Analysis of the Constitution of the United States

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Table of Contents

Examples of homeland security issues in popular culture
Identification of pre-9/11 homeland security event
Legal counsel exercise
Statute draft
References

Section 1 of the United States Constitution provides that all power shall be vested in the Congress which should have powers to draft law and make other important decisions to run the state. The Congress comprises of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Under Section 2, the eligibility and the mode of conducting elections for House of Representatives is provided. The House of Representatives comprises of persons from every state who have to meet some qualifications for them to be suitable to hold office. The section stipulates that no person shall be a representative unless that person has attained twenty-five years of age. It should be noted that for the person to be eligible to be voted as a member in the House of Representatives, he or she must have stayed in the United States for more than seven years. Section 3 provides that the United States shall consist of two senators for every state. Elections in each state are to be provided for by an enactment. It is the duty of each House to keep a journal of its proceedings. The journal is supposed to be published with the proceedings with exception to the parts that may require secrecy. Section 5 provides that the each house should comply with the governing rules without adjourning unnecessarily (Tushnet, 2009).

Article 1 of the constitution provides for the right to religion. The Article nullifies any law formed to establish any religion. The same Article declares any form of law that limits freedom of speech and press. The right of free assembly and peaceful petition to the government is established in the mentioned article. The right of the people to keep arms is provided for under Article 2. Every militia formed is to be regulated by the state. Article 4 provides for the right to every individual to be secure. This right entails protection from unnecessary search and seizures. There is a total prohibition of warrants without a probable cause. Whenever a probable cause has been ascertained, it should be confirmed by oath or affirmation. This is to lay out the place where the search will be carried out. This section of the constitution prohibits the law enforcement authorities from subjecting the citizens to unlawful restrictions. It is a fundamental provision that has been at the safety of the American citizens against any form of searches that are not warranted (Tushnet, 2009).

Article 6 provides for the enjoyment of trial in the public domain with speed upon an accused person being arrested. Moreover, it is the right of the accused to be aware of the criminal offence they are being implicated to have committed. The jury handling the case should exercise its duty without partiality. The accused should be informed about the witnesses. It is also the right of the accused to be informed of the right to call witnesses to support his case. The right to a fair hearing is a cardinal principle in the constitution and every individual should be treated impartially. If the accused desires, he or she should be allowed to have legal representation. This should entail the right of the accused person to have a defense. The state should offer the accused a chance to prepare his or her defense. The accused should be provided with an attorney to represent him when the case is capital in nature. Article 7 provides that where a trail exceeds a given amount, the right of trial by the jury shall not be exercisable. The article covers cases within the common law jurisdiction. Article 8 prohibits excessive bail. This follows that the right to bail is constitutional and, therefore, the accused person should be allowed to attend trials from his or her home. By making the bail unreasonable, it means that the accused would not be able to raise the amount and will be forced to remain in custody (Tushnet, 2009).

Section 9 of the constitution provides for the limiting powers to the Congress. The section provides that the right of habeaus corpus shall not be suspended and the Congress may not allocate itself money apart under the approval of the treasury. Under Section 10, the states cannot declare war or pass any law in order to disassociate itself from the national government. The section prohibits states from making money on their own and imposing taxation. The states are supposed to use the authority of the Union government. On the same note, the states are not required to have an army of their own. The president, under Section 3, is required to give the state an address in instances whereby the state is to go to war. He should also make workable suggestions to the Congress which it can follow or depart from. The president should obey the law and make sure that all bodies under his control follow the law. Section 4 provides that the president can be removed under the circumstances enumerated there under. The president may be removed from office without following the process of election through impeachment. Article 3 of the constitution establishes other important branches of the government that are supposed to work independently. Section 1 introduces the judiciary and the Supreme Court. The tenure of office of the Supreme Court judges is spelt out in the section. The same section provides for different modes of impeachment that may occur for a judge. Section 2 provides for the nature of the cases that the Supreme Court may hear. It provides for the nature of the cases the court is to handle and the procedure in each of those cases. Section 3 tackles the issue of the state and the control each state has over the federal lands (Cooke, 2002).

