... the Constitution to be cruel and unusual - There is societal consensus that the punishment offends civilized standards of human decency. - It is (1) grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime and (2) makes no measurable contribution to acceptable goals of punishment. In Furman, Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was arbitrarily and capriciously" applied under existing law. In 1973, ... - Just less than one-third exhibited mental disability evidenced by low or borderline IQ scores. - More than half were indigent. - Eighteen were involved in intensive substance abuse b...

• Word Count: 2175
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... . Lopez is just as important. The case is important because it indicates that the justices may be starting to reconsider the court's extremely expansive view of Congress' power to regulate based on the commerce clause. Lopez was charged with state firearms violations, and could undoubtedly have been charged with others if prosecutors had so chosen. Instead, federal agents charged him with ... the power to pass the law. In its defense before the Supreme Court, the Clinton Justice Department cited the commerce clause as justification for the law. It argued that violent crime in or near sch...

• Word Count: 1219
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... old when he was arrested. He confessed that he had kidnapped and raped the young woman after only two hours of questioning. By confessing to the crime, Miranda was convicted for kidnapping and rape. However, when Miranda was arrested he was not told his rights that are stated in amendment number five. ... Court, which affirmed the conviction. Held: Under the circumstances of this case, where a police investigation is no longer a general inquiry into an unsolved crime but has begun to focus on a particular suspect in police custody who has been refused an opportunity to consult with his c...

• Word Count: 1732
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... assisted suicide is generally recognized as illegal under the parameters of homicide, however it is very difficult to meet all of the elements of the crime and conviction subsequently becomes nearly impossible. The fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has not reviewed a physician-assisted suicide case, which would create precedent ... deemed a homicide. At the time of the appellate courts hearing of the Campbell appeal, there was no other codified law expressing what crime an assisted suicide would fall under and the homicide charges were dismissed. Anti-active euthanasia proponents feel tha...

• Word Count: 1550
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... was searched without a valid search warrant. Evidence in the form of letters were found in his room and admitted in the trial. Weeks was then convicted of the federal offence based on incriminating evidence. The Supreme Court argued that evidence gathered in an illegal manner, without probable cause or without a search warrant, should be excluded from criminal trials. The exclusionary rule ... police may override your privacy concerns and conduct a search of your home, car, business etc., if the police have probable cause to believe they can find evidence that you committed a crime, and...

• Word Count: 1443
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... affected his career. (United States Cong., Independent Counsel Referral) Now whether or not President William Clinton should have been convicted, which would have removed him from office, is a personal opinion based on solid, factual evidence presented by both sides. The argument presented by the Office of the Independent Counsel, headed by Kenneth Starr, brought forth the allegations that the President was ... the due administration of our judicial system, for example, by tampering with a witness, or concealing and destroying evidence. The witness tampering statute makes it a crime to ...

• Word Count: 1264
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... United States of America under Section 401(g) of the Nationality Act of 1940, as amended; "he has lost his citizenship due to his conviction and dishonorable discharge for wartime desertion" . Based on a Civil War statute, Section 401(g) was created in 1865 to attempt to curb the problem of Union desertions. The case in question was decided on a vote of 5-4, with ... intermingle traditionally separated federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The proposed act completely bypasses the Homeland Security Department, new home to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and...

• Word Count: 3202
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... is alright to be gay, just as long as you don't have sexual intimacy with person of the same sex,"" which infringes on your right to privacy. The rights are based upon the work of our Founders of the Constitution, who set out to create a set of rules to protect us against our government from having too much power over each ... is overruled; "State laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity are likewise sustainable only in the light of Bowers' validation of laws based on moral choices. Every single on...

• Word Count: 1942
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the suspect's attorney could demand that the trial judge bar its admission as being illegally obtained. Without that evidence, prosecutors would be unable to prove a crime had occurred. The case of Minnesota v. Carter in 1997 was based on a similar scenario. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnguist took on a majority opinion on the Carter case and stated that the men had little reason ... lie in the belief that some parts of the law should not be changed for future purposes in order to sustain the integrity of the Constitution. It may also be based on the fear of slowly diminish...

