Law Merit Badge

Counselor-Anthony Glass

Icebreaker

• What is your name?
• What is your rank in Scouting?
• Where are you from?
• What is one fun fact about yourself?

Requirement 1

• Define “Law”. Tell some of its sources. Describe functions it serves.

• What is Law?

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• According to Webster’s Dictionary, law is defined as “a binding custom or practice of a community”, or “a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority.”

Sources of Law

• Constitutional Law
• Statutory Law
• Case Law

Constitutional Law

• Constitutional Law is the broad topic that deals with the interpretation and implementation of the Constitution of the United States of America.
• Constitutional Law is most prominently debated within the Federal Court system and interpretation is carried out by Federal Judges. Supreme Court Justices are the most well known for interpretation of the Constitution.

1st Amendment-Freedom of Speech, Religion, Press, Assembly, Petition

• The First Amendment gives citizens the right to speak out against the government without fear of being arrested, imprisoned, or killed for their belief. This Amendment protects speech that may be unpopular.
• The First Amendment states that the Federal Government shall pass no law to establish a national religion in the United States or to prohibit the expression of religion.
• The First Amendment guarantee the right to peacefully protest actions of the government or other organizations.
• The First Amendment guarantees the right to petition the government for the redress of a grievance.

Second Amendment-The Right to Bear Arms

• The 2nd Amendment grants the right of citizens to carry a firearm in the United States.
• Controversy exists over the wording of the Amendment specifically the disagreement over “a well regulated militia”

3rd Amendment-Repeals the Quartering Act

• This Amendment states that citizens do not have to house armed soldiers in their homes without consent, unless a war has been declared and an act of Congress has been passed.

4th Amendment-Bans illegal searches and seizures

• The 4th Amendment states that law enforcement cannot enter your home or private property without a search warrant signed by a Judge or without probable cause.

5th Amendment-Rights of Persons

• The rights of persons deals with people who defendants in court, it bans the concept of double jeopardy, it allows a defendant the privilege to not testify in criminal proceeding, and allows a defendant to remain silent if they feel they could be incriminated by their answers.

6th Amendment-Rights of the Accused

• The 6th Amendment grants the right to a quick and speedy trial, allow for judging by a jury of your peers, know the nature of the crimes against you, confront your accuser, and the right to legal counsel.

7th Amendment-Rights in a Civil Trial

• The 7th Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial when the amount in question is more than $20.00

8th Amendment-Cruel and Unusual Punishment

• The 8th Amendment protects against excessive bails, fines, and also bans cruel and unusual punishment in the United States

9th Amendment-Implied Rights

• The 9th Amendment states that citizens have more rights than ones just enumerated in the first Eight Amendments.

10th Amendment-Reserved Powers

• The 10th Amendment states that powers not delegated to the National Government by the Constitution were reserved for the States to implement.

11th Amendment-Lawsuits against States

• The 11th Amendment says that States cannot be sued by citizens of another states or citizens of a foreign country.

12th Amendment-Election of a President

• The 12 Amendment changes the process of voting in Presidential Elections and the Electoral College System. It states that each elector submits one ballot for President of United States and another ballot for Vice President of the United States.

13th Amendment-Slavery

• The 13th Amendment bans slavery in the United States, states needed to ratify the 13th Amendment before they could be admitted back into the Union following the Civil War.

14th Amendment-Equal Rights

• The 14th Amendment state that anyone born in the United States is a United States Citizens. This affirmed natural born citizenship for African Americans who had been former slaves, this also guaranteed freed slaves due process under the law.

15th Amendment-Right to Vote

• The 15th Amendment grants all male citizens the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous conditions of servitude.

16th Amendment-Income Tax

• The 16th Amendment granted the Federal Government the power to create a federal income tax system.

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17th Amendment-Election of Senators

• The 17th Amendment declares that Senators will be popularly elected as opposed to appointed by State Legislatures.

18th Amendment-Prohibition

• The 18th Amendment outlawed the production, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages in the United States.

19th Amendment-Women’s Suffrage

• The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote in every state.

20th Amendment-Set the date of Congressional and Presidential Terms

• The 20th Amendment changed the date for a Presidential Inauguration and Congressional Terms from April to January.

21st Amendment-Repealed Prohibition

• The 21st Amendment repealed prohibition and allowed alcoholic beverages to be sold in the United States.

22nd Amendment-Presidential Tenure

• The 22nd Amendment limited the amount of a terms a President may serve to two.

23rd Amendment-Elections in Washington D.C.

• The 23rd Amendment gives Washington D.C. the same amount of electoral college votes they would receive if they were a state.

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24th Amendment-Poll Taxes

• The 24th Amendment abolished Poll Taxes on all national, state, and local elections.

25th Amendment-Presidential Vacancy

• The 25th Amendment established a line of succession in the situation of the death or removal of a President without a sitting Vice President. It also provides a protocol for the temporary removal of the President from Office in the case that they are not able to carry out their duties.

26th Amendment-Voting Age Limits

• The 26th Amendment lowered the age required to vote from 21 to 18.

27th Amendment-Congressional Pay Raises

• The 27th Amendment states that in the event Congress authorizes a pay raise for themselves, it does not come into effect until the next Congress convenes.

• What function does Law Serve?

Justinian’s Code

• Justinian’s Code is the basis for Civil Law. It is a collection of laws and legal interpretations developed under the sponsorship of The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I from 529-565 CE. The work did not constitute a new legal code. Justinian’s Committees of jurists provided two reference works containing collections of past laws and extracts of opinions from Roman jurists. It included an elementary outline of the law and a collection of Justinian’s new laws for the empire.

The Code of Hammurabi

• The Code of Hammurabi was one of the world’s earliest and most complete written legal code that was completed by the Babylonian King Hammurabi who reigned from 1792-1750 B.C. The Code has strict punishments for crime such as demanding the removal of a eye, tongue, or hands. For example if someone stole a cow, they would be required to pay the family back 30x the original value. The Code of Hammurabi was carved into stone pillars and placed in the center of Babylon.

The Magna Carta

• The Magna Carta is a document that limited the powers of the British sovereign. King John of England signed the document after facing a possible rebellion with his most powerful barons. The Magna Carter served as the foundation for the British system of common law. The Founding Fathers used the Magna Carta as a basis for asserting their liberty from the English Crown.

Any Questions?

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See Everyone Tomorrow!