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The United States is a nation of laws. Our laws bring order intoour lives and protect our individual rights. As our nation gainstechnological knowledge, these laws must be reviewed against anew system that includes new technologies such as the Internet.

Use the American History Primary Source DocumentLibrary CD-ROM to find primary sources about the law andtechnology.

Organize the class into two groups. Pairs from one group shouldconduct a public opinion poll on crime in their community. Pairsfrom the other group should research the changing crime rate in thecommunity over several years. Compare the findings of the groups.

YBSHY/CORBIS

340

An American archaeologist in Cairo,Egypt, accesses informationthrough the Internet.

341

Summarizing Information Study Foldable Make this foldable journal aboutour legal rights and responsibilities, and use it as a study guide.

Step 1 Fold a sheet of paper inhalf from top to bottom.

Reading andWriting As you readthe chapter, use your“law journal” to writewhat you learn aboutthe types of laws, theirsources, and theirimpact on Americans.

Step 2 Fold it in half again fromside to side and label as shown.

342Members of the New York City

Police Department ▲

LawJournal

Joseph Sohm; ChromoSohm, Inc./CORBIS

The Constitution and the Bill of Rights contain importantprovisions, or laws, safeguarding the rights of Americans.In return, our system of laws gives American citizens anumber of responsibilities, including the duty to serve ona jury. Contact the court system at the county level tofind out how it selects the names of people for jury dutyand how it determines who actually serves. Summarizeyour findings in an informational chart or diagram.

To learn more about legal rights and responsibilities, view the Democracy in Action video lesson 15: The Lawand You.

Chapter Overview Visit the CivicsToday Web site at civ.glencoe.comand click on Chapter Overviews—Chapter 15 to preview chapterinformation.

GUIDE TO READING

Main Idea

Modern laws that helppeople in the UnitedStates live togetherpeacefully can be tracedback to early laws likethe Code of Hammurabi,the Code of Justinian, andEnglish common law.

Key Terms

jurisprudence, commonlaw, precedent, statute

Reading Strategy

Organizing InformationAs you read, take noteson a web diagram likethe one below of earlylaws upon which modernlegal systems are based.

Read to Learn

• What are the functionsof law?

• What early laws influ-enced modern legalsystems?

The Sources of Our Laws

SECTION

344 Chapter 15 Legal Rights and ResponsibilitiesPhotri

Read the following laws: “If any one iscommitting a robbery and is caught, then he shall beput to death.” “If fire break out in a house, and someone who comes to put it out cast his eye upon theproperty of the owner of the house, and take theproperty of the master of the house, he shall bethrown into that self-same fire.” These lawssound very harsh. However, they were a set ofrules under which a people once lived.

Functions of LawThe laws mentioned above come from the Code of

Hammurabi, the first known system of written law. The earlyleaders of our nation knew that it was important to establish aset of laws for the nation. In 1779 future president John Adamswrote in the original draft of the Massachusetts state constitu-tion that the state should have “a government of laws, and notof men.” He meant that government should operate accordingto established and dependable rules rather than the changeableand prejudiced feelings of officials. This principle, while notalways fully realized, has guided the development of Americansociety.

Laws are sets of rules that allow people to live peacefully insociety. They are binding on everyone living in a particularcommunity, state, or nation. They make it possible for all par-ties—people, organizations, and governments—to deal withone another because everyone knows which actions are per-mitted and which are not.

A major purpose of laws is to keep the peace and preventviolent acts. Laws set punishments that are meant to dis-courage potential criminals from such acts as murder,assault, or robbery. To help accomplish this, laws include theadministration of justice, in the form of law-enforcementagencies (police) and courts. Laws also set the rules forresolving civil disputes, which are disagreements overmoney, property, contracts, and other noncriminal matters.

Early Laws

Ancient tablet depictingKing Hammurabi

To be fully effective, laws must be fairand must treat all people equally. People insimilar circumstances should be treatedequally under the law. Good laws are rea-sonable, setting out punishments that fitthe crime. Ordinary people must be able tounderstand laws, and the government mustbe able to enforce them. If most peopleunderstand the laws and believe they arereasonable and fair, then the laws will beobeyed, and enforcement will becomemuch easier. When the writers of theConstitution created our government, theybased the nation’s system of laws on ideas,traditions, customs, and laws passed downfrom generation to generation.

Concluding What are thepurposes of laws?

Early LawLegal scholars believe that some kind of

law existed in even the earliest human soci-eties. They trace its beginnings to prehis-toric people, who used unwritten rules ofbehavior to help members avoid or copewith social conflict.These earliest laws wereprobably passed from one generation to thenext by word of mouth. Then, after peoplelearned to write, they began to write downtheir laws.

Code of Hammurabi As mentioned, the first known system of

written law was the Code of Hammurabi.King Hammurabi of Babylonia, an ancientMiddle Eastern empire, compiled his codein about 1760 B.C. The code was a collec-tion of 282 laws regulating everyday behav-ior. By today’s standards, the Code ofHammurabi prescribed harsh penalties. Ifsomeone stole property, for example, thethief had to pay back 10 times the value ofwhat was taken. If he could not afford topay, he was put to death.

Another set of early laws is the TenCommandments found in the Bible.Hebrews living in ancient Palestine fol-lowed these laws. The Commandments

Development of Legal Systems

Code of HammurabiTen Commandments

English Common Law

U.S. ConstitutionNapoleonic CodeJustinian Code

0 A.D. 500 1000 15002000 1500 1000 500 B.C. 2000

Although the earliest laws were based on practices in tribal societies, theCode of Hammurabi was the first known written law. On what set of laws didNapoleon base his code of laws? When was the Napoleonic Code written?

