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Revised
D1
Constitution
Timeline
1776
Declaration of Independence
1777
Articles of Confederation (in force
1781)
1789
United States Constitution
(replacing the Articles of Confederation)
The Constitution (1787)
!  Defines the fundamental law of federal government;
!  Sets forth three branches of the federal government and
outlines their jurisdictions;
!  Is the supreme law of the land.
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Preamble
We the People of the United States, in Order
to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice,
insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the general Welfare,
and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.
Article I
The Legislative
Branch
Section 1. Legislative Powers
!  All legislative Powers belong to Congress of the United
States:
!  Senate and
!  House of Representatives.
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Bill To Law Procedure
!  PASS: Must pass both chambers and sent to
President;
!  SIGN: If President approves, s/he signs it into law;
!  VETO: If President does not approve, it is vetoed
and returned to Congress for reconsideration.
!  OVERRIDE VETO: If both chambers vote by 2/3rd
majority, the vetoed bill becomes law.
Bill To Law Procedure
!  SIGN BY DEFAULT:
!  President does not sign bill within 10 days
(not counting Sundays), AND
!  Congress is in session
!  It becomes law.
Bill To Law Procedure
!  POCKET-VETO:
!  President does not sign bill within 10 days
(not counting Sundays), AND
!  Congress is NOT in session
!  It does NOT becomes law.
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Bill To Law Summary
!  CONGRESS: Both Chambers pass identical bill
!  PRESIDENT ACTION:
!  Sign (YES)
!  Veto (NO) & Override veto (YES)
!  PRESIDENT ACTION:
!  Default (YES)
!  Pocket Veto (NO)
Art I, Section 8: Enumerated Powers
!  Common Defense and General Welfare
!  To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and
Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the
common Defense and general Welfare of the
United States
Art I, Section 8: Enumerated Powers
!  Borrow Money on the credit of the US;
!  To regulate Commerce
!  with other Nations, and
!  among the several States [Interstate Commerce],
and
!  with the Indian Tribes
!  Naturalization: To establish uniform Rules;
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Art I, Section 8: Enumerated Powers
!  Bankruptcies: To establish uniform Laws throughout the
United States;
!  Money: Coin, regulate value of it, and of foreign
currency,
!  Weights and Measures: Fix the standard for weights
and measurements;
!  Post Offices and Post Roads: Establish post offices
and post roads for the delivery of the mail;
Art I, Section 8: Enumerated Powers
!  Intellectual Property: To promote the Progress of
Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to
Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their
respective Writings and Discoveries;
!  Establish Courts Inferior To Supreme Court;
Section 8. Enumerated Powers
!  Declare War.
!  Armies: Conscribe and Support armies. No
Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer
Term than two Years
!  Navy: Provide and Maintain a Navy
!  Militia: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute
the Laws of the Union, to suppress Insurrections and to
repel Invasions;
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Section 8. Enumerated Powers
!  Necessary and Proper Clause: To make all laws
that are necessary and proper for carrying into execution
!  the powers in Article I, Section 8, and
!  all other powers vested by the constitution
!  in the US government; or
!  in any department or
!  officer of the United States.
Article II
The Executive
Branch
Powers of the President
!  “Executive Power” Vested In President.
!  Commander in Chief
!  Of the Army and Navy
!  Of State Militia, when called into actual Service of
the United States
!  Pardons.
!  Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for
Offenses against the US, except in Cases of
Impeachment.
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Powers of the President
!  Make Treaties. With Advice and Consent of Senate
!  Requires 2/3rds of the Senators present concur
!  Nominate. With the Advice and Consent of the Senate,
shall appoint
!  Ambassadors, other public Ministers and
Consuls,
!  Judges of the supreme Court, and
!  all other Officers of the United States.
Powers of the President
!  Recess Appointments.
!  When the Senate is in recess, the President has
the power to fill all vacancies.
!  These commissions expire at the end of that
session of Congress (the end of every even year)
Impeachment & Removal Standard
!  The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the
United States, shall be removed from Office on
Impeachment for (by the House), and Conviction of (by
the Senate):
!  Treason,
!  Bribery, or
!  other high Crimes and Misdemeanors
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Article III
The Judicial
Branch
Article III. The Judicial Branch
!  Judicial Power of the United States vested in one
supreme Court; AND
!  In such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to
time ordain and establish.
Article III. The Judicial Branch:
Independent Judiciary
!  Lifetime Appointment:
!  The Judges stay on the bench “during good
behavior”
!  Compensation:
!  Compensation cannot be decreased during their
continuance in office.
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Judicial Review
!  ALL courts are required to interpret and apply the
Constitution
!  Power was not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution,
the principle was definitively established by the 1803
Supreme Court case Marbury v Madison.
!  US Supreme Court is final interpreter of US Constitution
Article IV
Relationships
Between the
States
Section 1: Full Faith & Credit
!  Each state must give Full Faith And Credit to the public
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other
State.
!  Congress has the power to prescribe the Manner in
which these Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be
proved, and the effect of them.
