The Bill of Rights Project: 3rd Amendment- Engblom v. Carey by Niki Bhakta

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. - Third Amendment (1789) Written due to the many distresses of colonists which arose after the enactment of the Quartering Act of 1765, the third amendment aims to protect an individual’s right to property and ownership without government intrusion.

Background In 1979, correctional officers at Mid-Orange Correctional Facility in New York went on strike to lobby for higher wages against the Public Employees Fair Employment Act. As the employees were occupied with their demonstration, the National Guardsmen adopted their duties, and moved into the employee housing, from which the workers were already evicted. Mid-Orange Correctional Facility

The First Case Marianne E. Engblom and Charles E. Palmer, two of the evicted officers, filed a lawsuit against the state of New York and its governor, Hugh L. Carey, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of NY. They believed the actions of the state violated both the third and fourteenth amendment. The district court sided with the defendants as the state had direct immunity, and the plaintiffs were laid off on with the charge that they lacked sufficient rights of possession.

Court of Appeals On March 1, 1982, the petitioners, displeased with the previous court ruling, appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit with the same case. The decision of the previous court concerning the violation of the third amendment was overturned with three new establishments: National guardsmen, under the third amendment, qualify as soldiers. The third amendment applies to both state and federal authorities. The amendment also broadly extends protection to those with a legal expectation of privacy and a legal right to dismiss anyone from their property.

Final Verdict The case was then remanded back to the District Court where Judge Irving R. Kaufman upheld the innocence of the defendants due to their qualified immunity and the lack of previous precedents. Kaufman believed that the lodging of the guardsmen was secured by the protection of their, as employees, right to housing, and that the unique instance of the matter being on prison grounds supersedes the restrictions of the third amendment.

Analysis As the first case that opened the third amendment to judicial interpretation, Engblom v. Carey offers an extension of privacy to landowners and owners who pay a simple fee. Though this amendment may not carry direct relevance to contemporary times, it may prove to be beneficial perhaps in times of war or a natural disaster when it might be somewhat necessary to offer any possible service to the military.

The Funny Papers

Bibliography DeSanto, John. Main Building at Mid-Orange. Digital image. Record Online. Times Herald- Record, 30 Aug. 2014. Web. 8 Oct. 2016. Well, Tom W. "The Third Amendment: Forgotten but Not Gone." Third Amendment. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2016. By the Time the Strike Ended on May 4. "Documenting Labor Inside and Out Collective Bargaining Council 82's 1979 Strike." Documenting Labor Inside and Out:. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2016. <https://library.albany.edu/speccoll/documentinglabor/council82st rike.htm>. Wood, By Gordon S. "Amendment III Quartering of Soldiers." National Constitution Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2016. <https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive- constitution/amendments/amendment-iii>.