Amendments + Other random things

fourth amendment

• no unreasonable searches or seizures

• prohibits evidence from unreasonable searches and seizures from being used in court (exclusionary rule)

• this deters law enforcement from doing this

fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine

• extension of the exclusionary rule

• evidence that is found illegally and leads them to find more evidence is also to not be used in court

• the tree (source) is tainted, anything that grows from that (the fruit) is also tainted

US v Katz

• a case where the supreme court ruled that the warrantless electronic surveillance of a public phone booth violated the 4th amendment

• shifted the focus to whether a person’s privacy was violated

per se rule

• legal principle in both antitrust and tort law

• a certain action is automatically considered illegal or negligent without further inquiry

• antitrust: agreements like price-fixing are deemed illegal from the start

• tort law: “negligence per se” where violating a specific statute is automatically considered a breach of the duty of care

• basically means that some things are SO obviously illegal that we don’t even bother arguing about them

• US v katz: some types of police searches are always searches. they always are.

infernal comma

• in english terms it is the final comma in a series of three or more items, placed immediately before the “and”

• this can dramatically change the meaning and intent of a legal text, leading to significant financial and legal consequences

search hypos

• hypotheticals

• fictional legal scenarios used in law schools to test a student’s ability to apply legal rules to new facts

battle of the experts

• the conflicting testimony of expert witnessing for opposing sides of the trial

• common in fields like medical malpractice, construction, divorce, etc.

• complex issues

• the court must often act as a gatekeeper, using legal standards to determine if the expert’s testimony is reliable

5th amendment

• protects individuals from government overreach such as self-incrimination (right to remain silent), double jeopardy, etc.

• due process: the government must follow fair legal procedures before taking a persons life, liberty, or property

cruel trilemma

a defendant would have 3 choices: confess, lie, stay silent — without the 5th amendment

miranda rights

• expands the 5th amendment rights outside the court

• for miranda rights to occur: the person must be custody and interrogated

• they can not be coereced.

6th amendment

• quick and public trial

• 1974: time period thought of 100 days

• trial can be dropped if it goes on too long

• impartial jury

• right to be confronted by witnesses — no secret ones though

• right to an attorney with any case that could end up in prison

8th amendment

• cruel and unusual punishment

• moratorian means that death penalty is allowed but no execution

• serious racial disparities: members of minorities are more likely to receive the death penalty