Constitutional Law Final Review

Minnick v. Mississippi (1990)

- Minnick arrested for murder and requested an attorney

- Still interrogated and he confessed

- Supreme Court held: once a suspect invoked his right to remain silent or requests counsel, all questioning must cease

When is evidence inadmissible?

- If it derives from an illegal confession and only if they statements were involuntary or coerced beyond a violation of Miranda

New York v. Quarles (1984)

- Rape suspected apprehended and saw he had an empty holster

- Officers questioned him about location of the gun and he answered

- Supreme Court held: issues involving public safety are exception to Miranda

What type of evidence does Miranda NOT apply to?

- DNA, blood, fingerprints, hair, voice recordings, images, and likenesses

What are two types of immunity for prosecution?

1.) Transactional Immunity

2.) Use Immunity

Transactional Immunity

- Complete immunity

- Immune to the entire case or crime

Use Immunity

- Testimonial immunity

- Gov't can't use the testimony

- Can still be prosecuted

What is the due process clause?

- The gov't must not act arbitrarily or unreasonably, not be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law

Two Types of Due Process:

1.) Procedural Due Process

2.) Substantive Due Process

What is Procedural Due Process?

- Must be fair

- Establish the game rules/procedures the gov't must follow

What is Substantive Due Process?

- Actual rules and procedures themselves must be fair

Bolling v. Sharpe (1954)

- Black students challenged federal D.C. law that mandated segregation in school

- Supreme Court held: 5th amendment does not include an equal protection clause, so it had to rely on the Due Process Clause

Brown v. Board

- State actions are subject to the 5th amendment due to the 14th amendment

U.S. v. Windsor (2013)

- Congress enacted "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA)

- DOMA denied equal rights to same sex marriage

- Windsor applied for estate tax exception for spouse and denied due to the federal law

- Supreme Court held: struck down as it violated and deprived liberty without due process under the 5th amendment

Rochin v. California (1952)

- Due process protest from outrageous gov't conduct

Do adults rights apply to juveniles?

- In Re Gault (1967)

- 15 yo charged with making obscene calls but wasn't given a lawyer, advised of his rights, or allowed to confront witnesses

- Supreme Court held: juveniles have similar rights under 5th amendment

Gross v. Lopez (1971)

- Students suspended without a hearing for an alleged misconduct

- Supreme Court held: public school students have a constitutionally protected property and liberty

- Requiring due process before suspension

What is the historical background of the 6th Amendment?

- Colonists were arrested and transports back to England for trial

- Colonists wanted to ensure citizens had protection against the powerful gov't

What are the 8 rights a person is granted to in the 6th amendment?

1.) Right to speedy trial

2.) Right to public trial

3.) Right to impartial jury

4.) Right to trial where act was committed

5.) Right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusations (due process)

6.) Right to confront witnesses

7.) Right to subpoena witnesses

8.) Right to counsel

What is a speedy trial?

- In all criminal prosecutions, the accuses shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial

- Accused is presumed innocent

- Suspect can waive this right

Klopfer v. North Carolina (1967)

- Duke Professor arrested for trespassing

- First trial reached a mistrial

- Prosecution put case on hold indefinitely

- Supreme Court held: 6th amendment right to a speedy trial applied to the states (14th)

- Prosecutors CAN'T indefinitely pause a criminal case

How do you determine what constitutes as speedy?

- Barker v. Wingo (1972)

- Barker Test:

1.) Length of delay

2.) Prosecutions reason for the delay

3.) Defendants object/claim speedy trial right

4.) Harm of suspect

What is the Speedy Trial Act of 1974 (Federal)?

- Right to trial no more than 100 days after arrest

- Doggett v. United States (1992)

Right to Public Trial

- In Re Oliver (1948)

- Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966)

In re Oliver (1948)

- Oliver arrested for gambling and testified for grand jury

- Oliver forced to testify in front of judge ONLY

- Supreme Court held: 6th amendment right to PUBLIC trial that applied to the States

What is the Right of the Press?

- Gannett Co. v. DePascuale (1979)

- 6th amendment does not give rights to public or press to attend all pre-trial hearings

- Must balance interests to ensure fair trials

Richmond Newspapers Inc. v. Virginia (1980)

- Press wanted access to the murder trial of a hotel manager

- Supreme Court held: 1st amendment gives press right to appear in public trials

What is the Right to Impartial and Local Jury?

- Right to impartial jury where the crime was committed

- Right to jury trial in criminal cases is lost in BOTH Bill of Rights and Article III of Constitution

Duncan v. Louisiana (1968)

- Black teen arrested for slapping white teen

- Charged with misdemeanor (max = 2 years) and requested an impartial jury trial but was denied

- Supreme Court held: 6th amendment right to impartial jury applied to the states through the 14th

- Considered max penalty enough to be considered "serious" (2 year

How many jurors are granted for a jury trial to occur?

- Williams v. Florida (1970)

- 12-member juries are not mandated by the Constitution

- 6-person jury would accomplish this goal and protect suspects rights

- Legal in non-capital cases only

When are unanimous verdicts necessary?

- Ramos v. Louisiana (2002)

- Overruled Apodacas

- All state criminal prosecutions need unanimous verdicts in "serious" crimes (14th amend - Due Process)

Why is an impartial jury important?

- Evidence to convict should come from the witness stand ONLY

- Opportunity to cross-examine witnesses

How is an impartial jury selected?

- Voir Dire = questioning jury pool

- Attorneys can challenge for cause (unlimited)

- Attorneys can use preemptory challenges (silver bullets-limited)

Batson v. Kentucky (1986)

- DA excluded 4 Black jurors making the jury all-white which then convicted a Black defendant

- Supreme Court held: Can't discriminate using race, ethnicity, gender, and sex

Powers v. Ohio (1991)

- DA excluded all Black jurors even though defendant was white

- Supreme Court held: Can't discriminate based on gender/identity regardless of whether defendant is of the same protected class

What is the 6th Amendment Right to Notice?

