8th and 9th Amendments.

1. 8th and 9th Amendments. By: Cori Johnston, Chelsea Christian, Maddy Hill, Hannah Kendrick, Jessica Gholston, Stormie Maghe and Brooke Spencer.

2. 8TH AMENDMENT NO HATE! Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

3. 9TH AMENDMENT The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. Simplified: States that there are other rights that may exist aside from the ones explicitly mentioned, and even though they are not listed, it does not mean they can be violated.

4. Lawrence v. Texas Homosexual Consent, 2003

5. Facts • The Court overturned a Texas anti-sodomy law as a violation of the right to privacy and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. • The Supreme Court ruled that state laws banning homosexual sodomy are unconstitutional as a violation of the right to privacy. • U.S. Supreme Court ruled (6–3) on this court case.

6. Issue Is the Texas anti-sodomy law a violation of the right to privacy and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

7. Holding No, it was banned and said to be unconstitutional as a violation of the right to privacy.

8. Reasoning The Court held that homosexuals had a protected liberty interest to engage in private, sexual activity. That homosexuals' moral and sexual choices were entitled to constitutional protection. That moral disapproval did not provide a legitimate justification for Texas's law criminalizing sodomy

9. Cori J Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) “Right to Birth Control”

10. The Facts • A law passed in 1879 banned the use of any drug, medical device, or other instrument that prevents pregnancy • In 1965, C. Lee Buxton opened a birth control clinic in New Haven alongside Estelle Griswold, who was the head of Planned Parenthood in Connecticut • C. Lee Buxton and Estelle Griswold get arrested

11. Issue: Does the Constitution protect the right of marital privacy against Connecticut’s state law on a couple's ability to use contraceptives? Holding: Banning contraceptives violates the right to marital privacy, which is protected in the ninth amendment.

12. Reasoning Buxton and Griswold felt that even though it was illegal, people had the right to use contraceptives. In the 9th and (more so) the 14th amendment privacy rights are protected. The court ruled that the due process clause protects marital privacy, which includes the choice to use contraceptives.

13. Atkins v. Virginia (2002) Chelsea Christian

14. Facts • Daryl Renard Atkins was convicted of abduction, armed robbery, and capital murder. • In the penalty phase of Atkins' trial, the defense relied on one witness, a forensic psychologist, who testified that Atkins was mildly mentally disabled. • The jury sentenced Atkins to death, but the Virginia Supreme Court ordered a second sentencing hearing because the trial court had used a misleading verdict form. • The jury again sentenced Atkins to death. In affirming, t

15. Issue Is the execution of mentally retarded persons "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the Eighth Amendment?

16. Holding Yes. In a 6-3 opinion delivered by Justice John Paul Stevens, the Court held that executions of mentally retarded criminals are "cruel and unusual punishments" prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.

17. Reasoning • Since it last confronted the issue, the Court reasoned that a significant number of States have concluded that death is not a suitable punishment for a mentally retarded criminal.

18. Roe v. Wade 1973 Madeline hill

19. Facts • January 22 1973 - the legality of a woman’s right to have an abortion under the 14th amendment to the constitution . • The case is filed by Norma McCorvey, known in court documents as Jane ROE against Henry WADE, the district attorney of Dallas County from 1951 to 1987, who enforced a Texas law that prohibited abortion, except to save a woman's life . • Is a landmark decision issued in 1973 by the united states supreme court on the issue of the constitutionality of laws that criminalized or restricted access to abortion .

20. Issue & Holding • The question the court addressed in Roe v. Wade was whether the constitutional rights of women and of developing embryos and fetuses (if they have any) require that abortion be legal during at least some portion of pregnancy. • On what grounds does the Court find that fetuses are not "persons"? • Is this the same question as whether the fetus is alive? Why or why not? • Do photographs of fetuses or ultrasound images constitute evidence? • Court said that a fetus is not a person but "potential life," and thus does not have constitutional rights of its own. The Court also set up a framework in which the woman's right to abortion and the state's right to protect potential life shift: during the first trimester of pregnancy, a woman's privacy right is strongest and the state may not regulate abortion for any reason; during the second trimester, the state may regulate abortion only to protect the health of the woman; during the third trimester, the state may regulate or prohibit abortion to promote its interest in the potential life of the fetus, except where abortion is necessary to preserve the woman's life or health.

