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PODCAST

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

Cathy Gillespie

Cathy Gillespie, and Constituting America"s Student Ambassadors – Tova Love Kaplan, Jule Gilbert and Jorne Gilbert – chat with Constitutional experts on hot-topic issues via Zoom!

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All Episodes

56:28

Ep. 192 - The Ninth Amendment

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/12/07

The Ninth Amendment might seem a bit confusing at first glance. To understand its massive significance requires some insight into what the Founders were thinking. Think of the Bill of Rights not as granting rights to the people but rather restricting what the government can and cant do in the lives of its citizens. To wit, it would be impractical to list every right a citizen has and as such the rights specifically enumerated in the Bill of Rights should not be viewed as a limit to those rights.

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55:58

Ep. 191 - The Eighth Amendment

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/12/01

Once again, the Founders showed their preference for brevity with the 8th Amendment. It is actually the shortest of all the amendments but packs a wallop in just 16 words! In this week’s chat, we are discussing the elements of the 8th Amendment: protections against excessive bails and fines and protections against cruel and unusual punishments. We answer what is a cruel and unusual punishment, who decides the standard by which punishment is deemed legal or illegal, how does this relate to

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54:25

Ep. 190 - The Seventh Amendment

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/11/17

As we discussed last week, the Sixth Amendment guarantees a trial by jury in a criminal trial, among other guarantees. The Seventh Amendment guarantees a trial by jury in federal civil cases for disputes over $20. Why were the Founders so adamant about jury trials as opposed to a single judge? What is the difference between a civil or common law trial and a criminal trial? What are the exceptions to a trial by jury? And how does this apply and function in conjunction with state law? Alongside

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54:29

Ep. 189 - The Sixth Amendment

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/11/09

A criminal trial has the potential to permanently alter the rest of one’s life. Punishments can range from fines to imprisonment to execution. This gives the government tremendous ability to impose penalties on its citizens. The Founders understood this and laid out criteria under which criminal trials would proceed. Under the Sixth Amendment, trials are speedy and fair, juries are impartial and Congress cannot take any of these rights away from the accused. We are delighted to have joining our

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53:16

Ep. 188 - The Fifth Amendment

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/11/03

The Fifth Amendment really packs a punch. Think about the Constitution like this: the body of the Constitution created the new government and the Bill of Rights immediately put constraints on that government’s power. The Founders had a natural skepticism and nervousness about governmental power especially when it comes to the prosecuting of criminal activity. The Fifth Amendment lists 5 significant restraints on government: indictments by a grand jury, double jeopardy, self-incrimination,

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55:04

Ep. 187 - The Fourth Amendment

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/10/26

The Fourth Amendment provides two specific protections: protection against unreasonable searches and seizures and requirements for when a warrant can be issued. At only 54 words, the amendment continues the Founders’ penchant for brevity and leaves room for interpretation through the courts. How do we define what is unreasonable and probable and how has this standard changed over time? At one point the United States Supreme Court said a search had to involve a physical trespass onto your

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54:30

Ep. 186 - The Third Amendment: Is It Relevant Today?

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/10/19

At first glance, in a contemporary view, the Third Amendment may seem like a relic from the founding era of our country. Today, it would seem strange for the military to require homeowners to house and feed soldiers. We think it just would not happen. Perhaps the certainty around it not happening today should be attributed to the Third Amendment’s success: being so unambiguous and precise when it was written. Join our all-star student panel and returning guest Hans von Spakovsky, Senior Legal

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52:46

Ep. 185: The Second Amendment: Can a Governor Issue...

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/10/12

Last month the governor of New Mexico issued a temporary public health order restricting the carrying of firearms in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. The bipartisan pushback against this order was swift and she later amended the order to only apply at parks and playgrounds. From where, if anywhere at all, did the governor derive such a power? Does this conflict with the second amendment and laws that allow for carrying of firearms? This is the topic we are discussing today. Joining our

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54:14

Ep. 184 - The First Amendment & Government Intrusion...