Underground EconomyIllegal activities that produce unreportedincome are part of the underground economy.It consists of people who violate tax laws bynot reporting their earnings. The undergroundeconomy costs the nation billions of dollars inlost tax revenues. Research one of history’smost famous tax evasion cases—the 1931trial and conviction of Al Capone. Report yourfindings in the form of a mock radio report.Include a summary of the charges andpenalties imposed on Capone.

346 Chapter 15 Legal Rights and Responsibilities

include moral rules about how peopleshould behave toward one another. Idealsof the Commandments, such as “thou shaltnot steal” and “thou shalt not kill,” arereflected in our laws today.

Roman Law The Romans made a science of the law,

which they called jurisprudence, a wordwe use today to mean the study of law.Thefirst code of Roman law was published in450 B.C. As in the Code of Hammurabi,

Roman penalties for offenses were drasticby later standards: “If any person has sungor composed against another person a songsuch as was causing slander or insult toanother,” said one of the laws, “he shall beclubbed to death.”

Over several centuries the Roman senateadopted a great many laws, and Romanjudges wrote commentaries on them, whichoften became part of the law. Later Romanemperors created law by issuing edicts—commands that were equivalent to laws. Asthe Roman Empire grew, these laws spreadto Europe, Africa, and Asia. In A.D. 533Emperor Justinian I, ruler of the Byzantine,or Eastern Roman, Empire, boiled down theconfusing mass of Roman law into an orderlybody of rules called the Code of Justinian.This code became the basis of law for theByzantine Empire. Roman law also becamepart of the laws of the Roman CatholicChurch, known as canon law.

More than twelve hundred years later,the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparteupdated the Justinian Code and called it theNapoleonic Code. Napoleon went on to con-quer much of Europe in the early nineteenthcentury, bringing his code with him. In turn,European colonists carried it to Asia andAfrica later in the century. As a result, muchof the world now lives under some form ofRoman law as interpreted by the NapoleonicCode. Even the state of Louisiana, which wasFrench-held territory that Napoleon sold tothe United States in 1803, has a system oflaws, unlike those of the other 49 states,based on the Napoleonic Code.

English Law The most important source of American

laws is English law. Perhaps the greatest con-tribution is the English system of commonlaw, or law based on court decisions ratherthan on a legal code. After the Norman con-quest of England in 1066, English kings sent

CORBIS/Bettmann

John Peter Zenger(1697–1746)Freedom of the press owes itsorigins, in part, to German immi-grant John Peter Zenger. In1733 Zenger agreed to print theNew York Weekly Journal,founded to expose New York’scorrupt royal governor, WilliamCosby. Zenger, who had come toAmerica at age 13, knew the

risks. No government at the time, includingBritain, granted newspapers such freedom.

Stories in the Journal infuriated Cosby, whoordered copies of the paper publicly burned.Cosby charged Zenger with libel and threw himinto jail. Unable to meet the high bail, Zengersat in a cell for eight months, while his wifeAnna kept the paper alive.

When the case went to trial in 1735, Cosbytried to handpick the jurors but failed. Zenger’slawyer, Andrew Hamilton of Philadelphia, toldjurors, “Nature and the laws of our countryhave given us a right to liberty . . . by speakingand writing the truth.” Had Zenger printed thetruth? Jurors thought so. It took them just 10minutes to reach a verdict: “Not guilty.”

Checking for Understanding

1. Key Terms Define the followingterms and use them in sen-tences related to law and legalsystems: jurisprudence, commonlaw, precedent, statute.

Reviewing Main Ideas2. Explain What did John Adams

mean when he said thatMassachusetts should have “agovernment of laws, not of men”?

3. Identify What three systems oflaw were based on Roman law?

Critical Thinking

4. Drawing Conclusions Why doyou think common law predatedstatute law in the English sys-tem of law?

5. Making Comparisons Using agraphic organizer like the onebelow, compare early systemsof law.

Analyzing Visuals

6. Interpret Read the time line onpage 345. The Justinian Codewas written about how manyyears after the Code ofHammurabi was written?

SECTION ASSESSMENT

judges into the countryside to administerjustice. Over time, these judges began tocompare the facts and rulings from earliercases to new cases. When judges decided anew case, they looked in the books for a sim-ilar case and followed the earlier ruling, orprecedent. Precedents are legal opinionsthat became part of the common law.

English judges were familiar withRoman law and canon law, and theyblended these into the body of commonlaw. The law came to include basic princi-ples of citizens’ rights such as trial by juryand the concept that people are consideredinnocent until proven guilty. Common lawbecame the basis for the legal systems ofmany English colonies, including the landsthat later became Canada, Australia, NewZealand, and the United States.

By the seventeenth century, as theEnglish legislature, called Parliament,became stronger in relation to the monar-chy, acts of Parliament—written statutes—came to dominate the English legal system.Still, common law continued to have astrong influence in legal matters. WhenEnglish settlers came to the NorthAmerican colonies in the 1600s and 1700s,they brought with them their traditions of

common law and citizens’ rights. Todaythese ideas are an important part of ourlegal system. The common law tradition offollowing precedents still survives in theinterpretation of statutes by courts.

Concluding Why was theCode of Hammurabi an importantdevelopment?

�BE AN ACTIVE CITIZEN�7. Interview Invite a lawyer to your

class to discuss how the systemof laws in the United States dif-fers from those of other nations.

