Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Constitutional Law
Test #3
1. There are three approaches to First Amendment Analysis, the absolutist approach,
categorical approach and balancing approach. Of these three the balancing approach
would be the best because it looks each individual’s interests and weigh them against the
because it places the government and the accused on a more even playing field. Each
case is no longer thrown into a certain category or lumped into a broad grouping; instead
they are individually reviewed and weighed with regards to the extent of each case. The
interpretation in regards to whose interest are more important, the individual or the
government. A person with a greater deference to the government would be more willing
to rule in favor of the government, while a more skeptical person would rule in favor of
the individual.
The advantages and disadvantages of the absolutist and categorical approaches are
as follows. An advantage of the absolutist approach would be that it has the broadest
definition as to what is speech. Under the absolutist all speech is protected except that
which could be injurious towards another person. The disadvantage with this approach is
that it leaves out such things as libel which would hurt a person’s character and it does
in that it narrows the scope of what is and is not free speech by creating categories and
placing different kinds of speech in these categories. Instead of allowing all kinds of
speech except those that are immediately dangerous, the categorical approach creates
more things that are outside the First Amendment and capable of governmental review.
The disadvantage of the categorical approach would be that it places things in black and
white categories with little grey area. There is little room for individual interpretation of
2. Freedom of Speech is one of the most sacred American rights. There are
numerous values that can be obtained by upholding and supporting the First Amendment
which are ultimately beneficial to our society. Of those values, checking the abuse of
government power and promoting tolerance are the most important in my opinion.
role the media has played in the history of American politics. Watergate, Irangate and
Clintongate all brought to light the misdoings of our government; and without the brave
reporters of the New York Times, the American people may have never found out why so
many of their loved ones perished in the Vietnam Conflict. A free media ensures that the
government is honest to the American people and does not extend beyond its powers.
United States there are many distinct groups with widely different views. Not all of these
groups see eye to eye on every subject and in some instances many groups openly hate
each other. By allowing these groups to express their views, even if they are considered
wrong by the mainstream, Americans are building a much needed tolerance towards each
other that is crucial to the survival of our multi-cultural society. By allowing people of
different beliefs to challenge each other verbally the chance of them challenging each
Even with the values that can be obtained by protecting free speech there are also
costs. Criticizing the government undermines it authority and sometimes makes it unable
to carry through its responsibility be they good or bad. Some would say that by allowing
a dangerous or subversive element within our country to express itself, we allow their
hateful or even violent message to spread and influence people leading to a brake down
in society. Freedom of Speech also allows the spread and viewing of materials which
some would consider damaging to children such as pornography and explicitly violent
films.
Of these three costs the last one is the least important because it is not the duty of
the government to determine what children should and should not see that is the job of
the parents. I believe that there is a marginal threat in criticizing the government in
regards to national security but not enough of a threat to warrant a change in the First
Amendment. There is also a threat posed by different groups within the U.S. but by
allowing them to speak freely we create tolerance and blunt their attack by discussion and
3. In the case of Porn King there are two First Amendment issues to be dealt with.
First one most examine the matter of obscenity and whether or not Porn King is outside
the realm of the First Amendment. In the case of Miller v. California the Supreme Court
obscene material when the mode of dissemination carries with it a significant danger of
offending the sensibilities of unwilling recipients or of exposure to juveniles.” But Porn
King did not offend the sensibilities of unwilling recipients or minors. No one under 21
was allowed in the shop and every attempt was made to not offend anyone. In order to be
arraigned for the selling of “obscene and pornographic material” the defense will need to
prove that the material Porn King is selling is without “serious value.” If the people of
Allen are upset with Porn Kings products they have every right to picket the store and in
fact take the picture of any person entering the store; but since there is not mention of any
statute in Allen prohibiting the sell of pornography, Porn King has every right to sell his
products.
The second matter to be dealt is that of the libel case brought against the reporter
by Porn King. Even though Porn King was raided by the police and he was charged with
selling obscene and pornographic material he can not sue the reporter for libel. In the
case of Hustler Magazine v. Falwell the Supreme Court ruled that speech can only be
considered libel when it is knowingly false. The article calling Porn King “smut king,” is
not a case for libel because it is in fact not fallacious; smut is simply a derogatory term
used to describe pornography and therefore the matter is not one of truth but of
interpretation.