Section 4 has the effect that every state ensures a republican form of government that allows representation of each individual through a free and fair democratic process. Each state should derive its power from the people that it seeks to govern. The federal government is to observe that the rule through the power of the people is maintained at all material times. Section 5 stipulates the form of amendments that the Constitution of the United States may be amended. There are various amendments that have been done since the promulgation of the constitution. These amendments have been through the popular will of the United States people. Numerous amendments have been encouraged in instances whereby the citizens have felt that the law maintaining the same position would occasion an injustice. The Constitution of the United States has several provisions that have been amended to fit the needs of the population. The only way that the citizens have a chance to extend the right limited by the drafters of the Constitution has been through amendments. A total of ten amendments were designed to protect persons from any form of arbitrariness. The third amendment provides for protection against any form of army invasion, which includes forcing homeowners to give them room. The Fourth Amendment is to the effect that the government should not take property without a justification. The Fifth Amendment ensures that persons are not arrested without being indicted. The Amendment emphasizes on the fact that the accused should be notified of his or her charges in a language that they understand. According to the Sixth Amendment, the trial should precede in a speedy way once the accused has been arrested. The trail should also be conducted by an impartial jury and the accused should be allowed to appeal if dissatisfied by the ruling of the jury. If legal representation is required, the accused should be accorded the right to attorney (Gribin, 2003).

The Amendment provides that punishment against the guilty party should be reasonable and fair. The accused should not be subjected to any form of torture while serving his or her sentence. This right under the constitution is not easily departed from. The state under the constitution is supposed to protect the rights under the Bills of Rights.

Examples of homeland security issues in popular culture

The issue of homeland security gained much popularity in the United States after the September 11 bombing. The policy was known before, but it became more organized after the bombing. Homeland security has been defined as a program designed with the aim of dealing with emergencies. Although the main objective has been lost through various union and state interferences, its aim was to counter any form of hazards. The definition remains highly contentious and the details of its operation have in some occasions remained a secret. The emergency management that the homeland security was formed to deal with has remained under constant attack. There are authors who have found it essential to come up with working definitions for homeland security (Whitley, Zusman & American Bar Association, 2009). The definitions are seven in number. Homeland security in these cases seeks to have a set of interests that are embodied in the same biological system. The mentioned definitions have various elements. To start with, terrorism is one of the aims of homeland security. In other words, the security team was basically formed to deal with issues of terrorism attacks in the United States (Miller, 2009). The September 11 bombing was one of the most painful moments in the history of the United States. However, that moment gave birth to a lot of clandestine agencies for spying and countering security. The security details became very essential in the American history.

Secondly, the homeland security agency has a concern on all forms of hazards. This means that despite protecting the society from terrorism, other forms of natural hazards are put into consideration. This means that all forms of hazards fall in the scope of homeland security. The support given to homeland security by the federal governments is for the purposes of dealing with emergencies if they occur. The jurisdictional hazards are the main consideration. The agency is mainly funded by federal states; therefore, their jurisdiction is only limited to the operations within the state. Although it is a national effort to prevent any harmful social trend, its boundaries are highly marked. The funding of the agency has remained controversial just like the definition. It is true to state that the national government supports the agency since it aids in the fight against terrorism (Miller, 2009).

Identification of pre-9/11 homeland security event

The homeland security’s working was highly unknown before the September 11 attack. Many authors have contended that the security agency was formed to help in the fight against terrorism. Instead, it is viewed that the agency was set up to help the national government with the required information to trace criminals. There are hazards and grave natural catastrophe that occurred before September 11. However, the role of the security agency still remained unknown. The years following the bombing have witnessed considerable growth in the operation of the homeland security agency (Whitley, Zusman & American Bar Association, 2009). The agency stands as a watching tower against any forms of terrorism. The main aim is to come up with strategies of averting any terrorist attacks from taking place. The events of September 11 seem to carry a couple of answers to the questions regarding the existence of homeland security. It is observed that if the bombing of September 11 did not take place, the group would have lost its relevance. The agency resulted from the attack and it grew stronger once new fears of attack were identified. The main objective of the group has remained unknown and it cannot be linked to any form of hazard-related work before the bombing. It, therefore, follows that homeland security was purposely formed to fight terrorism since the emergencies that occurred before September 11 were without the intervention of homeland security. The homeland security agency has helped in preventing terrorism of all kinds (Purpura, 2007).