• Word Count: 710
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... act of congress unconstitutional? This firmly established the Supreme Court as a strong third branch of the government although the president has the power of deciding upon all federal judicial appointments. Based primarily on the British two house system, the legislative branches of government's primary functions as set out in article 1 of the constitution vests all law making powers in the House ... the American people with the inalienable right to keep and bear firearms. The laws surrounding the use of firearms have come under scrutiny as America has become notorious for gun crime. T...

• Word Count: 2722
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

US Attorney General, John Ashcroft vs. Free Speech Coalition Act U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced more than 100 arrests on Aug. 8 related to a Texas-based Internet child pornography ring. Postal inspectors say the two-year investigation that preceded the arrests may yield 30,000 more cases involving those who received child pornography. Part of the ... Amendment experts say that if the act is kept, other laws could be expanded to punish fake portrayals of other illegal behavior, under the reasoning that such portrayals result in crime. The law defines child pornography as a visu...

• Word Count: 936
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... certain business traditions, such as seniority status and aptitude tests, prevented total equality in employment. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a major step in reducing de jure or law based discrimination but was unable to cease deep seeded de facto or actual discrimination in American society. The Civil Rights Act did not require employers to prove that any discriminatory policies ... to make room for minority employees (Nebraska Advisory Committee 40). What did these men do to bring about their termination? Were they the source of any discriminatory policies? The only crime that th...

• Word Count: 2038
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... certain business traditions, such as seniority status and aptitude tests, prevented total equality in employment. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a major step in reducing de jure or law based discrimination but was unable to cease deep seeded de facto or actual discrimination in American society. The Civil Rights Act did not require employers to prove that any discriminatory policies ... to make room for minority employees (Nebraska Advisory Committee 40). What did these men do to bring about their termination? Were they the source of any discriminatory policies? The only crime that th...

• Word Count: 2038
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Involving Flag Burning and the First Amendment Rights It was 1984 when demonstrators rallied down the street of Dallas to protest the policies of the Reagan administration and certain Dallas-based corporations. The political demonstration dubbed the "Republican War Chest Tour" was the beginning of the controversial court case between Gregory Lee Johnson and the state of Texas. The demonstrators marched ... to dramatize the consequences of nuclear war, spray-painting building walls, and overturning potted plants to express their protest. Of the approximate one hundred demonstrators, John...

• Word Count: 900
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... or no effect in this area. As studies have shown many physicians, anonymously report that they have partaken in physician-assisted suicide regardless of statues in place making their actions a crime. Physician-assisted suicide is not commonplace but the fact that it is reported and it is occurring on the level that it is exemplifies the fact that the law has ... had little effect in this area. Physician-assisted suicide should be protected under the Constitution of the United States based on Americans" due process rights and equal protection. Citizens" intimate, deeply personal decision...

• Word Count: 908
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... certain business traditions, such as seniority status and aptitude tests, prevented total equality in employment. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a major step in reducing de jure or law based discrimination but was unable to cease deep seeded de facto or actual discrimination in American society. The Civil Rights Act did not require employers to prove that any discriminatory policies ... to make room for minority employees (Nebraska Advisory Committee 40). What did these men do to bring about their termination? Were they the source of any discriminatory policies? The only crime that th...

• Word Count: 2170
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the ACLU. Education for Youth The Washington Supreme Court this summer ruled for the first time that the state constitution guarantees incarcerated minors the right to an education. The court based its decision on Article IX of the Washington Constitution, which says the state has "the paramount duty'' to provide an education for all children within its borders. The ruling supported ... age 18-22. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Charles Johnson wrote that the ruling "deprives a child of the constitutional right to a high school education simply because he or she committed a serious cri...

• Word Count: 457
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate