"In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twentydollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law."
The Seventh Amendment sets the limit for the amount of money a case needs to be dealing with to be a federal case tried by a jury. Today the amount has to exceed 75,000 dollars before a case is to be tried federally by a jury. This Amendment is important, because if a bar wasn't set for amount of money a case has to be dealing with to require a trial by jury then there would be thousands of cases needing trial by jury, and the judicial system couldn't handle it
This is just a picture of a 20 dollar bill. It represents the 20 dollar bar that the Constitution set for the right to trial by a jury. Because of inflation we need the Judicial Branch to constantly raise the bar. The fact that they are able to adapt this Amendment to the current times is very important for the health of our judicial system.
"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."
The Sixth Amendment like the Fifth is included in the Bill of Rights to protect American Citizens who have been accused of a crime. We needed this Amendment because it has been proven in history (England) that if a court has too much power it can be a bad thing. This Amendment gives anyone accused of a crime the right to trial by jury, counsel, and includes what was to be interpreted and put into law as the "Miranda Rights". Without this Amendment a lot of innocent people could go to jail.
This is a picture of the Miranda rights. These are the rights given to you by the interpretation of the "to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him"part of the Sixth Amendment. I would hate to be arrested and not be told why or told what rights I had in that situation. The courts go the interpretation right, but I still think Miranda in the case that created these laws should have gone to jail regardless. He was guilty.
This is just a funny cartoon about the right to a speedy trial. The funny part about it is some people can be kept in jail for 2 or more years while their case is being tried in today's United States. There are just so many cases for the courts to get to that they can't keep up.
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
The Fifth Amendment is a part of the Bill of Rights that provides a lot of protection for an American Citizen that is either being accused of a crime or has committed a crime. The Government can't keep you captive for a crime unless they can convince a Grand Jury of your peers that they have a reason to do so. This is another very important Amendment that basically makes rules for the Judicial Branch. I have luckily never been taken to prison but if I did I would be very happy that our founding fathers included this Amendment in the Bill of Rights.
This is just a funny comedy by Dave Chapelle about the "nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself" part of the Fifth Amendment. It has become a regular saying in pop culture and our lives, "I plead the fifth". At first that saying just meant that you won't testify in a court of law against yourself, but now it has evolved into meaning you just don't want to talk about something.
This is an article about a new topic concerning our Fifth Amendment rights, "Indefinite Detention". The Congress is trying to pass a bill giving the Government the power to hold anyone captive indefinitely if they are suspected of being involved with a terrorist organization. This new law would basically make the Fifth Amendment irrelevant in cases involving terrorism, and I think it is a step in the opposite direction of security.
"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."
The Fourth Amendment is all about protecting the safety and freedom of the people. Without this Amendment the Government could come into your house and take your things without telling you the reason or even having a reason. This is another very important part of the Bill of Rights which keeps the governments power over the people in check, and allows for true freedom whichever state you live in.
This is a funny but serious cartoon about rights that are given to you by the 4th Amendment being forgotten as soon as you walk through an airports doors. Don't get me wrong I am all for great security at airports, but I do think we are starting to go a little overboard with the new scanners that see through your clothes.
This cartoon is about the Patriot Act and how it creates it's own rules ignoring most of the Constitution. The Patriot Act is basically a law that says if the Government suspects that you are a terrorist that you lose all of your 4th Amendment rights and pretty much all your other rights. I unlike most people only have a small problem with this law. I really doubt that the government would be able to get away with using this Act on anyone that they really could not prove was a terrorist. This Act does not affect normal people that aren't doing anything wrong. At least that is what I would like to believe.
"No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in manner to be prescribed by law."
The Third Amendment is the most outdated amendment in the Bill of Rights. This amendment protects the citizens of the United States from soldiers being quartered in their house without their permission. This amendment was in response to people in the colonies being forced to house British soldiers against their will. I like most people would be more than welcome to let any American Soldier stay at my house in time of need. So I doubt that this amendment will have any challenges to it in the future.
This picture to me makes fun of the outdated Third Amendment. I doubt anybody would want to be forced to house a soldier if they did not want to, but if they did repeal the Third Amendment I doubt it would affect society today at all. Most people I think like me would house a soldier in a time of need without being forced.
This video shows one of the main reasons why the Third Amendment is outdated, American military personnel are provided housing. Most likely the only reason a soldier would ever have to stay at a citizens house would be in time of war, and the Third Amendment doesn't protect against quartering in time of war (however it would be regulated by law).
"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 Second Amendment has been at the heart of one of the most heated debates about the Constitution in recent memory. This Amendment gives every citizen in the United States the right to own a gun (bear arms). Did the founders mean for it to include fully automatic machine guns that hadn't even been invented yet? To me the meaning of this amendment changed as soon as the United States decided to keep a large standing military. Before without the ability of the citizens to keep a gun to protect themselves we might not have been able to fight back against the British or keep the country together during the Civil War. Now with a police force in every town and city, and the most powerful military in the world a citizen does not need a military style weapon. I believe that if you want a gun to protect your family or hunt that is a right that should be protected. However, there is no reason for anyone not in the military to possess a gun that could kill 30 people with one round of bullets.
This video brings up the point (in a funny way) that I made above; the Second Amendment was created right after a war when the people of the country still needed the ability to protect themselves from their enemies because the country could not. I don't believe the Second Amendment was included in the constitution so a guy in Texas could own a fully automatic machine gun. The need for citizens to protect themselves from an enemy invader has passed, it doesn't mean what it may have meant back when the founders included this right into the Bill of Rights.
This picture brings up a point about why the public should have the right to "bear arms". The protection of your family is very important, but I believe protection of an average citizen from anyone with a gun is just as important. I do believe that people should have the right to have a gun in their house to protect themselves from invaders, but I also think that right should be well controlled by the government. Handgun's for protection is alright, a machine gun in your house for protection is not.
"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; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
To me the First Amendment is the most important of the Bill of Rights amendments. Not only does it give the average citizen the right to speak freely without fear of retaliation from the government, it gives the same right to the press. Freedom of the press is a crucial part of a free Democracy. Without freedom of the press we might never have learned about scandals such as Watergate or the Monica Lewinski fiasco. We need the press to keep us up to date on what is going on with the country and the strengths and weaknesses of political candidates. Also there are so many different religions in the United States that without the freedom of religion given to us by the First Amendment this country would fall apart.
To me this cartoon shows us that even without fear of retaliation from the government, free speech like everything can be controlled by the wealthy and powerful. Who knows how many large company scandals have been hidden from the public by a reporter who got paid off. However, that is why it is good to have so many different media outlets; if the scandal is big enough, the people involved won't be able to keep it from the public for long.
This picture brings up a topic that has been debated ever since the freedom of speech was included in the Bill of Rights. Should speech that is meant to hurt other people be protected by the First Amendment? The only reason I think "Hate Speech" should be protected is the fact that it would be an impossible form of speech to regulate. So many people in this country say things without thinking about how it could affect the people around them, that if "Hate Speech" wasn't protected the justice system would be overwhelmed with new cases.
