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US Constitution study guide: Difference between revisions
→Section 9. (Enumerated limits on the powers of Congress)
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The Privilege of the '''{{#tip-text:Writ of Habeas Corpus|Writ of Habeas Corpus | The Privilege of the '''{{#tip-text:Writ of Habeas Corpus|Writ of Habeas Corpus | ||
* = order to "show the body" | * = legal order to "show the body" | ||
* = | * = a court order ("writ") that a prisoner or person held by the government be brought to a court, judge, or magistrate to be charged and/or tried with a crime | ||
* = a fundamental procedural right that protects against imprisonment without being charged | * = a fundamental procedural right that protects against imprisonment without being charged | ||
* | * a tactic of totalitarian governments is to hold political opponents in prison and not make formal charges or bring them to trial, which would allow them the opportunity to defend themselves | ||
* therefore this protection is a fundamental protection against arbitrary law and "illegal confinement (Blackstone) | |||
* however, the Constitution calls this writ a "privilege", which indicates that it is not an inherent right | |||
* legal scholars have argued that this protection merely means that the Congress cannot suspend the "privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus" except in cases of rebellion or invasion. | |||
* nevertheless, claims for the writ are common, even after trials as method of asking for a mistrial or re-trial over some error in an original criminal trial}}''' shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of '''{{#tip-text:Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it|Suspension of habeas corpus | |||
* the Constitution limits the "public safety" to "Cases of" rebellion or invasion | |||
* Presidents Lincoln, Grant and F. Roosevelt suspended habeas corpus protections under the Civil War, Reconstruction and WWII | |||
* opponents of border control have sued the government for detaining illegal aliens without charges or trial, and the Supreme Court in Boumediene v. Bush (2008) ruled that some of the terrorist detainees at Guatanamo Bay were being held without cause, and 5, all from Algeria, were subsequently released) | |||
}}.''' | |||
No '''{{#tip-text:Bill of Attainder|Bill of Attainder | No '''{{#tip-text:Bill of Attainder|Bill of Attainder | ||
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* this Constitutional protection keeps individuals from being singled out in state or federal laws for punishment | * this Constitutional protection keeps individuals from being singled out in state or federal laws for punishment | ||
* "Attainders" (meaning "tainted") come from English law, where the process of declaring a person guilty and confiscating property and/or imprisoning them was a power of the Parliament | * "Attainders" (meaning "tainted") come from English law, where the process of declaring a person guilty and confiscating property and/or imprisoning them was a power of the Parliament | ||
* | * note: "Private bills" were those acts of Parliament that applied to a specific person; "private bills" only become an '"attainder" if the act includes a punishment. In America, the Congress may pass legislation directed at a specific person, only it must not include a punishment or sanction. | ||
* | * the protection against Bills of Attainder: | ||
* = a procedural right / protection against arbitrary law | * = a procedural right / protection against arbitrary law | ||
* = equal a separation of powers, for bills of attainder allow a legislature sit in judgment of a crime.}}''' or e'''{{#tip-text:x post facto Law|ex post facto | * = equal a separation of powers, for bills of attainder allow a legislature sit in judgment of a crime.}}''' or e'''{{#tip-text:x post facto Law|ex post facto | ||
* = "after the fact" | * = "after the fact" | ||
* the Constitution protects against Congress or the States from enacting laws that can be applied backwards in time | * the Constitution protects against Congress or the States from enacting laws that can be applied backwards in time | ||
* i.e., making illegal an action that was previously legal and enforcing the new law against old actions.}}''' shall be passed. | * i.e., making illegal an action that was previously legal and enforcing the new law against old actions.}}''' shall be passed. | ||
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No preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another. | No preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another. | ||
No money shall be drawn from the Treasury | '''{{#tep-text: No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law| | ||
* = a requirement that Congress must pass a law for money to be spent | |||
* along with the subsequent requirement that Congress must issue "a regular statement and account" of revenue and expenditures, | |||
= another protection against arbitrary rule}}'''; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time. | |||
No '''{{#tip-text:Title of Nobility|No Title of Nobility | No '''{{#tip-text:Title of Nobility|No Title of Nobility | ||