Arrest
The fact of an arrest and the definition of an arrest are of fundamental importance.
Read the full storyArrest Warrants
Law enforcement officials in America and in England in the period preceding the American Revolution did not have broad inherent authority to search and seize; such actions required authorization, and the warrant system was the primary means to confer that authority.
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An arrest constitutes a seizure and must therefore satisfy the Fourth Amendment’s requirement that all searches and seizures be reasonable.
Read the full storyAshcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 (2002)
Congress passed the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 that, among other things, dealt with ‘‘virtual’’ pornographic images of minors.
Read the full storyJohn Ashcroft (1942–)
John Ashcroft served as attorney general during the first term of the administration of George W. Bush, and in his last year in office analysts were terming him the worst attorney general in the nation’s history.
Read the full storyAssisted Suicide
It was not until the last decade of the twentieth century that the U.S. Supreme Court decided three cases in which the Court began what remains a tentative exploration of whether (if at all) the U.S. Constitution guarantees a choice concerning the time and manner of one’s death.
Read the full storyAsylum, Refugees and the Convention against Torture
The United States provides several forms of relief to refugees, or individuals fleeing persecution in their home country. The legal framework governing refugees derives principally from international law and has been implemented in statutes and regulations.
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Although the first two clauses of the First Amendment concern the establishment and free exercise of ‘‘religion,’’ the amendment long has been understood to protect the liberty and equality of nonbelievers.
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The Fourth Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment regulates government actors and provides, in part, the ‘‘right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.’’
Read the full storyAutopsies and Free Exercise Beliefs
As government has grown in the United States, conflicts between religious observers and the law have increased proportionately. Modern dilemmas are easy to find. Members of the Native American church seek to use peyote despite laws prohibiting its possession.
Read the full storyBenjamin Franklin Bache
Born the grandson of Benjamin Franklin and educated in Geneva, Benjamin Franklin Bache epitomized early America’s ambivalent relationship with the press.
Read the full storyBad Tendency Test
Emerging by the early nineteenth century, the bad tendency test remained the predominant judicial approach to determining the scope of free expression for over a century.
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In 1791, the Eighth Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution as part of the Bill of Rights for the purpose of prohibiting, among other things, the requirement of ‘‘excessive bail.’’
Read the full storyBalancing Approach to Free Speech
‘‘Balancing’’ refers to a method of adjudication used by judges to reach decisions through weighing the parties’ competing interests or rights.
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In constitutional adjudication, the balancing test is the predominant mode of case resolution, although major differences exist on ‘‘how to strike the balance.’’ The balance that must be struck is between individual freedoms and societal needs such as the need to preserve order.
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