The Alien and Sedition Acts were never appealed to the Supreme Court, whose power of judicial review was not clearly established until Marbury v. Madison in 1803. Subsequent mentions in Supreme Court opinions beginning in the mid-20th century have assumed that the Sedition Act would today be found unconstitutional. DidRead More →
The judicial branch interprets laws and determines if a law is unconstitutional. The judicial branch includes the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts. Is it unconstitutional to change the Constitution? Any attempt to effect change by means of judicial review or interpretation is unconstitutional, unless, of course, the constitutionRead More →
In many jurisdictions, the supreme court or constitutional court is the final legal arbiter that renders an opinion on whether a law or an action of a government official is constitutional. Most constitutions define the powers of government. Thus, national constitutions typically apply only to government actions. Can any judgeRead More →
The Judiciary Act of 1789, officially titled “An Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States,” was signed into law by President George Washington on September 24, 1789. Article III of the Constitution established a Supreme Court, but left to Congress the authority to create lower federal courtsRead More →
Executive Orders state mandatory requirements for the Executive Branch, and have the effect of law. They are issued in relation to a law passed by Congress or based on powers granted to the President in the Constitution and must be consistent with those authorities. Which branch declare executive orders unconstitutional?Read More →
extraordinary rendition, extrajudicial practice, carried out by U.S. government agencies, of transferring a prisoner to a foreign country for the purposes of detention and interrogation. What is the purpose of extraordinary rendition? Extraordinary rendition is the transfer—without legal process—of a detainee to the custody of a foreign government for purposesRead More →
As for the question of the legality of curfews, the short answer is – yes, they are indeed legal. Both local and state governments alike have the power to set curfews and other movement restrictions in certain extraneous circumstances. Why are curfews unconstitutional? To satisfy First Amendment requirements, a curfewRead More →
The Alien and Sedition Acts were a series of four laws passed by the U.S. Congress in 1798 amid widespread fear that war with France was imminent. The four laws–which remain controversial to this day–restricted the activities of foreign residents in the country and limited freedom of speech and ofRead More →
What part of the Alien and Sedition Acts was unconstitutional, and why? The sedition act was unconstitutional because it violated the first amendment, freedom of speech and the press. What amendment did the Alien and Sedition Act violate? The Alien Friends Act, passed by Federalists over Jeffersonian-Republican opposition, authorized theRead More →