Constitutional Issues and the Scope and Character of U.S. Government

In the Final Research Paper, you will use your critical thinking skills to analyze and evaluate a current events topic that has constitutional and political implications.

Select one topic from the following list of two constitutional issues. The topic you select should also be used as the topic for your Week 2 and 3 written assignments:

• Privacy rights

The thesis of the paper will be a statement identifying how the concepts of federalism, civil liberties, and civil rights are implicated in and affected by this topic.

Utilize the feedback from your Week 2 and 3 Assignments to create a more thorough outline to form your Final Research Paper. The paper must include five main sections:

• Introductory paragraph that provides a brief background regarding the topic and introduces the main thesis.
• In-depth discussion of the implications for federalism related to the topic.
  • Explain how and why federalism has a positive and negative impact on the selected topic.
    • Provide one real-world positive example.
    • Provide one real-world negative example.
    • Utilize the Constitution, established case law, and scholarly sources to support your explanation.
• In-depth discussion of the implications for civil rights related to the topic.
  • Explain how and why civil rights are positively and negatively affected by the selected topic.
    • Provide one real-world positive example.
    • Provide one real-world negative example.
    • Utilize the Constitution, established case law, and scholarly sources to support your explanation.
• In-depth discussion of the implications for civil liberties related to the topic.
  • Explain how and why civil liberties are positively and negatively affected by the selected topic.
    • Provide one real-world positive example.
    • Provide one real-world negative example.
    • Utilize the Constitution, established case law, and scholarly sources to support your explanation.
• Concluding paragraph that summarizes the main findings and restates the thesis.

The paper must be at least 11 pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style. You must use at least six scholarly resources (at least five of which can be found in the Ashford University Library) other than the textbook to support your claims. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and on the reference page. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center.

The Final Research Paper:

• Must be at least 11 double-spaced pages in length (excluding title and reference pages), and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.).
• Must include a title page with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
• Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
• Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
• Must use at least six scholarly resources, including a minimum of five from the Ashford University Library.
• Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

This is week 2 Assignment Reference for the final Paper:

Positive Impact of Federalism on Privacy Rights

The right to privacy is one of the modern-day laws found in the America constitution (Richards, Serwin & Blake, 2018). The contemporary laws are embedded in the bill rights. However, there are questions raised to determine whether federalism infringes on this constitutional right. Even with these disquiets, federalism has had a good influence on the right to privacy. Federalism has allowed people to determine the point with which legislation impacts their confidentiality. The concepts have achieved this by differentiating powers which the state governments choose the laws they want to pass. State governments have the power to select regulations that connect to various matters together with privacy. The state governments pass laws centered on citizen ideas or convulsions on the degree the government should involve in their private affairs.

Federalism allows American citizens to determine at what point they should share their private life to the government on request. The information shared should be grounded on political or security reasons. Again, federalism deters the central governments from interfering with state operations (Richards, Serwin, & Blake, 2018). As a result, the states legislates laws as well as privacy laws that concur with residents’ demands and needs. On the contrary, the federal government keeps eye states to ensure the states do not abuse their powers that can infringe people’s rights to privacy. That said and done, federalist bars oppressive legislation from the state legislation, which would affect citizens’ rights to privacy.

Negative Impact of Federalism on Privacy Rights

Regardless of the progressive impacts of federalism on privacy rights, the form of governance has a retrogressive impact on privacy rights. Even though the state government asks the state government to protect people’s rights to privacy, the federal government should protect citizens’ privacy. On the contrary, the central government has some control over its people’s privacy. With the help of federalism, the federal government can extract one’s private information and store it in government databases. A good example is dealings using social security cards, which the federal administration is mindful of. The federal government has the right of entry to track such dealings that are carried out in government authorities and banks. Federalism contradicts the meaning of law enforcement and causes sensitive problems because the central government has expanded its role as the regulator from the protector of people’s rights to privacy (Tierney, 2018). Now the federal government has more avenues to gather personal information at the same time embarrassing and harassing its citizens.

The access of personal information is conducted through information technologies, thus increasing misuse of abuse of power, which the United States of America constitution prevents. Federalism has empowered the federal government to access personal calls and emails to determine whether there are terrorist attacks. This has raised vocal backlash, which is against violating personal privacy (Schwartz, 2015). American citizens are skeptical that the government has their best interests at heart, citing that their information could be exposed. Federalism creates a conflict between social order and individual liberty. Even though the central government needs

personal data to maintain order, people’s right to privacy should be protected. Federalism and sovereign overreach affect people’s autonomy.

Significance of protecting privacy rights

Federalism makes security to personal privacy is impossible. A substantial number of Americas cite their information is less secure in the hands of the central government. The access to personalized information prompts Americans to have little faith in the governmental organization which accesses their information without their consent or a good reason. Federalism opens doors for data breaches and scant privacy protection measures. The federal government and the state government come up with piecemeal and competing legislations that constricting the constitution request to protect people’s privacy (Schwartz, 2015). Federalism enables the central government to come up with a patchwork of sector-specific regulations instead of one comprehensive legal protection approach, which will protect Privacy Rights. Federalism doesn’t reconcile the power differences between the state government and the federal government. The states believe central government actions of gathering personal information puts American privacy at risk considering events of data breaches and hacking. Federalism makes the government enact incomprehensive privacy and security legislation. The legislations touch certain pieces of information like health and financial data. As a result, contradictory protections and overlapping regulations come to a competition with each other.

Conclusion

Without a doubt, federalism has its advantages and shortcomings. The issue of privacy rights is negotiable because the constitution stipulates the governments should honor the bill of rights. Even if federalism allows the separation of roles between the two governments, a lack of comprehensive legal protection on privacy rights should not be taken advantage of by the federal government and access personal information without a good reason. However, the existing legislation laid a foundation for the government to protect privacy rights. The federal government decentralization of legislation entrusts the states to make laws which with protect privacy rights as stipulated in the constitution. The meaning of federalism doesn’t revolve on a government type, but how the concerns of privacy rights can be addressed. Federalism in the United States might make protection on privacy rights a fallacy or unrealistic, but with a single and comprehensive or informed consent, personal information can be protected from harm.

References

Richards, N. M., Serwin, A. B., & Blake, T. (2018). Understanding American Privacy. Research Handbook on Privacy and Data Protection Law: Values, Norms and Global Politics, Gloria González Fuster, Rosamunde van Brakel and Paul De Hert (eds.), Edward Elgar Publ’g.

Schwartz, P. M. (2015). The value of privacy federalism.

Tierney, S. (2018). Federalism and constitutional theory. In Comparative Constitutional Theory. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Week 3 Assignment Outline Reference for final paper: