* * *
O’Reilly Pith: Yeah, this one is quite a mouthful. You can probably forget the military stuff for right now and concentrate on (1) the rule that a grand jury must return an indictment, (2) the provision against “double jeopardy,” (3) the essential concept of “due process,” and (4) the rule for compensation for your property taken by the government.
Each of these ideas is still being argued, as you know if you read newspapers, watch TV, or listen to radio…or hear one of your friends complain about unfair treatment of suspected criminals. And remember, Americans are entitled to these rights. But are terrorists captured in Afghanistan entitled to them? I say no. Others disagree. And we all keep talking!
* * *
6. RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL, WITNESSES, ETC.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of 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; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
* * *
O’Reilly Pith: Here again, the basic ideas seem to be clear enough…and here again, the arguments get hot. What is a “speedy” trial? What is a “public” trial? Sound obvious? Well, is a trial “public” if it’s not on television? (There was no HDTV available back there in Philadelphia.) The states (remember them?) don’t agree on that one yet.
What is an “impartial” jury? For example, does gender, or occupation, or racial background cause a juror to be unfair? These questions don’t get the same answers from everyone involved in the law, let me tell you. What is required by the phrase “assistance of counsel”? Does that mean the court-appointed lawyer must be a Harvard graduate, or would it be fair for her to come from some lesser institution like Yale? (Sorry, kid. You know I have to say that because I hold a Harvard degree.)
* * *
7. RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
* * *
O’Reilly Pith: Forget the twenty-dollar rule. Half your classmates would be demanding jury trials because someone took their old running shoes or neglected to return some borrowed CDs, right? The courts have agreed on the “intent” of this clause. The more important principle here, of course, is that a case, once decided by a jury, cannot be retried elsewhere.
* * *
8. EXCESSIVE BAIL, CRUEL PUNISHMENT
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
* * *
O’Reilly Pith: I’m sure you see the problems here. Define excessive, please. And once you’ve got that little chore out of the way, reel off a quick, solid definition of “cruel and unusual punishments.” Does that phrase cover the death penalty? Well, unless you’ve been living in the basement of a mall for the last few years, you certainly know that both sides of that issue disagree about its true meaning. Once again, the debate goes on. Each side, in this case, believes it somehow knows the “intent” of the Philadelphia guys. Can each side be right? (No.) Is this a matter of life and death? (Uh…yes.)
* * *
9. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION OF CONSTITUTION
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
* * *
O’Reilly Pith: In other words, just because they didn’t mention a specific right doesn’t mean it’s not there. Bring on the iPods (and the lawyers)! Isn’t that really what this book is about?
* * *
10. RIGHTS OF THE STATES UNDER CONSTITUTION
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
* * *
O’Reilly Pith: By now, you see what this means. If Ben, Tom, and their friends did not give a specific right to the national government or say that the states could NOT have it, then either the states or we ourselves—you and I and everybody else in America—have that right. I believe you know that’s never going to be as simple as it sounds. (You sure you don’t want to go to law school? We may need you!)
ASK O’REILLY! (A Special Feature)
You: Now, do I know everything about my rights?
O’Reilly: No.
You: When will I?
O’Reilly: Never.
You: (sigh)
O’Reilly: Look, what’s true today will not be true tomorrow. The players keep changing. Ideas keep changing. Who knows what new toy your kids will have someday that will drive their teachers nuts? The rules have to change with the times.
You: Like, I mean, chaos.
O’Reilly: No, no, not chaos. The good ship Constitution stays afloat, no matter what. You have to believe that.
You: Well, I think now I do.
O’Reilly: Okay, but it doesn’t steer itself. You and all of your kid friends have to keep it on course. It adjusts to the weather, the heaving seas, but smart people have to take turns at the helm.
You: Are you running for office?
O’Reilly: (laughs) No, but I want you kids to run for office someday, and support candidates, and stay involved in this rights business for the rest of your lives. You have to join the line that goes back to Ben and Tom.
You: I’ll think about it.
O’Reilly: You do that.
(You and I shake hands firmly.)
THE LAST WORD
Congratulations!
You’ve completed a book that should help you become a better American. And the country needs you. That’s right…the country needs you.
During my trip to Iraq in December 2006, I met hundreds of American military people ages eighteen to twenty-five. They are young adults, as you will be in a very short time. They are sacrificing greatly, trying to bring freedom and “rights” to oppressed people.
