Amendment XVI In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed five hundred dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. Rationale No fundamental changes. _____ Index: The

Amendment XV In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of professional, trained adjudicators sanctioned by the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation;

Amendment XIV All citizens shall enjoy the right to shelter, nourishment, healthcare and educational opportunity. Rationale Too much mischief has been accomplished under the guise of the rabid social Darwinian dogma that people don’t have a right to a basic standard of living, a toxic ideology that over time has tended to divide the people into two camps: the haves

Amendment XII No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice

Amendment XII All elections shall be publicly financed; no individual, corporate, commercial or other private or publicly held entity shall contribute directly to any official, candidate or political party; all citizens are free to designate a portion of their annual tax contribution to a general election fund. No contributions to the electoral process shall be made by foreign interests, either

Amendment XI The right of an individual who has completed a two-year military service commitment to keep and maintain firearms appropriate to the common defense shall not be infringed. The Federal government shall establish guidelines by which enfranchised citizens may obtain firearms for purposes of sport and self-defense. Rationale The second amendment has perhaps been the single most contentious piece

Amendment IX generated some concern that adults – a term used freely, although inconsistently – should never be compelled to do anything against their will. The definition of “adult” was at issue because our society routinely compels behavior, and in particular the question of forcing children to attend school (usually through their 16th birthdays) was suggested. Amendment IX establishes a

Amendment X No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. Rationale Unchanged from the original. Everybody take the day off. _____ Index: The New Constitution Series

Amendment IX All citizens shall, upon attainment of their 18th birthdays, enroll in a two-year program of public service, which may be fulfilled with either civic programs or the armed forces. Enfranchisement shall be earned upon completion of the public service commitment and a demonstration of a basic understanding of principles informing the political and policy issues facing the nation.

Amendment VIII No governmental entity shall conduct secret or covert proceedings absent ongoing oversight by a multi-partisan body of popularly elected officials. Rationale While recent revelations about the NSA’s secret domestic surveillance activities are genuinely disturbing and ought to concern every citizen, it is also true that the United States has enemies, some of them capable of inflicting significant damage

Amendment VII The right of the people to be secure in their persons, homes, papers, data, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Rationale Here the

Amendment VI All individuals shall enjoy the right to privacy and freedom from surveillance by governmental, corporate, commercial or other private or public entities. Rationale The question of the Federal government’s advanced spy program has been very much in the news lately, and the American public has been subjected for years to increasingly intrusive and sophisticated “data mining” on the

Amendment V No governmental, private, corporate or commercial entity shall deny to any enfranchised citizen the rights or privileges accorded to others. The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. Rationale Sadly, America has a long history of discrimination. Some of our ancestors were slaves and our