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Court Case Decisions for Amendment I, IV, and VIII Essay

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Amendment I: 1.) Van Orden v. Perry (2005), 545 U.S. 677, 125 S. Ct. 2854 2.) The case was brought to state court by Thomas Van Orden over a monument that had the Ten Commandments engraved upon it. The monument was given to the Texas government and governor Rick Perry. The monument was erected between the State Capitol and the State Supreme Court. Van Orden argues that the monument violates the 1st Amendment’s Establishment Clause. The Establishment Clause, which is the one of the first clauses in the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, states that the United States Congress should not enact any law in respect to any religion. 3.) The decision of the United States Supreme Court was that the monument was in no way unconstitutional, …show more content…

The police had a search warrant for the premises for weapons and evidence of gang activity. During her detainment, the police officers questioned Mena about her citizenship status. The district court sided with Mena and the Ninth Circuit court upheld the D.C.’s decision. The courts stated that detaining Mena in handcuffs throughout the search had infringed upon her Fourth Amendment rights, as well as questioning her citizenship. 3.) The Supreme Court ruled that the police and SWAT officers involved had not violated Mena’s 4th Amendment rights. 4.) The Supreme Court held that Mena’s detainment had not violated the 4th Amendment in any way. Officers with a search warrant for unlawful contraband had outright authority to detain all occupants of the premises during the search due to potential risk to the officers; having Mena and others restrained while police searched the house for weapons and gang members was necessary for officer safety. The Court additionally held that the officers’ inquiring Mena about her legal status during her detainment didn’t violate the 4th amendment because the officers didn’t need to have reasonable suspicion to do so. 5.) I agree with the Supreme Court’s decision. The officers were merely doing their job and attempting to look out for their safety while doing so. Amendment VIII: 1.) Roper v. Simmons (2005), 543 U.S. 551, 125 S. Ct. 1183 2.) Christopher Simmons, 17, was charged

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