21. Reasoning • The Court ruled, in a 7-2 decision, that a woman’s right to choose an abortion was protected by the privacy rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment .

22. Hannahkendrick Furman V. Georgia (1972)

23. Facts • Case summary Furman v. Georgia was convicted and sentenced death penalty. • Furman petitioned his conviction and sentence. • The court reversed and remanded the lower court’s rulings.

24. Issue & Holding • Whether or not the sentencing and the execution of the death penalty violate the eighth amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment? • Yes, the sentences are cruel because they are more harsh than necessary under the state law.. In addition, the sentences are unusual because they have been applied to some and not other equally culpable defendants.

25. Reasoning • Imposing the death penalty constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation to the eighth amendment. The court held judgement in each case is reversed where the death sentence is imposed, and the cases are remanded for further proceedings.

26. Coker v. Georgia (1977) By: Stormie Maghe

27. Facts • Ehrlich Anthony Coker was held that the death penalty for rape of an adult woman was grossly disproportionate and excessive punishment, and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. • While serving several sentences for rape, kidnapping, one count of first degree murder, and aggravated assault, Ehrlich Anthony Coker escaped from prison. He broke into Allen and Elnita Carver's home near Waycross, Georgia; raped Elnita Carver, and stole the family's vehicle. Coker was convicted of rape, armed robbery, and the other offenses. • He was sentenced to death on the rape charge after the jury found two of the aggravating circumstances present for imposing such a sentence: the rape was committed by a person with prior convictions for capital felonies, and the rape was committed in the course of committing another capital felony, the armed robbery.

28. Issue Was the imposition of the death penalty for the crime of rape a form of cruel and unusual punishment forbidden by the Eighth Amendment? Holding: The death penalty for rape is grossly disproportionate and excessive punishment and so is forbidden by the Eighth Amendment, as cruel and unusual punishment.

29. Reasoning In a 7-to-2 decision, the Court held that the death penalty was a "grossly disproportionate" punishment for the crime of rape. The Court noted that nearly all states at that time declined to impose such a harsh penalty, with Georgia being the only state that authorized death for the rape of an adult woman. Because rape did not involve the taking of another human life, the Court found the death penalty excessive "in its severity and revocability."

30. Roper V. Virginia (2005) By: Brooke Spencer

31. Facts Christopher Simmons was sentenced to death in 1993, when he was only 17

32. Issue Does the execution of minors violate the prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment" found in the Eighth Amendment and applied to the states through the incorporation doctrine of the 14th Amendment?

33. Holding Yes. In a 5-4 opinion delivered by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Court ruled that standards of decency have evolved so that executing minors is "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.

34. Reasoning the death penalty is a disproportionate punishment for minors Because as minors we don’t function as adults just yet. Right now we are learning from right and wrong. They should still be held for their actions just not to the same extent as adults.

35. Three Degrees of Scrutiny • Strict Scrutiny • This is the highest level of scrutiny applied by courts to government actions or laws. • Government actions which discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion, and alienage must pass this level of scrutiny. • This high level of scrutiny is also applied whenever a fundamental right is being threatened by a law, like the right to marriage.

36. Three Degrees of Scrutiny • Intermediate Scrutiny • Focus on challenged laws is less demanding than strict scrutiny. • Serve an important government objective, and be substantially related to achieving the objective. • Used whenever a law discriminates based on gender or sex.

37. Three Degrees of Scrutiny • Rational Basis Review • This is the lowest level of scrutiny applied to challenged laws. • The government has no legitimate interest in the law or policy or there is no reasonable, rational link between that interest and the challenged law. • Applies to all laws or regulations which are challenged as irrational or arbitrary as well as discrimination based on age, disability, wealth, or felony status.