Legal counsel exercise

If the United States learns about the Scorpions’ plan, is President Obama empowered to order a military attack against us? If yes, how would he most likely justify his actions? Under international law, President Obama may justify his attack on America by showing that he learned a terrorism group wanted to bomb America. He can support his defence of justification by showing that a greater evil would have been caused by him not attacking the group. He may pursue the militia by making sure that he attacks them while on sea in order to afford himself the defense of hot pursuit. It has been acknowledged that under the United Nations Security Council resolutions, a state that attacks another in order to prevent an attack justifies its actions. President Obama will for this purpose be excused for attacking the Scorpions. A country under international law is allowed to use all means necessary to avert any form of attack on it by other countries. This defense is available in cases whereby the attack was the only viable option. The force used must be proportional in order to avoid liability.

If the U.S. Army soldiers detain our fighters and transfer them to Saudi Arabia (a country known for torturing people) for questioning, what is this process called? Does the U.S. public policy allow for such a practice? If the current U.S. policy is to allow such a practice, is this policy lawful? The practice is unlawful since the accused persons are transferred to another country that has laws that do not protect the individuals and their rights. United States allowing such policy to take place amounts to total breach of the fundamental human rights. The investigations of terrorist activities should not include subjecting individuals to unlawful torture. The point of concern is the fact that those people under the command may be found liable for crimes of war. On the alternative count, these people may be charged for crimes against humanity. The transfer to Saudi Arabia is an opportunity for the United States to torture innocent persons who are at the given stage suspects. There are possible offences under the International Criminal Court. The Rome Statute establishes various offences that the American government official may be charged with.

The issue of taking suspects to Guantanamo Bay is based on the principle that in the United States the prisoners would get rights as they are provided for under the constitution. This practice has long been going on under the watchful eyes of the international community. The implications of such detentions are that individuals are denied their rights. They are further subjected to torture. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is against any form of torture on individuals. Countries are encouraged to desist from torture as a way of obtaining evidence from suspects. The lack of strict measures has been the main way through which the United States has practiced the said acts of torture in Guantanamo Bay. With such torture zones in the world, it is not easy to eradicate terrorism since the torture has been a way of making them feel victimized. This has been the main cause of retaliatory attacks against the United States and her allies. The closing of the torture camps can be a better opportunity to build peace and reconciliation. Guantanamo Bay has been a camp designed to torture Arabs. The fact that many Arabs are of Islamic faith has been seen as a fight against Islam. This notion makes many Arabs of Islam faith believe that it is holy to engage in terrorism acts.

Statute draft

Section 1: Short Title and Table of Contents

Short Title–The Act will be cited as the Homeland Security Act 2013

Title I—Enhancing a Terrorism Free Society

SEC. 101 – War on Terrorism

Establishment: There will be a planned budget under the treasury that will have the sole aim of supporting the Homeland Security Operations.

To promote all forms of spying that will be helpful in the arrest and the conviction of terrorists.

To have a functional office with full duties and responsibilities. This will entail monitoring the activities of the Homeland Security.
Improve on the measures of countering terrorism both in local and international spheres.
Conducting terrorism threat assessments of federal agencies and their facilities; and

To mobilize funds from the federal government for the furtherance of the activities of the Homeland Security.
To facilitate the agency’s functions within the terms and the rules formulated.
To support all activities that are geared towards eradicating terrorism attacks in the states.
To work hand in hand with other groups to fulfill the functions of Homeland Security.
To adhere to the international standards of carrying out investigations.

References

Cooke, E. F. (2002). A detailed analysis of the Constitution. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Gribin, A. V. (2003). Constitution of the United States: Background, analysis and bibliography. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.

Miller, D. A. (2009). Homeland security. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

Purpura, P. P. (2007). Terrorism and homeland security: An introduction with applications. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Tushnet, M. V. (2009). The Constitution of the United States of America: A contextual analysis. Oxford Hart.

Whitley, J. D., Zusman, L. K., & American Bar Association. (2009). Homeland security: Legal and policy issues. Chicago, IL: ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice.

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