The Bill of Rights
By: Fatema Dohadwala, 6th block, 12/19/14
What are the Bill of Rights?
Amendment 1: Freedom of Speech, Press, or Religion
Court Case: Ramos v. Town of Vernon
Summary: In 2003, the town of Vernon, Conneticut declared a curfew to reduce crime for public safety reasons, but it failed to prove that crime had been a problem during those curfew hours. Because of this, it was declared unconstitutional.
Amendment 2: Personal Defense and Right to Bear Arms
Court Case: District of Columbia v. Heller
Summary: The Supreme Court decided that people could keep guns for self defense. Many people opposed gun control, so the decision ended on a ban on personal hand guns in the district of Columbia.
Amendment 3: Privacy in Home
Court Case: Nevada Man
Summary: Henderson claimed that his rights of the third amendment were violated when police demanded to be in his house. It wasn't clear that the police would've been considered "soldiers, so the idea was rejected.
Amendment 4: Unreasonable Search
Court Case: Boyd v. United States
Summary: The government thought that Boyd was getting duty-free glass to use for other jobs, so they took him to court. They then asked Boyd to give them invoices for glass that he imported, but realized they were violating his fourth and fifth amendment.
Amendment 5: Due Process of Law
Court Case: Penn Central Transportation Company c. City of New York
Summary: The transportation company wanted to build an office building on top of Grand Central Station. It's construction was blocked because it would have destroyed a historic site. The Supreme Court then riled that the Landmarks Preservation Law did not deprive them of their property.
Amendment 6: Rights of Criminal Defendants
Court Case: Sheppard v. Maxwell
Summary: Sam Sheppard was put on trial for killing his wife, and was portrayed guilty by the media before his trial was completed. The Supreme Court decided that the case should have been delayed, so that Sheppard wouldn't be judged unfairly.
Amendment 7: The Right to a Jury Trial
Court Case: Feltner v. Columbia
Summary: Columbia sued Feltner for broadcasting his programs as a copyright infringement. The District Court denied Feltner's request for a jury trial and awarded Columbia statutory damages following a bench trial. Afterwards, the Court of Appeals held that the seventh amendment did not provide a right to a jury trial on statutory damages.
Amendment 8: Fair Punishment
Court Case: Gregg v. Georgia
Summary: Toy Gregg was convicted of murder in Georgia and was sentenced to a death penalty. After reviewing the ruling, the Supreme Court decided that capital punishment was a socially acceptable form of punishment, since all the other states had made so many changes to their laws.
Amendment 9: Rights Retained by the People
Court Case: Roe v. Wade
Summary: A pregnant girl wanted abortion of her baby, but it was illegal and unsafe. The Supreme Court argued that Roe's right to make her own decisions about her body and personal life should be guaranteed.
Amendment 10: Limiting Federal Powers
Two men passed the Child Labor Act, including Dogenhart who agreed that the government was not empowered to tell people how to rule their businesses because it was unconstitutional. Hammer argued that the Act was necessary to protect the public good. Dogenhart had the majority. This was the Nation's first child labor act was overturned.