Chapter 15 Legal Rights and Responsibilities 347The Image Works

English Law By tradition, English lawyers,called barristers, wear wigs in court. PatriciaScotland, shown here, was Britain’s firstblack female barrister. What two principles ofAmerican law come from English law?

Early Systems of Law

GUIDE TO READING

Main Idea

In addition to criminallaw, there are other lesswell-known kinds of law,including civil law, publiclaw, and international law.

Key Terms

plaintiff, defendant,felony, misdemeanor,lawsuit, torts

Reading Strategy

Summarizing InformationAs you read, define thedifferent kinds of law ona graphic organizer likethe one below.

Read to Learn

• What actions do various kinds of lawgovern?

• How do various kinds oflaw differ?

Types of Laws SECTION

348 Chapter 15 Legal Rights and ResponsibilitiesMark Burnett

“A Mercer County man wasindicted today by a State Grand Jury oncharges that he conned as much as $26,000from six out-of-state victims by offering to sellthem high-grade collectible sports cards overthe Internet last year, Attorney John J. Farmer,Jr., and Division of Criminal Justice DirectorKathyrn Flicker announced.” This informationfrom the Division of Criminal Justice of NewJersey shows Americans taking action in newways. As society and technology change, somust the application of the law.

Criminal and Civil LawMost people are familiar with criminal laws, such as prohibi-

tions against fraud and drunk driving, robbing a store, sellingdrugs, physically attacking a person, and so on. Many otherkinds of laws exist as well. Civil laws regulate noncriminal behav-ior that may end up in disputes between parties. Public law con-cerns alleged violations of constitutional rights and disputesinvolving the actions of government agencies. International lawis the law of relations between countries.Two types of law affectAmericans directly—criminal law and civil law. These laws helpmaintain a peaceful and orderly society. People who break theselaws generally find themselves in the courtroom.

Criminal LawCriminal laws are laws that seek to prevent people from

deliberately or recklessly harming each other or each other’sproperty. American courts operate on an adversary system ofjustice. Under this system, the courtroom serves as an arena inwhich lawyers for opposing sides try to present their strongestcases. The judge has an impartial role and should be fair toboth sides. Critics of the adversary system argue that it encour-ages lawyers to ignore evidence that is not favorable to theirside. Supporters, though, claim that it is the best system tobring out the facts of a case.

A collectible sports card

DifferentKinds of Law

Chapter 15 Legal Rights and Responsibilities 349

In criminal cases, the government isalways the plaintiff—the party that bringsthe charges against the alleged criminal.This is because the American system of jus-tice assumes that society—everyone—is thevictim when a crime is committed. The individual or group being sued is the defendant. About 95 percent of criminaltrials in the United States are for violationsof state laws. Most criminal cases are titledin terms of the state against the defendant—for example, State of California v. John Jones.This shows that the government, ratherthan an individual crime victim, is bringingaction against the defendant.

Crimes are graded as either felonies ormisdemeanors, depending on their seri-ousness. Murder, rape, kidnapping, rob-bery and other serious crimes are feloniesbecause they have very serious conse-quences. Misdemeanors are offensessuch as vandalism, stealing inexpensiveitems, writing bad checks for low amounts,and so on. Typically, misdemeanors arepunished with a fine or a jail sentence ofless than one year.

Civil LawCivil cases involve disputes between

people or groups of people—individuals,organizations, or governments—in which nocriminal laws have been broken. These dis-putes are not viewed as a threat to the socialorder, so the state will not take legal action.When a civil case goes to court, it is called alawsuit. A lawsuit is a legal action in whicha person or group sues to collect damagesfor some harm that is done. Individuals whothink they have been wronged must takeaction themselves by filing a lawsuit. Theperson suing is the plaintiff.

In civil cases, individuals believe theyhave lost something of value or suffered somedamage because of someone else’s blame-worthy actions. A case may be a dispute over

Courtesy family of Alicia & Lara Miramontes

With its well-manicured lawns andupscale shopping malls, Mission

Viejo, California, doesn’t look like the kindof place gun violence would be an issue.Looks can be deceiving, say Lara and AliciaMiramontes, both 15. Tragedy can happenanywhere. “There are a lot of people whotake things for granted,” says Lara. “Butwith [gun violence] happening everywhere—why can’t it happen here? We say, when ithappens to you, that’s when you’re going to get involved. People should get involvedbefore they’re affected by it.”

About two years ago, the Miramontestwins helped start a youth chapter of theMillion Mom March, a grassroots organiza-tion that promotes gun registration andlicensing. Among their activities: A victims’memorial dinner, get-out-the-vote rallies,petition signings, and educational pro-grams. In 2000 the girls lobbied theCalifornia State legislature in support of agun owner-licensing bill and were asked toappear on the floor of one of the houses!The bill was passed and was signed intolaw in the fall of 2001.

Now Alicia and Lara have started an anti-gun violence club at their school. They hopeto educate others about firearm laws and sta-tistics, paying special attention to gun-relatedsuicides. For more information about gun vio-lence or starting your own anti-gun violencegroup, contact the Million Mom March Website at www.millionmommarch.org or theBrady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence atwww.bradycampaign.org

Lara and Alicia Miramontes from California

350 Chapter 15 Legal Rights and Responsibilities

a contract in which one party believes thatthe other has not fulfilled the terms of anagreement. (A contract is an agreementbetween two or more parties.) Suppose,for example, that a supplier of raw materi-als signed a contract to deliver certaingoods to a manufacturer by a given date.When the materials do not arrive on time,the manufacturer must shut down its pro-duction line. It loses money both becauseits factory is idle and because its salesdrop due to lack of inventory.The terms ofany contract are enforceable by law, so themanufacturer might sue the supplier formonetary damages.

