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1215
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Magna Carta
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The Magna Carta was a charter of rights agreed to by King John of England in 1215, and was Europe’s first written constitution. Prior to the implementation of the Magna Carta, English monarchs were considered above the law of the land and ruled with relatively absolute power. King John was pressured into agreeing to the Magna Carta to make peace in England, as barons from the north and east of England rebelled against his rule and demanded protection from the king’s unbridled power. The Magna Carta created a legal system by which the king had to abide, instilling protections for the clergy and nobility. The Magna Carta was the basis for English common law, and thereby indirectly also had influence on American law. The Founding Fathers of the United States particularly admired the charter’s rebellious nature against the English throne. The writers of the Bill of Rights and state constitutions were inspired by concepts born in the Magna Carta: that a government should be constitutional, that the law of the land should apply to everyone, and that certain rights and liberties were so fundamental that their violation was an abuse of governmental authority.
Although the Magna Carta was primarily meant to protect the powerful Church and wealthy nobility in medieval feudal England, it introduced legal concepts that persisted over time and came to be found in American law. Notably, its protections were given widely to all free men who held land, as opposed to solely the Church and nobility. It assured them protection from illegal imprisonment, forming the basis for the concept of a habeas corpus petition. It also promised them all access to swift justice - an early promise of due process. It guaranteed that they could not be imprisoned, outlawed, exiled, or have their possessions or land confiscated without the lawful judgment of their social equals, paving the way for trial by a jury of one’s peers. Moreover, the Magna Carta established a council of barons as a predecessor to Parliament, which monitored the king’s actions to ensure he abided by the new law and rectified breaches of the law. This council was therefore an early example of a checks and balances safeguard.
Source:
Cornell
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Text (Courtesy www.bl.uk)
www.parliament.uk
Magna Carta (Photograph of Original)
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Cornell
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1679
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Habeas Corpus Act (English)
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The Habeas Corpus Act 1679 is an Act of Parliament in England (31 Cha. 2 c. 2) during the reign of King Charles II. It was passed by what became known as the Habeas Corpus Parliament to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ of habeas corpus, which required a court to examine the lawfulness of a prisoner's detention and thus prevent unlawful or arbitrary imprisonment.
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Wikipedia
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www.legislation.gov.uk
https://blog.umd.edu
Text (courtesy constitution.org)
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1850
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Fugitive Slave Act
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The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850,[1] as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers.
The Act was one of the most controversial elements of the 1850 compromise and heightened Northern fears of a slave power conspiracy. It required that all escaped slaves, upon capture, be returned to the slaver and that officials and citizens of free states had to cooperate. Abolitionists nicknamed it the "Bloodhound Bill", after the dogs that were used to track down people fleeing from slavery.[2][page needed]
The Act contributed to the growing polarization of the country over the issue of slavery, and was one of the factors that led to the Civil War.
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www.ConstitutionCenter.org
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1863
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Habeas Corpus Act
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The Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, 12 Stat. 755 (1863), entitled An Act relating to Habeas Corpus, and regulating Judicial Proceedings in Certain Cases, was an Act of Congress that authorized the president of the United States to suspend the right of habeas corpus in response to the American Civil War and provided for the release of political prisoners. It began in the House of Representatives as an indemnity bill, introduced on December 5, 1862, releasing the president and his subordinates from any liability for having suspended habeas corpus without congressional approval. The Senate amended the House's bill, and the compromise reported out of the conference committee altered it to qualify the indemnity and to suspend habeas corpus on Congress's own authority. Abraham Lincoln signed the bill into law on March 3, 1863, and suspended habeas corpus under the authority it granted him six months later. The suspension was partially lifted with the issuance of Proclamation 148 by Andrew Johnson, and the Act became inoperative with the end of the Civil War. The exceptions to his Proclamation 148 were the States of Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, the District of Columbia, and the Territories of New Mexico and Arizona.
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Wikipedia
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Text (www.congress.gov)
www.congress.gov
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Cornell
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1872
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Amnesty Act 1872
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1887
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The Electoral Count Act
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The Electoral Count Act of 1887 (ECA) (Pub.L. 49–90, 24 Stat. 373, later codified at Title 3, Chapter 1) is a United States federal law adding to procedures set out in the Constitution of the United States for the counting of electoral votes following a presidential election. The Act was enacted by Congress in 1887, ten years after the disputed 1876 presidential election, in which several states submitted competing slates of electors and a divided Congress was unable to resolve the deadlock for weeks. Close elections in 1880 and 1884 followed, and again raised the possibility that with no formally established counting procedure in place, partisans in Congress might use the counting process to force a desired result.
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How to Fix the 1887 Electoral Count Act
https://www.rei.com
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Cornell
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1887
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Electors
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CHAP . 90.-An act to fix the day for the meeting of the electors of President and Vice-President, and to provide for and regulate the counting of the votes for Presi- dent and Vice-President, and the decision of questions arising thereon.
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1948
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Counting Electoral Votes in Congress
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??????????????? 1948??
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0 One
0 Two
0 Four
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Cornell
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1996
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Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996
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Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) was passed by the 107th Congress “to deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, provide for an effective death penalty, and for other purposes.” To accomplish this goal, some of the AEDPA provisions include increasing penalties for crimes involving explosives or terrorism, providing restitution for victims of terrorism, and setting new legal procedures for capital cases.
Source:
Cornell
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Text (www.congress.gov)
www.congress.gov
Text pdf (www.congress.gov)
Cornell
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2005
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Detainee Act
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The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA) is an Act of the United States Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on 30 December 2005. Offered as an amendment to a supplemental defense spending bill, it contains provisions relating to treatment of persons in custody of the Department of Defense, and administration of detainees held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including:
Prohibiting "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment" of any prisoner of the U.S. government, including prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Requiring military interrogations to be performed according to the U.S. Army Field Manual for Human Intelligence Collector Operations. Directing the Department of Defense to establish Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) for persons held in Guantanamo Bay. Giving the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals authority to review decisions of CSRTs. Requiring that habeas corpus appeals for aliens detained at Guantanamo be per the DTA, though offering no specific provisions for it. Giving immunity to government agents and military personnel from civil and criminal action for using interrogation techniques that "were officially authorized and determined to be lawful at the time they were conducted."
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Text (www.govinfo.gov)
www.SSRN.com
The "Detainee Treatment Act", strips Federal Courts of jurisdiction over the fate of detainees at Guantanamo
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Cornell
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2006
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Military Commissions Act
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The Military Commissions Act of 2006, also known as HR-6166, was an Act of Congress signed by President George W. Bush on October 17, 2006. The Act's stated purpose was "to authorize trial by military commission for violations of the law of war, and for other purposes".
Source:
Wikipedia
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Text (www.congress.gov)
www.congress.gov
White House Archives
Cornell
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2022
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Electoral Count Act of 2022
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Buried in 4,155 page appropriations bill. HR 2617. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-117hr2617enr/uslm/BILLS-117hr2617enr.xml Title:Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 Pages 1934 - 1954 Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolidated_Appropriations_Act,_2023 Followed by Presidential Transition Improvement Act - Sec 201- 1954 - 1968
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Text (scroll to page 1934 line 13)
One Page Synopsis
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