...San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1 (1973) Historical Setting After Civil Rights success in the 1960’s, many of the United States underrepresented citizenry such as minorities and poor searched for equality through the Constitution. In San Antonio, Texas, citizens found that the school finance system was unjust and filed suit under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Federal District Court found that the Texas school finance system violated the Fourteenth Amendment. The State appealed to the Supreme Court. Case Summary San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973) argued that education was a “fundamental right” implied in the Constitution and that poor Hispanic families were being treated as a “suspect class” due to financial disparities between wealthy and poor school districts. The argument was that this inequality of funding between school district’s violated the Equal Protection Clause. The State contended that education was not an Federal enumerated power, therefore it was reserved to the State and that included financial decisions. Court’s Decision The Court found in a 5-4 ruling that this was not a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because education is not a guarantee...
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...First Amendment Paper Denard Benton HIS/301 Dick Ecott Sep 23, 2011 In this paper I will be discussing three court cases cases concerning the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States. For each of these cases, I will answer three questions about why they were important and how they are relevant to today’s society. The first question I will get into is to what extent the Constitution protects the right to privacy. Why did each case need to be heard and interpreted by the Supreme Court? And how does the Supreme Court’s decision in each case continue to affect the rights of American citizens today? The first topic I will get into is concerning the burning of the United States Flag. In 1990, the case involving the United States v. Eichman, when a man burned a United States flag in political protest. The individual who burned the flag knew he would seriously offend onlookers by doing so. In 1989, congress passed the Flag Protection act. This act criminalizes the conduct of anyone who “knowingly mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on the floor or ground, or tramples upon” a United States flag, except conduct related to the disposal of a worn or soiled flag. Appelees were prosecuted in district courts for violating this act. Even after this was passed, protestors of the government knowingly burned flags against policies and other beliefs. Some protestors burned the flag just because the act was passed. During these cases, the appellees moved...
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...Constitution From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Constitution (disambiguation). A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed.[1] These rules together make up, i.e.constitute, what the entity is. When these principles are written down into a single document or set of legal documents, those documents may be said to embody a writtenconstitution; if they are written down in a single comprehensive document, it is said to embody a codified constitution. Constitutions concern different levels of organizations, from sovereign states to companies and unincorporated associations. A treaty which establishes an international organization is also its constitution, in that it would define how that organization is constituted. Within states, a constitution defines the principles upon which the state is based, the procedure in which laws are made and by whom. Some constitutions, especially codified constitutions, also act as limiters of state power, by establishing lines which a state's rulers cannot cross, such as fundamental rights. An example is the constitution of the United States of America. George Washington at Constitutional Conventionof 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world,[2] containing 444 articles in 22 parts,[3][4] 12 schedules and 118 amendments, with 117...
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...Madison[1] INTRODUCTION A written constitution is a reminder that governments can be unreasonable and unjust. By guaranteeing that "[a] well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed," the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution provides the citizens a means of protection against the unjust excesses of government.[2] The Framers placed this guarantee in the Bill of Rights because they considered the right to keep and bear arms peculiarly important and also uniquely vulnerable to infringement. The Amendment's command protects individuals against even popular conceptions of the public good. In addition to this protection within the United States Constitution,[3] the constitutions of forty-three states guarantee the right to keep and bear arms.[4] Despite the constitutional authority for this right, legislators and judges have consistently attempted to devalue it. Methods such as giving misleading labels to select firearms like "assault weapons"[5] or "Saturday Night Specials"[6] have been used to justify incremental disarmament.[7] American jurisprudence has deliberately devalued the right to keep and bear arms by disingenuously interpreting the right so as to effect a gradual change in American culture. To this end, for example, the Seventh Circuit has already upheld a civilian handgun ban by dismissing an historical analysis of the Constitution: "The debate surrounding the...
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...from p. 21. Read Texas v. Johnson on pp. 21-22 first. Answer case analysis questions 1, 2, and 3 from p. 126. Read Brown v. Board of Education on pp. 124-126 first. Answer question 1 under “Application and Analysis” from p. 139. Pg. 21-22 * 1. What gave the U.S. Supreme Court, a federal court, the right to review a Texas state law? This is because of the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution (Article VI): “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof. . . shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding * 2. Suppose that Johnson had burned a Texas state flag instead of the U.S. flag. a. Would the U.S. Supreme Court have jurisdiction to hear the case? b. If the Supreme Court did hear the case, do you think the decision would have been any different from this case? The Supreme Court could hear the case and the result would probably be the same because the real issue was the Right to Free Speech under the U.S. Constitution, not whether the criminal law was state or federal. Pg. 124-126 * 1. What is the doctrine of separate but equal? Separate but equal doctrine refers to a now-defunct principle that allowed African-Americans to be segregated if they were provided with equal opportunities and facilities in education, public transportation, and jobs. * 2. What did the Court say...