4. In the case of X and Y there is really only one First Amendment issue. Since title
40 U.S.C Section 13k stated that absolutely no groups of any party, organization, or
movement could display any kind of banner on the grounds of the Supreme Court
building there was legitimate reason to remove X and Y since the grounds were not
public forums. In the case of Rosenberger v. University of Virginia the court ruled that
since the University of Virginia had created a fund that would cover the cost of
publications by eligible student groups; they had created a public forum and could not
refuse funding to a specific group because of beliefs. If other groups had been allowed to
protest on the grounds of the Supreme Court but X and Y were refused, the arrest would
not be constitutional because it would be discriminatory. Since no groups of any kind are
allowed to protest on the grounds of the Supreme Court; the arrest of X and Y is
legitimate.
5. On the road to the Miranda case the Supreme Court ruled on many cases
involving procedural fairness with respect to interrogation. Prior to 1936 there were very
few protections for those accused of a crime. For many federal officials the preferred
method of interrogation was simply torture. Any kind of confession, whether it was
beaten out of the defendant or coerced by other means of torture, was acceptable and
could be used as legal means in order to charge someone. In 1884 case of Hopt v. Utah,
the Supreme Court ruled that federal agents could not use statements that were coerced
out of someone being brutally interrogated. Later, in the 1936 case of Brown v.
Mississippi, the court applied the same standards to state officials stating that
petitioners, and the use of the confessions thus obtained as the basis for
Between 1936 and the Miranda case the Court inched its way towards a due
process model of criminal justice, which focused on the rights of the accused, instead of
crime control, which focused on limiting criminal activity. The cases of Ashcraft v.
Tennessee and Watts v. Indiana both dealt with interrogation and coerced confessions.
McNabb v. U.S. and Mallory v. U.S. focused not on interrogation but on the unreasonable
delay of the defendants while in custody; and Massiah v. U.S. and Escobedo v. Illinois
made it a mandatory for a defendant to have a lawyer during his interrogation. In the
case of Miranda v. Arizona, the Court ruled that federal and state officials must give
suspects warnings before interrogating them. Without the warnings statements made are
inadmissible.
Sine1966 there have been over 60 Miranda related cases that have appeared
before the Supreme Court. One of the most controversial cases since Miranda was that of
Dickerson v. U.S. In Dickerson, a section of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Street
Act of 1968, which attempted to overrule Miranda and return the court to a standard of
voluntariness in place of Miranda’s specific warnings, was resurrected when the Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that statements which a suspect had given to officers
before being warned of his rights were admissible in court because they had been
voluntarily rendered. The question before the Court was whether Miranda was
constitutionally grounded and therefore safe Congressional overrule. Many thought that
the Dickerson case spelled the end for Miranda warnings but in a surprise decision
Miranda not only survived but it was reaffirmed. Dickerson not only saved Miranda
warnings but it also strengthened due process in the criminal justice system.
6. When dealing with the legality of the law of search, one must ask two questions.
First, is there a Fourth Amendment Right? This question is then divided into two sub-
criteria which must be met. Those criteria are, is the person doing the searching a
government official and is there an expectation of privacy. The first sub-question is easy
to understand since common citizens have no right to invade the privacy of others; it is
the job of the government to investigate any illegal activity. The other sub-question in
United States a citizen has the right to an expectation of privacy, in other words a person
has the right to not be unlawfully spied upon or have their belongs seized in the comfort
of their own home or other places where privacy might be a concern. By searching a
persons property without a warrant constitutes an illegal search and therefore the
evidence is admissible but there are in fact exceptions to this rule such as the open fields
doctrine, public exposure doctrine and abandoned property. These three are legitimate
exceptions to the right of privacy because in each case there is a removal of the
previously mentioned right and it is therefore open for investigation. If a case passes
The second question to ask in regards to the law of search is whether or not the
search was reasonable. In most cases of investigation the officials conducting the search
need to have a warrant in order to investigate the citizen’s property. A warrant can only
be obtained from a judge who is presented with an affidavit stating that there is probable
cause (facts that would lead a reasonable person to believe there are seize able goods on a
person or place) for the search. The warrant that is issued must contain certain
information such as what is going to be searched and what places are to be searched. If
these criteria are attained then a search is valid. There are instances when a search can be
conducted without a warrant these are stop and frisk, consent, auto exception, plain view,
exigent circumstances, and incident to arrest. In stop and frisk an officer must have
reasonable suspicion to both stop and frisk a pedestrian, there is not a need for a search
warrant. In consent searches the person voluntarily consents to being searched. The auto
exception allows for the car and any containers in the car to be searched as long as there
is reasonable suspicion. Plain view allows for anything which is in plain view to be
searched by an officer. Exigent circumstances are instances where there is not time to
Incident to an arrest is the final warrantless search. If an officer feels that there may be
weapons which a defendant may use or if there is another person in a building an officer
may search the building and the area within arms length of the suspect.
