Constitutional Issues - Boston Marathon Bombing

Two homemade bombs were placed at the end of the Boston Marathon of 2013, causing over two hundred casualties and taking the lives of three. Brothers Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev placed the bombs that day. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot and killed in a shoot out with police and his brother was caught after a long manhunt. Many debates over Dzhokhar Tsarnaev constitutional issues have arisen.

The first of which are his Miranda Rights.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev being taken into custody.

As part of the Fifth Amendment, a criminal must be read their Miranda Rights. The Miranda Rights must be read to a criminal before being taken into custody. The Miranda Rights are as follows:

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."

The Fifth Amendment states that in a criminal case, a grand jury will be present, double jeopardy is prohibited, and the due process of law must be part of anything that denies a citizen their natural rights.

The second issue is the death penalty.

Remnants of a bomb the Tsarnaev brothers placed at the end of the Boston Marathon.

Since Massachusetts doesn't have the death penalty, debates over this arose. He will only be charged with using a weapon of mass destruction but, Tsarnaev will be tried in a federal court so "the death penalty is one option on the table", said the Justice Department.

The third issue is unregistered guns.

Armed officers search for the Tsarnaev brothers after one fled in astolen SUV in Watertown, Ma.

After a thorough investigation, officials found that the Tsarnaev brothers had used unregistered guns in the shoot out with police officers. The brothers possessed two hand guns, a rifle and several bombs. Massachusetts has one of the most strictest gun laws in the country and the brothers were found to have possession of ammunition exceeding the states' limit.

The fourth issue that has arose is immigration.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (left) and Tamerlan Tsarnaev (right) before the Boston Marathon.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a United States citizen while his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaevs' citizenship was delayed due to a connection in a triple murder in Waltham found by Homeland Security. Their family applied for asylum since their visitor visas would be expiring in the U.S.

The fifth issue that has risen is privacy.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev (front) and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (back) right before the Boston Marathon explosions.

Thermal image of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev hiding in a boat in Watertown Ma.

This issue arose in violation of the Fourth Amendment.  The Fourth Amendment states that officials must have a warrant before searching someones' property. Since the police had to look through someones' property  to find Tsarnaev, this issue arises. The police did not have a warrant to search the boat that he was found on.