Unit 4 Govt. Test

Bill of Rights

the first ten amendments of the US Constitution, which largely guarantee specific rights and liberties 

First Amendment

imposes a number of restrictions on the federal government with respect to civil liberties including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition 

Establishment Clause

directs the national government to not sanction an official religion

Free Exercise Clause

prohibits the US government from interfering with a citizen’s right to practice his or her religion

Second Amendment

 the right to own and operate a firearm, and the right for a well-regulated militia 

Fourth Amendment

protection from unreasonable searches and seizures (need for a warrant or probable cause)

Fifth Amendment

provides for grand jury indictment, self-incrimination and voluntary cooperation, denying due process, double jeopardy, imminent domain

double Jeopardy

protects individuals from being tried twice for the same offense in the same jurisdiction 

Sixth Amendment

sets the basic requirements of procedural due process for federal courts to follow in criminal trials

• speedy + public trials, impartial juries, trials in the state where the crime was committed, notice of the charges, the right to confront + obtain favorable witnesses, and the right to counsel 

Eighth Amendment

protection from cruel + unusual punishment and excessive fines/bail

14th Amendment

guarantees equal protection and due process of the law to all citizens

selective incorporation

a judicial doctrine where most, but not all, protections found in the Bill of Rights are made applicable to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment

equal protection

section of the Fourteenth Amendment that guarantees all citizens receive equal protection of the laws 

due process

a citizen who will be affected by a government decision must be given advance notice of what the government plans to do and how the government's action may deprive them of life, liberty, or property

affirmative action

policies designed to give special attention or compensatory treatment to members of a previously disadvantaged group 

University of California v. Bakke (1978)

ruled against quota system, but still allowed race to be a factor in admissions 

Grutter v. Ballinger (2003)

upheld preferential treatment of minority candidates

Gratz v. Ballinger (2003)

outlawed the point system for admissions which gave applicants points according to their race (favored minorities) 

protected speech

 limited prior restraint, symbolic speech, hate speech 

limited prior restraint

cannot censor prior to publication (NYT v. US)

symbolic speech

any symbols or images used in expression (Tinker v. Des Moines)

hate speech

must pass the clear and present danger test, has very strong limits on it 

clear and present danger test

test articulated by the Supreme Court in Schenck v. US (1919) to draw the line between protected and unprotected speech

unprotected speech

 libel, slander, fighting words, obscenity

libel

false written statement that defames a person’s character 

slander

untrue spoken statements that defames a person’s character 

fighting words

 words by their very statement escalate situations to violence

obscenity

actions or statements that are inappropriate in nature, difficult to manage due to personal feelings and this changes over time (internet)

Roth v. US

create a scale if something is obscene or not, based if action was only focused on sex

Miller v. California

addresses Roth case asking if the work is offensive and has no redeeming qualities

prior restraint

onstitutional doctrine that prevents the government from prohibiting speech or publication prior to release 

• Violation of First Amendment rights

urgency of justice

argues that waiting for a "more convenient time" for racial justice is unacceptable, Black Americans have already waited too long and that “justice too long delayed is justice denied”

moral responsibility to break unjust laws

asserts people have a moral obligation to disobey unjust laws, which degrade human dignity, while respecting just laws

nonviolent direct action

nonviolent protest is necessary to create tension and force society to confront racial injustice

disappointment with White moderates

criticizes white moderates who prefer "order" over justice, expresses frustration that many white allies support civil rights in principle but discourage direct action

role of the church

rebukes religious leaders who remain silent or oppose civil rights activism, urging the church to stand on the side of justice rather than resisting social change

legacy of the founding fathers + Christian Ethics

appeals to American ideals and Christian teachings, arguing that his actions align with the principles of democracy and morality

inevitability of charge

concludes that justice will prevail and encourages perseverance in the struggle for equality

Engle v. Vitale (1962)

• Background: NY Board of Regents create a nondenominational prayer that was before school and voluntary, parents sue based on breaking the Establishment clause and this fails in the state court

• Legal Question: does the reading of a nondenominational prayer violate the establishment clause? 

• Result: schools cannot hold prayer even if is non denominational as it violates separation of church and state 

Abington School District v. Schempp (1963)

reading Bible or lord’s prayer in school is unconstitutional 

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

• Background: PA and RI both pass statutes to fund aspects of religious private schools 

• Legal Question: do states providing funding to non-secular schools violate the Establishment Clause?