Another type of dispute involves torts,or civil wrongs. In tort law a person may suf-fer an injury and claim that another party isresponsible because of negligence. Forexample, if your neighbor fails to clear ice off her sidewalk and you fall and injure your-self, you might bring a tort action againsther.You sue her to recover the costs of yourmedical treatment and other damages.

Another type of civil law is family law.Family law deals with family issues andproblems. Typical cases involve divorce,

child custody, adoption, alimony, child sup-port, and spouse and child abuse.

Comparing What is thedifference between a felony and amisdemeanor?

Public LawAs citizens, we are probably most famil-

iar with criminal and civil law. There are,however, laws that affect us indirectly.Public law, or constitutional law, involvesrights guaranteed under the Constitutionor spelled out in congressional legislation.A constitutional law case would occur, forexample, if a defendant in a criminal matterargued that he was the victim of an unrea-sonable search and seizure in violation ofthe Constitution’s Eighth Amendment.Constitutional law is the guide for ourcourts and legislatures whenever they dealwith punishments and fines. Constitutionallaws are the highest laws in the land; theydictate how the government works.

Another element of public law isadministrative law, which includes all the

(l)Keith Chapman/Check Six/PictureQuest, (r)John De Waele/Stock Boston

Patrolling U.S. Waters TheCoast Guard patrols thewaters using military vesselsand Falcon planes. TheCoast Guard is our nation’sleading maritime, or sea, lawenforcement agency. Whywould the Coast Guard needto know international laws?

Checking for Understanding

1. Key Terms Define the followingterms and use them in sen-tences related to different kindsof law: plaintiff, defendant, felony,misdemeanor, lawsuit, torts.

Reviewing Main Ideas2. Contrast What is the difference

between criminal and civil law?Who is the plaintiff and defen-dant in each case? How are theresults of each type of case different?

3. Identify What does administra-tive law deal with? Why is admin-istrative law considered part ofpublic law?

Critical Thinking

4. Making Judgments In the eventof a dispute with another nation,do you think the United Statesshould abide by a ruling of theWorld Court, or should it main-tain its independence and dowhat it thinks is right?

5. Organizing Information In agraphic organizer like the onebelow, write the four kinds oflaws and give two examples of each.

Analyzing Visuals

6. Conclude Reexamine the photo-graphs on page 350. If a CoastGuard patrol should see anothernation’s ships violating U.S. ter-ritorial waters, what recoursecan the United States take?

SECTION ASSESSMENT

rules and regulations that governmentagencies of the executive branch mustissue to carry out their jobs. In an admin-istrative law case an individual mightcharge that an agency has acted wrong-fully. For example, a plaintiff may claimthat the Environmental Protection Agencyacted contrary to the will of Congress insome of the regulations it issued on air orwater pollution.

Statutory law is another type of publiclaw. Recall from Section 1 that a statute is alaw written by a legislative branch of gov-ernment. The U.S. Congress, state legisla-tures, and local legislatures write thousandsof these laws. Statutes regulate our behaviorby, for example, setting speed limits, speci-fying rules for inspecting food products,and setting the minimum age to obtain awork permit. Statutes are also the source ofmany of the rights and benefits we take forgranted, such as the right to get a SocialSecurity check, to enter a veterans’ hospi-tal, to get a driver’s license, and to returnmerchandise you bought at a store.

International LawInternational law comprises treaties,

customs, and agreements among nations.International law might involve militaryand diplomatic treaties, trade regulations,international agreements, and so on.Alleged violations of international law maybe brought to the International Court ofJustice, also called the World Court, whichis located in The Hague, the Netherlands.The United Nations established the WorldCourt in 1946 to hear and make rulings ondisputes that nations have brought againstother nations. The World Court, however,does not have enforcement powers andmust rely on the willingness of the partiesinvolved to accept its rulings. A typicalinternational law case might involve a dis-pute over fishing rights, such as when onenation believes that fishing boats fromanother nation are operating in its territo-rial waters.

Identifying What is anexample of a case involving international law?

�BE AN ACTIVE CITIZEN�7. Research Read your local news-

paper for a week. List all theexamples of criminal, civil, pub-lic, and international law that youfind. Which kind of law was mostoften in the news? Report yourfindings to the class.

Chapter 15 Legal Rights and Responsibilities 351

Examples of Kinds of Law

Ernesto Miranda was only 23 yearsold when he was arrested by police for kidnappingand rape. At first, Miranda denied anyinvolvement in the crime, but after two hours ofquestioning by the police, he confessed andsigned a statement. At his trial Miranda wassentenced to 20 years in prison. He appealed,claiming that he had not realized that he had aright to have a lawyer present during the policequestioning nor had he realized that he had theright to remain silent. Miranda’s case went to theSupreme Court, and it changed the way policeofficers operate. Now, every person who isarrested hears the Miranda warnings.

Legal Protections in the U.S. ConstitutionAmerican colonists enjoyed a degree of liberty found in few

countries in the eighteenth century. They owed their rights tolegal principles that developed in England and were transferredto America with the colonists. Colonial lawyers studied fromEnglish law books, and judges used English common law as thebasis for their decisions.

As in England, however, American law increasingly becamea law of written statutes, which are the work of Congress andstate legislatures. Although this legislation has replaced com-mon law, courts still refer to common-law principles when nostatutes exist to deal with a given legal issue.

