I think that executing a minor violates the 8th amendment, “No cruel or unusual punishment.” If a little kid makes a mistake and accidentally shoots a gun or does something that kills someone, and they are executed I think that that falls under cruel and unusual punishment. A court case that made it to the Supreme Court was the case of Kevin Nigel Stanford, who was convicted in 1981 of a murder committed in Kentucky when he was 17 years and 4 months old. Stanford and an accomplice repeatedly raped
The 8th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, as well as the setting of excessive bail or the imposition of excessive fines. However, it has also been deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States (according to the Eighth Amendment)to inflict physical damage on students in a school environment for the purpose of discipline in most circumstances. The 8th Amendment stipulates that bail shall not be excessive
Abortion and the Privacy Amendment A U.S. citizen's "right to privacy" was first discussed in an 1890 Harvard Law Review article in which two Boston lawyers, Louis Brandeis and Samuel Warren, defined it as "the right to be let alone." Since then, the right to privacy has provided the basis for a stream of revolutionary and controversial constitutional interpretations by courts across the United States, culminating in the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. Although decisions have
4th Amendment In the late 1700's the 4th Amendment was written because of strong objections to the Writs of Assistance or general warrants. The Writs Assistance gave officials the right to enter any home and seize belongings without a reasonable cause. (Grolier Encyclopedia) The 4th amendment was ratified in the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1771. This amendment protects the people's right to privacy and security. (Encarta Online) The Fourth Amendment states, 'The right of the people to be
The Second Amendment “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” This timeless phrase, the Second Amendment of the United States’ Constitution, is an enduring example of the principles and ideals that our country was founded on. With this statement, the founders of this country explicitly and perpetually guaranteed the American individual the right to keep and bear arms. An incomparably crucial
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution states that people have the right “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” but the issue at hand here is whether this also applies to the searches of open fields and of objects in plain view and whether the fourth amendment provides protection over these as well. In order to reaffirm the courts’ decision on this matter I will be relating their decisions in the cases of Oliver v. United States
and Hixson 419). Presently, half of our nation is not protected under the Constitution (Eisler and Hixson 419). The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was proposed in 1923 when Alice Paul concluded that women, although they had the right to vote, were not specifically protected from sexual discrimination by the Constitution. Seventy-five years have passed since the amendment was first introduced, and women still have not secured equal rights under law. By examining the history of the ERA and the opposition
First Amendment? Can an individual be prosecuted for openly burning the American flag in a political protest? Gregory Johnson did this in a political protest outside Dallas City Hall. He was then tried and convicted of desecrating a venerated object under a Texas law (Penal Code 42.09), which states that "a person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly desecrates a state or national flag" (317). The question of whether this Texas law is in violation of the First Amendment, which
Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act (Amendment) of 1918 On April 2nd 1917, President Woodrow Wilson of the United States of America, ??went before Congress and called for a declaration of war. Both the House and the Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of going to war with Germany.?# This was an act that led to much resistance among the American people. Not four months earlier the American people re-elected President Wilson, partly because of his success in keeping the United States out of
the Second Amendment Over the centuries, the Supreme Court has always ruled that the 2nd Amendment protects the states' militia's rights to bear arms, and that this protection does not extend to individuals. In fact, legal scholars consider the issue "settled law." For this reason, the gun lobby does not fight for its perceived constitutional right to keep and bear arms before the Supreme Court, but in Congress. Interestingly, even interpreting an individual right in the 2nd Amendment presents
1st and 13th Amendments. The 1st Amendment is freedom of expression, which is having the right to speak aloud. The 13th Amendment is abolition of slavery, without it we would still have slavery. Both of these have to do with equality and freedom. It is possible for individuals in society to achieve equality because some of the Amendments are able to give us equality such as the IV Amendment, which
There are 33 amendments that have been offered up by Congress of those six flopped ratification by the mandatory three quarters of the state senates and four are officially still awaiting decision before state politicians. Beginning with the eighteenth amendment every amendment that was presented except for the nineteenth amendment and the still unresolved child labor amendment of 1924 has a definite time limit for ratification. There lies a mystery in the very first Thirteenth Amendment, the Titles
The First Amendment and its Impact on Media Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. The first amendment to the United State's constitution is one of the most important writings in our short history. The first amendment has defined and shaped our country into what
Your First Amendment rights are extremely close to being violated by none other than the United States Congress. I refer to the Flag Desecration Bill that, if passed, would do irreparable damage to our right to free speech and undermine the very priniciples for which the American flag stands. Fortunately, West Virginians have an ally in Sen. Robert C. Byrd. Sen. Byrd, who previously favored the bill, now fights to protect our rights by stopping the passage of this bill. I applaud his stand and want
Modern Interpretation of The First Amendment The first Amendment of the United States Constitution says; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”[1] Our fore fathers felt that this statement was plain enough for all to understand, however quite often the United States
that has impacted our society in a major way and had its challenges is the Equal Rights Amendment. So the article I chose is titled The Equal Rights Amendment Passes Congress, but Fails to Be Ratified. In 1923, the equal rights amendment was introduced into the United States. This happened after women were granted the right to vote by the Nineteenth Amendment. However, the challenge of the equal rights amendment had gained very little support, to which labor unions were not in support of it for the
The Benefits of the Second Amendment In a tragic event such as a mass shooting, a large population of Americans are quick to draw the conclusion that the right to own a gun is harmful to society; however, the second amendment is what allows the American people to protect themselves from such shooting instances. The privilege to own a concealed firearm is beneficial to the American population when well-regulated for reasons such as self-defense and expressing freedoms which U.S citizens are privileged
The Equal Rights Amendment "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." In 1923, this statement was admitted to Congress under the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution granting equality between men and women under the law. If the Era was passed, it would have made unconstitutional any laws that grant one sex different rights than the other. However
Supreme Court Essay The Fourteenth Amendment has, overall, been a great incorporation into the Constitution through its equal protection clause, due process clause, and other specific feature such as the ability to be show the presence of the separate but equal mindset invested amongst individuals in the Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the implementation of said mindset in the decision of the Brown v. The Board of Education Supreme Court case, the usage of the due process clause in the 2000 presidential
Is the second amendment outdated; or misinterpreted for recreational use? The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right citizens have to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment was added to the Bill of rights in 1791. It was one of 10 original amendments in the Constitution. The Second Amendment reads; “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The English Bill