We will begin with the argument of allowing prayer in schools. The United States Constitution protects religious freedom under the First Amendment. The First Amendment states that Congress should not make any law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion (U.S. Constitution Online, 2010). The interpretation of the First Amendment has been the basis for many arguments of how to apply the information to laws on allowing or not allowing prayer in school. Being extremely general in their language, the first two clauses of the Amendment say nothing about how to apply their information. Advocates for including prayer in school have argued for a long time that banning the practice...
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...artist who is about to release your first CD. One of the major things that has inspired you is the Constitution, specifically the amendments (you loved Ms. Wunderlich’s class that much!). For this assignment, you will create a CD that lists your song titles. The song titles will all reflect the chosen amendments below. (i.e. you do not need to do all 27 amendments…just the ones listed below). Also, your CD will only include the song titles, NOT the whole song. To create your CD, think of a particular type of music you want to do (country, classic rock, hip/hop, rap) and create a cover that represents that theme. Then , look at what each amendment discusses and create the title of a song that would be about that amendment. For example, a song about the first amendment might be “I say, I say, I say what I want” which reflects the idea of freedom of speech. You may not use the name of the amendment as a song title. For example, I do not want to see Track 1: Freedom of Speech, Track 2: Right to Bear Arms. When you list your song titles, the track numbers must match the number of your amendment. For example, a song about women voting needs to be track #19. *Your CD must be of high quality and well put together and colorful. CD’s that are written in pen or pencil on lined sheet of paper will not be graded. To reiterate, this is what you will turn into me: CD with 19 song titles that match their amendment numbers with a cover that reflects a genre of music and the theme of...
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...Is There A Right Way Of Interpretation Of The First Amendment? The interpretation of the First Amendment as well as the entire Constitution has been a controversial issue for debates for decades. The majority of Americans simply interprets the First Amendment the way they see for it to be convenient for a particular situation. Because of its vagueness, the First Amendment leaves a lot of room for various arguments and assumptions. When we look at the textual interpretation of the First Amendment, context plays a vital role. The context tells us not to concentrate on details and to give words an expansive rather than narrow interpretation. Although interpretation of the text can take on many forms and there is no the right one, words do have a limited range of meaning, and no interpretation that goes beyond that range should be permissible, especially when we are dealing with such an important document as the First Amendment. The article “On Racist Speech” by Charles R Lawrence serves as a great example of argumentative interpretation of the First Amendment. Charles Lawrence examines the power of words that can insult, assault and even exclude. He challenges the thought that all speech should be protected and urges his readers to examine their own beliefs and expectations of what their civil rights are. The author also presents a strong critique of the First Amendment that protect us from defamation, invasion of privacy while at the same time leaves the...
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...Reflections on the First Amendment Shellene Lewis History/301 July 03, 2013 Brona Pinnolis Reflections on the First Amendment In Baton Rouge, Louisiana 1965 twenty three black college students were arrested in an attempt to integrate a local eatery. To express their outrage Rev. B. Elton Cox led 2,000 black college students on a march to protest the incarceration of the students. Rev. Cox was a later arrested and convicted for breaching the peace, obstructing a public passageway and picketing the court house. To what extent does the Constitution protect the right of privacy? “The U. S. Constitution contains no express right to privacy. The Bill of Rights, however, reflects the concern of James Madison and other framers for protecting specific aspects of privacy, such as the privacy of beliefs (1st Amendment), privacy of the home against demands that it be used to house soldiers (3rd Amendment), privacy of the person and possessions as against unreasonable searches (4th Amendment), and the 5th Amendment's privilege against self-incrimination, which provides protection for the privacy of personal information. In addition, the Ninth Amendment states that the "enumeration of certain rights" in the Bill of Rights "shall not be construed to deny or disparage other rights retained by the people." The meaning of the Ninth Amendment is elusive, but some persons have interpreted the Ninth Amendment as justification for broadly reading the Bill...
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...Name: Course: Tutor: Date of Submission: Prayer in Public Schools For a long time now, there have been debates on the issue of prayer on public schools. Tracing back the issue of prayer in the public school as presented in various court cases and the issue of prayer from a personal perspective shows the correct argument towards prayers in public school prayers. The first court case on school prayer can be traced in the Engel V. Vitale case that happened way back in 1962, where there was the banning of praying in public school by the Federal Supreme Court. Weiler says that this happened after parents in a public school at New York protested that the voluntary prayer at the school was not in line with their religious belief (Weiler). To spice this up, other religious groups came forward to support the parents on the same issue, which they argued that it was against the amended constitution. After a long consultation with various concerned parties and religious group, a firm confirmation was made that this was unconstitutional. Therefore, the court issued an opinion stating that there were not supposed to be prayers written by the government for recitation in the public schools. To justify this, the court stated the existence of the separation between the state and the church, where it revisited the history of the matter. Besides this, the court argued that a school prayer is a religious activity since it has the nature of a prayer. Therefore, prescribing a prayer for children...