With the law of arrest there must be probable cause that the crime was committed
and the defendant committed the crime. In public an arrest can be made if there is
probable cause for the arrest but in private residences police must have a warrant in order
to arrest someone. If entering a person home police must knock on the door and
announce their identity and purpose before forced entry. A forced entry can only be
executed when there is a threat of escape by the suspect or the destruction of evidence.
For misdemeanors the police may arrest without a warrant only if the criminal behavior
occurs in their presence. Eve n then the officer does not have to take the offender into
custody
7. In the eyes of many there are indeed sound policy reasons for not funding
religious specific student publications with state dollars. Since the money that is being
used by the university is given by the state and therefore subject to the same restrictions
as the other government agencies; some would say that the money should be used for
non-religious purposes in accordance with the First Amendment. Yet In the case of
Rosenberger v. University of Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled that since the
governmental program that gave the money to the University was neutral toward religion
the Establishment Clause attack by the University is invalid. By not directly giving
money to a specific religious group and instead giving it evenly to all groups there is not
If indeed the University of Virginia did not wish to have a religious newspaper on
campus there would only be one option open for them. The university had created an
open forum for student discussion on a wide range of subjects, which did not exclude all
religious discussion. In Rosenberger, the Court ruled that the University of Virginia had
motivating ideology, opinion, or perspective”) by refusing funding for Wide Awake while
at the same time allowing other religious content in the University. The Court ruled that
because of its subject matter”) and had allowed no religious content or discussion of
metaphysical matters in the university community then they could have denied support to
the Wide Awake publication. But denying the discussion of these fields leaves broad
field of studies that are crucial to the collegiate learning system, such as philosophy,
ethics, and to some extent law, completely out of the lecture hall.
8. The United States should not adopt an anti-flag burning amendment to the
Constitution because even though the flag is a very emotional and respected symbol of
our country, it is not outside the realm of free expression. In the case of Texas v. Johnson,
Justice Brennan delivers a compelling argument for the right to flag burning. He states
that if there is one thing that the First Amendment stands for, it is that the government can
not “prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive of
disagreeable.” If society were to prohibit all material that the majority of the U.S. found
offensive we would be without pornography as well as certain types of motion pictures
and music. Burning the flag, even though it offends many people, only harms their
sensibilities and nothing else. Justice Brennan states “we have not recognized an
exception to this principle even where our flag has been involved...we have never held
that the government may ensure that a symbol be used to express only one view of that
symbol or its referents…” By allowing flag burning to be illegal the court would open up
which symbols are more important than others. In doing this the justices would be forced
to exercise a large amount of interpretation. Who will decide which symbol can or
cannot be desecrated?
The reason that the burning of the flag provokes such an emotional reaction is
because many people have deeply seeded feelings in regard to it. For many American
veterans the flag symbolizes what they were fighting for. For many immigrants it
represents a new life. For most Americans it represents the freedom and liberty that we
as Americans enjoy. Of course because burning of the flag is such a touchy topic, it often
times creates breaches of the peace where demonstrators burning the flag are assaulted by
those who are against it. Even though burning the flag may be intended to be simply
peaceful protesting, it often turns violent when those who are abhor flag burning lose
that protects juveniles from exposure to explicit pornography while at the same time
allowing for the First Amendment right to viewing materials by adults. The courts
decision in Miller v. California placed the decision of decency in the hands of the
communities. In Ashcroft v. ACLU, the court placed the decision into the hands of the
smallest community in the U.S.; the family. By placing filtering material into the hands
of parents and not the government the court is placing responsibility where it should be.
