• Archangel1313@lemmy.ca
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    11 days ago

    You’re missing the absolutely massive difference of the purpose of constitutional law VS federal or state law.

    Ummm…no. Constitutional law is the foundation for both Federal and State law. There is no “this VS that”. They are all based on the legal framework outlined in the Constitution.

    Due process is simply the process of due diligence that is required to ensure that the law is applied in a fair and equitable manner. It is based on the concept that you must provide evidence of someone’s guilt in order to punish them for what they are accused of.

    This applies just as much to the 14th amendment as it does to any other law on the books. The only difference is, the 14th amendment applied to people who never individually made it to the trial process before they were universally pardoned. But proof of their actions was still required for the 14th to be applied. What made it so much easier in that case, was the fact that it was relatively easy to find records that proved they served in the Confederate army. It was all basically a matter of public record, so anyone who looked into it, could find out.

    If there was no “burden of proof” applied to the 14th, then those Democrats who recently posted a video reminding US soldiers that they have an obligation to refuse unlawful orders would all be disqualified from holding their positions. Why? Because Trump accused them of encouraginging sedition. If all it took was an accusation…then they’d already be considered guilty. Is that how you imagine the law should work?