Result: ruled against PA and RI, established the Lemon Test

Lemon Test

•  test to determine establishment clause violations

  • Has to have secular purpose, neither advances or hinders religion, does not forcibly entangle government and religion

Wisconsin v. Yoder

• Background: state of Wisconsin sued Amish parents for pulling student out of school after 8th grade as kids must be in school till 16

• Legal Question: does Wisconsin’s law stating a child must go to school until 16 violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment?

• Result: Supreme Court rules in favor of parents, infringes on religious freedom and two more years of school is deemed minimal 

NYT Co v. US (1971)

• Pentagon Papers Case

• Background: the Nixon administration attempted to use prior restraint to stop publication of classified Vietnam docs that were illegally obtained 

• Legal Question: does preventing the publication of classified information infringe on the First Amendment?

Result: rule in favor of NYT, security is not enough to justify prior restraint

Schneck v. US (1919)

•  more free speech rights 

  • Background: Charles Schenc and Elizabeth Baer distribute leaflets saying drafts are a violation of the 13th Amendment, arrested, charged, and found guilty under the Espionage Act 

  • Legal Question: does the conviction under the Espionage Act violate freedom of speech?

Result: ruled in favor of government saying Espionage Act was extension of government wartime authority

Tinker v. Des Moines

• Background: students decided to wear black armbands to protest the Vietnam war. School stated any student wearing one would be suspended, but students wore them anyway 

• Legal Question: does wearing armbands in school, a form of symbolic protest, overstep a student’s First Amendment rights?

Result: students won as students to not shed their rights entering school especially if the action does not interfere with learning experience

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

• Background: girl kidnapped, Ernesto Miranda arrested after being picked out of a police lineup. He is questioned for 2 hours without knowing rights and admits to the crime 

• Legal Question: do you need to be made aware of your legal rights in a police setting?

Result: ruled in favor of Miranda, police had an advantage in interrogation creating unfair balance. Suspects must be read rights

Mapps v. Ohio

• Background: Dolly Mapp accused of running an illegal gambling operation with her boyfriend who was accused of bombing someone’s home, Mapp refuses a search without a warrant, officers return with a “warrant” which never enters evidence. Mapp is found innocent of illegal gambling but charged with possession of lewd materials (found during the search)

• Legal Question: Were the confiscated materials protected from seizure by the Fourth Amendment?

Result: Mapp wins as lewd materials were not part of search

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

• Result: unanimously sided with Gideon stating a lawyer is a necessity not a luxury 

  • Leads to expansion of the presence of attorneys, they can show at first appearance

NAACP

develops a strategy at dismantling the Plessy Case (separate but equal) and first targets higher education 

Gaines Case

University of Missouri refused the admission of Lloyd Gaines, offered to build him his own school or send him out of state. Supreme Court rules in favor of Gaines

Sweatt v. Painter (1950)

• Texas and Oklahoma Universities refuse admission to their law schools, offer Black students basement classrooms, separate part-time educators, and sitting outside of lectures 

  • US Department of Justice submitted an amicus brief supporting Black students, and they win unanimously

Brown v. BOE (1954)

• Background: cases combined from Kansas, Delaware, Virginia, South Carolina, and DC. Black students were denied admittance to public schools 

  • 14th Amendment - argued that equal protection must be applied to all students and access to equal education. Separate but equal fails to achieve this 

• Legal Question: does segregating schools based on race violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment? 

Result: did violate the 14th Amendment. SC reasoned that by upholding separate educational facilities creates a feeling of inferiority which adversely affects the education and well-being of students

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014)

Hobby Lobby allowed to deny access to contraceptives for its employees under Free Exercise Clause, ruled that corporations are people in the eyes of the law

Roe v. Wade (1973)

determined when women could have access to an abortion, protected under the 14th Amendment

Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)

established a 24 hour waiting period, parental consent, undue burden standard (how difficult is it to get an abortion)

Dobbs v. Jackson (2022)

• Background: based on Mississippi’s 15 week abortion ban

• Legal Question: is Mississippi’s ban constitutional? 

Result: courts rule in favor of Mississippi, overturns Roe and Casey. Argued that abortion is not noted in the Constitution and there are no legal arguments until the 20th century about it so it’s not a fundamental right. Made a state issue

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

overruled Texas law that prevented same-sex relationships, stated that one’s actions in their home are protected under privacy rights

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

• Background: couples from Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee sue for recognition of their marriages 

• Legal Question: does the 14th Amendment apply protections to same-sex marriage even if the state opposes it?