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...Plessy v. Ferguson: To begin you must understand the significance of the court case Plessy vs. Ferguson in order to see the true importance of it. In 1890, Louisiana passed an act named the Separate Car Act. The law stated that all rail companies carrying passengers in Louisiana had to have separate but equal seating arrangements for white and non-white passengers. Also under this law declared that those who violated the act were to pay a fine or spend 20 days in jail. People especially blacks at the time felt that this act was unfair and unconstitutional. So one day a name by the name of Homer Plessy who was one-eighth black bought a first class ticket and boarded an all-white car. The rail company knew what was going to happen so upon his...
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...gave the U.S. Supreme Court, a federal court, the right to review a Texas state law? The question was whether burning the flag was protected under the First Amendment right to free speech. The Supreme Court held that it was. The fact that a U.S. Constitutional right was asserted gave the Supreme Court federal jurisdiction. 2. Suppose that Johnson had burned a Texas state flag instead of the U.S. flag. * a. Would the U.S. Supreme Court have jurisdiction to hear the case? * b. If the Supreme Court did hear the case, do you think the decision would have been any different from this case? 3. The Supreme Court could hear the case and the result would more-than-likely have been the same because the actual issue was the Right to Free Speech under the U.S. Constitution, not whether the criminal law was state or federal. 1. What is the doctrine of separate but equal? “Separate but equal” doctrine announced by this Court in Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537. Under that doctrine, equality of treatment is accorded when the races are provided substantially equal facilities, even though these facilities be separate. “The doctrine first enunciated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537, 16 S. Ct. 1138, 41 L. Ed. 256 (1896), to the effect that establishing different facilities for blacks and whites was valid under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as long as they were equal.”1 2. What did the Court say about that doctrine...
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...Bill of Rights The First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution will be analyzed. This paper will discuss the relationship between the different areas of the Bill of Rights and the administration of justice and security. The aims of and the challenges fronting different federal, state, and local enforcement agencies will be discussed along with roles of the federal, state, and local court systems with regard to public safety and civil rights. The goals of the juvenile justice system with those other agencies will be discussed as well as the roles of private security organizations with respect to both corporate and public protection. Last there will be recommendations to solutions of the numerous tasks fronting criminal justice organizations and security organizations (University of Phoenix Syllabus, 2013). Amendments First Amendments The First Amendment explains that it is the independence of demonstration of the media and religious beliefs. This particular portion of the constitution forbids any type of reticence of communication, worship in addition to the capability to gather people calmly. This permits for every American to communicate without restrictions and worship wherever they want nationwide (The United States Constitution, 2010). Fourth Amendment The Fourth amendment was written to protect the people and their private property. In this amendment the people were promised their safety from illegal search and seizures as...
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...by the citizens of a country or state under the protection of its constitution; the aggregate of those personal, civil, and political rights of the individual which are guaranteed by the constitution and secured against invasion by the government or any of its agencies. If one is entitled rights, one has the duty to support the public authority that protects its rights. The First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or press; or the right of the people to peacefully assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” These various aspects of liberty were lumped together in first amendment for the sake of convenience, considering the original clause of the first amendment was establishment of church. That is why the establishment clause of the first amendment was simply not intended to declare government hostility towards religion, it just simply kept the church separated from politics. Right to his Property, in Fourth Amendment it clearly stated “the right of people to secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized.” Nobody knew more about the importance of property rights then the Farmers...
