Amendments Four through Eight, preview

I thought about treating Amendments 4 through 8 together, because they relate to our legal system and criminal prosecution. They have interesting parts on their own, so I will continue with the individual breakdown, but I want to take another look at context. 

If you will recall, the 3rdAmendment was inspired by various Quartering Acts, including the one that was part of the Intolerable Acts. Two other acts in that set related to the judicial process.

• The Boston Port Act closed the port until the value of the tea destroyed in the Boston Tea Party was reimbursed, with no attempt to identify specific responsibility, or allow any residents of Boston to testify in their own defense.
• The Administration of Justice Act allowed the governor to move the trials of royal official to England. While it was phrased as an attempt to ensure fair trials for the officials by providing a change of venue, it put a heavy burden on the part of the accusers and witnesses. Travel might be reimbursed, but lost time and earnings were not. This made prosecution of royal officials practically impossible at a time when they were already considered abusive.

(The other Intolerable Act was the Massachusetts Government Act, repealing their charter, bringing the colony directly under royal control and limiting even their ability to hold town meetings. I think we can see its impact more in the body of the Constitution than in any of the amendments.)

We could be spending more time on the amendments than is necessary, but I find it interesting, and I believe that understanding more of why our laws were formed as they were can be important as we continue to look to these laws in the future.