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...I, Janet, write this opinion to support the majority opinion on the case of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier. My views are similar to the majority opinion on the case of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, because I believe that the censoring of the newspaper pages did not go against the students’ rights. Under the First Amendment, the majority concluded that the principle acted properly since rights of other students were going to be violated in the articles. Additionally, the majority opinion did not think that the Tinker standard applied to Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, since in the Tinker case the personal expression in question was by students’ in person rather than through a school newspaper. The not so popular opinion, in regards to applying the Tinker standard...
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...Case 3.2 – Service of Process Has Plaintiff properly served defendant Wal-Mart? No the plaintiff did not properly serve the defendant Wal-Mart. The plaintiff served the statue of limitation 9 days before the 3 years was up. He also served it to the manager that was physically available, but South Dakota has a law that the president, officer, director, or registered agent of a defendant corporation. The plaintiff as well did not properly give the service of process to the right person. Case 3.6 – Summary Judgment Should the court grant Pathmark’s motion for summary judgment? No I don’t think Pathmark established proper grounds for summary judgment. They are questioning the deposition of Toote, in the part where she stated she did not know how long the boxes were stacked there. How long the boxes being stacked is not the issue, it’s more an issue of negligence on Pathmark’s part because the boxes should not be laying around where people are walking. The court, due to not enough grounds of evidence, should not grant Pathmark requesting a summary judgment. Case 4.1 – Supremacy Clause Does the Massachusetts anti-Myanmar statue violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution? Under the Supremacy Clause, this anti-Myanmar act does violate the U.S., because it is going against the “supreme law of the land.” When Massachusetts set forward this, it went against the federal statute, making the state preempted by the federal statute. The states of the US don’t have to right...
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...Violation of Freedom of Speech or of Establishment Clause Tony Carraro November 23, 2009 This decision was monumental in the United States because it not only allowed students to use their First Amendment rights but it also prevented instructors from punishing those students for their actions. The First Amendment rights were put in place for all Americans in all situations. Reciting the pledge is viewed as a patriotic act; however, it is not law. Having the student’s First Amendment rights taken away for this is not constitutional and that is just what the court ruled. However, this did not end the controversy. In 1992 the 7th circuit heard _Sherman v. Community Consolidated School District 21_. In this case the court ruled that that the recitation of the pledge in Illinois elementary schools did not violate the Establishment Clause. Judge Frank Easterbrook reasoned that “the Pledge is a secular rather than sectarian vow.” He also noted that historic figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln used “God” in many of their speeches and writings such as Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. In addition to that he pointed out that one has taken the oath on the bible since the beginning of the court system (). This was the second monumental decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court. By ruling in the favor of Newdow the court said that schools cannot force a kid to say the phrase “under God”. This was a positive ruling on the...
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...Baker v. Carr Facts Charles Baker (P) was a resident of Shelby County, Tennessee. Baker filed suit against Joe Carr, the Secretary of State of Tennessee. Baker’s complaint alleged that the Tennessee legislature had not redrawn its legislative districts since 1901, in violation of the Tennessee State Constitution which required redistricting according to the federal census every 10 years. Baker, who lived in an urban part of the state, asserted that the demographics of the state had changed shifting a greater proportion of the population to the cities, thereby diluting his vote in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Baker sought an injunction prohibiting further elections, and sought the remedy of reapportionment or at-large elections. The district court denied relief on the grounds that the issue of redistricting posed a political question and would therefore not be heard by the court. Issues 1. Do federal courts have jurisdiction to hear a constitutional challenge to a legislative apportionment? 2. What is the test for resolving whether a case presents a political question? Holding and Rule 1. Yes. Federal courts have jurisdiction to hear a constitutional challenge to a legislative apportionment. 2. The factors to be considered by the court in determining whether a case presents a political question are: 1. Is there a textually demonstrable constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate political department...
