However, post-Reconstruction, 'states rights' often became a code word for Jim Crow legislation. Southern states demanded the 'right' for the majority to engage in de facto segregation of schools and to institute limits upon how voting rights were e Continue Reading...
Thomas Jefferson's Influence On The Constitution Throughout more than two centuries of the grand experiment in democracy known as the American union, a time marked by the rise and fall of empires, the technological transition from plough horse to co Continue Reading...
Iroquois and Women One of the most influential Native American tribes is the Iroquois, whose way of life and constitution helped American women to realize that they, too, should be afforded the same rights and privileges as men within society. Women Continue Reading...
Execution of al-Awaki: The Obama Administration has increased the use of killer drones in lieu of putting the country's boots on the ground. In one of the most debatable issues, the Obama Administration killed, Anwar al-Awaki, a suspected al-Qaeda m Continue Reading...
Gun Control Legislation The availability of and access to firearms which is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution by the Second Amendment has created a multitude of consequences for modern Americans. The impacts of a loosely regulated gun market inclu Continue Reading...
The first route entails that the House and the Senate must each ratify the proposed Amendment by a two-thirds majority. Then the bill must be ratified by three-fourths of the states' legislatures within a reasonable time period. The second method wo Continue Reading...
Due Process and the Significance of Interpretation The concept of "Due Process" is a uniquely American one, the significance of which has changed as much as has the societal and political times of the American nation. Today, some critics argue that Continue Reading...
It was during the same period that hostilities with the communist leadership culminated into the bombing of Libya, loggerheads with the Soviet Union and a stiff arms race with the U.S.S.R. It is also significant to note that it was during the same Continue Reading...
Second Reconstructions One of the most dramatic consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction was that the South was effectively driven from national power for roughly six decades. Southerners no longer claimed the presidency, wielded much power Continue Reading...
Protecting Liberty Individual rights Bill of Rights defines the protections afforded individual citizens under the Constitution against excessive government intrusions into private lives and arbitrary prosecutions. These rights are contained in the Continue Reading...
Although here, there are not any federal statutes in place regarding truck hitches, the Supreme Court has consistently held that the language of the Commerce Clause contains a further, negative command prohibiting certain state regulation even when Continue Reading...
These amendments are strings of thoughts and beliefs made possible through enactment, and a new period in history is chronicled once again. Take as an example the First Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment directly concerns the Bill of Rig Continue Reading...
.....controversy of establishing a court system at the creation of the U.S. Constitution centered on the power struggle between states and the creation of a federal, central government with its own court and ability to overrule state court decisions. Continue Reading...
Constitutional Law The case of the 'Lawrence vs. Texas' of June 26, 2003, was in a nutshell about privacy rights and 'equal protection' under the law, and whether 'sodomy' can come under the protection of the U.S. Constitution. Who were the Petitio Continue Reading...
Nineteenth Century Reform The nineteenth century, particularly between 1825 and the outbreak of the civil war in 1861, the United States was in a state of reform. There were five key reform movements that made themselves present in America in the ni Continue Reading...
Gun Control Legislation The Gun Control Debate & Gun Control Legislation With reference to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the right to the lawful possession of firearms to private citizens as well as with reference to law & economi Continue Reading...
Bureaucratic Ethics If democracy and the concept of democratic governance is the foundation of bureaucratic ethics, do administrators and public officials relate to the U.S. Constitution in that sense? Are ethical behaviors by those in public offic Continue Reading...
Criminal Law Juvenile Homicide Cases: Florida v. Tate and Florida v. King In Florida v. Tate, the facts supported charging the defendant with murder as well as charging him with a variety of lesser-included offenses, including the different levels Continue Reading...
It is difficult to argue that the death penalty is being applied evenly and fairly as required by the Supreme Court's Furman v. Georgia decision. In fact, it could be argued, with statistics like these, that the application of the death penalty is b Continue Reading...
Business Ethics When the Truth Takes a Stretching Class Maria Bailey clearly and blatantly misrepresented the size of her start-up business, but shrugged it off saying she knew what she was "capable of doing" and just wanted to show potential clien Continue Reading...
