A Government for the People essays

A Government for the People essays In 1787, the fathers of our country met at the Philadelphia Convention to ratify the document that would soon be known as The Constitution of the United States of America. This Constitution was to be the supreme law of the land. Our Constitution was set up in order to form a more perfect union, and to give the people under its provision certain unalienable rights. Among the rights granted to the people are: the right to free speech, the right to keep and bear arms, and the right of the people to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures. Today I will demonstrate for you how the Constitution has become only a small stumbling block in the Federal Governments efforts to increase its power through the use of legal precedents. A prime example of how the government pirouettes around the Constitution is seen in the case of Chimel versus The Supreme Court of California. On March 27, 1969 several police officers showed up on the petitioners (Chimel) doorstep to arrest him on charges of burglary. Upon answering the doorbell the petitioner was served with an arrest warrant. Shortly after the arrest, while still at the petitioners house, the officers asked if they could have a look around. The petitoner knew his rights, and that the officers had no search warrant, so he respectfully denied their request. This was of no consequence to the officers. They went ahead and unlawfully searched his three-bedroom house top to bottom, leaving no piece of personal A few months later the petitioners case was plead in a California District Court. At the petitioners trial the illegally seized items were used against him. He was convicted. Unhappy with the district courts ruling, he appealed to The California Supreme Court. Upon consideration, the Supreme Court affirm ...