Vocab
Define: The Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which enumerate individual rights and limits on government power.
Which amendment protects freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition?
First Amendment
Which amendment guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury?
Sixth Amendment (speedy and public trial by an impartial jury); the Sixth also guarantees counsel and confrontation of witnesses
A police officer enters a persons house without a warrant, searches their desk, and takes their phone. Which right was violated?
Fourth Amendment — unreasonable search and seizure; officer needed a warrant or an applicable exception.
What is a petition (in the context of the First Amendment)
A formal written request to the government; under the First Amendment, citizens may petition the government to address grievances.
True or False: The Second Amendment guarantees absolute, unlimited individual rights to possess any weapon.
False
What constitutional protection prevents the government from making a person testify against themselves?
Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination (right to remain silent).
A college professor is fired after students circulate a petition calling for more diverse reading materials. The college says it fired the professor for “disruptive political activity.” Which right may have been violated?
First Amendment — freedom to petition and possibly academic speech protections; verify whether the college is public or private and applicable policies.
What is a search warrant?
A legal document, issued by a neutral magistrate, authorizing law enforcement to conduct a search of a specified place for specified items based on probable cause.
The Third Amendment deals with the quartering of soldiers. Explain why this amendment was included in the Bill of Rights.
It was included because colonists were forced to quarter British soldiers; it protects citizens from being forced to house soldiers in peacetime.
Which amendment prohibits law enforcement from entering private property without a warrent?
The fourth amendment
The city issues a law that all citizens must host a soldier in their homes during peacetime when ordered by city officials. Which amendment is violated, and why would this law be unconstitutional?
Third Amendment — prohibits quartering of soldiers in private homes in peacetime; such a city law would conflict with the Third Amendment and constitutional protections.
What does it mean to indict someone?
To formally charge someone with a crime, typically by a grand jury’s indictment.
A town passes an ordinance banning public protests in all public parks. Which part of the first amendment is implicated and why?
First Amendment — freedom of assembly and likely freedom of speech, because the ordinance bans peaceful public protest in public forums
What amendment protects against cruel and unusual punishment, and how might that apply to sentencing?
Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment; it applies to sentencing practices that are grossly disproportionate or barbaric.
During an arrest, officers refuse to inform a suspect of their right to remain silent and to an attorney, then pressure the suspect to sign a confession. Which rights were violated? Explain.
Violations of the Fifth (right against self-incrimination) any confession obtained without Miranda warnings may be excluded.
Define libel and explain how it differs from slander.
Libel is a false written statement presented as fact that harms a person’s reputation; slander is the spoken equivalent.
A state law requires all newspapers to get government approval before printing editorials. Which part of the first amendment is violated, and what specific right does that law censor?
it violates freedom of the press and prior restraint by requiring government approval before publication.
What is the similarity from the sixth amendment and the seventh amendment? Whats difference between the the protections from the sixth amendment and the seventh amendment?
Both provide trial by jury but the 7th provides it for civil court.
The government releases a rule that all people must release their medical record before traveling across state lines. What amendment does this violate?
The ninth amendment