Lecture 003: The U.S. Constitution - Bill of Rights and Other Amendments

Federalists vs Anti-Federalists on the Bill of Rights

  • Federalists: Hamilton, Jay, Madison
  • Antifederalists: Henry, Mason, Monroe
  • Debate focus: Should the Bill of Rights be included in the U.S. Constitution?
    • Federalists: Individual rights should not be included in the main text of the Constitution
    • Antifederalists: Individual rights should be included to protect the people

First Amendment: Freedom of Speech, Religion, and Association

  • Clear and Present Danger Test (historic standard): restriction on speech when there is a clear and present danger
    • Example discussed: Shouting fire in a crowded theater
    • Critique: Could be too broad and suppress dissenting speech
  • Imminent Lawless Action Test (current standard): restriction on speech that is intended to and immediately likely to cause lawless action
    • Core idea: speech must cause imminent and likely harm to be restricted
    • Practical implication: narrows allowable restrictions compared to the past standard
  • Exceptions to First Amendment protections (briefly noted)

Second Amendment: Right to Bear Arms

  • Past perspective: protection from the government; relates to a militia
  • Present perspective: protection from others; supports self-defense
  • Conclusion noted: Individuals have the right to keep and bear arms
  • Exceptions and regulatory debate (brief)

Third Amendment: Quartering of Soldiers

  • Prohibition: No quartering of soldiers during peacetime without consent
  • Rationale highlighted: Public safety vs. implied right to privacy

Fourth Amendment: Searches and Seizures

  • Principle: No unreasonable searches and seizures by law enforcement without a warrant
  • Warrant requirements:
    • A warrant will be issued if a judge finds probable cause exists
    • Probable cause: reasonable belief that a crime has been committed, is being committed, and will be committed

Fifth Amendment: Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination, Due Process & Private Property

  • Double jeopardy protection
  • Self-incrimination: The phrase I plead the fifth
  • Burden of proof and rights of the accused (note: burden discussed in context of rights)
  • Miranda rights: Must be given once a person is put under arrest
  • Private property: Public use and just compensation required
  • FMV: Fair Market Value — the price the home would be sold for if it were currently being sold in the market

Sixth Amendment: Criminal Court Procedures

  • Right to a speedy and public trial
  • Right to an impartial jury
  • Concept of jury duty vs civic duty
  • Right to confront the witness (confrontation clause)

Seventh Amendment: Trial by Jury

  • Rooted in common law tradition
  • Case must exceed 2020 to warrant a trial by jury

Eighth Amendment: Cruel and Unusual Punishments and Bails/Fines

  • Bails and fines must fit the crime
  • Prohibition or limitation on cruel and unusual punishments
  • Debates around the death penalty are implied (question posed in notes)

Ninth Amendment: Rights of the People

  • If a right is not prohibited, denied, or given to another, it is reserved to the people
  • Example: right to privacy (implicit rather than enumerated)

Tenth Amendment: Rights of the States

  • If a right is not prohibited, denied, or given to another, it is reserved to the states
  • Examples: education, gun control (state-level powers and responsibilities)

Twelfth Amendment: Electoral College

  • The President and Vice President are elected via the Electoral College

Thirteenth Amendment: Abolition of Slavery

  • Slavery is abolished
  • Enforcement mechanism: federal or state role? (notes indicate a question about where enforcement rests)

Fourteenth Amendment: Due Process and Equal Protection

  • Citizens must be treated equally under the law across states
  • No denial of life, liberty, or property without due process
  • Equal protection under the law

Fifteenth Amendment: Right to Vote

  • The right to vote shall not be denied based on race
  • Historical barriers mentioned: grandfather clause, poll tax, literacy tests, etc.
  • Distinction: Potential vs. Actual (in terms of practical enfranchisement)

Sixteenth Amendment: Power to Tax

  • Congress can tax its citizens
  • Rationale: funding for national programs (example given: Affordable Care Act)

Seventeenth Amendment: Election of Senators

  • Two senators per state
  • Each senator serves a 66-year term
  • No term limits are specified in this amendment

Eighteenth Amendment: Prohibition

  • Prohibition of alcoholic beverages
  • Repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment

Nineteenth Amendment: Women's Right to Vote

  • Right to vote cannot be denied based on sex
  • Barriers noted historically: misconceptions, traditional gender roles, education, emotional expectations, head of the household duties
  • Distinction: Potential vs. Actual

Twenty-Second Amendment: Term Limits for the President

  • President is limited to 22 terms in office
  • Each term is 44 years: two four-year terms total
  • Rationale given: concerns about a monarchical/tyrannical presidency after FDR

Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Presidential Succession

  • Order of succession: President -> Vice President -> Speaker of the House (SOH) -> President Pro Tempore of the Senate (PPT)
  • If the President is temporarily unable to serve:
    • The President may step down temporarily by writing a letter to the SOH and PPT
    • Once the situation is resolved, another document resumes the term

Twenty-Sixth Amendment: Voting Age

  • Sets the voting age at 1818 years
  • Rationale implied: responsiveness to changing societal expectations