Jonah Patel
The US Constitution and its Bill of Rights outline and protect several liberties, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the right to peaceful assembly and petition. The first ten amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights, which was written by James Madison to limit government power and protect individual liberties. The Fourth Amendment, for example, protects citizens from unreasonable government intrusion into their homes without a warrant. The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections for those accused of crimes, such as the right to a speedy and public trial and an impartial jury. The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment. The Thirteenth Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, abolished slavery, while the Fourteenth granted citizenship to the formerly enslaved and guaranteed their right to vote. The Constitution also ensures that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. These liberties are fundamental to the American legal system and apply to all individuals within the country, regardless of immigration status.
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What You'll Learn
Freedom of religion, speech, and the press
The First Amendment of the US Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, explicitly protects two foundational social institutions: religion and the press. The First Amendment also protects freedom of speech.
The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press". The text of the First Amendment protects the right to freedom of religion, speech, and the press. The Amendment also protects the right of citizens to assemble and petition the government.
The First Amendment was written by James Madison as a solution to limit government power and protect individual liberties. Madison also proposed another press clause that provided that "No State Shall violate the equal rights of conscience, or the freedom of the press, or the trial by jury in criminal cases," but it was not adopted. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution because it lacked limits on government power.
The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to prevent prior restraints on publications, as well as subsequent punishment for a narrow range of expression in political discourse and other fields. The Amendment has also been interpreted to prevent state suppression of speech and the press. The Court has also ruled that the First Amendment enlarged protections for speech, press, and religion beyond those enjoyed under English common law.
The freedoms of speech and religion were not incorporated against the states until the first half of the 20th century. The Fourteenth Amendment has been interpreted to restrain the power of the states to suppress speech and the press.
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Right to peaceful assembly and petition
The US Constitution, interpreted to mean both the freedom to assemble and the freedom to join an association, guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and petition. This right is recognised as a human right, a political right, and a civil liberty.
The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." The right to assemble has been crucial in protecting dissenting and unorthodox groups, including Democratic-Republican Societies, suffragists, abolitionists, religious organisations, labour activists, and civil rights groups. The freedom to assemble peaceably is integral to what Justice Robert Jackson called "the right to differ."
The right to assemble is often used in the context of the right to protest, while the right to petition the government is among the oldest in legal heritage, dating back 800 years to the Magna Carta and receiving explicit protection in the English Bill of Rights of 1689, long before the American Revolution. The right to petition was also influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason, as well as other English documents such as the Petition of Right and the Massachusetts Body of Liberties.
In 1937, the Supreme Court extended the right of assembly beyond the federal government to the states in its unanimous decision, De Jonge v. Oregon, recognising that "the right of peaceable assembly is a right cognate to those of free speech and free press and is equally fundamental." Despite this, the Supreme Court has not decided a case explicitly on free assembly grounds in over thirty years. The right to assemble gained particular prominence in tributes to the Bill of Rights as the United States entered the Second World War, with several eminent twentieth-century Americans emphasising the significance of this right.
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Protection against unreasonable search and seizure
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects citizens' privacy and guarantees the right to be secure against unreasonable government intrusions into their person, home, business, property, and effects. This protection applies to searches by police officers, FBI agents, state troopers, and other law enforcement officials. The Fourth Amendment is often viewed as two clauses. The first clause prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures without a warrant, while the second clause specifies that warrants shall only be issued upon probable cause, supported by an oath or affirmation, and with particular descriptions of the places to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
The Fourth Amendment reflects the Framers' intent to avoid the unjust searches and seizures they experienced under English rule. It requires the government to obtain a warrant based on probable cause to conduct a legal search and seizure. Probable cause refers to a certain level of suspicion of criminal activity that justifies the search or seizure. The Fourth Amendment also protects the "full enjoyment of the rights of personal security, personal liberty, and private property."
