8th and 9th Amendments: Civil cases By:Devon Stephens, Magally Dimas, Trent Burnham, Colton Clark, Lorena Gonzalez

8th Amendment Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

9th Amendment The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people

Atkins v. Virginia/Death penalty and the mentally handicapped Who? Plaintiff-Atkins Defendant-Virginia What? Atkins was convicted of multiple crimes including capital murder, they only had one witness a forensic psychologist who said he was mentally retarded. When? It all took place in the early months of 2002

Atkins v. Virginia (continued) Where? Took place in York County Court Virginia Why? Virginia was testifying against a man who committed capital crime and in court said he couldn’t be given death penalty because of his mental state How? The court came to a 6-3 ruling for Atkins that the mentally retarded can’t be sentenced to death because of the 8th Amendment and they referenced “Penry v. Lynaugh” to testify against him but the judges ruled it otherwise

Atkins v. Virginia (continued) The main question the court faced was “Is the execution of mentally retarded persons ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ prohibited by the Eighth Amendment?” With the ruling in court it had a 6-3 vote for atkins that the mentally retarded can’t be sentenced to death because of infringement on their rights.

Roper v. Simmons (2005) Simmons was a 17 year old, that was a junior in High school. He was getting charged with murder and breaking and entering. Simmons and his friends broke into Shirley’s house and Simmons recognized her from a car crash he had gotten into. So him and his freinds taped her to a chair and threw her off a bridge and she drowned.

Roper v. Simmons (2005) Plaintiff- Donald P. Roper Defendant- Christopher Simmons Meramec river Missouri

Roper v. Simmons (2005) Simmons was sentenced to death in 1993 when he was only 17. A series of appeals to the state and federal lasted until 2002, and each appeal was rejected.Then, in 2002, the Missouri Supreme Court stated Simmon's execution while the U.S. Supreme Court decided Atkins v. Virginia, a case that dealt with the execution of the mentally disabled. They said it violated the 8th Amendment, was unconstitutional and could not execute a minor. Was then sent to life in prison without eligibility for parole.

Roe v. Wade(1973) Appellant- Jane Roe Appellee- Henry Wade Roe, a Texas resident, sought to terminate her pregnancy by abortion. Texas law prohibited abortions except to save the pregnant woman's life.

Roe v. Wade(1973) In 1973 at the supreme court the first attorney could not locate the constitutional hook of her argument and the second attorney misfired at the start.

Roe v. Wade(1973) The supreme court ruled that a woman's right to an abortion fell under the right of privacy and recognized it in the case Griswold v. connecticut and decided that it was protected under the 14th amendment. The decision gave woman legal right to an abortion.

Lawrence V. Texas

Lawrence V. Texas Facts: Houston Police responded to a reported weapons case in a private residence. Houston police entered John Lawrence's apartment and found him engaging in a private sexual act with a person of the same sex (Tyron Garner). Lawrence and Garner were arrested and convicted in violation of a Texas statute forbidding two persons of the same sex to engage in certain intimate sexual conduct.

Issue- Do the criminal convictions of John Lawrence and Tyron Garner under the Texas "Homosexual Conduct" law, violate the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection of laws? Holding - No, the Court held that the Texas statute making it a crime for two persons of the same sex to engage in certain intimate sexual conduct violates the Due Process Clause. Reasoning- Court stated that under the Due Process Clause they had the full right to engage in their own private conduct without intervention of the government.

Who? Plaintiff- Lawrence Defendant- Texas What? John Lawrence was found engaging in a private sexual act with a person of the same sex (Tyron Garner). When? Argued- March 26, 2003 Decided- June 26, 2003 Where? Incident took place in the Apartment of John Lawrence in Houston, Tx but the court case took place in the State Appellate Court. Why? It was their private life. How? The court held that the statute was unconstitutional.

Coker V. Georgia Plaintiff: Coker Defendant: Georgia What? death penalty was a "grossly disproportionate" punishment for the crime of rape. All states voted it was too much When? Argued March 28 1977 Decided Jan 27 1977 Where ? Supreme court of georgia Why ? It's a very severe punishment that should only be given when taking anyone else's life. How ? court made all states vote against it or okay with it most states voted against

Name: Coker v. Georgia Jun 29 1977 Facts : 1974 Elrich coker served many sentances including rape. Broke into a couples house raped the wife took the car. The georgia courts sentanced him to death penalty. Issue : Does his crimes deserve death? Holding: He did not murder anybody so no . Reasoning : Because rape did not involve taking another human life court found death penalty excessive for rape.

3 degrees of scrutiny Strict scrutiny-This is the highest level of scrutiny applied by courts to government actions or laws. Intermediate scrutiny-In order for a law to get past this it must Serve an important government objective, and be substantially related to achieving the objective

(continued) Rational basis review-Lowest level of scrutiny and is for people challenging the law but must prove either The government has no legitimate interest in the law or policy; or there is no reasonable, rational link between that interest and the challenged law.