What is the Constitution?

2. What is the Constitution?

3. But, wait, that’s not all … The Bill of Rights was added in 1789.

4. The Bill of Rights • 1st – Free speech, freedom of religion, right to assemble & petition • 2nd – Right to keep and bear arms • 3rd – No quartering of soldiers • 4th – No unreasonable searches & seizures • 5th – Right not to testify (and more) • 6th – Right to speedy trial and fair jury • 7th – Right to trial by jury • 8th – No cruel or unusual punishment • 9th – All other rights reserved to the people • 10th – All other powers reserved to the states

5. Still more rights … • 13th – Abolishes slavery & involuntary servitude • 14th – Requires equal protection under the law to all persons; requires due process • 15th – Right to vote shall not be denied based on race, color or previous condition of servitude • 19th– Right to vote extended to women • 26th – Right to vote extended to 18-year-olds

7. The First Amendment Congress shall make no lawrespecting 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 peopleto assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

8. Tinker v. Des Moines “It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

9. And closer to home … La Jolla High School squelches student speech, paints over political messages on senior benches

10. So, can I say anything I want at school? Not so much.

11. But neither can your teachers. The court says stick to teaching math.

12. What do you think? • Should students have lesser 1st Amendment rights at school than adults have? • Why are schools allowed to limit students’ speech? • Are students allowed to share their religious views in school? • What’s the deal with school prayer? Are prayers okay at graduation or events? • Can a school censor a school-sponsored publication, like a newspaper or yearbook?

14. The Fourth Amendment 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 searched.

15. What about us kids?

16. Reasonable searches of students?

17. Searches gone bad • Stratford High School Raid, Nov. 5, 2003 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwDOlLFCZuk • Savana Redding, October 2003 Strip Search

18. What do you think? • Should the school in South Carolina have called in the police and drug-sniffing dogs in a mass raid in response to evidence that one student was doing drugs? • Could the school and police have conducted a more reasonable search? • Did the Arizona school have enough evidence to search Savana Redding based on one student’s accusation? • Would a strip search of a student ever be reasonable? • What would you do if you found yourself in Savana’s situation?

19. So ….how do we interpret this Constitution thing?

20. A Living Document? Originalist Non-Originalist

21. Happy 224th Birthday!