Writ of Habeas Corpus: Judicial mandate to prison official ordering that an inmate be brought to court.
Bills of Attainder & Ex Post Facto Laws
Bills of Attainder: Act of legislature declaring a person or group guilty of some crime & punishing them without a trial. (Constitution forbids both federal & state governments to enact—Art. I, Sect. 9 & 10) *Reinforced separation of powers
Ex post facto: (retrospective law) law that changes the legal consequences of acts committed or the legal status of the facts & relationships that existed prior to enactment. *Amnesty Law- may decriminalize acts or alleviate possible punishments.
Art. I, Section 9; Clause 3:
"No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed."
Equal Protection and Due Process
Due Process: the procedural safeguards that protect the rights of the accused
4th Amendment: protects people against improper searches & seizures & arrest w/o probable cause.
5th Amendment: gives people the right to remain silent, the right to a grand jury, and the right not to incriminate themselves during arrest or a trial. Prevents an individual from being tried twice for the same crime. (Double Jepardy?)
6th Amendment: provides the right to counsel, the right to question witnesses, the right to a quick & impartial trial, & the right to know what the charges are.
8th Amendment: prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, & cruel & unusual punishment.
Selective Incorporation: portions of the Bill of Rights applied to the states by the 14th Amendment (Due Process Clause.)
Selective Incorporation: Justice Felix Frankfurter felt incorporation process ought to br incremental , federal courts should only apply sections of Bill of Rights whose abridgment would "shock the conscience."
Necessary & Proper Clause: (Elastic Clause / Basket Clause) provision in Art. I, Section 8, Clause 18, addresses implied powers of Congress.
"Congress shall have power… To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof."
Ex. McCulloch v. Maryland
Supreme Court Cases:
Amendment I, Speech
- Schenck V. US (1919): Established Clear and Present Danger Test
. (Ex. shouting fire in a crowded theatre)
- Gitlow V. NY (1925): Freedom of Speech & Press (14th Amendment prohibits states from infringing free speech, defendant convicted for advocating the violent overthrow of the government, through the dissemination of Communist pamphlets.)
- Roth V. US (1957): "Obscenity is not protected free speech or press."
- Miller v. California: local communities may be permitted to set own restrictive standards in curbing hard core pornography.
- NY V. Ferber (1982): "Child pornography is not protected free speech."
- Pope V. Illinois (1987): Social value may be judged by a Reasonable Person.
- Reno V. ACLU (1997): Communication Decency Act of 1996 declared Unconstitutional.
Amendment I, Press
- Near V, Minnesota (1931): press normally immune from prior restraint, not in exceptional cases related to National Security.
- NY Times V. US (1964): uphold the rights of NY Times & other newspapers to publish Pentagon Papers. (press & public lied to about military in Vietnam. Supreme Court- not violating National Security)
- FCC V. Pacifica Foundation (1978): government right to prohibit broadcasting of pattontly offensive language. (George Carlin- FCC's 7 Dirty Words)
- Hudnut V. American Booksellers Association Inc (1978): (strikes down Indianapolis law seeking to ban pornography on grounds that it discriminates against woman. (1st Amendment- Pornography is protected free speech / 14th Amendment- Discrimination-Equal Protection.)
- Hazelwood School District V. Kuhlmeir (1987): ??
Amendment I, Religion
West VA Board of Education V. Barnette (1947): uphold rights of Jehovah witness children to refuse to salute American Flag.
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