... establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or 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 freedom of speech is detailed in the first amendment. Since the ... . Who regulates and decides what is indecent or obscene? These questions have evolved through many important cases over the last century. Today the Miller test, derived from Miller v. California, is used to decide the material in question. It is first important to know what it means for ma...

• Word Count: 2436
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Amendment of the Constitution. He believed that this violation happened because under the Constitution because of Separation of Church and State where state laws cannot combine the interest of religious people with the interests of the state's population. Under law in Pennsylvania, Kurtzman was allowed to purchase educational services from parochial schools which the State would reimburse for books, materials ... a state law regarding the funding or creation of religious institutions with money from the public is in violation of the Constitution. As stated by Chief Justice Warren Burger, ...

• Word Count: 2227
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• Has Bibliography

... reversed, but the six Justices voting for reversal were unable to agree upon an opinion in support of the decision. They stated that the constitutional test for obscenity is "whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to ... and that the film in question was not as such. The reason that this case should be considered interpretist is that they applied a constitution "test" om what is and what is not pornography. Although they used there own opinions on deciding if it was or wasn't pornography, they...

• Word Count: 2444
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... especially affected our right to privacy. The Fourth Amendment secures the right to privacy in the Constitution. The Fourth Amendment protects "the privacy and security of people's house's, papers and against unreasonable searches and seizures" (Barton pg. 2). If a search shall be conducted, a warrant shall be issued with probable ... his house, it did constitute a search. When the court tries to determine what constitutes a "search", they usually refer to the Katz test. The Katz test was established on a previous court case involving warrant less eavesdropping. The importance of this cas...

• Word Count: 1483
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The Fourth Amendment guarantees "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures". The constitution specifies that the government must have probable cause ... policy. Even though these kind of searches seem unfair, the law is unclear as to whether these searches are constitutional. Can the school make me submit to a drug test if I want to play school sports? Probably. In 1995 the Supreme Court handed down a case called Vernonia School District v. Acton, where it held that mandatory ... , then you should have the ch...

• Word Count: 2436
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... because its considered torture to keep someone locked up when they know they are waiting to be killed (Moral 2). In addition, the methods of executing people have all been found to be excessively cruel (Moral 2). The methods of execution that are permitted today include; electrocution, firing squad gas chamber, ... more than 1.6 million dollars per execution (Pragmatic 1). By allowing the death penalty to continue we still have not solved the problems of innocent people being executed, the costs, violation of the eighth amendment and the deterrence of crime. The second possible alternati...

• Word Count: 2281
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... based on the color of one's skin. Schools should be more worried about how they look in compared with other educational institutions by their test scores and student grades, then through the multiculturalism flourishing with in their campus. After all, doesn't someone want to receive the best education possible ... mainly of the minority, who passed though medical school with anything short of an A. Doctors take care of people and I wouldn't want someone with 3 attempts to pass the board certification test to perform any kind of medical practices on me. Doctors are supposed to be among ...

• Word Count: 1596
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... explains that sexual content in art, literature, or scientific works are protected forms of press and speech. This is the precursor to the SLAPS test put out by another important obscenity case, Miller v. California. In Miller, the Roth test was again changed. In Miller, the Court affirmed Justice Brennan's beliefs by stating that obscenities must lack "serious literary, artistic, political, or ... scientific value." This test is used today despite certain problems the SLAPS test has run into over the years. The biggest problem the test encounters is the questioning of art. Although mos...

• Word Count: 1758
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or 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." These are the words of the First Amendment written and ratified ... ? Where does someone draw the line between free speech and obscenity? For the enduring freedom to last, everyone, even those with messages most people don't want to hear, must be given the opportunity to speak. During the period of 1976-1978 in Skokie, Ill., neo-Nazis led ... only by such toleration that w...

• Word Count: 1305
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• Has Bibliography

... Miller was arrested and charged with distributing illustrated books of a sexual nature. The case of Miller vs. California resulted in a three-prong test for determining whether or not a work of art is obscene. U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision and reaffirmed that obscenity in not a form ... of speech protected by the First Amendment (Lankford and Pankratz 4). The three prong test set forth by the courts state that "a work must (a) appeal to prurient interest as judged by an average person applying contemporary community standards; (b) ... in which the artist placed several decapit...

• Word Count: 2311
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... Miller was arrested and charged with distributing illustrated books of a sexual nature. The case of Miller vs. California resulted in a three-prong test for determining whether or not a work of art is obscene. U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision and reaffirmed that obscenity in not a form ... of speech protected by the First Amendment (Lankford and Pankratz 4). The three prong test set forth by the courts state that "a work must (a) appeal to prurient interest as judged by an average person applying contemporary community standards; (b) ... in which the artist placed several decapit...

• Word Count: 2204
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... paradox. Forty-four percent of Americans attend church once a week, not counting funerals, christenings and baptisms, compared with twenty-seven percent of people in Great Britain, twenty-one percent of the French, four percent of Swedes and three percent of Japanese. These statistics show how heavily ... are to unmarried. (National 1) Almost three million violent crimes were committed in the United States last year. (White 1) One and a half million people were arrested for drug use in 1999. (White 2) Many school prayer supporters believe there is a direct correlation between the exclusi...

