WHAT IS THE CONSTITUTION?

But, wait, that’s not all …

The Bill of Rights was added in 1789.

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

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

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.

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.”

And closer to home …

La Jolla High School squelches student speech, paints over political messages on senior benches

So, can I say anything I want at school?

Not so much.

But neither can your teachers.

The court says stick to teaching math.

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?

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.

What about us kids?

Reasonable searches of students?

Searches gone bad

Stratford High School Raid, Nov. 5, 2003

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwDOlLFCZuk

Savana Redding, October 2003 Strip Search

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?

So ….how do we interpret this

Constitution thing?

A Living Document?

ORIGINALIST NON-ORIGINALIST

Happy 224th Birthday!