Bill of Rights by Eli Ordonez

Amendment I

eli_ordonez52 — 2025-01-13 18:16:55 UTC

The first amend establishes the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and to petition. These liberties prohibit the government from attacking citizens when expressing their opinions or views. It should be noted, however, that throughout our history, these liberties have been constricted, especially during wartime. One very important court case that determined the precedent of this amendment, specifically the freedom of speech, is Tinker v. Des Moines, in which free speech was challenged when students wore arm bands signifying a political view to school. It was ultimately decided that non-disruptive free speech was perfectly fine in a school setting, and has become a pivotal case in years since.

Amendment II

eli_ordonez52 — 2025-01-13 18:18:48 UTC

The right to bear arms is what the second amendment grants the American people. Although there are limitations and procedures for determining who can obtain a firearm, this amendment allows for one to have guns to protect oneself, sourced appropriately, of course. However, in a recent case Heller v. District of Columbia, a police officer who applied for a 1-year gun license for his home was denied, while he was denied a firearm in the first place, he sued over a different part of the capital's code, one that required firearms in the home to be incapacitated: ie, unloaded, set with a safety lock etc. Heller claimed that not allowing functional firearms in the home was against the second amendment, and the court agreed. It was decided that the second amendment describes 'militia' as able bodied people that could be drafted at any time, and not only those currently in the army like some others argued.

Amendment III

eli_ordonez52 — 2025-01-13 18:20:52 UTC

The third amendment makes it illegal for soldiers to live in another person's household without their permission. This was a result of the American revolution, in which British troops stationed in the US were living in citizens homes forcefully. Due to its cu-and-dry there haven't really been any expansions of this amendment since.

Amendment IV

eli_ordonez52 — 2025-01-13 18:21:52 UTC

This amendment guarantees that people wont have their person, home, or papers searched unreasonably without a warrant specifying what and who gets searched. The amendment also details whom may be given a search warrant.

Amendment V

eli_ordonez52 — 2025-01-13 18:24:59 UTC

This amendment describes a plethora of liberties given to citizens in court. It guarantees the right to be tried in front of a jury in criminal court (with a few exceptions), it also prevents double Jeopardy, self-incrimination, and the seizing of property by the government without just compensation. Perhaps one of the most consequential cases sprouted from this amendment: Barron v. Baltimore. Barron was a man whom owned a dock that was incapacitated due to a project of the Maryland government, he was never given compensation and as such sued the city of Baltimore. It was decided the that rights granted in the Bill of Rights only applied to the federal government and not the states. This created a butterfly effect and resulted in the Barron wall, which the US Federal government is still trying to penetrate the wall using selective incorporation.

Amendment VI

eli_ordonez52 — 2025-01-13 18:25:48 UTC

The sixth amendment is more of a fifth amendment pt.2, it states that citizens have the right to a fair and speedy trial, and that they are also to be given counsel in a court of law.

Amendment VII

eli_ordonez52 — 2025-01-14 18:24:37 UTC

Since by the fifth amendment, trial by jury is only required in criminal cases, civic cases were not required by law to have a jury present. With the seventh amendment, however, in cases where "the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars", the right to have a trial by jury is reinstated for civic cases.

Amendment VIII

eli_ordonez52 — 2025-01-14 18:28:23 UTC

This amendment simply and swiftly states that excessive bail, fines, or cruel and unusual punishment are not allowed for those convicted in a court of law. This has manifested more interestingly than many might expect: the question of what cruel and unusual punishment is was brought up in Atkins v. Virginia, in which Robert Atkins was sentenced to death for armed robbery, abduction, and capital murder. It was brought up in court that Atkins was mentally disabled and as such he shouldn't be sentenced to death. The Virginia courts disagreed twice, and it wasn't until the Supreme Court decided otherwise that Atkins was on death row. The Supreme Court ruled that for those considered mentally premature, execution was considered cruel and unusual punishment, but they left it to the states to decide what constituted as 'mentally premature'.

Amendment IX

eli_ordonez52 — 2025-01-14 18:33:50 UTC

According to the ninth amendment, the rights of the people will be protected from the government whether written in the constitution or not.

Amendment X

eli_ordonez52 — 2025-01-14 18:35:52 UTC

The tenth amendment allocates all rights not given to the federal government to the states, this was most likely to sooth anti-federalists, or because of their interference directly. States especially in the early years of the country always did try to exceed their boundaries, like in the 1816 case Martin v Hunter's Lessee, in which Virginia made a land grab on private property due to a law made during the American revolution. This law clashed with Federal law and as such the Supreme Court went into action. However, the state of Virginia claimed the law granting the Supreme Court appellate review over state court decisions was unconstitutional. The Supreme court disagreed on a near unanimous vote, but Virginia court certainly tried.