8th and 9th Amendment Cases Group 3 Period 4

The 8th Amendment “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Means protects people who committed crimes from excessive anything by the court they are heard in.

Furman v. Georgia Plaintiff-Georgia Defendant-Furman In the Furman v. Georgia case Furman saw that his 14 amendment rights were not upheld when he saw that it violated his rights as an individual This happened when he was charged with murder of a person when his gun went off by mistake

Facts Furman saw that it was unfair that he would be killed for his actions as he did not shot him. The court saw that the death penalty has changed over the years and that only minorities and poor people suffer from these such crimes He also started that the constitution is meant to protect people and therefore its unconstitutional.

Conclusion In the works of the case the court saw that it was a cruel and unusual punishment to kill him for his actions. The courts saw that for this case it did not hold a purpose and they saw it as a unusal punishment

Roper v. Simmons (2005) Petitioner- Donald P. Roper Respondent- Christopher Simmons Christopher Simmons was a minor convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to death for a crime he committed at the age of 17.

Roper v. Simmons Q&A There was one question asked by the court; is the execution of minors in violation of the prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment”? Holding: Yes, the court held that the standard of decency has changed because of the beliefs of the American people and that the execution of minors is now cruel and unusual.

Significance of the Case The case over Roper v. Simmons is significant because it established the fact that the execution of minors is cruel and unusual, therefore unconstitutional.

Atkins V. Virginia (2002) Atkins was convicted of abduction, armed robbery and capital murder. Atkins was sentenced to death . The Virginia Supreme Court relied on Penry V. Lynaugh in rejecting his contention therefore he could not be sentenced to death because he is mentally retarded. The court case happened in York County Court Supreme Court of Virginia .

Issue/Holding/Reasoning Atkins was sentenced to death, found out he was retarded, resentenced him. Dr.Stanton expressed his opinion that he was not mentally retarded at the time but was rather “average intelligence”. The jury again sentenced him to death Executions of mentally retarded criminals are “cruel and unusual punishments” Prohibited by the eighth amendment.

Decision The Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the imposition of the death penalty. Atkins did not argue that his sentence was disproportionate to penalties imposed for similar crimes in Virginia but he did contend “that he is mentally retarded and he cannot be sentenced to death”. The majority of the state group rejected this contention “not willing to commute Atkins sentence of death to life imprisonment merely because of his IQ score”.

Coker V. Georgia (1977) Plaintiff - State of Georgia Defendant - Erlich Anthony Coker Ehrlich Anthony Coker served a number of sentences including murder, kidnapping, rape, escaping from prison, and assault. He broke into a Georgia couples home, raped a woman and stole their car. The Georgia courts sentenced Coker to death on the rape charge. Coker claimed that the death penalty for rape violates the constitution’s Eighth Amendment.

Court Decision (Coker V. Georgia) In a 7 - to - 2 decision, the Georgia Courts said that the death penalty was a “grossly disproportionate” punishment for the crime of rape. Since rape was not considered taking another human life, the courts found the death penalty excessive.

Impact/Significance The Coker V. Georgia case was significant, because it established that the Georgia’s death penalty for rape was unconstitutional.

9th Amendment - Right To Privacy “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” This means, that the government can’t take away other rights of the people that are not listed in the list of rights in the Constitution.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) Griswold was the Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut. She counselled married couples on ways to prevent conception and at the time any type of birth control was illegal. She was arrested and fined heavily. Question- Does the Constitution protect the right to marital privacy. Basically, should married couples be allowed to use contraceptives (a method to control birth)?.

Outcome of the Case The case was decided on June 7, 1965 The case was decided for Griswold in a 7-2 majority decision, majority opinion by William O. Douglas Together the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 9th amendments come together to make a new constitutional right, “the right to privacy in marital relations” The old law is now null & void

Effect on Society This case has had a huge impact on society. Today we can’t even imagine birth control being illegal. It was illegal for religious reasons before now you have freedom to your own religious ideals. Now we recognize people’s privacy and right to do what they want to their bodies as far as contraception goes. In today’s world we would rather keep unplanned pregnancies as low as possible.

Roe vs. Wade (1973) Texas law prohibited abortions except to save the pregnant woman's life. Also permitted abortions only when rape has happened or incest. Roe is a Texas resident wanting to terminate her pregnancy by abortion.

Roe vs. Wade Holding was yes, her case being heard wont be affected by the mootness doctrine. Only if the fetus is not visible based on right to privacy which is about 24 to 28 weeks after conception. Issue is based on her pregnancy once she was given birth a plaintiff still was standing to bring that case. Opinion, since abortions is part of the fundamental right of privacy the majority found that strict security was appropriate when reviewing regulations on it.

Roe vs. Wade Roe has come to be known as the case that legalised abortions nationwide. More and More states are using the new abortions law.

Lawrence v. Texas This case took place because police had a warrant to search the house of John Lawrence due to a weapons disturbance and found lawrence and Tyron Garner engaging in homosexual actions which was against state law at the time.

Lawrence v. Texas The case itself was held march 26, 2003 and was decided on june 26, 2003. There was a 6-3 decision in favor of lawrence.

Lawrence v. Texas The significance of this case is that the court said that the Texas law making it a crime for two people of the same sex to engage in sexual conduct violated the Due Process Clause.

3 Levels of Scrutiny Explained The level of scrutiny applied determines how a court will go about analyzing a law and its effects. (Challenged Laws) Strict Scrutiny- The most demanding of all 3, requires the government to prove a compelling interest of the state being for a policy and to prove that the law or regulation is loosely put together to achieve the goal. Intermediate Scrutiny- Is less demanding than strict, requires an important governmental objective, and must be substantially related to achieving the outcome. Rational Basis Review-The lowest level of scrutiny, where the person challenging the law must prove that the government has no well intended reason for the law, and there is no reasonable link between that interest and the law.