An Overview of the Bill of Rights

The First Amendment has five aspects: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to practice the religion of one’s choice, freedom from government supported/endorsed religion, and freedom to assemble and petition the government to answer for its abuses of power.

The Second Amendment is about the right of citizens to have guns. But there seems to be some controversy with the Framers' intent on this one. If you read the amendment carefully, it is as if the right to have guns has to do with the ability of the government to call for a militia when necessary. In other words, instead of having a standing army, the citizens would be ready to provide this service in time of need.

The Third Amendment is about the right to not have soldiers quartered in private residences without the owner's consent, except during wartime in a manner prescribed by law.

The Fourth Amendment is about being free from unreasonable search and seizure by the government (police). Any searches conducted with a warrant must be supported by probable cause (a really good indication, based on some kind of evidence, that a crime is taking place or about to take place). Keep in mind that warrants are not necessarily required in all searches -- a long list of case law specifies when warrants are required and when they are not. The warrant must describe the places and things to be seized and must be supported by oath of a government official. Also keep in mind that this amendment, like most of those that follow, has to do with criminal matters, unlike the first three amendments.

The Fifth Amendment has five aspects: 1) no person can be brought to trial for a serious crime unless they are first indicted by a grand jury, a process by which a group of people assemble for the purpose of determining whether the government has sufficient evidence to proceed further; an exception to this rule is during wartime or other times of public danger; 2) no person can be charged twice for same crime -- in other words, if one is found not guilty of a crime, the government can’t try the person again for the same offense; 3) no person can be compelled to testify against him or herself; 4) no person can have their life, liberty, or property taken from them without proper, legal procedures; and 5) no person can have their property taken from them for a public purpose unless the government pays for that property.

The Sixth Amendment also has five aspects: 1) any person accused of a crime has the right to a speedy and public trial, with the right to an impartial jury in the state and district where the crime was committed, said district determined by law; 2) any person accused of a crime has the right to know what they are accused of, and why; 3) any person accused of a crime has the right to question the witnesses against him or her; 4) any person accused of a crime has the right to have witnesses testify on his or her behalf; 5) any person accused of a crime has the right to an attorney.

The Seventh Amendment is of minor significance with respect to rights. It has to do with civil cases in federal courts. If you want to read about it, I suggest going here.

The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and excessive fines for persons found guilty of crimes.

The Ninth Amendment simply states that the identification of citizen rights in the Constitution does not mean that citizens don’t have other rights unmentioned in the Constitution.

The Tenth Amendment reserves powers to the states, meaning that states retain any governing powers not specifically and exclusively given to the national government, as well as any powers not denied them by the Constitution.