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Happy Read Across America Day!

As two avid readers, we would like to celebrate Read Across America day today. Read Across America was started in 1998 by the National Education Association and is focused on motivating children and teens to read year-round, but Read Across America Day is specifically today: March 2, 2023.

Join us in picking up a book and reading somewhere today by yourself or with others. Happy reading!

The Bill of Rights - Tenth Amendment

In honor of the 230th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights and our final week: The Tenth Amendment.

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."

Similarly to the Ninth Amendment, the Tenth Amendment clarifies that any powers not expressly delegated to the United States government are to be exercised by the individual states or the people of the United States.

The Bill of Rights - Ninth Amendment

In honor of the 230th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights and week 9: the Ninth Amendment.

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

The second-to-last amendment in the Bill of Rights explicitly establishes that, even if a right is not enumerated in the Constitution, that fact cannot be used to deny those rights to the people.

The Bill of Rights - Eighth Amendment

In honor of the 230th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights and week 8, another criminal defense attorney favorite: the Eighth Amendment:

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

The Eighth Amendment’s short and sweet language is some of the most complicated and has spawned the most litigation in the Supreme Court. The questions of what is excessive, cruel, or unusual have spawned a great deal of litigation and the Court’s decisions on these matters have evolved over time as our society has evolved and changed. Things that were one thought perfectly fine are now considered cruel and unconscionable. This area of the law will continue to change as our society changes what we think constitutes cruelty.

Further reading:

  • Kahler v. Kansas, in which the Court answered the question: “May a state abolish the insanity defense without violating the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments?” Answer: Yes.

  • Madison v. Alabama, in which the Court addressed the questions: “(1) Does the Eighth Amendment and the Court’s jurisprudence prohibit a state from executing a prisoner whose mental disability leaves him with no memory of the commission of the capital offense? and (2) Does the Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment preclude a state from executing a prisoner who suffers from severe cognitive dysfunction such that he cannot remember the crime for which he was convicted or understand the circumstances of his scheduled execution?” The Court found that: “The Eighth Amendment does not prohibit a state from executing a prisoner who cannot remember committing his crime, but it does prohibit executing a prisoner who cannot rationally understand the reasons for his execution, whether that inability is due to psychosis or dementia.”

  • Timbs v. Indiana, in which the Court addressed the question: “Has the Eighth Amendment’s excessive fines clause been incorporated against the states under the Fourteenth Amendment?” Answer: Yes.

  • Miller v. Alabama, in which the Court answered the question: “Does the imposition of a life-without-parole sentence on a fourteen-year-old child violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments' prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment?” Answer: Yes.

The Bill of Rights - Seventh Amendment

In honor of the 230th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights and week 7, the Seventh Amendment:

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 re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

This amendment preserves the right to a trial by a jury in civil cases and prohibits judges from overturning the determinations of a jury except as otherwise permitted under the common law.