Unit III

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Unit III: U.S. Constitution Columbia Southern University CMJ 6301: Constitutional Law for Criminal Justice Dr. Mark Logan August 22, 2023 Unit III: U.S. Constitution

Born out of the need for freedom, the United States of America has always stood as a beacon of hope for those looking to find refuge from governmental overreaches in other parts of the world. The Constitution of the United States of America was established to protect ‘We the People’ from governmental overreach in the newly founded country. In the 246-year history of the United States, the Constitution has been the standard for how the federal government should operate while protecting states’ rights and the rights of the citizens that make up this great country. While the document has been debated many times over the country’s history, one thing that has not been debated is that the founding fathers wanted to make sure that citizens’ rights were protected. HISTORY The history of the United States is one that has been drenched in the blood of those who have not hesitated to sacrifice their lives in the name of freedom. In 1776 the Articles of Confederation were established to create a union of the sovereign states that made up the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781 becoming the first document that set forth guidelines for the newly formed centralized government. In May 1787 representatives from the states met in Philadelphia in what was supposed to be a revision of the Articles of Confederation. However, after four months of arguments and debates, the United States Constitution was presented to the representatives of the twelve states. For the Constitution be ratified at least nine of the states would need to approve the document. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the nineth state putting the United States Constitution into effect. Even though through the years there have been changes made to the Constitution, “the basic premises on which the Constitution was framed -- the protection of individual rights and liberties, limited government with separation of powers and checks and balances, the federal system, and judicial review-- remain at the heart of the living document” (The Library of Congress, 2023, para. 3)

STRUCTURE The United States Constitution much like the United States of America, is unique in many ways. The United States Constitution is made up of seven articles. Each article contains different sections. Article 1 contains 10 sections, Article 2 contains 4 sections, Article 3 contains 3 sections, Article 4 contains 4 sections, Article 5 contains 1 section, Article 6 contains 1 section and Article 7 contains 1 section (Paplekaj, 2020). Articles 1-3 address the separation of powers dividing the federal government into three branches, executive, legislative, and judiciary. Articles 4-6 address the regulation of federalism, state government rights and responsibilities, admission of newly formed states into the United States, the changing of land borders, freedom of movement, the supremacy of the constitution, and the creation of constitutional amendments. Specifically, Article 5 covers the formal amendment process by which changes can be made to the Constitution. Only when two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of the States “cooperate to approve and ratify a proposal for amendment, that proposal becomes valid for all purposes and intentions, as part of this Constitution” (Paplekaj, 2020, pg. 8). Article 7 addresses the ratification process of the document. SEPERATION OF POWERS Articles 1-3 of the United States Constitution address the separation of powers of the government. The three branches of government, executive, legislative, and judicial, are separate but equal branches. The executive branch is made up of the President, Vice President and 14 cabinet members which includes the positions of Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of Defense. The position of President is considered the most powerful position in the country. The President is elected to a term every four years with an eight-year term maximum. The office of the President oversees the affairs of the states. Currently there are 50 states in the United States of America.

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The legislative branch consists of both house of Congress. “In the American form of government, Congress is the most important branch according to Article I, which states that ‘All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the Unites States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives’” (Khasnavis, 1999, para. 5). Currently there are 100 senators in the Senate, each state allotted two per state. Senators are elected for terms of six years. There are 435 members of the House of Representatives. Each state is allotted members based on the state’s population. Members of the House are elected to serve two-year terms. There is no limit on the amount of terms for a senator or member as long as they do not have any physical or mental disabilities that prohibit them from performing their job duties. The judicial branch of government also known as the Supreme Court is complied of nine justices that have extensive knowledge and expertise of the United States Constitution. The judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President and confirmed or denied by the Senate. Judges are appointed for life unless they resign or retire. One of the qualifications to be nominated to the Supreme Court is that the judge must have a clear understanding of the United States Constitution. That is because it is the Court’s responsibility and duty to uphold the Constitution and make sure that others do the same. AMENDMENTS The first ten amendments in the United States Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. “The Bill of Rights touches on every realm of human affairs. It has fallen to the Supreme Court to interpret its elusive and elastic language” (Rohde, 2022, para. 7) The Bill of Rights sets out the guarantee of individual rights such as protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, rights of individuals charged with crimes, the right to a speedy and public trial, and the right to reasonable bail. The fourth, fifth, sixth and eight amendments specifically set out to explain those individual rights.

