A Government for the People

that would soon be known as “The Constitution of the United States of America”. This

Constitution was to be the supreme law of the land. Our Constitution was set up in order to form

a more perfect union, and to give the people under its provision certain unalienable rights.

Among the rights granted to the people are: the right to free speech, the right to keep and bear

arms, and the right of the people to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures. Today

I will demonstrate for you how the Constitution has become only a small stumbling block in the

Federal Government’s efforts to increase its power through the use of legal precedents.

A prime example of how the government pirouettes around the Constitution is seen in the

case of Chimel versus The Supreme Court of California. On March 27, 1969 several police

officers showed up on the petitioner’s (Chimel) doorstep to arrest him on charges of burglary.

Upon answering the doorbell the petitioner was served with an arrest warrant. Shortly after the

arrest, while still at the petitioners house, the officers asked if t

. . .
At the

petitioner’s trial the illegally seized items were used against him. You can probably see my point by now; if they can

violate us once, why not two or three times?

The underlying principle here is that the Federal Government is abusing what little power

was enumerated to it, in an effort to expand it’s size and authority. When rulings like this go uncontested, it takes the

power away from the people, and gives it to the Federal Government. The court also held that the search

was justified as incident to a valid arrest. When the

Constitution was drafted, it was done for the benefit of the people, with the idea that the people

would be the main shareholders of power.

The first is that not only did this infringement of rights affect Chimel, but it set a legal

precedent.

The second, most detrimental effect this ruling has on our society, is the Federal

Government’s uncontested dismissal of a Constitutionally guaranteed right. They went ahead and

unlawfully searched his three-bedroom house top to bottom, leaving no piece of personal

property unturned. This was of no consequence to the officers.

The petitoner knew his rights, and that the officers had no search warrant, so he respectfully

denied their request. General welfare, liberty, and

posterity are the things that America is made of. As Americans, we can’t sit idly by and watch

our rights get thrown out the bureaucratic window, as they did with Chimel.

Bibliography

Constitution of The U.

Common topics in this essay:
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Approximate Word count = 830
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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