Legal Environment April 21 2014 Bill of Rights carried out individual rights that you and I have by the government Our system of government is based on a commitment to our rule of law Importance of judges and the judiciary in our constitution Flexibility in our constitution A lot of players in government and only serve a certain amount of time in office Military in America should be subject to civilian control necessity for individuals to compromise 14th Amendment victorious union North realized the Confederacy were still not committed to their ratification of their way of life black codes laws that favored whites over blacks o which denied certain privileges unless their grandparents had those privileges known as the grandfather clause 14th amendment was to prevent some of this o Not totally successful because there was still racism and discrimination Misnamed as Equal Protected Amendment o However it didn t guarantee us equal rights Ex 12 year olds can t drive Government is obligated to treat all persons in similar circumstances about the same Strict security standard when there is a law that differentiates between religions race etc all basic fundamental rights the only way that any law concerns any of these matters is if there is a compelling government reason o Usually there isn t Minimum Rational Basis if there is a reason laws can be passed for safety or health o Ex Affordable health care Privileges and Immunities Clause an attempt to make sure state and local government don t treat non residents in a discriminated fashion Prohibits expostfacto laws a law that makes some activity criminal retroactivity Prohibits Bill of Attainder legislative enactment that punishes an individual or group which is the job of our court system o When legislative punishes them that is the court systems job System of Criminal Law required that legislature passes specific laws providing what we can and cannot do 4th Amendment Privacy Amendment Protects you and I from intrusion from the gov t Prior authorization has to be obtained by a judge In theory Warrants If individual has committed misdemeanor only police officer can make arrest for that violation Felony we allow all individuals to be arrested by private individuals police officers Judge signs a search warrant wherever there is evidence of wrongdoing but it is NOT admissible at a later criminal trial Exclusionary rule Plain view an officer can testify that he she was somewhere supposed to be and criminal misconduct was in plain view Boarder and airline searches 5th Amendment Due Process No one should be deprived of the right of life liberty pursuit of happiness without due process Right to be told in proper fashion Right to be at trial and present evidence witnesses and documents Right for judge and jury to be impartial Criminal law individual has right to preliminary hearing o Prosecutor has to show probable cause that a felony was committed and probable cause that individuals committed that felony o Prosecutor has to put on a mini trial o Indictment o Confessions made by a defendant have to meet a constitutional standard for it to be utilized at a trial Confession has to be voluntary Confession has to be intelligently made o Double jeopardy defendant can t be trialed again for same charges o Eminent domain assets or real estate cannot be taken from us by the gov t without compensation
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