Posted: October 24th, 2022

THE AMERICAN LEGAL PROCESS

THE AMERICAN LEGAL PROCESS

I. Analysis of the Constitution
The American constitution is a document, in which the organization of the American government would be based and also, a document which provided basic and fundamental rights to its citizens (Amar, 1992). The American constitution is divided into eight sections, running from Article I to Article VII. Article I explains the organization of the American Congress, by stating its powers, which are commonly known as the enumerated or the delegated powers (US Constitution.net., c. 2010). The article also gives legislative powers to the House of Representatives and the Senate, while also stating the various powers which are denied to Congress and the states as a whole. Article II explains the various issue in the US regarding the presidency: its election process, the required qualifications, and the conditions under which one cannot continue being the president of the US. Article III explains the process of forming the Supreme Court while giving the Congress the power to enhance the establishment of the lower federal courts, and the case jurisdiction for each court. Article IV guarantees equity and equality to all states and citizens from any state while giving room for the inclusion of other states to the union. The article also guarantees the citizens and states of the protection, form any kind of external and internal aggression, invasion, and even attacks. Article V stipulates the process which should be used in the cases where the constitution wants to be changed, vesting powers upon the American states, for the purposes of rectifying any amendments. Article VI stipulates for the supremacy clause, which states that the American Constitution, the laws passed by the states of the United States, and all the agreements the United States enters form part of the supreme law of the land (Creative Commons Attribution, 2013). The final section, Article VII states that, in order to rectify the constitution of the United States of America, there should be the approval by the agreements of nine of the states forming the confederation of the US.
The US Bill of Rights is a documentation of the various provisions, which give the citizens their freedom and also protect them from the violations of either the public officials in the US or even their fellow citizens (Bearden, 2004). The US constitution gives various freedoms and rights to its citizens, especially, through the first ten amendments done to the U.S. Constitution. Some of the basic rights include The freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition by all citizens, the right to keep and bear arms in order to maintain a well-regulated militia, no quartering of soldiers, and the freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures (The Colonial Foundation, 2009). The Fifth Amendment bill states that everyone has the right to due process of law, the freedom from self-incrimination, and double jeopardy, while the sixth states that, all people have the right of accused persons where everyone is entitled to the right to a prompt and even public trial. The other bill of rights states that, everyone has the right to be tried by a jury in civil cases, and that the people have the right to be exempted from excessive bail, cruelty and unusual punishments. The ninth amendment addresses the issues related to the non-enumerated rights of 1791), and finally, the tenth amendment addresses the rights which are reserved to states and American people of 1791.
The most important institutional power in the American constitution is the protection of the minority rights in the US. The protection of the minority rights in the US is important since, it gives the chance for all individuals to compete ethically with the other people in the US for the various positions and opportunities in the nationals and federal government (Jabareen, 2008). Through the protection of the minority rights, there is the chance to enhance equity in all the American states, and hence, creating a conducive environment for living for all individuals. On the other hand, the most important personal right is the first amendment, which is the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. Through this amendment, individuals are guaranteed of a good life, and the ability to lead their lives without the fear from anyone, associate with others, and also worship, and subscribe to any religion of their own choice.
The institutional power that I would remove from the US constitution is the power vested in the Congress, as stipulated in Article II, where the president has to seek permission from the Congress before doing anything, and where he has to keep reporting to the Congress, of any progress, he or she is making toward the development of the country (United States Government Printing Office: Washington, 2007). The reason why I would remove that power is that the Congress might choose to act against the president, and hence, delay various issue which would be of benefit to the American people, and also the whole nation. The personal right which I would remove from the US constitution is the Right to keep and even bear arms in order to maintain a well-regulated militia in the US, as stipulated in the second amendment (Dowlut, 1997). The reason why I would remove the right to possess personal guns in the US is that there has been an increase in the rates of crime in the US, due to the position of guns (Duggan, 2001). The possession of guns has also led to the deaths of thousands of people in the US, through mass killings, crimes, and also accidents where people shoot others and even themselves.
One institutional power that I would add is the power to for the courts to have independent investigative authorities, where individuals who have committed a crime would be investigated, without the interference from the police, the military and also the other parties of the government. The reason why I would add this power is to ensure that, all individuals are able to get justice for the cases which face them, in cases where many are implicated with cases which require them to spend a long period of time in prison. The personal right that I would add to the US constitution is the right to privacy and absolute ability to control an individual’s property, without interference from the government, where the individuals are allowed to do as they please with their property, and their backyards. The reason why I would add this personal right is that many people suffer from the invasion of the law enforcement officers, who want to know what an individual is doing with their own property in the US.

