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Chapter 5

Constitutional Principles

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McGraw-Hill Education.

• LO5-1: What is federalism?

• LO5-2: How does the U.S government's system

of checks and balances operate?

• LO5-3: What effects does the commerce clause

have on the government's regulation of

business?

• LO5-4: How does the Bill of Rights protect the

citizens of the United States?

Chapter 5 Hypothetical Case 1

• Peter Mallory and James Reid were widely considered by their peers and by the

community-at-large the very best officers the San Bernardino, California Police

Department had to offer Today, they were seeking to uphold that reputation After

weeks of tracking Malcolm Leary, a suspect in last year's gruesome murder of

32-year-old Rachel Vang, they had located and detained Leary pursuant to a validly issued

arrest warrant

On their way back to headquarters in the squad car, with Mallory and Reid silent,

Leary offers up a confession from the back seat, saying "I killed that witch because she

deserved it, and if I have to spend the rest of my life in prison and eternity in hell for

doing it, it was worth it!" Both Mallory and Reid are shocked that Leary "broke" so

easily, but they are happy to have the confession

• Prior to his declaration of murder, neither Mallory nor Reid had "Mirandized" Leary

Will Malcolm Leary's statement be admissible in his criminal prosecution, or will it be

inadmissible based on a violation of the due process standard set forth in Miranda v

Arizona?

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Chapter 5 Hypothetical Case 2

• Prosecutor Alicia Jones was cautiously optimistic that victory was hers She had just tried

the defendant Robert Howell for the first-degree murder of his father, Donovan Howell, a

wealthy construction company owner from Charleston, South Carolina Any prosecutor

would have been pleased with the evidence Jones had introduced to the jury Although

there was no eyewitness to the murder, there was an abundance of circumstantial

evidence, including three witnesses who had observed the younger Howell board his

father's yacht at 1:00 a.m on Sunday, June 27 (the body was found on the yacht later that

same morning), a knife next to the elder Howell's body with his son's fingerprints on it, and

the son's confession to Charleston County police on Friday, July 2 In light of all of the

circumstantial evidence against his client, defense attorney Edward York had taken the risk

of putting his client on the witness stand Howell responded reasonably well to both direct

examination and to Jones's cross-examination.

After five days of deliberation, the jury announced that it was hopelessly deadlocked After

inquiring whether there was any possibility that further jury deliberation would resolve the

impasse, and after the foreperson's response of "Most definitely not, your honor," Judge

Gregory Williams officially declared a mistrial Jones knew there was no way to predict

Chapter 5 Hypothetical Case 2

(cont'd)

After Williams's declaration of mistrial, Jones immediately polled the jury She

discovered that ten jurors were in favor of the defendant's conviction, with the

remaining two jurors opposed Those two jurors, Charles Yates and Carla Yoder,

explained why they voted against conviction

Yates, a 28-year-old divorced waiter with a 3-year-old son, explained to Jones that

there was no way Howell could have committed murder Said Yates, "He just seems

like such a polite and well-mannered guy.… There is just no way he killed his father."

Yoder, a sixty-eight-year-old retiree, had different reasons for her belief that defendant

Howell was innocent Yoder stated "Just because he was on his father's boat doesn't

mean he killed his father I believe the young man was framed I believe the knife was

planted on the boat, and I believe the police coerced his confession."

• Jones is considering retrying Howell Would the Fifth Amendment "double jeopardy"

provision of the United States Constitution prohibit a retrial of Howell for the

first-degree murder of his father?

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What Is Federalism?

• Principle of federalism: Authority is divided

between federal and state governments

• Foundation of the system of government

established by the U.S Constitution

• Allocates power among the three federal

branches of government (legislative,

executive, and judicial)

• Establishes a system of checks and balances

Checks and Balances:

Legislative Branch's Powers

• Can impeach judges

• Establishes lower courts and sets number of judges

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Checks and Balances:

Executive Branch's Powers

• Can pardon federal offenders

Checks and Balances:

Judicial Branch's Powers

The Supremacy Clause (Article VI)

law" of the United States

with federal law is void

The Commerce Clause

(Article I, Section 8)

regulation of business

power to "regulate Commerce with foreign

Nations, and among the several States…"

government and restricts the power of

state governments

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Taxing and Spending Powers of the

Federal Government (Article I, Section

8)

• Provides the "Power to lay and collect Taxes,

Duties, Imports and Excises."

• Taxes imposed by Congress must be uniform

across the states

• The federal government can use tax revenues to

provide essential services, encourage

development of certain industries, discourage

development of other industries

• Regulatory impact of tax does not affect its

Other Constitutional

Restrictions on Government

• Privileges and immunities clause

• Prohibits states from discriminating against citizens of

other states when those nonresidents engage in

ordinary and essential activities

• Full faith and credit clause

• States "Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each

State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial

Proceedings of every other State."