It is the job of the parents of juveniles to decide what their children should and should not
see. Filtering software protects the rights of adult citizens to view pornographic material
while at the same time protecting juveniles. Pornography is an area where less restrictive
10. In Atkins v. Virginia and Roper v. Simmons the Supreme Court made sound
constitutional decisions. In each case the Court examined the criteria determined by
other cases as defining who is and is not eligible for the death penalty. In the Atkins case
as well as Roper the Court examined the two main points for administering the death
penalty, deterrence and retribution. In the case of Atkins the death penalty was deemed
inadmissible due to the fact that since a mentally retarded person was not capable of fully
knowing the consequences of their actions, therefore not being as depraved as an average
adult, and because mentally retarded people lacked the capacity for premeditation and
would therefore not be deterred from committing more crimes, they were not deserving
of the death penalty. In Roper the court ruled along the same lines as those in the Atkins
case stating that a juvenile did not fall into the same two qualifications for the death
The criteria used in both cases for defining those who are deserving of the death
penalty was indeed sound because they looked at the mental condition of each offender
and then weighed it against the penalty. In each case the Court examined whether or not
the punishment would in some way benefit society or at least be a deterrent and in each
case they found that by executing juveniles and the mentally retard, society would not be
bettered and in fact they would be doing a grave disservice to those who would be
commits a crime would with equal obliviousness be executed, and therefore not fulfill
A main point that played its way into the Roper case was international laws
pertaining to the execution of a juvenile. During the Roper case the Justices examined
laws from other countries in order to make a sound decision in the case. By examining
the laws of other countries the Supreme Court reached out for ideas in order to make the
best decision for the U.S. We as Americans should not think that we have a monopoly on
ideas and that our Constitution is the best law on Earth. It is far better for us to expand
our horizons and examine what other nations view to right and wrong, and in the process
discover what we as Americans believe is right and wrong. The international community
11. Of the four theories concerning incorporation selective incorporation plus and
total incorporation plus are the preferred theories. Total incorporation is not as appealing
a decision because it quashes the individual rights of the states to make laws for their own
people by forcing them to accept the federal Bill of Rights. Historically selective
incorporation has achieved nearly the same goal as total incorporation except that it
arrived there through a case by case method. Incorporation has created a minimal
standard in regards to the Bill of Rights which the states have to follow. With selective
incorporation plus and total incorporation plus, the state governments, instead of simply
conforming to the Bill of Rights, can change their own constitutions, in most instances
creating new laws which are more protective and broader than those of the federal
government. This allows for a greater amount of individual freedom and expression
which would not be present if there was simply a total incorporation of the Bill of Rights.
With the ability to modify those rights which have been forced upon them by the national
government, the states are maintaining a little of their own autonomy as well as
In regards to the idea incorporation in general, the idea is indeed a good one
which has greatly benefited our country. Before the Due Process revolution the Bill of
Rights was without any authority in regards to the states. The Supreme Court recognized
that the state governments, not the federal government, were the ones who were abusing
the rights of their citizens. Most of what was said in the Bill of Rights did not apply to
the states, which in lead to restrictions or the lack there of of many rights which today are
incorporation has been a god-send to the American people because it created minimal
requirements in regards to the rights of individuals, protecting them from abuse by the
states.
12. The decisions in Vernonia v. Acton and Board of Education v. Earls are correct.
In each case there was a special need for the random drug tests based on the fact that by
using drugs the students were a threat not only to themselves but to other students. In the
case of Vernonia v. Acton there was also a special need for drug screenings because there
was a large drug problem among the student population. The efforts by the school district
were an attempt to stifle the already rampant drug problem in the school. By randomly
screening, the schools in each case hoped to protect the health and safety of their students
while at the same time deterring further use illicit drugs. There was also the fear of drug
use among athletes in the school system, which are seen as role models by their peers.
By testing athletes and others extracurricular, there was an attempt made by the schools
Since there would be a special need to protect the health and safety of young
impressionable minors from the adverse affects of drug abuse, the school would be
constitutionally allowed to drug test all of its students. In high schools there is an
intellectual community. The use of drugs disrupts that atmosphere and therefore there is
a special need by the administration to drug test in order to deter further use and create a
In regards to the age of students one must look at the point when peer pressure
becomes a common place activity and curiosity with drugs and alcohol occur. In normal
circumstances the conditions for these two conditions occurs during junior high when
social status becomes more important and often drugs and alcohol are linked with social
status. Screening children in K-6 grade would be a waste of time and resources because
there are not the social pressures for children in these age groups to try drugs and alcohol.
It would therefore be an intelligent idea to screen all students who are in junior high and
high school. These students are more influenced by their peers and therefore more likely
to experiment with drugs and alcohol. Testing at the high school level would be a
their students because a university would lack the special need of a high school. A
university does not have the social pressures to conform that are present in a high school
atmosphere. College students tend to be more accepting of the preferences of others and
are therefore less likely to pressure a peer into using drugs. A university also does not
have the disciplinary atmosphere of a high school nor does it need one to operate. A high
voluntary due to the fact that the student has voluntarily decided to attend the university.
Therefore the university student is there of their own free will and not the responsibility
of the university. Also if a university student chooses to abuse drugs they run less of a
chance of hurting fellow students, the only person they injury is themselves. Testing of
university students would not be supported due to the fact that there is not the special