II. Two Examples of Homeland Security Issues in Art or Popular Culture
There are various areas in which the issue of homeland security has been raised, in relation to the popular cultures or even art. A majority of the individuals who have expressed their views have done so, with the aim of either predicting, or even showing the areas in which the homeland security has either been breached, might have some challenges, or even where issues need to be rectified for the purpose of a more secure society. In the first example, a film produced in the year 2004, by Antonia Bird was known as the “The Hamburg Cell” shows the issue of the breach in the homeland security (Wheatley, 2006). In the film, Antonia Bird describes the issues related to the September 11 attacks, where many people lost their lives and many were left maimed and injured. In the film, the activities of the terrorist group, known as the Hamburg cell were shown, where the hijacking and the bombing of the houses in the US. There are many issues which Antonia Bird presents in that film, as a way of ridiculing the process of the gathering information and intelligence especially on the issues terrorists, by the US intelligence as well as the Germany intelligence forces. In the film, Bird presents two of the main characters in the film: Karim Saleh and Kamel who starred in the film as Ziad Jarrah and Mohamed Atta respectively as ‘normal’ students’, who obey and follow the law and who are focused on their aviation studies in the US, after moving from Germany under the recommendation of their tutor. There are various issues which are also presented in the film, and which relate to the US homeland security, such as the inability of the US intelligence at home, to predict and even suspect the activities of the two students, who had turned themselves into criminals and for that matter radical criminals in the end of the 1990s under the watch of the intelligence agencies in the US and Germany (Gastil, 2010). In this film, Bird showed that the US policy on enhancing the safety of the citizens is challenging and requires a more resilient approach in ensuring that all individuals are put into consideration. On watching the film, it presents the shame which lies within the homeland security agencies, since they could not uphold the safety of the citizens. To ensure the safety of the citizens, Bird proposes that scrutiny should be upheld, for all individuals, regardless soft her background, religion, place of origin, age or even activities they are undertaking in the US.
The second example of homeland security issues in art and popular culture is the case presented by Cassetteboy, through their track is known as “Fly Me To New York”, where criticism was given, in regard to the 9/11 bombing activity in the US, In the track, the lyrics, “burn the World Trade Center,” and “let the motherfucker burn” is released, which is a critique to the process of the bombing which happened in the US, posing a major threat to the homeland security, for many years (Dahlen, 2005). The song also mocks the organization of the homeland security agencies, terming them as a way ofay creating “ghost militia”, for the US, through which money is lost, citing the fact that, a majority of the people who lose their lives do so under the watch of the homeland security agencies. In the track, the singer presents himself as a hijacker, who flies the plane into the trade center, causing major problems, to the security of the US (Cincinnati, 2011). In the track, Cassetteboy states that he found one of the weakest points in the US homeland security, which is regarded as one of the most sacred across the world, and hence untouchable, and especially, through the reaction of the government to the 9/11 attacks. Cassetteboy also states that, the issues related to the 9/11 bombing happened under the watch of the homeland security agencies, and thus, they have no right to complain, since they allowed the hijackers, who had been stated as a threat to security, to board the planes and even fly them, causing the deaths and the injury to many people.

