By BETTY DEBNAM. and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation;

Transcription

1 release dates: April (07) 2007 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc. From Our Bill of Rights By BETTY DEBNAM The Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Amendments The Sixth Amendment The Sixth Amendment has to do with the rights of people accused of a crime. This amendment is so long, we have broken it into parts. Part 1 In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law This is what these words mean to most people: prosecutions: legal actions in a court impartial: not favoring one side over another previously ascertained: found out before Meaning: A person has the right to a trial soon after the arrest, and the jury (made up of people who live nearby) shall make a fair decision. Part 2 THIS IS WHAT I AM ACCUSED OF. and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; accusation: a statement charging one with wrongdoing Meaning: The accused must be told the exact charges against him or her. Part 3 SO HE S THE ONE! to be confronted with the witnesses against him confronted: meet face-to-face with Meaning: The accused person has the right to know who is accusing him or her and to question them. Part 4 to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor YOU MUST APPEAR. compulsory process: steps that must be followed Meaning: The court must set up a way to get a friendly witness to testify. Part 5 and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. counsel: lawyer or attorney THESE ARE YOUR RIGHTS. Meaning: All accused people have the right to a lawyer to defend them and help them get a fair trial. Trial by jury had been a part of the English tradition. However, before the American Revolution, the British did not always encourage it in the Colonies. As a part of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights helped make trial by jury part of our legal system. Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page.

2 15-2 (07); release dates: April 7-13 James Madison Matters The Constitution is our plan of government. More than any other man, James Madison influenced both the Constitution and our Bill of Rights. Let s find out seven important things about this amazing American. 1. Growing up James Madison was born at his family s plantation in Virginia on March 16, The home, Montpelier, today is being restored and attracts many visitors. Madison was a sickly child who loved to read. At the age of 11 he was sent away to school. He returned home and was taught by a tutor for two years. He graduated from a college, today known as Princeton, in just two years. 2. Interest in politics He returned to Virginia and went into politics. James Madison, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Gift of Mrs. George S. Robbins Madison served on a committee that wrote Virginia s first constitution and the important Virginia Declaration of Rights. He was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and the Second Continental Congress. 3. Constitution s father At the age of 36, he was elected to represent Virginia at the convention that wrote our Constitution in His reports are the best single record of what went on at the convention. At just over 5 feet tall, he was a little man. He spoke often at the convention, and the delegates listened to his opinions. 4. Bill of Rights Madison served as a member of the first Congress to meet after the Constitution was approved. He proposed amendments, or changes to it. The first 10 amendments were approved, or added, to the Constitution in the Bill of Rights. 5. Wife Dolley In 1794, he met and married a widow, Dolley Payne Todd. They were married for 41 years and raised Dolley s son, Payne. 6. Secretary of state Thomas Jefferson chose Madison as his secretary of state to handle the country s dealings with other nations. 7. Our fourth president Madison was elected our fourth president in He served for two terms. He and Dolley retired to Montpelier. He died in 1836 at the age of 85. photo courtesy National Archives Dolley Payne Todd Madison, The White House Mini Spy... Mini Spy and her friends are visiting a judge. See if you can find: banana eyeglasses umbrella football letter J mug letter D mushroom letter E number 3 fish Basset Brown The News Hound s 6th, 7th and 8th Amendments TRY N FIND Words that remind us of the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Amendments are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find: LAWYER, JURORS, LEGAL, PUNISHMENT, FACTS, CRUEL, BAIL, MONEY, CHARGES, RIGHT, JURY, FAIR, TRIAL, DEFEND, COURT, CONSTITUTION, COMMON, CRIME, JUDGE, WITNESS, SIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH. SERVING AS A JUROR IS AN IMPORTANT ROLE! T N E M H S I N U P F A I R S R Z V W L N D K H L I A B S E I H C E O E I G H T H Q E L G A A U M F L A G E L N N G A R L R M E J U R O R S T E Y W A C O N S T I T U T I O N V Y H C D U Y E N O M W J U D G E C C O U R T H G I R J U R Y R S H T X I S T C A F H C R I M E Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page.

3 Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page. Go dot to dot and color. The Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Amendments are about granting trials Shane Harvey/New Line Cinema 15-3 (07); release dates: April 7-13 Rookie Cookie s Recipe Bacon N Bean Dish You ll need: 6 strips fully cooked (microwave-ready) bacon 1 (28-ounce) can cut green beans 1 medium potato (10 to 12 ounces), peeled and diced* 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/8 cup sliced almonds (* Diced means cut into small cubes.) What to do: 1. Cook strips of microwave-ready bacon according to directions (approximately 30 seconds). Crumble into pieces. 2. Drain can of green beans, reserving 1/2 cup juice. 3. Place bacon, beans and potato in a medium baking dish. Sprinkle salt and onion powder on top and mix together. 4. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. 5. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Top with sliced almonds. Serves 8. You will need an adult s help with this recipe. Meet Timothy Hutton Timothy Hutton plays David Wilder in the movie The Last Mimzy. Hutton, 46, landed his first big role as the son of Carol Burnett and Ned Beatty in the TV movie Friendly Fire. He was about 19. He became famous a year later after playing a troubled boy in the movie Ordinary People. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his work in that film. He is still the youngest actor ever to win that award. He has acted in many TV shows and movies. He also directs and produces. He directed the movie Digging to China. He produced, directed and acted in episodes in the TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery. Timothy was born in Malibu, Calif. His father, Jim Hutton, was also an actor. When he was 5, he appeared in a movie with his dad. He became seriously interested in acting when he was in ninth grade. He also is co-owner of a restaurant in New York City. The Mini Page Guide to the Constitution The popular nine-part series on the Constitution, written in collaboration with the National Archives, is now packaged as a colorful 32-page softcover book. The series covers: the preamble, the seven articles and 27 amendments the big ideas of the document the history of its making and the signers Perfect for classroom use! All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category? David: Where did Mother Goose leave her trash? Darcy: At the Humpty Dump! Desmond: Who do mice see when they are ill? Daria: Hickory Dickory Doc! To order, send $9.95 plus $3.50 postage and handling for each copy. Send check or money order (U.S. funds only) payable to: Andrews McMeel Universal, P.O. Box 6814, Leawood, KS or call toll-free Please send copies of The Mini Page Guide to the Constitution (Item # ) at $13.45 each, total cost. (Bulk discount information available upon request.) Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Denzel: What sign did the real estate agent put on the yard of the old woman who lived in a shoe? Dory: Soled!