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/10/06

Free speech in the First Amendment protects us from government censorship but not private censorship. This means the government cannot censor your speech but a private entity such as a newspaper does not have an obligation to publish your speech. Continuing this analogy, are social media companies more like a newspaper where they can pick and choose which speech to publish or more like a telephone company where they allow all speech regardless of content to use their infrastructure? What happens

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55:23

Ep. 183 - Justice In The Supreme Court

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/09/29

Court with lifetime appointments. They decide the most pressing issues of federal law. Did you know the Court regularly receives over 7,000 annual petitions for a case to be heard, but only accepts 60-70 cases per year? Did you know the 9 justices get to decide which cases they hear? Did you know the justices employ a few dozen law clerks to help them work through their caseload? Our guest today has the incredible accomplishment of clerking for not just one Supreme Court Justice but two, and a

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56:10

Ep. 182 Justice Inherent in Our Inalienable Rights

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/09/22

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Regular followers of Constituting America understand the importance of this passage from the Declaration of Independence and our natural rights: rights given to us by God that can never be taken away. But take this a step further and you see how these inalienable rights begin to create our

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52:34

Ep. 181 – Justice in our Checks and Balances

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/09/15

Our federal government is divided into three branches and each branch has certain powers over the others. We identify this as separation of powers and checks and balances. What if all three powers were held in one set of hands? That government would be the definition of tyranny. Our founders knew government is both necessary and very dangerous so they created this system so today we can ensure equal protection of equal rights for all citizens. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Thomas

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54:45

Ep. 180 – Lady Justice — Why the Blindfold?

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/09/07

The United States Supreme Court has various depictions of Lady Justice in and around the building. These depictions portray her with three items: a blindfold, scales and a sword. The blindfold and scales suggest the use of reason and logic in judicial judgement. The sword suggests the strength to carry out that judgement. Have you wondered how the concept of an independent judiciary furthers the separation of powers because one branch of government cannot be the judge in its own case? To

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54:12

Ep. 179 – The Conscience of America – the Declaration...

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/09/01

Regular followers of Constituting America understand our appreciation for the Declaration of Independence as one of the most groundbreaking documents ever written. Did you know this document was crafted as a logical argument listing both major and minor premises against the Crown making the case for colonial independence? It also illustrates three levels of justice: natural law, legal justice and what can best be described as justice related to conscience. Joining our all-star student panel, we

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56:10

Ep. 178 - America's Principle of Civic Duty

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/08/25

John Adams wrote, “Liberty can no more exist without virtue and independence than the body can live and move without a soul.” To understand the need for civic duty, one must fully grasp civic virtue and to fully grasp civic virtue, one must have a civic education. Understanding the hows and whys of our governmental system is vital in knowing how we can best participate and contribute to that structure. We are excited to have Charles “Cully” Stimson, USN, Retired, returning as our special guest

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56:23

Ep. 177 - America's Principle of Meritocracy

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/08/18

Not very long ago, the circumstances to which you were born largely dictated the path your life took. If you were born into the aristocracy, you likely died the same way. If you were born into poverty, you likely died the same way. The United States ushered in a new era of thinking: meritocracy. It is this notion that a people should rise and fall based on their achievements and not the circumstances of their birth or membership in a social class. We take this for granted today, but this was a

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56:51

Ep. 176 - America's Principle of National Sovereignty

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/08/11

American sovereignty is such a fundamental ideal in the American experiment that it’s mentioned in both the opening and closing of the Declaration of Independence. Succinctly, sovereignty is the power to do something and shapes our ability as a people through our elected representatives to make decisions that are best for us. Why were the Founders so concerned with sovereignty? Why was it so necessary not just to win it but maintain it? We are pleased to have our student panel joined by

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58:54

Ep. 175 - America's Principle of Constitutional...

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/08/03

The Declaration of Independence so eloquently laid out “charges” against the Crown - detailing why independence was necessary. The test of the Constitution is whether or not it serves the goals and aims of the Declaration of Independence. In the Constitution, the Founders had to strike the proper balance of liberty and order as our new nation was leaving an oppressive government behind while at the same time providing stability for its citizens. In order to accomplish this lofty objective, our

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56:31

Ep. 174 - America's Principle of Knowing Classical...

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/07/28

What can history teach us? Well…everything! Our Founding generation understood history and studied it when creating the framework for our country. From ancient city-states to the fall of empires, our Founders looked at what did and did not work in past governments. One can argue our current government, this great experiment in self-governing is an amalgamation of previous forms, choosing the best traits but leaving out the worst. Joining our all-star panel, we are pleased to have returning Joe

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50:31

Ep. 173 - America's Principle of Providence

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America ·

2023/07/24

Americans love a good origin story. This love carries into the origin story of our country. Today, we are discussing the role of Providence and faith in the origin story of the United States. What role did religion have on our founders and how is that root belief carried on today? To help us unpack this topic, we are delighted to welcome Nathanael Blake, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and our all-star student panel for this “origin story” discussion.

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