Constitution of the United States

The Constitution of the United States was adopted on September 17, 1787 and is the supreme law of the United States of America and, therefore, the State of California. The United States Constitution established the framework for organizing the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with its citizens, the states, and all people within the United States regardless of their citizenship. Constitutional principles guide American society in law and political culture, to include judicial review in Federal and California courts of criminal law. The United States Constitution has direct application to California law and California criminal procedure.

The United States Constitution is organized into Articles, and Amendments. The first three Articles of the Constitution establish the three branches of the national government: a legislature, the bicameral Congress; an executive branch led by the President; and a national judiciary headed by the Supreme Court. The last four Articles frame federal relationships among the governments of the nation and states for the people. The Tenth Amendment confirms its federal characteristics. All powers not enumerated in the United States are reserved to the respective states or to the people themselves. Accordingly, states are free to enact a constitution and California has enacted the California State Constitution.

Preamble

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

• Article I
• Article II
• Article III
• Article IV throught VII

Constitutional Amendments

• Bill of Rights
• Constitutional Amendments

Contact The Office

The stakes are high in a California domestic violence case. An arrest for domestic battery, domestic assault, criminal threats or stalking in California may result in actual jail, large fines, mandatory 52 week batterer's treatment program, mandatory alcohol education classes, and other punishment.

For that reason, it is imperative to have only a qualified criminal defense lawyer handling a domestic violence case from the beginning. If you or someone you know has been or may be accused of domestic violence, we invite you to read the information contained in the Introduction, What to Do First, and Frequently Asked Questions sections of this website and welcome you to call our office and discuss your case with a member of our domestic violence law firm. If you prefer, you may submit a confidential case questionnaire which will be reviewed by a member of our firm and receive a prompt response.