Nothing to say, yet
Transcription
The US Constitution is summarized, starting with the preamble which outlines the goals of the Constitution. There are seven articles that cover legislative, executive, and judicial powers, as well as other provisions. The amendments are also summarized, including the rights to freedom of religion, speech, and assembly, the right to bear arms, protection against unreasonable searches, and the right to a fair trial. Other amendments cover slavery, citizenship, voting rights, taxation, and presidential terms. The summary ends with the 22nd amendment, which limits presidential terms. Hello and welcome to this new episode of the Diary of a Lawyer and today we are going to be talking about the US Constitution. Now we are simply going through a quick summary and overview and as always we are not going to get into the various sides of what debate but simply what the law actually says. It's important to start with the overarching tone of the Constitution which is captured in the preamble and I think it's important to read it verbatim and it says that we the people of the United States in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish the Constitution of the United States of America. And basically that sets the tone for the Constitution of the US and it has a number of articles among them it has a number of articles and among them they go up to I think seven and as well as amendments that I think around 27 amendments. So without further ado we'll go through the articles one by one but as a summary note the whole details. So article one which is probably fairly well known at least in legal and political pundits is that legislative powers is granted and shall be vested in the Congress of the United States which shall consist of the Senate and the House of Representatives and then it has various sections that we won't go in but that's the main point. Then article two which grants powers to the president executive powers to the president of the United States who shall hold office during the term of four years with the vice president for the same time and it goes into details about how they shall be elected. Then article three makes reference to the judicial power of the United States which shall be vested in the Supreme Court and such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. It goes into make reference to the judges and the manner in which the courts shall conduct themselves. Article four states that the full and faith credit shall be given in each state to the public acts records and judicial proceedings of every other state and that Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts records and proceedings shall be proved and the effect thereof. I mean that's self-evident. Article five indicates that the Congress whenever two sides majority of the houses shall deem it necessary shall propose amendments to the Constitution or on the application of the legislatures of two sides of the several states shall call a convention for proposing amendments which in either case shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by legislatures of three-fourths of the several states or by conventions in three-fourths thereof as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by Congress and it goes on to conclude that no state without its consent shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. Again that's self-evident in terms of the quorum and the procedure needed to ratify or amend the Constitution. Article six which is less known and I just read it says all dates contracted and engagements entered into before the adoption of this Constitution shall be as valid against the United States and the Constitution as under the Confederation. It concludes at the very end of paragraph three and I've skipped some of the some of the other specifications is that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust and the United States again self-evident. Article seven simply states that the ratification of the conventions on nine steps shall be sufficient for the establishment of the Constitution between the states ratifying the same and so those article seven and then we go to the amendments. The first amendment is well known it simply says that Congress shall not make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, abridging freedom of speech, the press, the rights of the people to peace peaceably assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances. Again self-evident. The second amendment makes reference to regulated military and the right to keep and bear arms as that they shall not be infested. That amendment is a unique one and not very well known we simply say it does not show soldier in times of peace be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner nor in time of war but in the manner prescribed by law. Fourth amendment often referred to is the right of the people to secure their persons houses papers and effects against unreasonable searches shall not be violated and no arms 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. Self-evident. Fifth amendment is probably commonly known as the right against self-incrimination but it reads that 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 for the important cases of rights in the land or naval forces or in the militia when in actual service in time of all public danger. And it also makes reference to the double jeopardy the person being subject to seven things twice they shall not be put in jeopardy of life or limb or shall not be compelled in any criminal case to be witnessed against himself or be deprived of life liberty or property without due process of law and shall no shall property be taken for public use without just compensation. And the sixth amendment generally known to have the assistance of counsel for defence and makes reference to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district where the commission the crime has been committed basically makes reference to a fair process representation by the jury of one's peers or the location where a crime is said to have been committed. The seventh amendment makes reference to where the the value exceeds $20 the right of a trial by jury shall be preserved and no fact trial by jury shall be otherwise re-examined in a court of the United States than according to the rules of common law. Eighth amendment which makes reference to excessive bail or fines imposed or unusual punishments inflicted prohibits that. The ninth amendment makes the steps of the enumeration in the constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or discourage others retained by the people. The tenth amendment refers to the powers reserved to the states respectively and it says that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution no prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively or to the people. The eleventh amendment states that the judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state or by citizens or subject of any foreign state. Again self-evident there may be some legal nuances in various cases there but that is offensive effectively that's what it states. The twelfth