Assignment:
Reading chapter: Constitutional Defenses
1. Differentiate overbreadth from vagueness. Give an example of each.
2. Which of the following is protected by the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause? Explain your answers.
a. A public flag burning in protest of a recently enacted law.
b. An advertisement for potato chips found on a billboard.
c. The placing of a hand over one's heart while the national anthem is played.
3. State law requires that all children between the ages of 5 and 16 years attend an approved school. Defendants have been charged with violating the statute, as they do not permit their children to attend school. The defendants are Mennonites and claim that it would violate their First Amendment right to freely exercise their religion. The defendants teach their children in a manner consistent with their religious teachings. Should they be convicted? Explain your reasoning.
4. What is the exclusionary rule?
5. Give an example of when evidence would be fruit of the poisonous tree.
6. The Constitution of the United States significantly affects all criminal law. Why is that so when more than 95 percent of all prosecutions occur in state courts?
7. Do you believe that evidence that has been obtained by law enforcement in an unconstitutional manner should be inadmissible at trial? Explain your position.