Constitution+Questions+(AD.r)

//1. Of which state are you a citizen?//

Amendment 14, Section 1, Page 25**
 * "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

//2. Are you eligible for the House of Representatives? The Senate? The Presidency? If not, why not?//

Article 1, Section 2, Page 1 No, I am under the age of 25.
 * House of Representatives - "No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen."

Senate - "No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen." Article 1, Section 3, Page 3 No, I am not 30 years old.

The Presidency - "No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States." Article 2, Section 1, Page 10 I haven't been a 14 year citizen. Also, I am not 35 years of age.**

//3. Bill Dodge, son of two United States citizens, was born in Niger during his parents’ African travels. Ousseini Abdoulaye was born in Niger on the very same day; Ousseini’s parents, however, were citizens of Niger. Ousseini later moves to the United States and becomes a United States citizen. Assume that both Bill and Ousseini are 40 years old and have lived in the United States for at least last 20 years. Is either Bill or Ousseini eligible to serve as President?//

Article 2, Section 1, Page 9 Ousseini cannot be the President because he is not a natural born citizen. Bill Dodge can be the President because he was born in the U.S.**
 * "No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."

//4. The original Constitution contemplated the continuation of slavery in those states that permitted slavery as of 1787. Find the first instance of the word “slave” or “slavery” in the Consti- tution. If you don’t find either of these words in the original Constitution, what are the hints that the original Constitution contemplated and tolerated slavery?//

//5. Assume that the free population of South Carolina in 1850 was 1 million, that its slave population was 500,000, and hat its untaxed Indian population was 100,000. For purposes of determining South Carolina’s representation in the House and direct tax obligations to the federal government, what was the population of South Carolina?

6. The Constitution refers to only three types of unlawful behavior, and a fourth may be inferred from the text of a general prohibition. Name all four.//

Article 1, Section 8, Page 6**
 * "To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;"

//7. Does the Constitution contemplate capital punishment? Where? Which provision or provisions would you invoke if you wished to attack the constitutionality of the death penalty?

8. What is the only use of the word “right” in the original Constitution?

9. When is Inauguration Day? Is it the same as the first day of a new congressional term?//

Inauguration Day is at noon on January 20th. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January. No it is not the same day as the new congressional term. It has been changed to the same day as the Senators and Representatives.**
 * "The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin."**
 * Amendment 20, Section 1, Page 29

//10. What is the maximum time anyone may serve as Presi- dent?//

Amendment 22, Section 1, Page 31 8 years is the maximum. A 4 year term and if re-elected 4 more years.**
 * "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President, when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term."

//11. What is the only part of the Constitution that may never be amended?//

Article 5, Page 15**
 * "Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate."

//12. Speaking of amendments, name the commercial activity that the Framers of the Constitution declared off-limits to regu- lation via constitutional amendment until 1808 (i.e., 21 years af- ter the framing of the original Constitution).

13. Still speaking of amendments, how can they be made? (Name two methods.)//

"or on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments.//"// Article 5, Page 15**
 * "The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution."

//14. José and Maria Nazarena are citizens of El Salvador. They enter the United States illegally. Maria then gives birth to Jesus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Consulting only the Constitu- tion, name one country of which Jesus is a citizen.//


 * "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."**
 * Amendment XIV, Section 1, Page 25**
 * Jesus is a citizen of the United States. This is because he was born in the United States.**

//15. In a fit of pique, the President decides to skip this year’s State of the Union address. As White House legal counsel, what do you advise?//

Article 2, Section 3, Page 12**
 * "He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.//"//

//16. In a fit of pique (probably provoked by the flap over the State of the Union address), the House begins debating a bill to cut the President’s pay and Supreme Court Justices’ pay. As counsel to the Speaker of the House, what do you advise?//

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector." Article 2, Section 1, Page 9**
 * "The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

Article 3, Section 1, Page 12**
 * "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office."

//17. Before 1913, who chose Senators? After 1913?

18. Steve Scursso, a candidate for the House of Representa- tives, plans to issue a campaign promise to oppose any Supreme Court nominee who will not commit to upholding a woman’s right to abortion. As Steve's campaign manager, do you run the ad? (Base your answer strictly on your interpretation of the Constitution, not on any political considerations.)// "**He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments." Article 2, Section 2, Page 11 and 12**

//19. Matt Nagel ultimately defeats Steve Scursso in a hotly contested race for Congress. The victorious Matt now represents Texas in the House of Representatives. His political “lone star” having risen swiftly, he now seeks a national politi- cal platform. He would like to be the running mate of her fellow Texan, Governor Renee DeLeon, the Reform Party nominee for President. As Matt’s political adviser, can you point out the constitutional flaw in the congressman’s vice-presidential am- bitions?//


 * "The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;"**
 * Amendment 12, Page 24**

//20. You have 5 Hawaiian dollars in your purse or wallet...how much of that can you spend in CT?//


 * Hawaii is a part of the United States, so, it has the same currency that we do. Therefore, you can spend all 5 dollars here.**

//21. Speaking of purses, your cousin Rhonda left hers at your recent family reunion. Upon rifling through the purse, you dis- cover a certified mail receipt, a Confederate $10 bill, a District of Columbia driver’s license, a copy of the Koran, and a Susan B. Anthony dollar. Whatever their market value, these items make up a constitutional treasure trove. Find any and all constitutional provisions that relate to the contents of Rhonda’s purse. Inciden- tally, does it make a constitutional difference if you open the purse in your capacity as an FBI agent or if you are simply a nosy busybody?//