Criminal Law Module 2 Study Guide

First Amendment

Protects freedom of speech, press, religion, right to assemble.

Second Amendment

Right to bear arms.

Third Amendment

No housing of soldiers in people’s homes without consent or by-laws during wartime.

Fourth Amendment

Protection from illegal searches and seizures by law enforcement

Fifth Amendment

Prohibition of double jeopardy, right against self-incrimination, right to confront witnesses.

Sixth Amendment

A speedy trial, an impartial jury

Seventh Amendment

Right to trial in civil cases

Eighth Amendment

Prohibition about excess bail and cruel and unusual punishment.

Ninth Amendment

People retain rights not stated in the Constitution

Tenth Amendment

Powers not in the Constitution are reserved for the state or the people.

Prohibited Speech:

Obscenity, Profanity, Libel, Slander, Fighting words, Clear and Present danger

Obscenity

Material whose predominant appeal is to nudity, sexual activity or excretion

Profanity

Irreverence towards scared things

Libel

False statements made to damage reputation that are expressed in print, writing, pictures or signs.

Slander

False statement made to damage reputation that are spoken

Fighting Words

Words that are likely to provoke the average person to retaliation and cause a breach of peace.

Clear and Present Danger

Expression that creates clear and present danger of an evil. Yelling bomb in an airport

Privacy

Comes from several amendments to the Constitution and taken together shows that the founding fathers believed in this. Those are the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 9th and 14th Amendments. Not found in the Constitution

Challenge of the 2nd Amendment

The government can put reasonable restrictions on some guns and the purchase of guns overall. The most famous gun control law being the Brady Handgun Violence Act.

5th and 8th Amendments important because?

provide many protections for citizens accused of crimes.

Key Terms 5th and 8th Amendment

Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Right against self-incrimination, Right to confront witnesses, Right to reasonable bail, Miranda Rights, Cruel and Unusual punishment

Grand Jury

Special jury that determines whether criminal charges should be filed

Double Jeopardy

Cannot be charged with same crime twice

Right against self-incrimination

Do not have to testify against yourself

Right to confront witnesses

Witnesses must come and testify in front of you as to what they are accusing you of committing.

Right to reasonable bail

Reasonable money to be released from jail prior to trial

Miranda Rights

Rights that must give upon arrest or being place in custody

Cruel and Unusual punishment

Not allowed to use barbaric or inhumane punishment

The first Principle of Criminal Law is?

The Principle of Legality

The Principle of Legality

Provides that you can have no crimes without laws that state those crimes and further you cannot punish someone without the law.

Ex Post Facto Laws

Not allowed under the Constitution. New enacted laws cannot go back in time and try to punish conduct that was legal when it occurred.

Void of Vagueness Doctrine

Not mentioned in the constitution. The doctrine came from cases that interpreted the 5th and 14th Amendments.

Why do we have the Void of Vagueness Doctrine?

It is in part because of the principle of legality. Provides that laws must be clear enough to give fair warning to individuals. Also, laws must be clear enough so officials will not discriminate or arbitrarily apply the law.