Constitutional Principles: The Rule of Law

0:00 imagine what like no La no we had no Constitution no no Constitution no court no court to inter

0:23 inter the rule of law matters in all kinds of different ways uh it’s the foundation of what gives people the confidence to be able to speak their minds for instance knowing what the rules are inance and they won’t be punished by the government for what they say law really matters for especially for economic development for people to be secure in their property rights know that their contracts are going to be

0:44 enforced and what we see when we look around the world today is that countries that have the rule of law tend to be richer and Freer than countries that don’t the constitutional principle of the rule of law means that we live under known and settled laws that were established in a system that is open for all to see like many constitutional principles many take this idea for

1:05 granted we know that our laws are stable and that the rules of the game cannot just suddenly change as John Adams said in 1776 the true idea of a republic is an Empire of laws and not of men rules cannot be discarded or laws enacted on one person’s whim unless established legal processes are followed one of the

1:26 things that’s most interesting about the rule of law is that is that as emerg in history it is primarily a protection for the ordinary person the rich and Powerful have always had the ability in some sense to be able to manipulate the government for their own ends or find the loopholes in the law to protect themselves and that sort of thing it’s the common person the person who doesn’t

1:47 hire the lobbyist who uh who doesn’t have the ability to uh um to influence the government that benefits most when the government um uh protects the rule of law a look back at the way the Constitution was framed and ratified shows how committed Americans were to the rule of law after flaws in the Articles of Confederation were identified 12 of the 13 states sent duly

2:09 appointed delegates to a meeting in Philadelphia to revise the Articles when that convention now called the Constitutional Convention completed the document the Constitution then had to be ratified by the States state ratification took place in conventions where the people elected delegates to represent them the debate was intense but never did people Resort to violence

2:30 to force their views on others the Constitution and the Bill of Rights themselves provide some ways to ensure the rule of law is followed the Constitution forbids bills of attainer or laws passed to single out one person it also bans expost facto laws which means the government cannot suddenly declare an action illegal and then punish people who did it in the past all

2:53 criminal trials will be Tried by a jury the police cannot search you or your property without getting a warrant from a judge by showing probable cause people accused of crimes have many rights to Due Process the right to know what they are being charged with to consult with a lawyer to confront their accusers call Witnesses in their own defense and have their trial take place

3:15 in a speedy manner in the location where the alleged crime occurred a government cannot try a defendant over and over until it gets a guilty verdict excessive fines and cruel unusual punishments are also forbidden the most serious crimes require a grand jury to bring charges and the crime of treason can only be proven by the

3:36 testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or UNC confession in open court why do we afford certain protections to defendants uh in criminal cases uh why do we afford certain protections for freedom of speech and freedom of press why are there restrictions on the ability of the government uh to invade our private

3:56 domains uh all of these things have to do with the rule of law all of these things have to do with living in a rights oriented uh Republic all of these things have to do with due process of law fundamental safeguards on freedom can only be suspended in specific cases people accused of crimes tend to be

4:17 disliked and even despised a check on the power of the majority which may want to set aside protections for due process in the name of Revenge is one purpose of the many safeguards for individual rights in the Constitution the need to make sure that the guilty are punished uh the need to make sure that injured people get uh compensation in a uh in a

4:38 timely in a fair way and are not frustrated by a legal system that uh interferes with their rights or becomes too expensive or or inaccessible that’s an important component of the of the rule of law and I think it’s important for us to recognize that unless we are responsive to the needs of the people and actually vindicating their rights people will have feel these frustration

4:59 in these outlets and like all constitutional principles the rule of law depends Less on its being written down somewhere in a legal document and more on citizens commitment to it open Crime corruption in government robbery peaceful citizens lives in danger all stemming from a lack of respect for

5:21 law is that what you want by oh so we’re all a lot better off respecting the law having a people that respected the rule of law for Madison would have been absolutely essential to having uh a defensible uh and secure Republic when

5:45 laws are unjust it means finding peaceful ways to persuade fellow citizens to repeal and replace them a commitment to the rule of law means a belief in the duy established systems and processes even if outcomes aren’t what some expect it means we may have have to set aside our personal desires for Revenge if we believe a guilty person has been set

6:08 free the people through their elected representatives always have the right to enact new laws if they believe changes are necessary and when a government is repeatedly unjust it may mean the right and duty to alter or abolish it how transparent is our system of lawmaking our commitment to the rule of law

6:28 sometimes raises questions should the US enforce only those laws enacted by the people through their representatives does the US have to enforce un resolutions International laws which laws exactly does the executive branch have the power to enforce does the president have to enforce all laws passed by Congress even if he thinks they are

6:51 unconstitutional can States nullify federal laws they conclude are unconstitutional will we live under the rule of law or the law of rulers the idea is that there is a law or a set of laws that are outside and

7:11 above the government that uh that it constrains what the government is allowed to to do to you and so looking at the common law looking at natural rights and finally looking at the idea of a social contract theory that the constitution again is above and constrains the political uh leaders those three bases all reinforce the idea

7:34 of the rule of law the idea that there are laws given by history given by Nature given by the Constitution that constrain what our political leaders are allowed to do to us