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Bill of Rights version 2.0
Cornell Law School ^ | you should know the date it was published | you should know the authors too

Posted on 06/24/2002 4:30:22 PM PDT by eshu

Congress shall make no law respecting 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 people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

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 seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: billofrights; constitution
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I was thinking about this the other day, and it gave me pause to consider just how many of the freedoms delineated in this venerable document we have lost in the last year or so, or indeed, in the last ten years.

A strong case could be made in particular that the 2nd amendment is all but irrelevant now (thanks to Klintoon and the gun-grabbers) as are the 4th amendment (thanks to the "PATRIOT ACT") and the 6th amendment (citizens can now be declared "enemy combatants" and held without charges indefinitely).

In the opinions of my fellow freepers, just what amendments to the Bill of Rights do we actually STILL enjoy the protection of?

P.S. I am new here, so please forgive me if there are any rules or protocols I have overlooked in my haste to address this topic.

1 posted on 06/24/2002 4:30:24 PM PDT by eshu
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To: eshu
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

So who is stopping you from exercising your religion?
Bear in mind that  having it roll down over me from
government exceeds the
bounds of your personal practice.

2 posted on 06/24/2002 4:37:38 PM PDT by gcruse
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To: eshu
Looks to me like you should have lined out the 9th and 10th amendments also. When was the last time the Supreme Court upheld an unenumerated right? The Court has paid some attention of late to the 10th amendment, but the rest of the federal government just pretends it doesn't exit. It must be lined out in their copy I guess.


3 posted on 06/24/2002 4:38:50 PM PDT by El Gato
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To: El Gato; eshu
Tenth should definatley be lined out.
4 posted on 06/24/2002 4:50:48 PM PDT by Bump in the night
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To: El Gato
The states are to blame as well. In fact, they are more to blame than the federal government, which is predictably doing what all central governments have done since the beginning of human civilization, increasing its power exponentially. Since the Civil War, the states have continually ceded their sovereignty to the federal government. Today, the states are little more than subdivisions of the federal government, much like counties are subdivisions of states.

The states increasingly suck on and are dependent on the federal tit for all sorts of things — things they should be deciding for and providing to their own people. They have forgotten their own history as one-time independent nations or territories, and have forgotten that the federal system is a compact — an agreement — between the states. In neglecting their own sovereign prerogatives and ceding so much of their power to the federal entity, they have destroyed the most significant check on federal power, states rights.

Theoretically, the Civil War settled the question of secession. But the states have acted more like the War not only made it impossible for them to secede, but also made them SUBSERVIENT to the federal government, rather than the other way around. There are numerous delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention who never would have signed the Constitution, and many of the 13 original states which never would have ratified it, had they been able to foresee such a turn of events.

5 posted on 06/24/2002 5:01:12 PM PDT by Wolfstar
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To: eshu

The Defacto Bill of Rights

  1. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, except to mandate explicit reference to the Christian God on the currency; or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, aside from oddball cults - whom the Attorney General and the FBI may freely smear in the mass media and then wipe off the face of the Earth; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, except in the case of pornography, hate speech, movies containing excessive violence, candidates within 60 days of an election, or any other form of expression which somebody somewhere may find offensive or disquieting, or which pertains to topics such as bomb making or drug technology that couldn't possibly be of any legitimate interest to law-abiding citizens.

  2. A well regulated militia of free men being an intolerable menace to the totalitarian designs of the State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall apply only to those people employed by the Organs of State Security, and of course to muggers, rapists, burglars, gangsters, and other criminals who don't obey other laws and can't reasonably be expected to obey this one.

  3. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, since it's much easier to just seize the entire house if the Authorities really want it for something (see Amendment 4).

  4. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be construed in such a way as to prevent the Authorities from seizing any property which they may believe, infer, suspect, imagine, or assert to be in some way involved with anything whatsoever to do with drugs, money laundering, or tax evasion.

  5. No person shall be subject for the same offense to be twice put in Jeopardy of life or limb, except in cases whereby the mass media and public opinion hold his acquittal to have been a miscarriage of justice, in which case he may be retried on Federal charges as many times as necessary to secure a conviction, or in case of parole violation whereby the convicted may be subject to re-incarceration as many times as the Authorities deem necessary to ensure rehabilitation; nor shall any person be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, except when the Authorities grant him selective immunity from prosecution to force him to do so, then find some legal technicality enabling them to use the information thus gained against him anyway.

