Rights of the Accused: Court Takes More Conservative Position on Civil Liberties
The Supreme Court began to take a more conservative approach to civil liberties in the years following the Warren Court. There was even an unsuccessful effort to overturn the Miranda decision. Terry v. Ohio which recognized the right of police offic...
Rights of the Accused: Death Penalty, The
The death penalty is a divisive issue that continues to haunt the court. The basic divide is between those who think the system is so flawed you cannot know for sure that someone is guilty and others who think it is fair but object to the prolonged ...
Rights of the Accused: Search and Seizure Protections
The Constitution only provides protections of the criminal process in the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. The most controversial element of the Fourth Amendment is the exclusionary rule which applies to objects obtained by search and seizure. A court w...
Crisis of Authority: Downfall of a President, The
The public stands behind President Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal until tape recordings reveal that the President was involved. Nixon continues to deny involvement and alludes turning the tapes over, until the Supreme Court demands the t...
Question of Sovereignty, A: Court Tightens Congressional Latitude in Use of the Commerce Clause
In recent years, the freedom Congress once had in using the commerce clause to justify federal action has again come under the Supreme Court's scrutiny. During the era of the Rehnquist Court, for example, the court overturned the Gun-Free School Zon...