- Must be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation

What is the 6th Amendment Right to Confront?

- Right to be confronted with witnesses against him

- Confrontational Clause

When can the Confrontational Clause be admissible?

- Maryland v. Craig (1990)

- Court determined client (minor) suffered trauma and could not face defendant

- Face to face cross-examination can be limited when balancing other interests

What is the 6th Amendment Right to a Compulsory Process?

- Right to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor

- Subpoenaing witnesses

Washington v. Texas (1967)

- Mr. Washington called upon his codefendant to be witness at his trial

- Texas law prohibited (believed codefendant would lie for him)

- Supreme court held: law violated 6th amendment

- Applied to states through due process clause of the 14th amendment

United States v. Nixon (1974)

- Court ordered Nixon to hand over recordings regarding Watergate Scandal

- Nixon argued executive privilege and separation of powers

- Supreme Court held: Executive privilege did not matter and the President was not above the 6th amendment

What is the 6th Amendment Right to Counsel?

- Right to have the assistance of counsel for his defense

Johnson v. Zerbst (1938)

- Convicted of counterfeit $ (federal crime) but was not provided an attorney

- Supreme Court held: conviction reversed bc federal cases MUST provide attorney

Powell v. Alabama (1932)

- 9 black teens convicted of rape of 2 white women and were sentenced to death with limited contact with attorney

- Supreme Court held: reversed and defendants are entitled to appointed attorneys in CAPITAL CASES ONLY

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

- Gideon convicted of burglary without lawyer (not a capital case)

- Supreme Court held: Reversed and defendant has right to counsel in ALL FELONY CASES

Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972)

- Defendant charged for misdemeanor without lawyer

- Supreme Court held: Revered bc IF JAIL TIME IS A POSSIBILITY, you can get an attorney if you can't afford one

What are the 3 elements of the 8th Amendment

1.) Guarantee against Excessive Bail

2.) Guarantee aginst Excessive Fines

3.) Prohibits Cruel and unusual Punishment

What is guarantee against excessive bail?

- Bail allows the accused to be released from custody and "guarantees" they will return as the post $$$ or bond

When can bail be denied?

- Capital cases

- Certain violent crimes

- Threatening witnesses

- Flight risk

What is excessive bail?

- Based on the presumption of innocence

- Bail based = ensure return to court

What is pre-trial detention?

- U.S. v. Salerno (1987)

- Allowed "preventive detention" to stop future criminal conduct

How does California define bail?

- In re Humphrey (2021)

- Need to consider ability to pay and les restrictive means to accomplish gov't objective

What are excessive fines?

- Not incorporated to the States by the 14th Amend.

- Must need nexus between crime and property

Troy v. Dulles (1958)

- Soldier went AWOL in Morocco and was arrested

- Punishment to take away his citizenship

- Supreme Court held: cruel and unusual

Solem v. Helm

- Punishment needs to be proportionate to the crime = proportionality test

Furman v. Georgie (1972)

- Furman (a black man) killed a white man and sentenced to death penalty

- Supreme Court held: death penalty as administered was unconstitutional as cruel and unusual punishment

- Resulted in arbitrary and capricious death sentences

Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

- Gregg convicted of robbery/murder and sentenced to death penalty

- Laws must outline mitigating and aggravating factors

- Supreme Court held: death penalty is not cruel and unusual punishment per se and long as guidelines are established

Coker v. Georgia (1977)

- Supreme Court held: death penalty is cruel and unusual when applied to rapists

Can a person receive the death penalty if they were the non-killer in a murder case?

- No, if they have the minimal involvement

- Yes, if the suspect(s) was a major participant and had reckless indifference to human life

- Tison v. Arizona (1987)

What groups of people are exempt from cruel and unusual punishment?

- Mentally disabled defendants

- Juvenile defendants

- Mentally insane

How many people are currently on death row and how many have been exonerated (in 2023)?

- 2,262 on death row

- 197 were exonerated

What are the 5 basic components of the 14th Amendment?

1.) Person born in U.S. are citizens

2.) Citizens of states born into those states are citizens

3.) Privileges or immunities clause

4.) Due Process of Law

5.) Equal protection of the Law

What are procedural and substantive of the due process clause?

- Procedural Due Process: law administered must be fair

- Substantive Due Process: actual law must be fair to all

Palko v. Connecticut (1937)

- Only fundamental rights to "ordered implicitly in the concept of ordered liberty"

Meyer v. Nebraska

- Teaching of other languages was banned during WWII

- Meyer taught German to his students and was fined

- Supreme Court held: 14th amend due process clause protects foreign language speakers

Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)

- Two gay men arrested and convicted for sodomy

- Supreme Court held: at the time the law was valid, as there is no fundamental right to engage in these homosexual acts

Lawrence v. Texas

- Garners ex-bf called cops for gun possession but Garner was arrested for sodomy instead

- Supreme Court held: law was invalid and violated liberty interest of the 14th amend

- Right to privacy protected by the Constitution

Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)

- Supreme Court held: right to an abortion is a fundamental right but can regulate process of abortion

Dobbs v. Jackson (2022)

- Mississippi banned abortion after 15 weeks and Jackson health clinic sued the state

- Supreme Court held: no fundamental right to an abortion (not rooted in our history)

Equal Protection Clause

- Meant to prohibit discrimination by using strict scrutiny test

- Protection based on: gender, sex, race, orientation, age, allegiance, & poverty

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

- Upheld that segregation was constitutional

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

- Segregation in public schools in unconstitutional

- Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson