AP Gov Chapter 8

Civil Liberties

Constitutional freedoms guaranteed to all citizens that protect against government influence

Civil Rights

the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality.

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Amish people refused to send their children to school past the 8th grade when the state required public schooling for all children until age16. Result: This law is in conflict with the Free Exercise clause. The statute is in direct conflict with Amish beliefs. The Amish may teach themselves.

How did the original constitution protect civil liberties?

It was very limited - it only protected 3 specific liberties - protection again illegal incarceration (habeas corpus), right to a trial, prohibited laws that retroactively changed the legal consequences of behavior

Why was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?

The antifederalists believed that civil liberties were not protected enough in the constitution and opposed ratification until the bill of rights was added

Who did the Bill of Rights originally apply to?

Only the federal government - not the state or local governments

Civil War Amendments

13th 14th 15th amendments. Abolished slavery and granted civil liberties and voting rights to freed slaves after the civil war.

What must civil liberties find a balance between?

Freedom Vs. Order - the interests of the people and their protection against the government Vs. Limiting freedom to keep the country safe and secure

How is freedom Vs. Order balanced?

In a case by case basis by the supreme court

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

Gitlow was convicted under New York's Criminal Anarchy Law for advocating overthrow of the government. SCOTUS ruled that he could not be convicted for this due to his freedom of speech rights Established precedent of federalizing Bill of Rights (applying them to the states); states cannot deny freedom of speech --protected through due process clause of Amendment 14

selective incorporation

The process by which provisions of the Bill of Rights are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and local governments.

1st Amendment Rights

Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition

1st Amendment Establishment Clause

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion

1st amendment free exercise clause

No laws can be made prohibiting anybody from practicing their choice of religion.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

A public school in NY established a school prayer that was non-denominational but mentioned God. A parent in the school district challenged that this was unconstitutional. SCOTUS rules that the school could not establish a prayer because it violated the establishment cause of the 1st amemdment

Lemon Test

The three-part test for Establishment Clause cases that a law must pass before it is declared constitutional: it must have a secular purpose; it must neither advance nor inhibit religion; and it must not cause excessive entanglement with religion.

Espinoza V. Montana

Montana parents that qualified for income based scholarships in Montana but their children that attend christian schools could not benefit from the scholarship. Montana supreme court ruled that the scholarship program was unconstitutional because it put religious schools at a disadvantage violating the "free exercise clause"

"Time, manner, and place restrictions"

Reasonable and content-neutral limited imposed by the government to regulate the context of religious expression and freedom of assembly

Religious Freedom Restoration Act (1993)

There needs to be a "compelling state interest" before religious freedoms are limited

Generally protected expression

Anytime you use your voice through words or written expression you are exercising your freedom of speech, speech cannot be regulated based on WHAT is being said

Strict Scrutiny

The highest level of scrutiny the courts use when determining whether a law is constitutional. To pass this test, the law or policy must be shown to serve a "compelling state interest" or goal, it must be narrowly tailored to achieve that goal, and it must be the least restrictive means of achieving the goal. This is used to regulate speech based on CONTENT

Intermediate Scrutiny

An intermediate standard used by the Supreme Court to determine whether a law is compatible with the Constitution. A law subject to this standard is considered constitutional if it advances "an important government objective" and is "substantially related" to the objective - used when regulating speech that is CONTENT NUETRAL

Political speech

a speech focusing on an issue relating to government - controversial because many feel it threatens goverment safety

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Schenck opposed government involvement in the Vietnam War so he passed out leaflets to young men encouraging them to resist the draft. He was arrested under the Espionage Acts and SCOUTS deemed that this was allowed because Schenck's actions threatened the safety of the country during wartime. This est. the Clear and Present Danger Test

clear and present danger test

law should not punish speech unless there was a clear and present danger of producing harmful actions

Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

Bradenburg was a Klu Klux Klan leader who threatened revenge against the Govt and was convicted under an Ohio Syndicalism law - The court ruled that Bradenburg's conviction was unconstitutional and his speech was protected under the first amendment because it was not considered likely to incite lawless action. This established the Brandenburg test which updated the Clear and Present Danger test in Schenck

Bradenburg Test

Speech needs to incite "imminent lawless action" to be able to be restricted

symbolic speech

nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband. The Supreme Court has accorded some symbolic speech protection under the first amendment.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Public school students wore armbands to class protesting against America's war in Vietnam. School tried to suspend them for doing such. Court ruled that this violated their first amendment freedom of speech rights because the display did not disrupt classes

When can symbolic speech be regulated?

