U.S. Bill of Rights
1st Admendment
Freedom of Speech, Press, Assembly, Religion, Petition.
Concerned Women for America, Inc. v. Lafayette County, 883 F.2d 32 (5th Cir. 1989)
CWA argued against Oxford Public Library due to its refusal to allow them to use their auditorium for a Prayer Chapter. The auditorium was public and not private, they did not have a right to refuse the CWA. The group then gained access for their religious Prayer Chapter and opened up the Public Library to other religious groups and political content.
2nd Admendment
People have the right to have a gun.
United States vs. Miller
This was a supreme case that argued the second Amendment. Miller challenged the National Firearms Act saying his 12-guage shotgun was protected by the 2nd Amendment. The Court cannot take judicial notice that a shotgun having a barrel less than 18 inches long has today any reasonable relation to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, and therefore cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees to the citizen the right to keep and bear such a weapon.
3rd Admendment
Freedom form quartering soldiers.
4th Admendment
Freedom from unreasonable search and seizures.
Weeks vs. United States
A Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously held that the warrantless seizure of items from a private residence constitutes a violation of the 4th Amendment. The police violated his rights and were no longer able to use key points of evidence against Weeks in another case.
5th Admendment
You get to have a trial by a Grand Jury, No Double Jeopardy, you do not have testify against yourself, the government must pay you fairly for your proper steps to take away my life, liberty or property. ( Due Process)
6th Admendment
Right to a speedy and public trial & confront your accuser.
7th Admendment
Trial by Jury.
8th Admendment
No excessive fines & no cruel and unusual punishment.
Furman v. Georgia, 1972
William Furman was sentenced to death after he was found guilty of murder while he was attempting to burglarize a house. Furman appealed before the court. According to Justice Potter Stewart, the death penalty was clearly handed out to Furman mainly because he was a black man. Thus, it violated the Eighth Amendment.
9th Admendment
People have rights that are not mentioned in the Constitution.
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the Supreme Court ruled that a state's ban on the use of contraceptives violated the right to marital privacy. The case concerned a Connecticut law that criminalized the encouragement or use of birth control. The court ruled that the state could not ban the use of contraceptives by anyone, and that the state could not ban most abortions.
10th Admendment
Powers not given to the federal government belong to the states.