• Contract clause

• States that government may not pass any "Law

impairing the Obligation of Contract." 5-13

Protections of the Bill of Rights

• First ten amendments substantially affect

government regulation of business

• Prohibit federal infringement on individual

freedoms

• Fourteenth Amendment extends Bill of Rights to

the states (state governments cannot infringe on

rights either)

• "Artificial persons": Courts may extend Bill of

Rights to corporations in some cases

The First and Second Amendments

• First Amendment

• Protects freedom of religion, press, speech, and

peaceable assembly

• Ensures that citizens have the right to ask the

government to redress grievances

• Finds that in light of the need for a well-regulated

militia for security, government cannot infringe on

citizens' right to bear arms

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The Third and Fourth Amendments

• Provides that government cannot house soldiers

in private residences during peacetime, or during

war, except for provisions in the law

• Protects citizens from unreasonable search and

seizure

• Ensures that government issues warrants only

with probable cause

The Fifth Amendment

• Ensures that government does not put citizens

on trial except upon indictment by a grand jury

• Gives citizens the right not to testify against

themselves (privilege against self-incrimination)

• Prevents government from trying citizens twice

for the same crime (double jeopardy)

• Creates the right to due process

• Provides that government cannot take private

property for public use without just

The Sixth Amendment

• Provides the right to a speedy public trial with an

impartial jury

• Provides the right to know what criminal

accusations a citizen faces

• Provides the right to have witnesses both for and

against the accused

• Provides the right to an attorney

The Seventh and Eighth Amendments

• States that in common-law suits where the

monetary value exceeds $20, citizens have the

right to a jury trial

• Provides that government will not set excessive

bail

• Prohibits government imposition of excessive fines

• Prohibits cruel and unusual punishment

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The Ninth and Tenth Amendments

• Provides that although the Bill of Rights names

certain rights, such naming does not remove other

rights retained by citizens

• Provides that powers that the U.S Constitution

does not give to the federal government are

reserved to the states

The Fourteenth Amendment

• Prevents states from denying "the equal

protection of the laws" to any citizen

• Combats discrimination, since it applies

whenever government treats certain individuals

differently than other similarly situated

individuals

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Judicial Tests for Violations of the

Fourteenth Amendment

• Strict scrutiny test: Applies to suspect classifications based on

race, national origin, and/or citizenship that would prevent

individuals from exercising a fundamental right (such

classification allowed only if necessary to promote a

compelling state interest)

• Intermediate scrutiny test: Applies to classifications based on

gender or on the legitimacy of children (such classification

allowed only if it is substantially related to an important

government objective)

• Rational-basis test: Applies to all other matters (such

classification allowed only if it advances a legitimate

Chapter 5 Hypothetical Case 3

• The annual Smallville Fair is the community event of the year Attendance is always high, with

community members enjoying the thrill rides, exhibits, and food Lori Cuthbert, Smallville High

School's principal, is there, and as she turns the corner by the Ferris wheel, she is shocked by what

she sees The school's star quarterback, senior Coy Gunner, is wearing a green T-shirt depicting a

Christ-like figure smoking a marijuana joint; in large yellow letters on the front of the shirt are the

words "Joints For Jesus." The back of the shirt reads: "WWJS: What Would Jesus Smoke?!"

Cuthbert immediately confronts Gunner, exclaiming, "Coy Gunner, I cannot believe you would

wear such a disgusting shirt You have offended my Christian principles and beliefs, as well as the

religious beliefs of countless numbers of Smallville citizens attending this fair Further, you have

disgraced the high school As the star quarterback of our football team, you of all people should

know that you are a role model for your fellow students, as well as younger kids in the community

I will see you in my office on Monday morning at 7:30 a.m."

On Monday, Gunner arrives at Cuthbert's office to discover that she has decided to suspend him

for ten school days Gunner objects, saying, "I remember in civics class that Mr Campbell told us

we have the right to free speech I object to the suspension, and if you don't change your mind,

my dad knows a good attorney who might want to speak with you."

• Is the message on Gunner's shirt constitutionally protected free speech? Would rational

limitations on free speech justify Cuthbert's decision to suspend Gunner? Does it matter whether

the incident occurred on or off school property?

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Chapter 5 Hypothetical Case 4

• In response to a rising tide of gun violence, the city council of

Stewart, New Jersey decides to ban the sale and possession of

assault weapons within its city limits A coalition of ten gun

stores within the Stewart city limits, in addition to a group of

their most loyal patrons, immediately files a lawsuit, stating that

the city council's move is a violation of Second Amendment

rights.

• Research whether U.S cities or states have laws on the books

that ban assault weapons If you find that some do, research

whether these laws have been challenged in the courts If you

find some instances, what were the outcome(s)? Do you believe

that the Stewart City Council is violating the Second Amendment

rights of its citizens? If so, what part(s), if not all, of the law is in 5-24