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...Civil War? What factors led to the expansion of the United States during the period after the Civil War, and what were the effects of expansion? Section 1: Short Answer Questions (30 points) Write multi-sentence responses for the prompts below. Be specific and give examples from the history we have learned. A. An amendment to the U.S. Constitution changes laws for the entire country. Three amendments changed laws especially for African Americans. Explain how each of the following amendments changed the law for African Americans. (10 points total) a. Thirteenth Amendment (3 points) The thirteenth amendment ended slavery and involuntary servitude except for punishment as a crime. It prevented African Americans from being forced back into slavery. b. Fourteenth Amendment (4 points) the fourteenth amendment addresses citizenship rights and and equal protection of the laws. It was proposed in response to issues that were related to former slaves. c. Fifteenth Amendment (3 points) The fifteenth amendment prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on color, religion, and race. B. Answer the following questions:(10 points) a. What challenges did the United States face in redefining the Union after the war? (1 pt). Briefly tell what these events were and analyze their importance in the Reconstruction era:(3 pts each) b.The assassination...
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...In the article "Some Truths Are Not Self-Evident", the author; Howard Zinn's main point is that The United States of America's Constitution did not really do nothing much for their citizens, instead the citizens were and are the ones who have had and will have the courage to get their rights seen by the country. I actually do agree with Zinn’s opinion, The biggest role The United States Of America’s Constitution plays in citizens actions is to write down laws, However The Constitution is a document that has just a little of importance at the time of talking about justice, liberty, and democracy among citizens in The United States of America. Howard Zinn focused on five main issues of justice and liberty that lead to his conclusion.Those five issues are the matter of racial equality, free speech, economic justice, sexual equality, and when war approaches. When he mentioned racial equality he focused on black people. This issue was a huge problem in the United states back in time and it has decreased as of now but, not only among black people but colored people as well. Zinn mentions different movements that were taken by people; citizens from the country to abolish slavery. Thanks to those social movements laws were created, like the fourteenth and fifteenth Amendments. The actions taken by the citizens in the United States were outside the Sanchez 2 Constitution. My Father-in law mentioned that two of his recent friends went to Louisiana on a trip. They decided...
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...executive branch, which the law enforcement was required to respect and obey. To make sure the proposed laws are legitimate the judicial branch acts as mediator to evaluate the principles in the United States Constitution and other important American legal documents without prior court decree. This is why the framers of the Constitution decided to for the American government to have a system of checks and balances because no one branch can act alone, so all three branches collaborate; therefore the power of each branch is balanced (Meyer & Grant, 2003). The separation of powers was formulated by the framers of the Constitution to share the same power as checks and balances. Each state law-making system is developed with a similar structure of the government; however with dissimilar law-making traditions. Although some states the state legislature congregates per annum discussing law-making whereas state legislatures in other states congregate every two years, and the state legislature authority is similar to Congress to make laws as whole for the country. History records show that formal laws were created by man for five millennia; however, each society used different methods to make rules by how the societies lived. In the United States laws were made from local government through state legislature, to...
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...The text of the 14th amendment is long, but what it essentially means that no person can be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. The amendment also guarantees everyone's right to equal protection under the law. The amendment embodies the Due Process of Law and Equal Protection Clauses of the United States Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled many times that the amendments serves as a limitation on both federal and state government action. Our freedom is protected by the constitution and it is in our hands and no one should take that away from us. The fourteenth amendment is important because it makes everyone born in the u.s a citizen and it makes sure that no state can make or enforce a law that takes...
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...The fourteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified on July 9, 1968 states that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (Charters of Freedom, Amendment XIV). In the United States, the criminal justice systems follow the adversary approach which requires following proper procedures designed to protect the rights of...
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...Constitution Civil Rights A police chief from New York police department, who deliberately threatened to kill and beat a man who broke into an SUV and took some embarrassing items, including sex toys, and several other items. He pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday to violating a citizen’s civil rights. The chief who led one of the country's largest suburban police departments is expected to receive over four years in prison for his actions. He also tried to cover up the beating as well, which then took place at the police station, he pleaded guilty to violating the suspect's civil rights. The ex-chief, along with several other members willfully used unreasonable force and physically hurt the individual causing major injuries. He deeply regrets not being honest. His plea reflects his desire to accept his responsibility for his own actions. The chief also admitted the he did, in fact use unnecessary force, slapping and hitting the man causing injuries. The chief did not elaborate much, but other officers were involved in the assault. The chief was arrested in December for his actions. A letter was written arguing against bail, the former prosecutor said that the ex-chief member was trying to get revenge on the man who broke into his SUV. The ex-chief just went way out of control. He called the suspect a pervert while he was freaking out. He was deliberately punching, hitting, and screaming, while threatening to kill the suspect with a heroin...
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