Constitution Project
By: Katrena Boland
1st Amendment- Freedom of Speech, Religon, Press, and Petition
Kuhlmeier v. Hazelwood East High School
A public school principal removed two articles from the school newspaper due to content he considered inappropriate. The school newspaper at Hazelwood East High School, “Spectrum,” was produced by the journalism class. The district’s Board of Education paid for the publication. Two articles were removed from an issue because the principal found their content objectionable. One story was about teen pregnancy, and the other was about divorce. Cathy Kuhlmeier and two other students from the class sued the school, claiming their 1st Amendment rights had been violated.
2nd Amendment- Right to Bear Arms
2008 Case: Heller v. the District of Columbia
One of the most well-known second amendment cases is the Heller v. D.C. case. This case challenged an unconstitutional firearms regulation from the 1970s. The regulation made it illegal for citizens to own handguns in D.C. Heller argued that because he worked in security in D.C. he was given a gun to protect the politicians, yet he was not allowed to have one in his own home to protect his own family. In June of 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Heller, stating that the previous law was indeed unconstitutional, and that handguns were included in the definition of the right to bear arms in the second amendment.
3rd Amendment- Restrictions on the quartering of soldiers in private homes
This law states that soldiers cannot enter any homes of citizens without their consent.
4th Amendment-prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause
THE LAWSUIT OF MILCAREK V. PITTSBURG POLICE
Pittsburgh police Officer David Sisak stopped a car driven by Joseph Milcarek Jr. on Feb. 4, 2012, because he allegedly had a suspended license plate, according to the complaint filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. While checking Milcarek's information, Sisak learned he was the defendant in a protection from abuse proceeding involving a woman who was the female passenger in his car. Sisak also found a shotgun shell in the car. Sisak arrested Milcarek for violating the PFA and sought for a search warrant at the address listed on Milcarek's license to look for weapons. After obtaining a search warrant, police broke down the rear door of the house and "unnecessarily damaged a number of items in the home" during their search, the complaint alleges. When the officers left, they left the broken door leaning against the frame, the lawsuit says.The Milcareks said Sisak and other officers violated their Fourth Amendment rights because they invaded their privacy
5th Amendment-protects a person against being compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in a criminal case.
Miranda v. Arizona:
Miranda was arrested at his home and taken in custody to a police station where he was identified by the complaining witness. He was then interrogated by two police officers for two hours, which resulted in a signed, written confession. At trial, the oral and written confessions were presented to the jury. Miranda was found guilty of kidnapping and rape and was sentenced to 20-30 years imprisonment on each count. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Arizona held that Miranda’s constitutional rights were not violated in obtaining the confession.
6TH Amendment-Right to a fair and speedy trail
Betts v. Brady
A prior decision of the Court’s, Betts v. Brady, 316 U.S. 455 (1942), held that the refusal to appoint counsel for an indigent defendant charged with a felony in state court did not necessarily violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court granted Gideon’s petition for a writ of certiorari – that is, agreed to hear Gideon’s case and review the decision of the lower court – in order to determine whether Betts should be reconsidered.