I really respect those young Americans.
Like millions of other Americans before them, our military people are willing to die so that strangers can have the right to freedom. How noble is that? And how powerful is the right to freedom?
So, when thinking about your rights as a kid, please think about our military people. They are the direct successors of Ben, Tom, and all the rest who have kept focused on the “rights” thing throughout the history that gave you the life you have now. These young people in uniform today should make you proud. And so should your unique country, which stands for freedom throughout the world.
Thanks for reading this book, kid.
I wish you a great life.
DEFENSE SAVVY
A BRIEF GUIDE TO TERMS
Competing rights
A student you know has the right to privacy, like all the rest of us. You have the right to protect yourself from being harmed, like all the rest of us. Has he hidden a loaded pistol in his school locker? For the school to search the locker without his permission, your right to life outweighs his right to privacy. Each right is golden in itself, but sometimes they have to be weighed against each other for the greatest possible good.
Due process
The rules! You have the right to be protected from a government that would arrest, try, and convict you unfairly. Your rights to fairness at every step of the process are guaranteed. Tom, Ben, and the rest believed that human beings with power can’t always be trusted. They knew from experience. A judge who can be bribed? A prosecutor who will convict an innocent person in order to further his political ambitions? A rogue cop who might “plant” evidence? These things happen. The Philadelphia guys knew it. But
they also knew that laws and procedures could be set down in clear English so that good people could try to follow them.
Original intent
That’s what the writers of the Constitution were actually thinking back then…or would be thinking if they knew about video surveillance and DNA testing and all the rest of the developments in our century. Is it possible to know for sure what they would have been thinking? Well, no. Not exactly. But we all have to work at it, or the system falls apart.
Parental obligation
This is what you have the right to expect from your parent(s) or legal guardian(s), as defined by your state. Of course, they’re not supposed to harm you and they’re required to take care of your needs, as long as you’re a minor. Even so, some courts have found gray areas here.
Probable cause
This is a concrete reason to suspect that you’re guilty of something. If someone else’s missing iPod falls out of your jacket pocket, it’s “probable” that you stole it. That’s not proof, but it’s reason enough for the authorities to search your person and otherwise pursue the truth. Same idea with the scent of marijuana on your clothes, or an open bottle of vodka visible through your car window.
Reasonable suspicion
A lesser standard than probable cause, this right is given to your school authorities by your state in order to protect the students in their care. In other words, as we talked about earlier, they can search your locker without “probable cause” but with “reasonable suspicion.” For a more precise definition of this term, many a lawsuit has been taken to the courts. (You are not surprised.)
How you can
Get in Touch with Me
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Bill O’Reilly
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About the Authors
BILL O’REILLYand a two-time Emmy Award winner for excellence in reporting, served as a national correspondent for ABC News and anchor of the nationally syndicated news magazine program Inside Edition before becoming executive producer and anchor of the wildly popular The O’Reilly Factor. He is the author of the megabestsellers The O’Reilly Factor, The No Spin Zone, Who’s Looking Out for You?, The O’Reilly Factor for Kids, Culture Warrior, and the novel Those Who Trespass, and holds master’s degrees from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Boston University.
CHARLES FLOWERS, award-winning author or coauthor of sixty-two books, has also written television documentaries, magazine articles, art and theater criticism, and opinion columns in such publications as the New York Times, The Virginia Quarterly Review, and City Newspaper. A former newspaper reporter, high school teacher, and university professor, he wrote the screenplay for the feature film The Nation, and, with composer Sorrel Hays, the three-act opera Our Giraffe.
www.billoreilly.com
www.CharlesFlowers.com
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Also by
Bill O’Reilly
Culture Warrior
The O’Reilly Factor for Kids:
A Survival Guide for America’s Families
(coauthored with Charles Flowers)
Those Who Trespass
Who’s Looking Out for You?
The No Spin Zone: Confrontations with
the Powerful and Famous in America
The O’Reilly Factor:
The Good, the Bad, and the Completely
Ridiculous in American Life
Credits
Jacket design by Richard Aquan
Jacket photographs: Bill O’ Reilly by Deborah Feingold; children by Flying Colours Ltd / Getty Images
Copyright
Some images not available for electronic edition.
KIDS ARE AMERICANS TOO. Copyright © 2007 by Bill O’Reilly and Charles Flowers. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition September 2007 ISBN 9780061746161
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