The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted and clarified the Fourth Amendment protection throughout American history, answering questions such as when a law enforcement officer's search constitutes an illegal search and what happens if the government conducts an illegal search and seizure. For example, in Katz v. United States (1967), the leading case on Fourth Amendment searches, the Supreme Court ruled that installing a recording device in a public telephone booth without a warrant constituted a search under the Fourth Amendment. The Court also introduced the concept of a reasonable expectation of privacy, stating that the Fourth Amendment "protects people, not places."
The exclusionary rule, as applied to the states, is essential to make the Fourth Amendment effective and deter law enforcement officers from conducting illegal searches and seizures. The rule ensures that the prosecution cannot use illegally obtained evidence in court. However, the Supreme Court has carved out numerous exceptions to the warrant requirement, and technological advancements have raised questions about what constitutes a "search" under the Fourth Amendment.
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Right to a speedy and public trial
The Constitution of the United States comprises a series of amendments that guarantee the protection of individual liberties. The first ten amendments, written by James Madison, are known as the Bill of Rights. These amendments were added to the Constitution to limit government power and protect individual liberties.
One of the liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights is the right to a speedy and public trial, which is outlined in the Sixth Amendment. This amendment provides that "in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial". The right to a speedy trial is intended to protect the accused from undue delay in the initiation of criminal proceedings (as marked by an arrest or formal charge) and conviction (whether by trial or plea).
The Supreme Court has applied a balancing test to determine whether a delay between accusation and conviction violates the right to a speedy trial. This test considers four factors:
- The length of the delay
- The reason for the delay
- Whether and to what extent the defendant asserted their right to a speedy trial
- The prejudice to the defendant caused by the delay
The Speedy Trial Act sets forth two clear time limits: an information or indictment must follow within 30 days of arrest, and a trial must begin within 70 days of indictment. These statutory provisions have been described as "more stringent" than the requirements of the Sixth Amendment's Speedy Trial Clause.
The right to a speedy trial is a fundamental protection for individuals accused of crimes, ensuring that they are not subjected to undue delay in the criminal justice process.
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Voting rights
The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly state that citizens have the right to vote. Instead, it gives Congress and the federal government the power to determine the "times, places, and manner" of elections. However, over time, several constitutional amendments have been made to protect and extend voting rights to more Americans.
The 14th Amendment, passed in the aftermath of the Civil War, extends citizenship and voting rights to all natural-born or naturalized Americans, regardless of race. This amendment also prohibits states from restricting these rights. The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibits restricting the right to vote based on race, granting African American men the right to vote. However, many were unable to exercise this right due to literacy tests and other barriers imposed by certain states.
The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, extended voting rights to women, prohibiting states from denying the vote based on sex. This amendment marked a significant milestone in the long struggle for women's suffrage. The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, aimed to remove barriers to voting by prohibiting poll taxes, which had been used to disenfranchise low-income citizens and African Americans.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 further secured voting rights for adult citizens of all races and genders by prohibiting voter discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group. It mandated that certain places provide election materials in languages other than English and placed restrictions on states with a history of voter discrimination. The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18 for all elections, ensuring that young adults could participate in the democratic process.
While the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly guarantee the right to vote, federal laws and amendments have played a crucial role in expanding and protecting voting rights for various groups, including people of colour, women, and young adults. These laws have aimed to remove barriers to voting and ensure that all eligible citizens can exercise their right to participate in elections.
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Frequently asked questions
The Bill of Rights is a founding document written by James Madison, comprising the first ten amendments to the US Constitution. It includes liberties such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and due process.
The US Constitution guarantees numerous liberties, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to bear arms, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, protection against self-incrimination, and the right to a fair trial. The Constitution also prohibits slavery and guarantees voting rights and equal protection under the law.
The Bill of Rights outlines specific liberties, including freedom of speech and religion, the right to bear arms, freedom from the quartering of soldiers, and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Yes, the Ninth Amendment states that the listing of specific rights in the Constitution does not exclude other rights that are not explicitly mentioned. This implies that individuals retain certain inherent rights that are not enumerated in the Constitution.