  6. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, except where there are interminable delays due to the system being clogged with victimless drug cases, and shall be entitled to the assistance of counsel for his defense, although the Authorities may seize and confiscate any assets, without due process, that he might otherwise use to afford such counsel (see Amendment 4).

  7. In suits at common law, where the value at controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; however, persons accused of rape, child molestation, and other sexual offenses whereby it is generally recognized that no one is ever falsely accused, may be tried and summarily found guilty by the mass media.

  8. Excessive bail shall be imposed to keep persons who are obviously guilty behind bars until the Authorities can get around to trying them, or in such cases of suspected parole violation whereby the Authorities, regardless of evidence against the accused, may completely deny bail; cruel and unusual punishment shall not be inflicted, except as required by both State and Federal mandatory-sentencing guidelines.

  9. The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the Authorities, including the right to control economic activity through taxes and regulation, the right to impose mandatory racial and gender favoritism, the right to collect and monitor vast amounts of personal data on citizens on the pretext of the Census, the right to arbitrarily bar citizens from visiting certain foreign countries, and other rights which it may occur to the Authorities to decide they currently have.

  10. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people; however, any State which attempts to enforce this provision by seceding from the Union in the face of flagrant violation of its sovereignty by the Federal Authorities shall be subject to invasion, militarily occupied , and razed to the ground at the discretion of the President, while any lesser attempt by any State to assert its rights under this Amendment shall be punished by occupation by the National Guard, withholding of Federal Funds, or other means at the disposal of the Federal Government.

6 posted on 06/24/2002 5:14:16 PM PDT by coloradan
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To: eshu
You can line out #7. Jury trial has been deleted for a great many trials where more than $20 is at stake.
7 posted on 06/24/2002 5:14:22 PM PDT by Restorer
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To: Bump in the night
Tenth should definatley be lined out.

It will be in version 3.0.
8 posted on 06/24/2002 5:14:59 PM PDT by eshu
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To: eshu
AMENDMENT I

Congress shall make no law establishing religion, but shall act as if it did; and shall make no laws abridging the freedom of speech, unless such speech can be construed as "commercial speech" or "irresponsible speech" or "offensive speech", or shall abridge the right of the people to peaceably assemble where and when permitted; or shall abridge the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances, under proper procedures.

It shall be unlawful to cry "Fire!" in a theatre occupied by three or more persons, unless such persons shall belong to a class declared Protected by one or more divisions of Federal, State or Local government, in which case the number of persons shall be one or more.

AMENDMENT II

A well-regulated military force shall be maintained under control of the President, and no political entity within the United States shall maintain a military force beyond Presidential control. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall be determined by the Congress and the States and the Cities and the Counties and the Towns (and someone named Fred.)

AMENDMENT III

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, unless such house is believed to have been used, or believed may be used, for some purpose contrary to law or public policy.

AMENDMENT IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures may not be suspended except to protect public welfare. Any place or conveyance shall be subject to search by law enforcement forces of any political entity, and any such places or conveyances, or any property within them, may be confiscated without judicial proceeding if believed to be used in a manner contrary to law.

AMENDMENT V

Any person may be held to answer for a crime of any kind upon any suspicion whatever; and may be put in jeopardy of life or liberty by the state courts, by the federal judiciary, and while incarcerated; and may be compelled to be a witness against himself by the forced submission of his body or any portion thereof, and by testimony in proceedings excluding actual trial. Private property forfeited under judicial process shall become the exclusive property of the judicial authority and shall be immune from seizure by injured parties.

AMENDMENT VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to avoid prosecution by exhausting the legal process and its practitioners. Failure to succeed shall result in speedy plea-bargaining resulting in lesser charges. Convicted persons shall be entitled to appeal until sentence is completed. It shall be unlawful to bar or deter an incompetent person from service on a jury.

AMENDMENT VII

In civil suits, where a contesting party is a person whose private life may interest the public, the right of trial in the Press shall not be abridged.

AMENDMENT VIII

Sufficient bail may be required to ensure that dangerous persons remain in custody pending trial. There shall be no right of the public to be afforded protection from dangerous persons, and such protection shall be dependent upon incarceration facilities available.

AMENDMENT IX

The enumeration in The Constitution of certain rights shall be construed to deny or discourage others which may from time to time be extended by the branches of Federal, State or Local government, unless such rights shall themselves become enacted by Amendment.

