Tep POLI330 Week 2 State Powers
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Dec 6, 2023
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Uploaded by BrigadierWaterJellyfish73
1
State Powers
Compare and Contrast of Constitutions
Chamberlain University
POLI330 Political Science
Instructor Alfonso Casal
September 10, 2023
2
STATE POWERS
State Powers
The Bill of Rights are amendments James Madison made in the United States (U.S.) Constitution
to gather support in both houses of Congress and the states [CITATION Nat23 \l 1033 ]. Checks
and balances of power were the reason the US Constitution was made. The current constitution
of the State of California was ratified in 1879 and has been amended over 480 times [ CITATION
Geo23 \l 1033 ].
This paper will compare some of the US Constitution Bill of Rights to the
California Constitution and discuss its differences.
The First Amendment in both the Bill of Rights and the California Constitution similarly
lays out protections for individuals to practice the freedom of speech and representation. The Bill
of Rights states that speech, press, assembly, and rights to religion are protected under the
Constitution [ CITATION Nat23 \l 1033 ]. Article 1 of the California Constitution was adopted in
1879 and has been amended over time to reflect the current rights as of today. Although the
California Constitution contains comparable language, it provides broader language that can
protect individual rights. For example, Article 1 Section 2 states that “every person may speak
freely” but it goes into more detail that protects the press when refusing to divulge any source of
information that they obtained [ CITATION Cal \l 1033 ].
Amendment II provides rights for individuals to keep and bear arms [ CITATION
Gre18 \l 1033 ]. Whereas the California Constitution does not contain language about bearing
arms. Instead, Article 1 Section 1 gives rights to people to defend life and liberty and pursue and
obtain safety [ CITATION Cal \l 1033 ]. Under the 2
nd
Amendment, Californians are allowed to
bear arms, though the state of California imposes regulations and restrictions regarding
purchasing and owning them.
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STATE POWERS
The 4
th
amendment of the Bill of Rights protects individuals against unreasonable
searches and seizures of property [ CITATION Gre18 \l 1033 ]. Article 1 Section 13 contains
similar language and provides similar protections as the 4
th
Amendment. However, the
interpretation of both provisions can be different. The Supreme Court of California has the
authority to interpret this provision differently as it did with a court case against Billy
Greenwood. In this case, Greenwood would argue that his 4
th
amendment right was broken when
investigators found evidence in the trash he set out on the street. The California Court found that
the seizure was reasonable because it interpreted that the trash out in public was no longer
private property [ CITATION Cal88 \l 1033 ].
Similarly, the US Constitution and the California Constitution provide basic rights to its
citizens. Both contain similar language that protects our rights federally and locally within our
states. The California Constitution while similar, can elaborate more on some rights but is
prohibited from violating basic rights that are in the US Constitution under the 14
th
Amendment.
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STATE POWERS
References
California Legislative Information . (n.d.).
California Constitution - CONS
. Retrieved from
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codesTOCSelected.xhtml?tocCode=CONS
California v. Greenwood, 86-684 (The California Supreme Court January 11, 1988).
Georgetown Law. (n.d.).
Constitution: Current & Historical
. Retrieved September 2023, from
Georgetown Law Library: https://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?
g=275786&p=6845114
Greenberg, E. S., & Page, B. I. (2018). In
The Struggle for Democracy, 2018 Elections and
Updates Edition (12th ed.)
(pp. 17-44). US: Pearson Education.
National Archives. (2023, April 27).
The Bill of Rights: What Does it Say?
Retrieved September
2023, from America's Founding Document: https://www.archives.gov/founding-
docs/bill-of-rights/what-does-it-say#:~:text=The%20Bill%20of%20Rights%20is,speech
%2C%20press%2C%20and%20religion.