• Word Count: 1650
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• Has Bibliography

... officers, as they think proper in the President alone, or in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments." Hamilton was strongly opinionated to believing that the real test of a government was its tendency and aptitude to produce a well working administration. The president alone is giving the responsibility to nominate and chose men or women for higher office but ... the Senate could take part in monitoring him. His nominees were able to be rejected and opposed by Congress which prevents the appointment of people with incapable character from holding office. In this essay, Hamilt...

• Word Count: 1599
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... impossible. The fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has not reviewed a physician-assisted suicide case, which would create precedent, constitutes a dilemma for the state courts in that there is no uniform test or ruling by which to decide. Most states have developed their own laws to, more often than not, make doctor-assisted suicide illegal. However, when a case comes to trial it ... becomes less clear. Many of these states have a hard time grouping physician-assisted suicide with homicide. The case which Michigan judges cite in refusing this linkage of criminality is the People of the St...

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

... to trial anybody suspected of plotting against the federal government. This act stopped legitimate political discussion, and was criticized for this reason. People who spoke against the government either bowed to the pressure or were punished because of this act. This act expired in the 1800s ... from interfering with a person's religion. Religious actions and rituals can be limited by civil and federal laws. Assembly Freedom of Assembly allows people to assemble peacefully. This freedom was constantly overstepped by the British for many years. Freedom of assembly is sometimes used interc...

• Word Count: 2064
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography

... to trial anybody suspected of plotting against the federal government. This act stopped legitimate political discussion, and was criticized for this reason. People who spoke against the government either bowed to the pressure or were punished because of this act. This act expired in the 1800s ... government from interfering with a person's religion. Religious actions and rituals can be limited by civil and federal laws. Freedom of Assembly allows people to assemble peacefully. This freedom was constantly overstepped by the British for many years. Freedom of assembly is sometimes used inte...

• Word Count: 2212
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The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution says: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no ... the informant's "basis of knowledge" and would require some evidence of the tip's "veracity" or "reliability." Using this test the case would have to be thrown out because the police did not even know who the informant was. But the Court in Gates changed this standard and ... a neutral and detached magistrate, even if the warrant ultimately is found to be invalid. In the Le...

• Word Count: 1545
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Should a man who has been arrested for directly being involved with the murder of thousands of people on September 11 of 2001 have the right to have a defense attorney? The founders of our great nation who wrote the United States Constitution believe so. Not only that, but ... criminal justice system. In the past few years alone we have encountered several horrific acts of violence which challenged our freedoms and put our courts to the test. It is those extreme cases that make people question certain rights, such as the right to defense council. It is clearly written in the United States Co...

• Word Count: 1618
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... analysis to determine if sentencing a juvenile offender to the death penalty constituted cruel and unusual punishment, the Stanford plurality did not. The Stanford plurality rejected the third part of the test, namely, that the punishment is disproportionate to the severity of the crime and makes no measurable contribution to the deterrence of crime. Since the series of Supreme Court decisions upholding ... recognize that children are malleable and that research-based interventions are able to affect the lives of juvenile offenders positively and constructively while helping to reduce t...

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

... some degree a government instituted policy. It became most noticeable in the 1960's civil rights movement that was designed to break down the barriers of segregation and exclusion against people of minority status. People of minority status encompassed a broad spectrum of individuals. During the 1960's when affirmative action policies were flourishing, the minorities were essentially those who were not white, male ... his opinion that "No one doubts that there has been serious racial discrimination in this country. But as the basis for imposing discriminatory legal remedies that work aga...

• Word Count: 1573
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Letting God Back In As long as there were test that I forgot to study for I was praying in high school. Following the September 11th attacks in New York and Washington D.C., many Americans have turned ... law representing an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people to peacefully assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." First Amendment of the Constitution The infamous statement "separation of church and state" are no ... of her classmates said that "God is...

• Word Count: 1458
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Introduction "The American people simply do not understand that the freedom of thought and expression means equal freedom for the other fellow, especially the one with hated ideas" ... appropriate and what is not, and who will make this decision. Americans are divided on the two positions of the issue: 1) protect free speech even though some people abuse it or 2) freedom of speech does not outweigh the need for ethical principles. Free speech has its roots in our U.S. constitution; however, essential free ... purposes, is that the government, in dedicating the forum for expressive purposes--t...

• Word Count: 1987
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... meet Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee, two attorneys interested in changing the abortion laws. McCorvey agreed to become a plaintiff in the "Jane Roe" test case. (Years after the trial, McCorvey came forward under her own name.) They faced two difficulties. Texas had passed its abortion law in 1859 ... Ninth Amendment states that "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."(www.galegroup.com) Coffee and Weddington argued that the right to privacy also protected a woman's right to bear a child. Distri...

• Word Count: 1284
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... Affirmative Action: A case for the Supreme Court The more affirmative action was built into the American culture, the more backlash the public expressed. People of all races were divided upon the issue, as they still are today. Some people believed that affirmative action was an essential step towards equal opportunity, while others considered it reverse discrimination and injustice for all. A series of ... against by the University of California's admissions program. The school twice had rejected him, while several minority students with test scores that were significantly lower than h...

• Word Count: 1839
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... should be classified as disabled. However, several other groups, such as the APA (American Psychiatric Association), believe that ADHD in not a disability. The Fair Housing Act also protects disabled people from being discriminated. The act prevents communities or residencies from illegally preventing community based housing program for recovering alcohol and substance abusers. Interest groups also shape policy toward the disabled ... organization addressing all aspects of mental health and mental illness. With more than 340 affiliates nationwide, NMHA works to improve the mental health...

• Word Count: 1574
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School