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...a great, prosperous, and just nation unlike any other in the world. George Washington thought that it was “little short of a miracle” that the delegates could agree on the Constitution. Americans had stumbled on this road before. The United States had established an earlier constitution in 1781, the Articles of Confederation. Under the Articles, each state governed itself through elected representatives, and the state representatives in turn elected a weak central government, one so feeble that it was unworkable. This league of states, hastily crafted during wartime, had to be replaced with a real government. The challenge was devising stable institutional arrangements that would reconcile majority rule and minority rights, that is, reflect the consent of the governed but avoid majority tyranny. The new constitution would need to secure the rights promised in the...
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...Christian values. Many of those who disagree with Chick-fil-A’s views have made it hard for them to continue their work and expansion. However, under the first Amendment Chick-fil-A is protected and hasn’t till this day violated any law or has discriminated against anyone. Chick-fil-A like any other establishment has the right to under the first Amendment to voice their opinion. Before passing, away Truett Cathy made a contract with his children, explaining that the company should always stay within the family, and the ownership should never belong to anyone outside of the family. Truett’s reason for keeping the family’s business in only the family’s hands is that he would like his business to stay with its Christian values. and to keep his mission statement true to his word which was “to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all entrusted to us” and “to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with chick-fil- A” -Truett Cathy. Therefore, if anyone outside the family took ownership they might not uphold the...
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... Johnson PA205-01 Texas v. Johnson Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397, 109 S.Ct. 2533, 105 L.Ed.2d 242, Argued in 1989. From case, Since the State of Texas conceded that the actions of burning the flag were expressive conduct, the Court had to decide whether the State's regulation of flag burning related to suppression of free speech in order to determine which standard to apply. Then the Court had to decide whether the State had an interest in regulating the speech, which overrode the First Amendment protections. Facts that Triggered the Dispute while the Republican National Convention was meeting in Dallas, Texas, in 1984, Gregory Johnson took part in a demonstration, protesting policies of the Reagan administration. During the demonstration, Johnson burned an American flag, and Dallas police arrested him. According to US court, Gregory Lee Johnson was arrested and convicted of desecrating a flag in violation of Texas law, a conviction which questions ones guaranteed First Amendment, constitutional rights. Johnson's involvement in a political demonstration in Dallas, lead him to express his political concerns with the nation leaders and governmental policies. The State of Texas' conviction of Johnson was carried out due to Johnson's conduct, a physically expressive act, rather than a written or spoken one and based on two criteria: a responsibility to preserve the integrity of the flag representing the strength, pride and unity of our nation and whether Johnson's actions...
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...For many students, freedom of expression is a huge topic for them. Many students are limited to number of things by school officials. “Many administrators overreact by banning all messages in the name of ‘safety, order,or discipline.’” (Haynes, 88, 2005). Clothing choices that the students make don’t reflect the school or associated with learning or the students. When schools try to enforce dress codes or any other guidelines that pertains to freedom of expression, it only makes the students rebel more. Not only do schools limit clothing options, they also limit the student’s speech. “Suppressing speech drives opposition underground rather than allowing students to deal with issues in an open form.” (Martinson, 69, 2005). Students should be given the ability to come to school and express their thoughts however and whenever they wish to. But with the limitations that many schools have, students aren’t able to convey their opinions without the fear of being...
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...and incorporate into their daily business and employment practices. These statutes would include Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Age Discrimination Act (ADEA), Equal Pay Act (EPA), and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Executive Order 11246, and the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. Religion The first amendment to the United States Constitution states in part “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” (Author Unknown, 1791). This statute has been at the root of a number of legal issues surrounding the Ten Commandments from Jewish and Christian religion of late. A number of cases from Texas to Maryland to Nebraska have worked their way through the Federal court system with a few being heard by the Supreme Court. Opponents advocate that even religious symbols such as the Ten Commandments placed on public property are a violation of the First Amendment while proponents advocate that the Commandments are a founding part of our legal system and placing them in proximity to public property does not equate to Congress establishing a law respecting religion. The First Amendment The...
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...Hazelwood v. Kulmeier I, Abigail Dennis write this opinion to support the majority opinion on the case of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier. In the case of Hazelwood vs Kulmeier the major opinion which is the primary ruling in the case held the censorship stating that it did not violate the student rights based on the first Amendment. In this case my opinion reflect the majority opinion due to the fact that I believe the principal acted reasonable based on the safeness and fairness of both the school and the students. Even though these students are consider minors they do share the same rights as adults but only to a certain extent. Base on the judge statement some may believe that the school’s newspaper isn’t a form of public expression. The principal of school has the right by law to monitor was posted in the newspaper since the newspaper is a part of the school curriculum. Based on the laws that were made and the rights of this case I choose the...
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