The Third Amendment to the US Constitution

“Every word of the Constitution decides a question between power and liberty,” James Madison  The Constitution’s Third Amendment has never been the controlling law in any case decided by the US Supreme Court, and has been of critical importance in only one appellate case[1] in the nation’s history.  It is often ignored and in some […]

The Second Amendment: A Personal Natural Right to Keep and Bear Arms

“There seems to us no doubt, on the basis of both text and history, that the Second Amendment conferred an individual right to keep and bear arms.”  District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) With those words, Justice Scalia put to rest a debate as to the meaning of the Second Amendment that had persisted for […]

Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman and the Founders’ Faith in Grand Juries

“I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution…”  Thomas Jefferson The death of Trayvon Martin during an altercation with George Zimmerman prompted calls for a national discussion about race relations that went all the way to […]

Boston Marathon Bomber, Miranda Warnings and the Public Safety Exception

Law enforcement’s goal of taking Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect #2, [1] Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, alive was commendably achieved.  A principle reason for this goal was to question Tsarnaev about further potential dangers to the public.  The FBI has announced its intent to question him “extensively” prior to reading him Miranda warnings, relying upon the “public safety” exception […]

American Federalism: Source, Purpose and Establishment Part II

Beginning with The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut in 1639,[1] Americans grew increasingly accustomed to local self-government.  They also learned the freedom and liberty that came along with a benign distant central government accepting local citizens’ control of  local law.  Over time, Americans came to live in a world perhaps described as “quasi-federalism”.[2] Among the men who […]

US Supreme Court Considers Challenge to Voting Rights Act

In 1965 Congress enacted and Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act (VRA).  The VRA was intended to deal specifically with roadblocks in place in certain states to voter registration by Black Americans.  Certain provisions of the Act were originally set to expire in five years, but were renewed in 1970, 1975, 1982, and most […]

First Amendment to the Constitution: Freedom of the Press

Like Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech, in the United States the concept of Freedom of the Press as it developed has been uniquely American.  Along with free speech for the general population, it is surely the source of what has become known as American Exceptionalism. American Exceptionalism Alexis de Tocqueville originally referred to […]

The First Amendment to the Constitution: Freedom of Speech

The US Constitution’s first ten amendments are called The Bill of Rights. The First Amendment limits the authority of government to enact laws impinging upon the natural rights of the people to practice religion, engage in speech, publish their ideas and assemble together to petition their government. Freedom of religion is the first named freedom. The second named […]

The Origin and Meaning of the Miranda Warnings

The Miranda warnings are part of American criminal justice and American popular culture.  Where do they come from? What do they mean? Ernesto Miranda was the name of a 23 year old Mexican immigrant.  The United States Supreme Court in 1966 announced a constitutional rule of criminal procedure requiring that police must advise a suspect of several […]

Gideon v. Wainwright, 50 Years Later, Did Clarence Gideon Write His Appeal? Part 1

Thanks to television crime dramas and police shows, everyone is familiar with the following: “You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.” The story of those familiar words started with a Bay Harbor, FL poolroom break-in in 1961. The break-in resulted in the arrest, […]