The U.S. Constitution is the basic law of the land. It giveseach branch of government a role in making, enforcing, andinterpreting the law. The legislative branch of governmentmakes most laws. The executive branch carries out these lawsand, in doing so, makes laws as well. The judicial branch alsosets laws by interpreting laws. Courts base their rulings onwritten laws and on the precedents of earlier cases. These rul-ings are then used to build decisions about similar cases in thefuture. This process is called stare decisis, which is Latin for“let the decision stand.”

GUIDE TO READING

Main Idea

The U.S. Constitution andthe American legal sys-tem offer vital protectionsand rights to citizens ofthe United States, includ-ing those accused of acrime.

Key Terms

stare decisis, writ ofhabeas corpus, bill ofattainder, ex post factolaw, due process of law,search warrant, doublejeopardy, grand jury, bail

Reading Strategy

Summarizing InformationAs you read, list on a webdiagram like the onebelow the legal protec-tions enjoyed byAmericans that areincluded in Article I andthe Bill of Rights of theU.S. Constitution.

Read to Learn

• What legal protectionsare guaranteed by theU.S. Constitution?

• What are the rights ofpeople accused of acrime?

The American Legal System

SECTION

ErnestoMiranda

352 Chapter 15 Legal Rights and ResponsibilitiesBettmann/CORBIS

Legal Protections Included in Article I and the

Bill of Rights

Article I of the Constitution includesseveral basic legal rights of Americans.One of the most important is the writ ofhabeas corpus. A writ is a written legalorder; habeas corpus is a Latin phrasemeaning “produce the body.” The writ ofhabeas corpus requires an official whohas arrested someone to bring that personto court and explain why he or she is beingheld.The officials holding the person mustshow good reasons for not releasing theperson. This is a safeguard against beingkept in jail unlawfully.

Article I also forbids enactment ofbills of attainder and ex post facto laws. Abill of attainder is a law that punishes aperson accused of a crime without a trialor a fair hearing in court. An ex postfacto law is a law that would allow a

person to be punished for an action thatwas not against the law when it was com-mitted. For example, an ex post facto lawmaking it a crime to buy lottery ticketscould be applied to someone who boughttickets before the law was passed.

The Constitution’s first 10 amend-ments—the Bill of Rights—further guar-antee the freedoms of individuals. Severalof these amendments spell out the rightsof Americans in relation to law enforce-ment and the administration of justice.After the Civil War, Congress adopted theFourteenth Amendment, extending theserights to formerly enslaved persons.

The Fifth and Fourteenth Amend-ments guarantee due process of law.This means, in part, that government maynot take our lives, liberty, or propertyexcept according to the proper exercise oflaw. The law requires, for example, thataccused people have the opportunity for atrial by jury and for questioning witnessesagainst them.

The equal protection of the law clausein the Fourteenth Amendment requiresgovernments to treat all people equally. It

Vince Streano/CORBIS

Constitutional Rightsof the Accused

Article 1, Section 9to be granted habeas corpus(released until trial)

Fifth Amendmentto have a grand jury hearing

to be protected from double jeopardy

to refuse to answer questions thatmay be incriminating

Sixth Amendmentto be informed of the accusation

to hear and question witnesses

Fourteenth Amendmentto have due process of law

to have equal protection of the laws

to be able to subpoena witnesses

to be represented by an attorney

to be represented by a lawyer

to have a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury

The Constitution guarantees our basiclegal rights. What protections does theFourteenth Amendment guarantee?

A California border patrol agent books a suspect.

354 Chapter 15 Legal Rights and Responsibilities

forbids unfair or unequal treatment based onsuch factors as gender, race, or religion.Since the 1950s, this clause has been themajor civil rights tool of minorities andwomen when challenging laws or govern-ment policies that discriminate against them.

The Constitution defines only onecrime—the crime of treason. Article IIIstates that people can be convicted of trea-son only if they wage war against theUnited States, join its enemies, or give aidand comfort to the enemy. No one can be

convicted of treason without proof.Treasonis defined so that the government cannotmisuse the law to punish people for politi-cal acts. In some countries, criticizing thegovernment is considered treason.

Inferring Why is the writ ofhabeas corpus an important right?

Rights of People Accused

of CrimesSeveral parts of the Bill of Rights protect

citizens accused of crimes. These rightsensure that accused people are treated fairlyand receive every chance to defend them-selves. Each of these rights is based on theidea that a person is presumed innocent untilproven guilty in a court of law.The burden ofproving an accusation against a defendantfalls on the prosecution.The defendant doesnot have to prove his or her innocence.

Fourth Amendment: Search and Seizure The Fourth Amendment protects citi-

zens against “unreasonable searches andseizures.” It gives Americans a fundamental

A. Ramey/PhotoEdit

House Arrest This man isunder house arrest, whichmeans that a person convictedof a crime is confined to thehome instead of prison whileserving out a sentence. Likemost people under housearrest, this man wears a moni-tor around his ankle so lawenforcement officials can moni-tor his activities. If a convictedperson felt that he was sub-jected to an unreasonablesearch of his home, whatamendment might he cite inhis appeal?

Do we protect criminals?Critics of the exclusionary rule claimthat it goes too far in protecting crimi-nals because, as a result of it, manypeople who are known to have com-mitted crimes go free. Following theterrorists attacks of September 11,2001, some Americans have arguedthat police need more authority, whileothers do not want to change ourbasic freedoms.