• Result: yes, it is protected under the 14th Amendment as a fundamental freedom, but they can still be denied by religious institutions 

  • Reaffirms Loving v. Virginia 

womens rights successes

• Mueller v Oregon - establishes 10 hr work day for women →provided support to get 19th amendment ratified

• President’s Commission on the status of women 

• The Feminine Mystique 

• Equal Pay Act of 1963 - equal pay for equal work

• Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act - tools to get back pay for gender discrimination

• Title VII - include sexual harassment; Title IX - equal opportunity in schools, clubs, sports, classes

• The National Organization of Women (NOW) → 2nd wave of feminism begins → Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

• ERA →

  • 1) Equality of rights cannot be denied on the basis of sex

  • 2) Congress has a right to enforce article one of the ERA 

• Equal Protection Clause + Women’s Rights 

• Title IX → equal opportunity in schools (clubs, sports, classes)

• Affirmative Action → policies to provide support to previously disadvantaged groups 

• Uni. of California v. Bakke (1978) → ruled against quote systems, but race can still be factored in admissions 

• 1991 → New Civil Rights → protect some Affirmative Action policies

• Gratz v. Ballinger (2003) → outlawed to point system for admissions

womens rights struggles

• Up until the 1970s, the SC did not apply the 14th amendment to gender

• Gender discrimination was not addressed as a fundamental freedom until Reed v Reed (1971)

• Roe v. Wade hampered the success of the ERA in the 1970s because people equated privacy rights with equality 

• Anti-ERA → fought against due to draft (Vietnam)

• Gender discrimination not addressed as fundamental freedom 

• Single sex nursing programs, universal age of adulthood (21 - men, 18 = women), rejecting jurors over gender, alimony 

• 80s + 90s = strong pushback against Affirmative Action 

  • Grutter v. Ballinger (2003) → upheld preferential treatment of minority candidates

civil rights successes

• 13th Amendment → ends/abolishes slavery 

• 14th Amendment → equal protection + due process

• Passage of Civil Rights Act of 1866 → Black Americans can sue in court over discrimination

• Civil Rights Act of 1875 → provided equal access + prevented Black Americans from being denied jury duty 

• 1909 → Creation of NAACP → develop a legal strategy at dismantling the Plessy case -- higher education = 1st step 

• Gaines Case → Uni. of Missouri refused the admission of Lloyd Gaines → offered to build him his own school or send him out of state → SC ruled in favor of Gaines 

• Sweatt v. Painter (1950) → Texas & Oklahoma Uni. refuse admission to their law schools → offer to Black Students basement classrooms, separate part time educators, seats outside lectures 

  • US Department of Justice → amicus brief supporting Black students win unanimously 

• Brown v. Board of Education 

• Civil Rights Movement (1960s) 

• Little Rock Nine → Eisenhower used national guard to force integration of schools

• Brown II → desegregate w/ all due speed 

• Cooper v. Aaron → the bid to stop integration is denied

• Rosa Parks + Bus Boycott → year long boycott + SC ruled segregated public transportation was unconstitutional

• Southern Christian Leadership Conference → inspired by Parks + led the sit in movement → civil disobediance 

• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) → Freedom Rides

• 1963 → March on Washington -- “I have a dream”

• LBJ throws support behind Civil Rights Act of 1964 + Voting Rights Act 

• Civil Right Act (1964) → 

  • 1) outlawed discrimination in voting registration 

  • 2) barred discrimination in public accomodations 

  • 3) DOJ can force desegregation through law suits 

  • 4) Withhold funds from discriminatory programs

  • 5) Prevented discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion

  • 6) Equal Opportunity Employment Commission

civil rights struggles

• Southern states pass Black Codes → codifies segregation in the South

• 1877 - Reconstruction ends → creates Jim Crow Laws (legalized)

• Civil Rights Cases → segregation can only be stopped by actions of state/federal government, not private individuals 

• Limiting Voting → poll taxes, grandfather clause, property requirements, literacy tests 

• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

• De Jure Segregation → by law (soon outlawed)

• De Facto Segregation → by society 

• Uni. of California v. Bakke (1978) → ruled against quote systems, but race can still be factored in admissions