Rankin-Politics 106 Exam 2: Study Set

Define the establishment clause and state the test used by Supreme Court during establishment clause cases

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion
-Lemon test

What are the five freedoms expressed in the first amendment?

Freedom of religion
Freedom of speech
Freedom of press
Right to peacefully assemble
Right to petition the government

Types of speech not protected under first amendment

Slander
Inciting violence
Obscenity

Be able to apply this amendment to real world situations to decide whether a law violates the first amendment or not

Examples: If Ranking made us say the same prayer at the beginning of class and if you didn't say that you would be given points

What should modern civilians not expect to use their weapons for?

Civilians shouldn't expect to use your own guns for militia duty

Describe the Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. Miller

Ruled that the 2nd amendment protects your right to own guns as individual

What were the framers afraid the government would use soldiers to do?

They were afraid the government would use their soldiers to oppress people

Why Professor Rankin said the third amendment is important

Because it alludes to domestic privacy

General idea of what the third amendment prohibits the government from doing?

Prohibits federal government from placing soldiers in your home during war/peacetime(anytime)

What is the search and seizure clause?

It limits the power the police have to be able to search your person, property, or home without your permission

How the government can legally search your property?

With probable cause through a warrant

Why are General Warrants and Writs of Assistance important?

They were the primary concern of the generation that ratified the fourth amendment

General understanding of Supreme Court case Olmstead v. The United States

This case involved wiretapping telephones to catch bootleggers during prohibition

Definition of Double Jeopardy, Eminent Domain, Grand Jury, Dual Threat Doctrine, and "taking the fifth"

The government is able to take your property and use it for public use if they compensate you
-Double Jeopardy- CAN 't be tried for the same crime more than once in the same state
-Dual threat- Defendant CAN be tried more than once for the same crime if its by state, and then federal
-Taking the fifth- is refusing to be a witness against yourself
-Grand Jury- Panel of 16 to 23 citizens that hears evidence and then decides if the charges being pressed should be pursued

List the 5 clauses of the 5th amendment

Double jeopardy, self incrimination, grand jury, due process, takings clause

Summarize the outcome of the Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona

The police have to warn you of your Miranda rights before they ask you any incriminating questions

What kind of trial the sixth amendment guarantees?

A speedy and public trial

What are the cluster of rights within the Sixth amendment designed to do?

They are designed to make criminal prosecutions more fair, accurate, and legitimate

What is a Plea Bargain?

When a defendant avoids a trial by pleading guilty to get a lower charge/sentence

What does the Eighth Amendment prohibit the federal government from doing?

Prohibits the federal government from imposing unduly harsh penalties on criminal defendants

The percentage of people sentenced to death via the death penalty and were later found to be innocent in the last 40 years

11%

Be able to apply the 8th amendments cruel and unusual punishments clause to real world situations to decide whether a punishment violates the 8th amendment or not

Examples: Speeding and you get life in prison
Get caught smoking weed and you get sentenced to being publicly stoned(Jenny said this question will be very easy)

List the six countries ahead of us that also made use of the death penalty in 2018

China
Iran
Saudi Arabia
Iraq
Taiwan
Egypt

The percentage of criminologists that say the death penalty is not a deterrent for criminals (this was a typo in the slides that Professor Rankin corrected in class)

88%

What was the author Sheehan specifically concerned about?

Cash bail, and specifically its insane costs

General understanding of what the 9th amendment is

It's vague and hard to interpret

Tenth amendment word for word

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Has the Tenth Amendment has been invoked by the court the protect peoples rights?

No

General understanding of Supreme Court Case Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority

Cites that cities are required to comply with federal labor laws

What did United States v. Darby said about the 10th amendment

Ruled that Supreme Court rules that the 10th amendment is but a "truism"

General understanding of what the 11th amendment does and what it says

The 11th amendment prohibits people from suing a state in federal court if they're not a citizen of that state

Definition of Sovereign Immunity

The government cannot be sued without its consent

How many votes electors originally got for president?

2

Who decides an election in the case of a tie? And when was the last time this happened?

The House
1824

What was the problem with the original electoral college voting system before the 12th amendment?

The votes didn't differentiate between who they wanted as president and who they wanted as vice president

How was the President and Vice President picked before the 12th amendment?

Person with the most votes would become the president and the person who got the second most amount of votes would be vice president

General understanding of the election of 1800 (how many rounds of votes it took to pick the president)

36 rounds of voting to break the tie for president

Which amendment did Professor Rankin say the Supreme Court used to refer to as a "dead letter?"

The 2nd amendment

General understanding of the story of Eddie Joe Lloyd

He was wrongly accused of rape and first degree murder

What was missing from the original U.S. Constitution?

Bill of Rights

Know which amendment's wording was especially vague and hard to interpret

The 9th amendment

What the first ten amendments are collectively called?

The Bill of Rights

Who did professor Rankin say the father of the constitution was?

James Madison

Amendment #1

Freedom of religion, press, speech, assembly, petition

Establishment Clause: Prohibits the government from establishing a religion
Free Exercise Clause: right to practice their religion as they please

Amendment #2

Right to bear arms

Anti-Federalists argued that the proposed Constitution would take from the states their principal means of defense against federal usurpation

The Federalists responded that fears of federal oppression were overblown, in part because the American people were armed and would be almost impossible to subdue through military force

Amendment #3

You can’t be forced to house soldiers in your home during peacetime. Same with during wartime, but congress could pass a law stating otherwise.

Amendment #4

People can’t have their bodies, homes, papers, and belongings searched and seized without a reason to suspect they may have committed a crime

What amendment has the strongest connection to privacy?

The 4th amendment

If probable cause...

no warrant is needed

Amendment #5

Double jeopardy, self incrimination, grand jury, due process, takings clause

Capital crime vs. Serious crime vs. Civil Crime

Capital Crime: Death penalty is possible
Serious Crime: A formal non-written accusation
Civil Crime: Losing money

If Miranda Rights are not read, what happens?

Any gathered information is no longer valid

Procedural Due Process

the process for being arrested should be the same across the board

Takings Clause

Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation

The government taking private land from citizens

Prohibits the government from taking public property unless it's used for public purposes

Ex. Marriott

Amendment #6

You get a fair and "quick" legal process for criminal cases
-Vague

Compulsory Process Clause

the Court has confirmed, lets defendants subpoena witnesses to force them to testify at trial.

This Clause (combined with other constitutional provisions) also now impliedly guarantees defendants the right to testify in their own defense if they wish.

Confrontation Clause

requires prosecution witnesses to testify under oath and subject to cross-examination; except for small children who would be traumatized by the process, they must also testify in court and in the presence of the defendant

Impartial Jury

The Court has held that this right applies whenever the accused faces more than six months’ imprisonment, and it applies to any fact (other than a prior conviction) that would affect the permissible sentencing range.

A jury must come from a pool representing a fair cross-section of the local community.

The Jury Trial Clause, combined with the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, also forbids...

conviction unless the prosecution proves every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt

Amendment #7

You are entitled to a trial by jury in civils cases too for disputes over $20. Your civil cases can't be re-tried in the same, or in any other federal court

Jury decides less than 1% of civil cases

This only occurs in federal courts

Preservation Clause

In suits at common law where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved.”

This clause sets out the types of cases juries are required to decide.

Re-examination Clause

“no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.”

Amendment #8