Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

As we discussed last week, the Sixth Amendment guarantees a trial by jury in a criminal trial, among other guarantees.   The Seventh Amendment guarantees a trial by jury in federal civil cases for disputes over $20. Why were the Founders so adamant about jury trials as opposed to a single judge?   What is the difference between a civil or common law trial and a criminal trial?   What are the excep...

A criminal trial has the potential to permanently alter the rest of one's life.   Punishments can range from fines to imprisonment to execution.   This gives the government tremendous ability to impose penalties on its citizens.   The Founders understood this and laid out criteria under which criminal trials would proceed.   Under the Sixth Amendment, trials are speedy and fair, juries are imparti...

The Fifth Amendment really packs a punch. Think about the Constitution like this: the body of the Constitution created the new government and the Bill of Rights immediately put constraints on that government's power. The Founders had a natural skepticism and nervousness about governmental power especially when it comes to the prosecuting of criminal activity.  The Fifth Amendment lists 5 significa...

The Fourth Amendment provides two specific protections: protection against unreasonable searches and seizures and requirements for when a warrant can be issued.  At only 54 words, the amendment continues the Founders' penchant for brevity and leaves room for interpretation through the courts. How do we define what is unreasonable and probable and how has this standard changed over time?  At one po...

At first glance, in a contemporary view, the Third Amendment may seem like a relic from the founding era of our country.   Today, it would seem strange for the military to require homeowners to house and feed soldiers.   We think it just would not happen. Perhaps the certainty around it not happening today should be attributed to the Third Amendment's success: being so unambiguous and precise when...

Last month the governor of New Mexico issued a temporary public health order restricting the carrying of firearms in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.   The bipartisan pushback against this order was swift and she later amended the order to only apply at parks and playgrounds.   From where, if anywhere at all, did the governor derive such a power?   Does this conflict with the second amendment an...

Free speech in the First Amendment protects us from government censorship but not private censorship.   This means the government cannot censor your speech but a private entity such as a newspaper does not have an obligation to publish your speech. Continuing this analogy, are social media companies more like a newspaper where they can pick and choose which speech to publish or more like a telepho...

Court with lifetime appointments.  They decide the most pressing issues of federal law.  Did you know the Court regularly receives over 7,000 annual petitions for a case to be heard, but only accepts 60-70 cases per year?  Did you know the 9 justices get to decide which cases they hear?  Did you know the justices employ a few dozen law clerks to help them work through their caseload? Our guest tod...

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."   Regular followers of Constituting America understand the importance of this passage from the Declaration of Independence and our natural rights: rights given to us by God that can never...

Our federal government is divided into three branches and each branch has certain powers over the others.   We identify this as separation of powers and checks and balances.   What if all three powers were held in one set of hands?   That government would be the definition of tyranny.   Our founders knew government is both necessary and very dangerous so they created this system so today we can en...

The United States Supreme Court has various depictions of Lady Justice in and around the building.   These depictions portray her with three items: a blindfold, scales and a sword.   The blindfold and scales suggest the use of reason and logic in judicial judgement.   The sword suggests the strength to carry out that judgement.   Have you wondered how the concept of an independent judiciary furthe...

Regular followers of Constituting America understand our appreciation for the Declaration of Independence as one of the most groundbreaking documents ever written.   Did you know this document was crafted as a logical argument listing both major and minor premises against the Crown making the case for colonial independence?   It also illustrates three levels of justice: natural law, legal justice...

John Adams wrote, "Liberty can no more exist without virtue and independence than the body can live and move without a soul."  To understand the need for civic duty, one must fully grasp civic virtue and to fully grasp civic virtue, one must have a civic education.  Understanding the hows and whys of our governmental system is vital in knowing how we can best participate and contribute to that str...

Not very long ago, the circumstances to which you were born largely dictated the path your life took.  If you were born into the aristocracy, you likely died the same way.  If you were born into poverty, you likely died the same way.  The United States ushered in a new era of thinking: meritocracy.  It is this notion that a people should rise and fall based on their achievements and not the circum...

American sovereignty is such a fundamental ideal in the American experiment that it's mentioned in both the opening and closing of the Declaration of Independence.   Succinctly, sovereignty is the power to do something and shapes our ability as a people through our elected representatives to make decisions that are best for us.   Why were the Founders so concerned with sovereignty?   Why was it so...

The Declaration of Independence so eloquently laid out "charges" against the Crown  - detailing why independence was necessary.  The test of the Constitution is whether or not it serves the goals and aims of the Declaration of Independence.  In the Constitution, the Founders had to strike the proper balance of liberty and order as our new nation was leaving an oppressive government behind while at...

What can history teach us?   Well…everything!   Our Founding generation understood history and studied it when creating the framework for our country.   From ancient city-states to the fall of empires, our Founders looked at what did and did not work in past governments.   One can argue our current government, this great experiment in self-governing is an amalgamation of previous forms, choosing t...

Americans love a good origin story.   This love carries into the origin story of our country.   Today, we are discussing the role of Providence and faith in the origin story of the United States.   What role did religion have on our founders and how is that root belief carried on today?   To help us unpack this topic, we are delighted to welcome Nathanael Blake, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ethics...

What is popular government?   What do we mean when we say we are self-governing? In his 1863 Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln summarized it rather clearly: "…that government of the people, by the people, for the people…". According to our guest, in those few word Lincoln answered who creates our government, who administers our government and for what purpose.   Join our guest expert, Adam Car...

In drafting the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson put a specific emphasis on natural law and weaved that theme throughout the entire document.   While the Declaration of Independence did not create the new United States government. it severed ties with our previous government so a new one could be formed, and set out important principles upon which our new government would be based. Wh...

It's only about 100 miles from the southern tip of Florida, yet couldn't be more different than its American neighbor.  Cuba is yet another example of a revolution that promised change but then turned on its people to usher in a communist dictatorship.  While Cuba has a constitution that enshrines rights, those rights are seldom recognized by the government.  Article 56 of their constitution guara...

Oppressive states and regimes run by a dictator have something in common; an iron grip on every aspect of their citizens' lives.   Basic freedoms-like speech, assembly, religion-don't exist in these countries.   As westerners, we read about these oppressions.   But every now and then, we are able to hear a first-hand account of what happens inside these secretive governments.   We are honored that...

It was once the richest country in South America with the largest proven fossil-fuel reserves in the world, according to the World Economic Forum.  In just 24 years, this country now sees over half its population living in poverty.  In today's chat, we are of course talking about Venezuela.  Venezuela, which became socialist through a democratic election in 1999 when Hugo Chavez came to power, ser...

It's only existed for 31 years.   It covers roughly 1/8 of all inhabitable landmass on earth with a population of 143 million.   It has a constitution and a parliament but for 23 years, it has been ruled by one individual.   Today, we are discussing the dictatorship of the Russian Federation and its ruler, Vladimir Putin.   How did Putin come to power and consolidate his iron grip over his country...

Look at a map of the Korean Peninsula at night.   In the southern half of the peninsula, you will see pockets of bright lights denoting South Korea's cities and population centers.   In the northern part, you will see an expanse of a dark expanse with the occasional tiny light.   That's not an ocean or other body of water.   That's North Korea, an absolute dictatorship and one of, if not the most,...