The Final Challenge: The Constitution

The constitution has many different amendments and those amendments have different sections. Each one has a different meaning, and each one can help people in other ways then the last. The main way that the constitution is put into use is in the law. In almost every court case the constitution and its amendments are put into use. In this paper I will discuss four of the most important court cases, at least in my opinion, and how the constitution was put into use in these cases.

The first court case is about a man named Clarence Earl Gideon, and it was called Gideon vs. Wainwright. The date was 1963; Gideon was a fifty-one-year-old man who was arrested in Florida for breaking into a pool hall. Since Gideon had no money to get a lawyer he asked the court to appoint him one. But at the time Florida only gave lawyers to people who are being accused of being mentally incompatible or insane, or are a capital offense case. When the courts denied Gideon his rights to counsel he tried to defended himself, the best that he could. However according to a case in 1942 known as Betts v. Brady in which the same thing happened as in the Gideon case. There are two amendments that help Gideon. The first one is the Fourteenth Amendment, which states the fundamental rights and the rights to a fair trial. The other one is the Sixth Amendment, and this amendment guarantees the right of counsel. Gideon lost his case, but it went to the Supreme Court and won the right to an attorney.

The next case is one of the most important cases every. It took place in March 1963 and involves a man named Ernest Miranda, and is called Miranda v. Arizona. The police arrested Miranda for the kidnapping and raping of a woman in Phoenix, Arizona. They took him to the head quarts and questioned him for two hours without a lawyer. Miranda finally signed a confession. So when the case went before the courts Miranda’s lawyer said that the police violated his Fifth Amendment right. Which states that a person does not have to incriminate him or herself. So when the case went to court Miranda’s lawyer got the only piece of evidence, and the confession got thrown out and Miranda was found ignescent. Due to this case there is now a warning that police must read to suspects before they can ask them questions. This warning is called the Miranda Rights.

The third case answers a very important question one that is still asked today. That question is do women have the right to choice about their child’s life? This case is called Roe v. Wade and takes place in Texas 1975. An unmarried woman named Norma McCorvey got pregnant and desired an abortion. But by Texas law says that a woman cannot get an abortion unless the mother’s life is in danger. McCorvey or Roe said that the Texas law was unconstitutional and that they interfered with her First, Fourth, Ninth, and her Fourteenth Amendments. All of these amendments have to do with personal privacy. Roe’s attorneys said that abortion is a privacy issue. However Texas stated that they have more of a concern for the fetus. But the courts desisted that as long as the women was not passed a point in which the baby could not live outside of the mother, than it was the mother’s decision. So Roe won the case and the answer to the question, it is the women’s right to choice.

The last case that I will discuss is a case that hunts American citizens everywhere and it is called United States v. Nixon. This case is one of the most complex cases every. It involves a conspiracy, a hotel, and a crooked president. This case is about what happened in the White Water conspiracy and what the after mass of it was. In 1974 Richard Millhouse Nixon was president, and during this time it was discovered that the Republican Party had broken into the White Water hotel, which happened to be the Democratic National headquarters. While they where in the headquarters it was found out that they were looking for dirt on their opponents to help Nixon to get reelected. In 1973 the Senate set up a special committee to investigate Nixon. Over the next few months it was found that Nixon’s agents’ were involved in many criminal active like, wiretapping, blackmail, forgery, and money laundering just

to name a few. It was also found out that Nixon tape-recorded must of his conversations with people from his office. When the courts ordered him to turnover the recordings Nixon refused using executive privileges as his defends. Nixon ended up resigning the day before his impeachment trial. People still cannot say the Nixon was guilty for sure, but it would not surprise anyone.

The United States Constitution is the key to most every court case that has ever went to trial. Although the constitution is sometimes hard to understand it is the key to this country. It is written proof of every ones rights should be and states what every one should have. What makes it such a great thing to have is that we as a country can always add things to it as we as a country see fit.