amendment refers to electors in respect of electing and the vote by ballot for the president and the vice president. The thirteenth amendment makes reference to a prohibition of slavery or involuntary servitude and it basically prohibited any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and directs congress to enforce it by appropriate legislation. The fourteenth amendment is very common and popular and it has five sections but we should just sort of cover the general overarching amendment which is all persons born and naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside and no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States and nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, property without due process of law nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws. It doesn't mention the various other stipulations in the sections but that's the main headline there. The fifteenth amendment has two sections the main one is that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States by any state on account of race, color or appropriate condition of solitude. Essentially the one that gives the rights of former descendants of slave general black people of the right to vote. The sixteenth amendment indicates that this congress has the power to lend and collect taxes and incomes from whatever source derived without apportionment among the several states and without regard to any census or enumeration self-evident. The seventeenth amendment it indicates that the senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each state elected by the people for six years and the senate shall have one vote. It goes on to you know specify sort of the process some of the details of how that would work out but that's the main overarching point. The eighteenth amendment I think this was actually repelled so we won't dwell on that. The nineteenth amendment refers to the rights of citizens of the United States to vote not to be denied or abridged by any states on account of sex which essentially gives the women right to vote. The twentieth amendment makes reference to the terms of the president and vice president when they end which is the twentieth day of January at noon as well as the senators. The twenty-first amendment it repeals the eighteenth amendment which was a reference to the transportation of leakers etc etc. The twenty-second amendment makes reference to the terms of the president and vice president of the United States and essentially you know deals with the time limits which is a very important but a very important aspect in terms of the democratic dispensation in the United States. And the twenty-third amendment simply reads that the district constituting the seat of government of the United States shall appoint in such a manner as the congress may direct the electors of the president and the vice president and it specifies the process and the details in terms of how the essentially interpreters as the procedural amendment to by electors to confirm the president and vice president with the various sort of details of how that would work in the seat that constitutes the government of the United States. The twenty-fourth amendment reads that the right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for president or vice president for electors for president or vice president or the senator or representative in commons shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax essentially meaning that the tax position of an individual shall not make him ineligible or person shall not be denied to on the basis of tax issues. The twenty-fifth amendment which is what we've had a few times in the most recent in the last three two years which makes stipulates the removal of the president from office or his death or resignation and simply states the vice president shall become president and it goes on to lay down the procedural manner and some details of how that would work out and then we have the twenty-sixth amendment which is states that the right of citizens of the United States who are 18 years of age or older to vote shall not do shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of age essentially guarantees the right to vote for people who are at least 18 years of age or older and finally the twenty-seventh amendment which just reiterates that the no law varying the compensation for the service of the senators represents a short-term effect until an election of representatives shall have intervened and that really is self-evident in terms of the U.S. constitution and one of the the primary source is the congress constitution of congress um on the as a source um it's not a sort of a an academic derived from an academic source it's just um from the congress um a library of congress it's self-evident so we didn't want to go into the legal nuances and amnesia but you know just to actually state what the law says and so that is it in a nutshell but i think it's important to um to underscore um to emphasize that this constitution has stood the test of time in various wars various uh civil rights movements um many many presidents and in my opinion uh it underpinned it remains one of the um central uh and as the central underpinning document on which the U.S. democracy has survived and lived through various times um there are not many many i can't think of any other um country that is economically and politically strong that has had a constitution that has stood the test of time um just like the united states with i think in my opinion the key points are the time limits the separation of powers the checks and balances and the manner in which um presidents should smooth transfer of power is conducted obviously that has been tested in previous times but by and large the system has held now there are challenges but uh whether or not those have significantly affected the very basis for the constitution for which it was intended by its founding fathers um whether those events have shaken it i don't think in the test of time is a credible um argument to make but nevertheless it has been tested and so far it stands and once again i want to close by rereading the preamble which is we the people of the united states in order to form a more perfect union establish justice ensure domestic tranquility provide for the common defense promote for the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this constitution for the united states of america and i should add all that was as we generally hear in the pursuit of happiness which um however one wants to take it to take it is the whole point of human existence the sort of happiness realizing potential in potential in order to create a more harmonious fair and stable society and there we have it that's what the constitution of the united states says for a more perfect union to promote the general welfare uh secure the blessings of liberty and posterity for a more perfect union thank you there we shall leave it and we'll speak again on a yet another episode of the diary lawyer remember keep it locked we're here to inform inspire educate smash barriers and raise voices thank you and we'll speak again thank you bye
