1. Bill of rights Violation.

The U.S. Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States
Constitution. And by the provisions of the due process and equal protection provisions of the
14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, these prohibitions apply to states and local
governments as well. The 14th amendment says, in part: No state shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.
Nevertheless, every part of the prohibitions listed in the U.S. Bill of Rights has been violated by
the federal or state governments at one time or another in American history. The violations are an
indication that the Bill of Rights has been under occasional attack using the guise of necessity
throughout American history, especially during the nation's times of war and national crisis.
One such instance was the Sedition act of 1798 which could be termed as the most controversial
of the new laws permitting strong government control over individual actions. In essence, this
Act prohibited public opposition to the government. Fines and imprisonment could be used
against those who "write, print, utter, or publish any false, scandalous and malicious writing"
against the government. The Sedition Act clearly violated individual protections under the first
amendment of the Constitution; however, the practice of judicial review," whereby the Supreme
Court considers the constitutionality of laws was not yet well developed. Furthermore, the
justices were all strong Federalists. As a result, Madison and Jefferson directed their opposition
to the new laws to state legislatures. The Virginia and Kentucky legislatures passed resolutions
declaring the federal laws invalid within their states.

Another important instance in history wherein the civil liberties were violated was when the
federal government exercised increased power at the expense of constitutional protections during
the Civil War. President Lincoln unilaterally suspended the writ of habeas corpus in April 1861
and a Maryland military officer, John Merryman, was arrested. Chief Justice Roger at the time
issued a strong opinion challenging the authority of the president to suspend habeas corpus