AMENDMENT X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution shall be deemed to be powers residing in persons holding appointment therein through the Civil Service, and may be delegated to the States and local Governments as determined by the public interest. The public interest shall be determined by the Civil Service.

9 posted on 06/24/2002 5:15:43 PM PDT by coloradan
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To: coloradan
Bill of Rights Version 3.0 (thanks for your suggestions!)

Congress shall make no law respecting 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 people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

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 seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

10 posted on 06/24/2002 5:19:41 PM PDT by eshu
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To: eshu
Guys--how would you factor in something like Islam (or to be perhaps less controversial, Scientology) which pretends to be a religion, or has religious components, but also has seditious, destructive aspects? How should the Bill of Rights be written to not protect these poisons while affording the protections we all want?
11 posted on 06/24/2002 5:23:27 PM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
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To: eshu
bumop
12 posted on 06/24/2002 5:25:24 PM PDT by Centurion2000
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To: eshu
It would be a lot simpler to list what is left. Only the third amendment is still in full effect. No one is trying to lodge soldiers in your home (yet). Everything else is severely compromised.

Just think what has happened to due process, jury trials, search and seizure. It is getting very scary.

The government can now make people disappear just by saying that they are an enemy combatant (definition?). Imagine if this precedent lasts and then Hillary becomes president.

13 posted on 06/24/2002 5:33:14 PM PDT by Mike4Freedom
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To: Bump in the night
The ninth should be lined out too.
14 posted on 06/24/2002 7:08:51 PM PDT by Huck
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To: Wolfstar
The states are to blame as well. In fact, they are more to blame than the federal government, which is predictably doing what all central governments have done since the beginning of human civilization, increasing its power exponentially...

Wow! Somebody has hit the nail on the head. The inherent rights of the individual were given to the state and the collection of states has made a pact with the federal government. This is the system we were under. The central government is doing what any beast would do, eating and growing.

The reversal of this trend will, alas, not happen. Anyone is welcome to come back to me later and say that I was wrong. I would welcome that.

15 posted on 06/24/2002 8:36:19 PM PDT by VRW Conspirator
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To: Pearls Before Swine
I wouldn't factor it in. That's why we HAVE the Bill of Rights, so that neither your opinion nor my opinion "factors" in these things--it leaves, theoretically, the rule of law, not of man.
16 posted on 06/25/2002 5:58:20 AM PDT by jammer
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To: eshu
You should know the Second Amendment has only a single comma. Cornell is beyond hope.
17 posted on 06/25/2002 6:55:03 AM PDT by boris
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To: eshu
You may be new, but you obviously belong here.
18 posted on 06/25/2002 7:03:57 AM PDT by PatrioticAmerican
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To: coloradan; stainlessbanner
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people; however, any State which attempts to enforce this provision by seceding from the Union in the face of flagrant violation of its sovereignty by the Federal Authorities shall be subject to invasion, militarily occupied , and razed to the ground at the discretion of the President, while any lesser attempt by any State to assert its rights under this Amendment shall be punished by occupation by the National Guard, withholding of Federal Funds, or other means at the disposal of the Federal Government.

BUMP!!

19 posted on 06/25/2002 7:06:11 AM PDT by billbears
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To: VRW Conspirator
I think you are right that a reversal of the trend will not happen. The reasons: First, too few people understand what the correct relationship between the states and the federal government actually is under the Constitution. Second, every state likes the system of double taxation which lets them tax their own people's incomes PLUS rake in billions from the citizens of the 49 other states via the federal income tax system.

The national income tax is actually a federal spoils system. The federal government uses it to continue increasing its power by both bribing the states and putting strings on the way states can use federal monies sent to them. For their part, the state political elites get to rake in huge sums they couldn't otherwise raise from their own populations.

I don't know of a single politician or political party in this country — not the Republicans, nor Democrats, nor Libertarians, nor Constitution Party, nor any independent, and certainly not the hard-left Greens — that speaks against this double taxation of income.

Here in California, an average person making in the very middle-class range of about $40,000 to $60,000 per year, who is unlucky enough to have none of the handful of deductions the pols have left us, sees 40% of his or her income skimmed off in combined income taxes. That's a tax bill of about $16,000 to $24,000 per year right off the top, before one pays car taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes, and all the other "fees" politicians and bureaucrats can think up.

20 posted on 06/25/2002 12:23:54 PM PDT by Wolfstar
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