Chapter 15 Legal Rights and Responsibilities 355

right to be secure in their homes and prop-erty. Police seeking to intrude on this secu-rity must first get a search warrant—ajudge’s authorization—specifying the exactplace to be searched and describing whatobjects may be seized. A judge may issue asearch warrant if the police can show thatthey have probable cause—a good reason tobelieve that a wanted person is hiding inthat place or that goods or evidence arehoused there.

In the 1961 case Mapp v. Ohio, theSupreme Court adopted what is called the exclusionary rule. This rule says that if the police gain evidence in a way that vio-lates the Fourth Amendment, that evidencemay not be used in a trial.

Fifth Amendment: Self-Incrimination,Double Jeopardy, and Grand Juries

The Fifth Amendment states that peo-ple may not be required to incriminatethemselves—to say anything that mightshow them to be guilty of a crime.Sometimes when being questioned, a per-son may say, “I decline to answer on thegrounds that it may tend to incriminate

me.” This is known as “taking the Fifth.”Before the 1960s, police often questionedsuspects, sometimes under great pressure,to push them to confess to a crime beforethey saw a lawyer or appeared in court. In1966 the Supreme Court held, in Mirandav. Arizona, that police must inform sus-pects that they have the right to “remainsilent”—to refuse to answer police ques-tions. However, if this right is misused—for example, if a person is using it toprotect another person—the judge mayhold the person in contempt of court.This means that the judge believes theperson is obstructing or interfering withthe judicial process, and that personcould be jailed.

The Fifth Amendment also bans double jeopardy. This means that a per-son who is tried for a crime and found notguilty may not be placed in jeopardy—putat risk of criminal penalty—a second timeby being retried for the same crime.

The Fifth Amendment says, further-more, that people accused of serious federalcrimes must be brought before a grandjury to decide whether the government has

Michael Newman/PhotoEdit

Miranda Warning

In 1966 the Supreme Court threw out the felonyconviction of Ernesto Miranda, who had confessedwhile in police custody. Now all police officers mustrecite the Miranda warning to those they arrest.Why do you think it is important for arrested per-sons to be informed of these rights?

YOU HAVE:

the right to remain silent;

any statements made can

be used against you in court.

the right to have an attorney

present during any questioning.

the right to have a court-

appointed attorney if you

cannot afford one.

the right to stop answering

questions at any time.

356 Chapter 15 Legal Rights and Responsibilities

enough evidence to bring them to trial. (Insome states, a preliminary hearing is usedinstead of a grand jury indictment.) Agrand jury is a group of 12 to 23 citizensthat hears evidence presented by a prosecu-tor.The grand jury decides whether there isenough evidence to indicate that theaccused has committed the crime. If thegrand jury finds sufficient evidence to pro-ceed to trial, it indicts the accused person,or issues a formal charge that names thesuspect and states the charges against himor her.

Sixth Amendment: Legal Counsel and Trials

The Sixth Amendment says that anaccused person has the right to bedefended by a lawyer. In 1963 the SupremeCourt, in Gideon v. Wainwright, interpretedthe amendment to mean that if a defendantcannot afford a lawyer, the state must pro-vide one. Previously the federal governmentprovided lawyers for poor defendants, butsome states did not.

The Sixth Amendment also guaranteesthat accused people must be informed ofthe nature and cause of the accusationsagainst them and have “the right to aspeedy and public trial, by an impartialjury” and the right to confront, or ques-tion, witnesses against them. Most stateand federal courts require the governmentto bring an accused person to trial withinabout 100 days. This protects defendantsagainst being held in jail for an unreason-ably long time. It also means that trialsusually may not be closed to the public orthe news media.

A person accused of a crime also hasthe right to a trial by an impartial jury.Impartial means that jury members will bepeople who do not know anyone involved inthe case and have not already made up theirminds about the case. Jury members usu-ally must be drawn from the area where thecrime was committed.

In federal courts, all trial juries, calledpetit juries, have 12 people, and they mustreach a unanimous verdict in order to con-vict or acquit. Several states have juries withas few as six people. Some states allow 12-member juries to reach a verdict if 10 jurorsagree. When juries as small as six are used,verdicts must be unanimous.

Although everyone charged with acrime has a right to a jury trial, defendantsmay choose to appear only before a judge,without a jury. This kind of trial is called

A. Ramey/Woodfin Camp & Assoc.

Should It Be a Crime?Rank these 8 offenses from the most serious (1) tothe least serious (8). Make your decision based onyour opinion, not on what the law says.

• A factory knowinglydumps waste in a waythat pollutes the watersupply of a large city.

• A person sells crackcocaine to others.

• A person breaks throughthe firewall of a bank’scomputer system just tosee if she can do it.

• A person with a gun robs a victim of $50. Nophysical harm occurs.

• A drunk driver kills a teen pedestrian by driving anautomobile recklessly.

• A person downloads music from the Internet.

• A person releases a virus into the city’s policeand rescue squad computer system.

• A person intentionally sets fire to a business,causing damage worth $250,000.

�BE AN ACTIVE CITIZEN�Meet with two classmates to compare rankings anddiscuss the reasons for your decisions. Follow upby researching federal and state laws relating tothe actions above.

a bench trial. A person might request abench trial to avoid the long and drawn-out process and expense of a jury trial.Even so, many criminal prosecutions donot come to trial at all—with or without ajury—because of plea bargains. Plea bar-gaining is a negotiation between thedefense attorney and the prosecutor, whois the government’s attorney. In a plea bar-gain, the government offers the defendanta chance to plead guilty to a less seriouscrime in exchange for receiving a lesssevere penalty. A judge must agree to anybargain reached. People often agree toplea bargains to cut down on the expenseand time of a trial or to get a lighter sen-tence if they fear conviction. Judges oftenagree to plea bargains as a way to handlethe tremendous volume of criminal casesthat courts must process every year.