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Section 1: Full Faith & Credit
!  Public Acts
!  Laws
!  Records
!  Marriage
!  Judicial Proceedings
!  Divorce
Section 2. Privileges & Immunities
!  The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all
Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several
States.
!  This means that one state cannot treat a person
from another state differently than a citizen of
their state.
!  Only applies to fundamental rights
Article V
Amending the
Constitution
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Process Step 1: Proposal
!  Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed
!  by a 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress, or
!  by a Constitutional convention called by
Congress upon the appeal of 2/3 of state
legislatures.
Process Step 2: Ratification
!  Any proposed amendments must be ratified by
!  3/4 of state legislatures; or
!  Constitutional conventions called by the states.
Article VI
The Supremacy
Clause
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Supreme Law Of The Land
!  The US Constitution, and the federal laws made in
pursuance of the Federal Constitution; and all treaties
under the authority of the United States, are the supreme
law of the land.
!  The US Constitution;
!  Federal laws; AND
!  All US treaties
State Judges
!  Judges in every state are bound by the Federal
Constitution.
The Amendments
First Amendment
Second Amendment
Fourth Amendment
Fifth Amendment
Sixth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment
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First
Amendment
Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly
!  “Congress shall make no law....”
!  Establishment Clause
!  Free Exercise of Religion
!  Free Speech
!  Free Press
!  Right of Assembly
!  Right to Petition
Religion
!  Establishment of Religion:
!  ... respecting an establishment of religion, or
!  Free Exercise of Religion:
!  ... prohibiting the free exercise thereof
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Speech and Press
!  Freedom of Speech:
!  ... abridging freedom of speech, or
!  Freedom of Press:
!  ... abridging freedom of the press
Assembly And Petition
!  Right of Assembly:
!  ... the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and
!  Right to Petition Government:
!  ... to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances.
Second
Amendment
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Text
!  A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of
a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear
Arms, shall not be infringed.
The US Supreme Court Decision
!  This is what the court held:
!  Like most rights, the right secured by the Second
Amendment is not unlimited.
The US Supreme Court Decision
!  The following restricts are allowed under the Second
Amendment:
!  Bans on firearms by felons
!  Bans on firearms by the mentally ill,
!  Laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in
sensitive places such as schools and government
buildings…
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The US Supreme Court Decision
!  The following restricts are allowed under the Second
Amendment:
!  … Laws imposing conditions and qualifications
on the commercial sale of arms.
!  Banning weapons that are most useful in military
service.
Fourth
Amendment
Amendment IV.
Search & Seizure
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 Warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and
the persons or things to be seized.
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Key Terms in the Fourth Amendment
!  Their: Personal expectation of privacy
!  Unreasonable: Reasonableness leads to exceptions to
the warrant clause
!  Search: Intrusion into a protected privacy interest
!  Seizure: loss of liberty or property
Fifth
Amendment
Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination,
Due Process
!  Double Jeopardy: No person can be tried twice for the
same crime
!  Self-Incrimination: In a criminal case, the defendant
cannot be compelled to testify
!  Due Process: No one can be deprived of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law
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Sixth
Amendment
The Rights of the Accused
!  In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy....
!  Trial. Right to a speedy and public trial,
!  Impartial Jury. Where the crime was committed
!  Accusations. Informed of the nature and cause
of the accusation;
!  Witnesses. Confronted with witnesses against
defendant;
The Rights of the Accused
!  In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy....
!  Subpoena Power. Compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his/her favor,
!  Counsel. To have the Assistance of Counsel for
his/her defense.
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14th
Amendment
14th: Citizenship
!  All persons born or naturalized in the United
States, and subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States, are citizens of:
!  the United States and
!  the State they reside.
14th: Privileges or Immunities
!  No State shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the Privileges or Immunities of
citizens of the United States;
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14th: Due Process Clause
!  No State can deprive any persons of life, liberty, or
property, without Due Process Of Law
!  The Incorporation Clause:
!  Bill of Rights applying to the state
!  E.g., Defendant challenges the search of
his car in state court. He will use the 4th
Amendment made applicable to the
states through the due process clause of
the 14th amendment
14th: Due Process Clause
!  The Incorporation Clause:
!  Make sure you read the excepts from McDonald
v City of Chicago, 561 US 752 (2010).
14th: Due Process Clause
!  McDonald v City of Chicago
!  [T]he Court decisively held that incorporated Bill
of Rights protections “are all to be enforced
against the States under the Fourteenth
Amendment according to the same standards
that protect those personal rights against federal
encroachment.”
!  “[T]he Court overruled earlier decisions in which it
had held that particular Bill of Rights guarantees
or remedies did not apply to the States”
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14th: Due Process Clause
!  McDonald v City of Chicago
!  “McDonald continues the line of cases that hold
that without the Due Process Clause of the 14th
Amendment, the first eight amendments would
not apply to the state governments.”
!  “The United States Supreme Court by using the
Due Process Clause has selectively incorporated
the bill of rights so that it does apply to the state
governments.”
14th: Equal Protection Clause
!  No State can deny to any person within its
jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
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