Living Constitutionalism As the leader of the free world, the United States remains in the limelight as the rest of the world keeps a keen eye on how they conduct their affairs. As it appertains to constitutional interpretation, the U.S. has a sound Continue Reading...
Only the Eighth Amendment truly applies to the post-conviction treatment of a criminal defendant, by prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment. There is nothing about being confronted with victim impact statements that is either cruel or unusual. Whe Continue Reading...
Warrantless Use of GPS The Problem of Warrantless GPS Surveillance: Ethical Considerations Regarding Privacy and the Fourth Amendment The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unlawful search and seizure by granting them the right "to be secure i Continue Reading...
Like many other of the court's death penalty cases, Roper was a close 5-4 decision of the nine justices (p. 58)." It is interesting to note that this decision by the Supreme Court concerning the death penalty and individuals under the age of 18 wou Continue Reading...
Moreover, given the various other causes of accidental death, most notably automobiles, banning guns on that basis would be spurious, unless the state took other measures to reduce accidental deaths, such as the banning of automobiles. Some people Continue Reading...
They also had the power to decide the merits of evidence and arguments. In the 19th century, judges gained greater control over juries and the role of juries became what it is currently; hearing evidence presented on both sides and determining the g Continue Reading...
Further, these writs, once issued, could be reused, and did not expire until the death of the reigning monarch (Knappman, 33). In Massachusetts, a group of colonial merchants, represented by James Otis, petitioned the Superior Court to refuse any n Continue Reading...
These two laws constituted the real beginning of the end for Jim Crow laws and practices. EMPOWERING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT The civil rights movement may have gained impetus and cooperation among people with differing opinions and goals from wh Continue Reading...
Exclusionary Rule The Future of the Exclusionary Rule The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, otherwise known as the Bill of Rights, were designed to protect citizens against abusive state power. These protections include preventing the g Continue Reading...
Rethinking Roe v. Wade Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision made in 1973, legalized first-trimester abortion, and was a historic decision that changed the course of our country morally and spiritually. Many people still question whether the United Sta Continue Reading...
We cannot accept this proposition. If the two races are to meet on terms of social equality, it must be the result of natural affinities" (Pilgrim 2000). Justice Henry Brown ruled that the Separate Car Act did "not conflict with the Thirteenth Amen Continue Reading...
..In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as h Continue Reading...
S. citizens. In this program designed to help young ones value the freedoms they currently experience: according to Tyler Barnwell, stands for grievance, as in "to petition the government for a redress of grievances." which denotes religious freedom Continue Reading...
Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke Aristotle, Locke, Hobbes and the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence It has been said that authors such as Aristotle, Locke and Hobbes greatly influenced the "Founding Fathers" of the United States Constitutio Continue Reading...
Patriotic Act Arguments for and against the Patriot Act The unusual events surrounding the creation and passing of the Patriot Act make it a suspect bill in many eyes. However, major media reports like this one: "Fifty-nine percent in an ABC News/W Continue Reading...
Following In Re Marriage Cases, a group of protesters gathered enough signatures in order to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November, 2008. The amendment set out to limit marriage in California to opposite-sex couples. However, th Continue Reading...
" For most this is generally seen as a reference to the Federal Judiciary. One thinks of the Warren Court, and the great number of decisions concerning civil rights, voting rights, etc. It is often not realized, however, to what an extent state judge Continue Reading...
Re-Assessing the Effectiveness of the Country’s Gun Laws America’s Gun Laws Are they Effective Introduction Signed into law on the 22nd of Oct, 1968, the Gun Control Act of 1968 is largely considered to be the very first significant attem Continue Reading...
The very fact that the U.S.A. Patriot Act was renewed in 2010 (albeit with some modifications) shows alert citizens that public safety will most often trump personal privacy and in some cases, a person's civil rights. The Find Law organization allud Continue Reading...
Nelson -- the decision in which was binding on all lower courts -- was decided in favor of the state law in Minnesota banning same-sex marriages (UMT 2010). Conclusion The issue of the rights of gay, lesbian, and transgendered people are still in Continue Reading...