4 15-4 (07); release dates: April 7-13 The Seventh and Eighth Amendments Seventh Amendment Part 1 In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed $20, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved common law: law based on custom or tradition. It is sometimes called judge-made law. Judges make their decisions based on what has been decided in the past. Common law is different from laws made by legislatures or law-making groups. These laws are called statutes. controversy: disagreement Part 2 and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than WHAT IS THE VERDICT? according to the rules of common law. Meaning: Once a jury reaches a decision based on the facts of a case, the facts cannot be reviewed by a judge. This limits the power of a judge to change a jury s decision. Thomas Jefferson, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Bequest of the Honorable James Bowdoin III The Big Idea Thomas Jefferson thought that the right to serve on juries was an important right of the people. In our country, people are innocent until proven guilty. These amendments were added to make certain that everyone accused of a crime is treated in a just way by the courts: the rules are fair; the fair rules have to be applied in a fair way; the fair rules apply to everybody. What jurors do: listen to the evidence consider the facts not talk about the case or watch or listen to news reports about it When lawyers from both sides have finished arguing their case, the jurors must listen when the judge tells them about the laws involved. They then meet in private to discuss the case and reach a decision. Selecting juries When there is to be a trial, the court sends out notices to more people than are needed to serve on the jury. The list is made up of citizens who have registered to vote or who have been issued driver s licenses. This group is called the jury pool. This is the fifth in a monthly series about the Bill of Rights. The Mini Page thanks the staff of the National Archives and Lee Ann Potter, director of education and volunteer programs, for their help with this issue. Site to see: Eighth Amendment I GOT WHAT I DESERVED. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. excessive: high, well above what is usual bail: the amount of money that a person might have to post (or deposit) with the court. By posting bail, the accused can stay out of jail before the trial. The bail money is returned when the accused person appears at the trial. In some cases, the crime is so serious that the accused person is not permitted to post bail. In this case, he or she must stay in jail until the trial. inflicted: cause to be suffered Meaning: This amendment THAT S UNFAIR. means that your punishment should not be unfair. For example, you could not receive a life sentence for stealing a piece of bread. The British sometimes tortured their prisoners. They often kept people in jail by setting their bail too high. These amendments help give citizens the right of due process, or the right to be treated fairly by their government. The Mini Page thanks Claire Griffin, vice president of educational programs, the Bill of Rights Institute, for her help with this issue. Site to see: Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page.

5 Read about the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Amendments photo courtesy National Archives in by Betty Debnam Appearing in your newspaper on. from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam 2007 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc. (Note to Editor: Above is cameraready, one column-by-4 1 /4-inch ad promoting Issue 15.) release dates: April (07) from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam 2007 The MIni Page Publishing Company Inc. Standards Spotlight: The 6th, 7th and 8th Amendments Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each week we identify standards that relate to The Mini Page s content and offer activities that will help your students reach them. This week s standards: Students understand the purpose of government. (Social Studies: Power, Authority and Governance) Students identify key ideals of the United States democratic republican form of government. (Social Studies: Civic Ideals and Practice) Activities: 1. Select someone in the newspaper who you think would be a good judge of your classroom rules. Paste the person s picture on a piece of paper. Write a sentence telling why you would like that person. 2. Work with your family to develop a list of three rules you should follow in the house, like cleaning your room or doing your homework at a regular time. Next to each rule, put down what will happen if you do not follow the rule. Post your rules in your room. 3. Select six comic strip characters that you think would make good jurors. Paste their pictures on a piece of paper. Next to each character, write a sentence telling why he/she would be good on a jury. 4. Think about a rule in your school classroom that you would like to change in some way. Write a paragraph explaining how you would change it and why it should be changed. 5. Follow a local trial in your newspaper. Collect the stories. Write at least two paragraphs that discuss the way the trial demonstrates amendments six, seven and eight. Use these questions to guide your discussion: Who was on trial? What was the charge? Who was the prosecutor? Who was the defense attorney? Who were the witnesses for both sides? What did the jury finally decide? If the defendant was found guilty, what was the sentence? (standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) Supersport: Caitlin Lowe Height: 5-5 Birthdate: Hometown: Tustin, Calif. It s spring, another softball season, and Caitlin Lowe s expectations are high once again. She s a three-time All-America outfielder who will try to help Arizona win another national championship. Lowe starred in the Wildcats march to the Women s College World Series title last year. Though only 5 feet 5 inches tall, Lowe swings a big bat. In her first three seasons, she posted batting averages of.437,.510 and.425, while also sparkling in the outfield. She was Co-Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2005 and is a national Player of the Year candidate this season. Lowe, majoring in psychology and minoring in business, also was a key player on the USA national team. When Caitlin isn t driving opposing pitchers batty, she likes to hang out with family and friends, watch movies and bask on the beach. But now her focus is on helping Arizona have another banner softball season. (Note to Editor: Above is the Standards for Issue 15.) (Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, Issue 15, to be used in place of ad if desired.) Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page.