Eighth Amendment: Punishment and Bail

This amendment outlaws “cruel andunusual punishments.” Torture, for exam-ple, would be cruel. Also, a punishmentmay not be out of proportion to thecrime, such as imposing the death penaltyfor robbery. There is controversy, how-ever, over how this protection relates tothe death penalty. In 1972 the SupremeCourt ruled in Furman v. Georgia that thedeath penalty as then administered wasnot constitutional. The Court found thatthe death penalty was being imposed inunfair ways, for a wide variety of crimes,and mainly on African Americans andpoor people. This decision, though, didnot outlaw the death penalty. In responseto the Furman decision, about three-fourths of the states revised their deathpenalty laws to comply with guidelineslaid down by the Supreme Court. Somestates have established a two-stage processto deal with death penalty cases. First, a

jury trial determines the guilt or inno-cence of the defendant. Then a separatehearing is held to determine the degree ofpunishment.

The Eighth Amendment also prohibits“excessive bail.” Bail is a sum of money anarrested person pays to a court to win releasefrom jail while awaiting trial.The purpose ofrequiring this payment is to guarantee thatthe person will voluntarily return for thetrial. After the trial, the person gets back themoney. Courts may not set bail so high thata person is unnecessarily and unfairly forcedto stay in jail. For example, a judge cannotset bail at $100,000 for a motorist accusedof running a red light.

Chapter 15 Legal Rights and Responsibilities 357Arnie Levin published in The New Yorker

Analyzing Visuals The American legalprocess contains many provisions to safeguardthe rights of those accused of committingcrimes—including the right to make a phonecall after being arrested. What is the setting ofthis cartoon? How would you summarize thecartoonist’s point?

“You are entitled to one call,one fax, or one e-mail.”

358 Chapter 15 Legal Rights and Responsibilities

Checking for Understanding

1. Key Terms Define the followingterms and use them in sen-tences related to constitutionallegal protections and rights ofthe accused: writ of habeas corpus, bill of attainder, ex postfacto law, double jeopardy, bail.

Reviewing Main Ideas2. Identify What are three basic

legal rights of all citizens, andwhat do these rights mean?

3. Explain What must police showa judge in order to obtain asearch warrant?

Critical Thinking

4. Drawing Conclusions Which ofthe rights guaranteed to peopleaccused of a crime do you thinkis the most important? Explain.

5. Organizing Information On agraphic organizer like the onebelow, explain the constitutionalrights of the accused in theUnited States.

Analyzing Visuals

6. Identify Review the chart onpage 353. Which part of the U.S.Constitution includes the guaran-tee that if you are arrested youmust be informed of the chargesagainst you?

SECTION ASSESSMENT

If a person isaccused of a seri-ous crime, how-ever, the judgemay set a veryhigh bail. In caseof an extremelyserious criminal

action such as murder, or if the arrested per-son seems highly likely to flee or to be a dan-ger to the community, the judge may denybail altogether, and the defendant isremanded—returned to custody until thetrial. On the other hand, sometimes a judgewill require no bail at all, releasing a personon his or her own recognizance, or simplepromise to return.

Concluding Why mustpolice be aware of the exclusionary rule wheninvestigating crimes?

Our Legal ResponsibilitiesThe Declaration of Independence stated,

“all men are created equal.” This does notmean that everyone is born with the samecharacteristics. Rather, this democratic

ideal of equality means that all people areentitled to equal rights and treatmentbefore the law. Americans have a number oflegal responsibilities. By fulfilling them, weensure that our legal system works as itshould and that our legal rights are pro-tected. Serving on a jury and testifying incourt are both important responsibilities.The legal right to a jury trial can only beeffective if people are willing to serve onjuries and appear in court.

Other responsibilities include obeyinglaws and cooperating with law enforcementofficials. A government’s ability to enforce alaw depends to a great extent on people’swillingness to obey it. The effectiveness oflaw enforcement officials often depends onpeople’s willingness to become involvedand tell what they know about a crime.

Americans must work peacefully tochange unfair, outdated laws. This mightinvolve gathering voters’ signatures on peti-tions to place an issue on a ballot for a voteor asking legislators to change the law.

Summarizing What arethe legal responsibilities of Americans?

�BE AN ACTIVE CITIZEN�7. Interview Talk with a police offi-

cer. Find out what procedurespolice must follow to obtain asearch warrant and what theymust do at the time of an arrest.Share your findings with the class.

Student Web Activity Visitciv.glencoe.com and click onStudent Web Activities—Chapter 15 to learn moreabout our legal rights.

Rights ofthe

Accused

Fourth Amendment:

Fifth Amendment:

Sixth Amendment:

Eighth Amendment:

Why Learn This Skill?Making decisions is part of living. Decidingwhat to wear or what to have for lunch is justpart of your daily routine. Many decisions,however, are more serious. Deciding what sub-jects to pursue in school, what career to planfor, or how to help a troubled friend can allhave lasting consequences. You may have tomake decisions as a leader in school or per-haps in government when you become anadult. These decisions could affect manyother people.

Learning the SkillFollowing the steps below will help you makemore thoughtful decisions.• State the situation or define the problem.

