veto

      One part of "how a bill becomes a law" is the presidential veto. To start at the beginning, a bill becomes a law when it is passed by both houses of congress ( the Senate and the House of Representatives ) and signed by the President. If a bill passes both houses of congress and the President doesn't agree with it, he may return the bill to the Senate or House of Representatives, and explain his objections to it. This is called a veto. It is described in the United States Constitution, Article I, Section 7, although the word "veto" isn't used.
    If the President "vetoes" a bill, the House and the Senate may alter the bill, and pass an amended version on to the President for his signature. Or, the House and Senate may override a presidential veto by passing the same measure, but by a 2/3 majority, instead of a simple majority. A 2/3 majority would mean 2 out of every 3 persons voting voted to pass the bill--for example, 20 for, 10 against, or 200 for, 100 against. . A simple majority means the side with 1 more vote wins--51 to 50, for example.
     Another way a bill might become a law is if the President ignores it when it is presented to him for his signature. If the President doesn't sign or return the bill within 10 days, it becomes law as if he had signed it, provided that Congress is still in session.
     If you're interested in reading more about this, see your local newspaper's section on "area votes in Congress", or check out the Congressional Record.

extradition

     When someone is wanted for a crime, and is found in another state, he or she must be delivered to the executive authority ( the governor, or the governor's office ) of the state in which the crime occurred--the state that has jurisdiction. Article V of the United States Constitution guarantees that this right of extradition will be upheld by the federal government and the courts.
    Other cases of extradition that you may read about involve requesting the return of a suspect from a foreign country. This is more complicated, as relations between any two countries are generally made through the treaties they have signed with one another. Extradition may be a part of those treaties, agreed upon by both countries. If the two countries have not signed a treaty that includes a provision for extradition, the country seeking the return of a suspect asks the officials of the foreign government to send him or her back to stand trial--to extradite him or her. The foreign officials may refuse to do this. They may be angry at our country. They may think they can win a concession by refusing to extradite a fugitive. They may think the fugitive will be treated unfairly--for instance, to many countries the death penalty is unfair, and they may refuse to extradite an accused who may be sentenced to execution.
    Two countries who can't agree about an extradition may appeal to the World Court to settle the case--but they would each have to agree, before the hearing,  to accept the court's verdict. Some countries, including the United States, generally refuse to accept the authority of the World Court.
   

change of venue

     A "change of venue" means the relocation of a trial to another district, usually because of a lot of negative publicity. Some judges have agreed that too much publicity might prejudice any local jury. Based on this, the judges have permitted a trial to be "moved"--to some other court, usually in the same state.
     This is blatantly unconstitutional--that is to say, illegal. Amendment VI of the United States guarantees the accused "the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed; which district shall have been previously ascertained by law..."
   The judges who have decided on a "change of venue" may have reasoned that they needed the new venue in order to assure the "impartial jury" provision. They will have to do better, or risk having all of these cases thrown out of court. The "venue" provision is not as cinematic or dramatic as some of the other rights guaranteed by our Constitution, but real abuses of  "venue" were ( and are )  nightmarish. Imagine waking up in a strange place where no one knows your name, or has heard of your case, to be tried by a judge and jury who have no fear that a spectator or citizen will notice any legal irregularities.

habeus corpus

     If a person is arrested in the United States, the Constitution guarantees that the right of habeus corpus will be preserved. Amendment V guarantees that no one will be deprived of  "life, liberty or property, without due process of law". That means that the law enforcement officials have 48 hours--2 days exactly--to charge the person with a crime, or release him or her. No one can be held more than 48 hours on suspicion alone. No one can sue for false arrest unless he or she has been detained more than 48 hours without charge, or without being formally accused of a crime.
     If a person is detained for 48 hours--or if it looks as if he will be--his lawyer can ask that he be brought before a judge, or the lawyer may ask the judge to issue a writ of habeus corpus, meaning bring us the person in the flesh, or let's have the body ( brought before a judge ).

bail

     The purpose of bail is to assure that a defendant will appear at his or her trial. An accused person  may be released upon posting bail--depositing a sum of money with the court, which will be returned when the defendant appears in court for trial. The Constitution of the United States  ( Amendment VIII ) guarantees that there will be no "excessive bail" required.  Excessive bail would be bail that the defendant couldn't pay, not even with a bail bond. The purpose of bail is to assure appearance at trial, not to keep the accused in jail. When bail is used in this way, it may be considered "excessive".  
     There are legal means to refuse bail to an accused, who would then have to await trial in jail. This isn't done very often, but if a case can't be made for it, excessive bail may not be used as a substitute for denying bail.
    

spectators

     You may be surprised, the first time you go to court, to see an audience. These are just members of the public, and are usually called "spectators". Some of them may have an interest in a case being tried--perhaps they are family members or friends of a defendant, a witness, or a victim. Some may just be interested in what is going on because they saw it on TV, or read about it in the newspaper. And some people just think that what goes on in a court is interesting. They are there because the United States Constitution guarantees the accused "the right to a speedy and public trial". This is part of the VI ( 6th ) Amendment. Anyone can usually sit and watch any trial, as long as he or she doesn't make noise or interrupt. You can try it for yourself. If you need to leave before it is over, leave quietly--or ask about that when you go in.
    The "public trial" provision in our Constitution is to make sure that a trial is conducted fairly for everyone. Since there are witnesses, everyone has to behave and follow proper court procedure. I don't know if a trial has to be postponed if there are no spectators, but it probably should be--after all, it wouldn't be a public trial. An accused who was convicted in a trial with no spectators might later claim that his or her trial was unfair or unconstitutional. He or she would probably be granted a new trial--so the spectators aren't merely allowed to watch the court--they are necessary.

double jeopardy

    If you look for the phrase "double jeopardy", you may find the popular game show, instead of the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution guarantees us that we will not be "twice put in jeopardy of life or limb"  for the same offense. This is often called "double jeopardy". The quote is from Amendment V ( the 5th Amendment ) to the U.S. Constitution, one of the "top ten" that make the "Bill of Rights".
     The guarantee against double jeopardy means that once a person is tried and acquitted, he or she cannot be tried again on the same charge ( offense ). If the prosecutor finds new evidence, and the person has already been tried and acquitted, there will not be a new trial--it's just over.
      A person who has been tried and convicted retains the right to appeal his or her conviction, which will mean a new hearing, if the appeal is granted. A person who believes that his or her trial was unfair may ask for a new trial. Appeals and new trials are only granted to those convicted of crimes, and never to the government.