The Fourth Amendment is the amendment that protects individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures. The framers of the Constitution were able to see a country where warrants that required information such as who was to be searched and what was to be seized during the search was required instead of open harassment of individuals like had previously taken place by old English practices. The warrant clause even went as far as to set forth what was expected of officers who were conducting the searches. In the 1949 Supreme Court case of Wolf v. Colorado the court made is clear that “warrants had to be supported by probable cause and issued by a neutral and impartial magistrate” (Machado, 2022, para. 2). The Fifth Amendment is used to protect individuals against governmental coercion. This amendment provides for the right to a grand jury indictment in capital cases, the right to avoid self-incrimination, the right to be free from being tried twice for the same crime also known as double jeopardy, and the right to just compensation when the government seizes personal property. One of the most well-known court cases in the country to date is a result of the Fifth Amendment protections. In the 1966 Supreme Court decision in Miranda v. Arizona, the court set forth clear constitutional rights for the accused. The court ascertained that the accused had to be informed prior to interrogation that should they chose they had the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. Today those rights now known as Miranda rights are recited to individuals in custody prior to any questioning by law enforcement officials regardless of the crime. The Sixth Amendment sets forth the rights of those who have been accused of crimes and are in the trial stages. The Sixth Amendment not only protects the individual from the federal government, but it is also applied to state and local governments. The Sixth Amendment outlines the right to counsel, the right to trial by jury of peers, and the right to a speedy trial. In the 1932 Supreme Court Case of Powell v. Alabama the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel

was clarified. The case involved several African American men that were accused of raping two white women, one of which later admitted to lying. The men were convicted and sentenced to death without having any representation during a quick and discriminatory trial. The Court ruled that the proceedings were fundamentally unfair and that the defendants facing the death penalty were entitled to an attorney. The Eighth Amendment is derived from the English Bill of Rights and was intended to stop the abuse of the federal government’s power. The Eighth Amendment forbids imposing excessive fines and bail as well as inflicting cruel and unusual punishments. In the 2002 Supreme Court case Atkins v. Virginia the court found that executing individuals that were mentally disabled was a cruel and unusual punishment. In a similar Supreme Court ruling in 2005 Roper v. Simmons, the Court found that the execution of minors was a cruel and unusual punishment which was a violation of the Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment also protects against barbaric punishments but has not been interpreted by the Courts to consider the death penalty itself as a cruel and unusual punishment. CONCLUSION Since its birth in 1776, the United States of America has been a country known for freedom. Even today as diversified as the United States is the common need and desire for all citizens is to live a life free from governmental overreaches. The United States Constitution ensures that all citizens, regardless of race and nationality shall remain just that, free. References

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Epstein, L., McGuire, K. T., & Walker, T. G. (2021). Constitutional Law for a Changing America (11th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781544391274 Fliter, J. (2022). Eighth Amendment. Salem Press Encyclopedia . https://research-ebsco- com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/linkprocessor/plink?id=ed5006e7-2399- 3751-9283-7f690fd4e80a . Khasnavis, P. K. (1999). The United States government: An overview. College Student Journal , 33 (3), 477. https://research-ebsco-com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/linkprocessor/plink? id=1519fde4-ca9b-3b7e-b726-93ce5bdf15a7 Machado, P. H. (2022). Fourth Amendment. Salem Press Encyclopedia . https://research-ebsco- com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/linkprocessor/plink?id=16507664-bdda- 37b6-9560-6d826045ae01 . Paplekaj, E. (2020). The Constitution of United States of America and Its Path to Democracy through Its Amendments. Perspectives of Law & Public Administration , 9 , 4–15. https://research-ebsco-com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/linkprocessor/plink? id=ec7dc107-2487-3ff7-8759-fc14c3347d9a Rohde, S. F. (2022). Bill of Rights. Salem Press Encyclopedia . https://research-ebsco- com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/linkprocessor/plink?id=03ba149e-00e7- 37a6-a8c6-96dbaf403e5b Smith, C. E. (2022). Sixth Amendment. Salem Press Encyclopedia . https://research-ebsco- com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/linkprocessor/plink?id=c646ad43-2e09- 3a1d-bf2b-e85bbb150652 .

The Library of Congress. (2023). The new nation, 1783 - 1815 . https://www.loc.gov/classroom- materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/new-nation-1783-1815/ Thomas, S. L. (2022). Fifth Amendment. Salem Press Encyclopedia . https://research-ebsco- com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/linkprocessor/plink?id=c9d8bb38-1a6b- 3173-8fe9-7501111811fd .

Unit III

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