Gather all the facts. Ask: Why do I have tomake a decision on this matter? Whom willmy decision affect? Then, define your objec-tive. State as clearly as possible what youhope to accomplish.

• List your options. Think of all the differentcourses of action open to you. Ask: Whatare the alternatives? How can I deal withthis situation in a different way?

• Consider the possible outcomes. Ask your-self what the likely results of each optionwould be.

• Compare the possible outcomes to yourobjective. Consider your values. Values arethe beliefs and ideas that are important toyou. Your values should serve as your guide-lines in making all decisions.

• Decide and act. Having thought out the situ-ation, you know you have made the bestdecision possible at the time.

• Evaluate your decision. Review the actualoutcome and ask yourself if you would makethe same decision again.

Practicing the SkillOn a separate sheet of paper, write out thedecision-making steps for the fictional situation described below.

Chapter 15 Legal Rights and Responsibilities 359

Citizenship

Practice key skills with Glencoe’sSkillbuilder Interactive WorkbookCD-ROM, Level 1.

Making Decisions

Research a new law your local or state lead-ers are considering. Place yourself in theirposition. How would you decide to vote if itwere up to you? Record the steps you took inmaking your decision.

Applying the Skill

Maria sees her friends Beth and Amy dropsome earrings from a store counter into theirpockets. Beth and Amy do not know Maria iswatching. What action will Maria take? Mariawants to keep Beth’s and Amy’s friendship.She thinks it’s even more important thatBeth and Amy do not break the law.

Maria’s objective: Maria’s options:a. Confront her friends b. c. d. Possible outcomes:a. Friends don’t listen b. c. d. Outcomes v. Objectivea. Friends shoplift again b. c. d. Maria decides and acts: Maria evaluates her decision:

Reviewing Key TermsChoose the key term from the chapter that bestmatches each clue below.

1. guarantees a person’s right to appear beforea judge to determine whether he or she wasbeing held legally

2. a person bringing suit against another party

3. less serious crimes or minor offenses suchas traffic violations

4. protects people from being tried for the samecrime a second time

5. laws written by a legislative branch

6. a sum of money an arrested person pays towin release from jail while awaiting the trial

7. legal opinions or court decisions upon whichlater decisions are based

8. serious crimes such as robbery or murder

Reviewing Main Ideas9. Identify four characteristics of effective laws.

10. How did English law influence the develop-ment of American law?

11. How is common law different from statute law?

12. Name four types of laws.

13. Give at least two reasons a person might filea lawsuit.

14. Give two examples of a felony and two exam-ples of a misdemeanor.

15. What does “taking the Fifth” mean?

16. How do grand juries and petit juries differ?

Economics Activity17. The Supreme Court ruled in Gideon v.

Wainwright that the government must providea lawyer to anyone accused of a crime whocannot afford one. Contact the local bar asso-ciation in your area or a lawyer in your com-munity. Find out how much it would cost tohire a lawyer for different kinds of cases, forexample, criminal, civil, and so on.

Section 1

• Laws keep the peace andprevent violent acts. Theyset punishments and rulesfor resolving disputes.

• Early laws like the Codeof Hammurabi, the TenCommandments, Romanlaw, and English law haveinfluenced our laws today.

Section 3

• Article I of the U.S.Constitution and theBill of Rights includeseveral protections forthose Americansaccused of a crime.

Using Your Foldables Study OrganizerWork with a partner and your completedfoldable to review the chapter. Face eachother. One person begins by reciting a factfrom his or her completed foldable. Thenthe partner recites a related fact. Repeatthe process as many times as you can.

360(t)Doug Martin/Photo Researchers, (c)Jeff Cadge/Getty Images, (b)AP/Wide World Photos

Section 2

• Many types of law existincluding public law,international law, andcriminal and civil law.

• Whereas criminal lawdeals with criminal acts,civil law deals withdisputes betweenpeople or groups.

Practicing Skills18. Making Decisions Use local newspaper

archives to read about an event that hasaffected or that affects your community.Make an educated decision about how youwould handle the event if you were a gov-ernment official. Explain your decision andyour reasoning.

Analyzing VisualsRead the bar graph below. Then answer thefollowing questions.

19. Which age group includes the most victimsof violent crimes?

20. Summarize the information on the graph ina few sentences.

21. Divide into three or four groups and find outabout specialties of the lawyers in yourcommunity. As a group, focus on one areaof law. Interview a lawyer practicing thatarea of law to find out about typical casesand report your findings to the class.

Critical Thinking22. Identifying Alternatives Are there any

other legal rights you think people shouldhave? Explain.

23. Organizing Information In a chart like theone below, describe the U.S. Constitution’srole in protecting the rights of U.S. citizens.

Technology Activity24. On the Internet go to the FindLaw Web site:

http://news.findlaw.com/. Look for an arti-cle that relates to the legal protectionsdescribed in this chapter. Read the articleand summarize its main points.

Self-Check Quiz Visit the Civics Today Web site atciv.glencoe.com and click on Self-Check Quizzes—Chapter 15 to prepare for the chapter test.

StandardizedTest Practice

Directions: Choose the best answer to the question below.

Which amendment to the U.S. Consti-tution guarantees the “equal protection of the laws”?A Fourth AmendmentB Fifth AmendmentC Eighth AmendmentD Fourteenth Amendment

Test-Taking TipFind the best answer by eliminatinganswer choices that you know are

incorrect, thereby narrowing the choices.

Chapter 15 Legal Rights and Responsibilities 361

Part of Constitution Role in Protecting Rights

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