III. Identification of Two Pre-9/11 Homeland Security Events
The US has received many challenges and even threats to its homeland security, long before the 9/11 bombing and attacks. The first major attack happened on February 26, 1993, where the World Trade Center was bombed, from the North Tower, killing six people and injuring hundreds of people around the area (Homeland Security, 1993). The 1993 bombing attack on the World Trade Center happened when a bomb made up of 1,336 pounds, an equivalent of 606 kg device containing urea nitrate-hydrogen gas, was set to detonate on the North Tower. The initial intention of the bombers was that there would be a major catastrophe, from the destruction of the twin towers, killing thousands of people, but the plot failed as per the expectations of the bombers. The plot had been organized and financed by Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, who was an uncle to one of the bombers, Ramzi Yousef. Other major individuals who participated in the raid included Mohammad Salameh, Nidal A. Ayyad, Mahmud Abouhalima, and Ahmed Ajaj. As well as Abdul Rahman Yasin. According to various reports that were released by various security agencies, Eyad Ismoil was the driver, and the mastermind behind the bombing processes (Fahy & Proulx, 2002). The bomb had been placed in the basement of the North Tower, and so, upon its explosion, the six people who died were in the basement of the building, and it took more than twenty-five firefighter trucks to put off the fire which had started, with dust and smoke covering the two towers. The major side effects of the bombing were that the emergency communication systems which was installed in the building went down, and evacuating the buildings was a major problem, since it was dark, and it took other people hours to find their way out of the building.
The second major homeland security threat before the 2001 bombing was the bombing of the US embassies in East Africa, especially in Tanzania and Kenya (Perl, 1998). On August 7, 1998, an estimate of more than to hundred people died in Kenyan and Tanzania after the bombing of the Nairobi and the Dar es Salaam United States Embassies by the terror group, al-Qaeda, under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. To the US, this was a major attack, and a blow to its homeland security, although the attacks had not happened in their actual land, the territories which were attacked were the embassies, which harbor the US activities in each and every given country across the world. The attack was coordinated and the hit called by Osama Bin Laden, who had taken over the leadership of al-Qaeda, killing 12 Americans, which made it a total of 224 people who died that day, while more than 4,500people were maimed and badly injured in the act (Ploch, 2010). The 1998 attacks were also coordinated by the militia group that later executed the 2001attacs in the US soil and led to the death of hundreds of people while maiming many, and rendering the economy of the US down, and disrupting the social economic and political order in the county for a couple of hours. These two examples cited in this section are some of the major homeland security threats and events which happened before the 9/11 bombing and attacks.

IV. Legal Counsel Exercise
In the case where the US presidents learn of the plans by a terror group to attack the US citizens, both at home and aboard, the president has powers vested upon him to order military attacks against the militia group. In this case, President Obama empowered to order a military attack against the Scorpion group. The justification of the attacks ordered by the president against the terror group is based on the US declaration on the fight against terror attacks, especially through the authorization for the use of military force (AUMF), passed after 2001, 9/11 terror attack (Chivvis & Liepman, 2016). In the cases where the U.S. Army soldiers detain members of a militia group, or fighters and transfer them to Saudi Arabia, a country known to torture people, for questioning, the process is known as extraordinary rendition (Murphy, 2007). Through the process of extraordinary rendition, people are abducted and forced to speak on certain issues, through the interrogation process which is usually financed and facilitated by the US government, through its law and intelligence agencies, such as the CIA and the FBI (Open Society Foundations, 2013). The US policy does not allow this practice to take place, but it usually happens under the watch and the authority of the US top leadership, such as through the powers vested on the individuals who carry out the processes by the US Presidents. Even if the current US policy was to allow such an activity to happen, it is not lawful, since it goes against the rights of other humans and threatens the relationships between various states across the world.
For the non-US soldiers who were captured in the event of the Global War on Terror, by the Bush Administration and taken to the Guantanamo Bay prisons in Cuba, the possibility of them accessing the U.S. federal court system and wage litigation warfare is very minimal, and many are not likely to access any of the court systems within the US (Lennon, 2015). The background of this issue is that a majority of the individuals who are detained in these camps do not stand any trial, and a majority undergo extreme torture, which even violets their rights, as per the reports by the Amnesty International (Gilles, 2016). Currently, the situation remains the same, and there are no changes to that effect.
A military tribunal is a set of judicial proceedings which are based on the structures of a military court and guidelines, set up to try soldiers, and war criminals who are captured in the war against terror and who violate certain laws in the military (Khan, 2002). The US has used the military tribunals before, to try war criminals and the soldiers who are caught in the war against terror. Currently, the US is using the military tribunals to try all the individuals who are implicated to be war criminals and also involved in the war against terror. Currently, the tribunals are increasing in number, across the world, as the US tries to shake the terror activities across the globe, and its activities in the US.
It is true that the US spies on its citizens. Through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Section 702, the US government agencies are given the powers to keep surveillance on its citizens, living within and outside the US, so as to collect any information, which in any way or another might threaten the security of the US (Wu, 2006). The agencies which are involved in the surveillance process include National Security Agency (NSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), whose primary target is the information shared between the citizens on many issues regarding the country and its security issues. From the threats which are posed to the US homeland security, there is legality in the military involvement in the surveillance of the citizens, so as to make sure that, all individuals are kept safe from threats and attacks (Severson, 2015). According to the law, it is justified for anyone, or even a group to defend itself, in the event here their security is threatened, and their lives are posed in danger (Mossin, 2014). However, the attack would only be posed as a destruction to the US security protocol, and thus, met with retaliation (Jenkins et al., 2013). The justification of the attack would be that the US was trying to threaten the lives of the members of the Scorpion family, and the attack was just as a way of defending themselves.
The US has a constitution which has the Bill of Rights, and which is based on a certain framework, and concepts which are essential for the survival of all individuals. The US constitution is organized into seven major sections, which range from Article I to Article VII. The US constitution also contains the Bill of Rights, which are basically ten, in form of amendments, which give the US citizens various freedoms and capabilities to perform various tasks (Virelli, 2012). The US constitutions are built on various concepts which include: separation of power, the nature of authority, as well as the stipulation of the various rights and duties of citizens and the arms of government (Bulmer, 2017). There are various rights which are contained in the US constitutions, which include: the right to life, right to assembly, right to own property among other many rights. The executive forms the branch of the U.S. federal government which is the most powerful today (Arnold, 2004). The strength of the executive arm is based on the various powers which have been vested on the branch of the government, and especially, through the process of ensuring the day to day running of the country and its affairs.

(e) Statute Draft
To have independent judicial investigative authorities operating under the judicial arm of the government, whose main role shall be to cross-examine the individuals who are implicated with issues related to the homeland security: based on the legislative laws and power vested on it by the US Congress,

Section 1. Short Title and Table of Contents
(a) Short Title: This Act may be cited as the “law that prohibits the use of torture to interrogate anyone, whether in or even outside the US” (CERL Report, 2018), from the 2015 McCain-Feinstein Amendment, Army Field Manual, and Law of War Manual.

Title I-Enhancing Security for the Criminals and Detainees of War
SEC 101: War Crime Trials
(a) TRIALS; INTERROGATIONS- There is hereby established that the United States Judiciary shall have a separate body, which shall be involved in the interrogation for the individuals who are convicted as war criminals, in the fight for terrorism in the US-
(b) The body shall be free and independent, without the compromise or the interference of the other arms of the government, investigative authorities, and even other homeland security agencies-
(1) to interrogate, and get information from all individuals who have been arrested, and detained as war criminals, in the fight for terror,
(A) gather information from the war criminals and the detained convicts for the purposes of ensuring there is security for the people of the US-
(B) While minimizing the use of force, and torture for the war criminals, so as to ensure their rights and privileges are also upheld during the process of integration.

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