When there is substantial government interest (ex - burning of draft cards) or when it disrupts education in schools

Money as Speech

Spending money in political campaigns is also protected by the First Amendment - no limits on soft money but can be limits on hard money to prevent corruption

hate speech

words that attack groups such as racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities (protected under 1st amendment)

Speech on the Internet

Individual Social media companies are not held to the standard of the First Amendment - They can restrict hate speech (or any speech) if they want to, SCOTUS did say that they could not restrict access to social media. It has to be available for all to sign up.

freedom of the press

the right of journalists to publish the truth without restriction or penalty

prior restraint

government censorship of information before it is published or broadcast - must threaten danger to the country

New York Times v. US

The President argues that the publication of the Pentagon Papers is in violation of executive privilege. Result: The barring of the publication of these papers is in violation of the 1st A. Publication does not imperial the public and so prior restraint cannot be applied

fighting words

words that by their very nature inflict injury on those to whom they are addressed or incite them to acts of violence - can be regulated

Slander and Libel

Spoken false statements (slander) and written false statements (libel) that damage a person's reputation. Both can be regulated by the government but are often difficult to distinguish from permissible speech.

Commercial speech

Communication in the form of advertising. It can be restricted more than many other types of speech but has been receiving increased protection from the Supreme Court.

Obscenity

indecent or offensive speech or expression

Miller Test

rule used by the courts in which the definition of obscenity is defined on how it can be restricted - must appeal to prurient interest, must be patently offensive, must lack serious literary, artistic, policital, or scientific value

2nd amendment

Right to bear arms

Gun Control Act of 1968

Established criminal background checks and a 5 day waiting period on new gun purchases.

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

D.C. made it illegal to carry unregistered firearms and prohibited the registration of handguns. SCOTUS ruled that this was unconstitutional and violated 2nd amendment rights

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Chicago passed a handgun ban law, and several suits were filed against the city challenging the ban after another case (District of Columbia v. Heller). In that case, the Court had held that a DC handgun ban violated the Second Amendment. Using this precedent, the Second Amendment was applicable to be applied. This applied the 2nd amendment to the states using the 14th amendment

Due process rights

The idea that laws and legal proceedings must be fair. The Constitution guarantees that the government cannot take away a person's "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." Other specific due process rights are found in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments, such as protection from self-incrimination and freedom from illegal searches.

The 4th amendment

Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures - Law enforcement seeking a warrant must provide the court with "personal knowledge" or "probably cause" of specific criminal activity

US Patriot Act of 2001

Act sponsored by Bush in response to terrorism. It expanded the government's law enforcement powers, and made "sneak and peek" searches easier

exclusionary rule

improperly gathered evidence may not be introduced in a criminal trial

good faith exception to the exclusionary rule

Evidence that is discovered by officers acting in good faith, but under the mistaken belief that a search was valid, and that can be used at the trial of a defendant.

Independent source exception to the exclusionary rule

evidence obtained is admissible if the police can prove that it was obtained from an independent source not connected with the illegal search or seizure

NSA

A United States government institution that collects data for security purposes. Was found to be surveillancing phones and caused severe distrust in the government

5th Amendment

The Right to Remain Silent/Double Jeopardy, right to due process

Miranda Rights

A list of rights that police in the United States must read to suspects in custody before questioning them - "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 talk to a lawyer and have him present with you while you are being questioned. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be provided"

double jeopardy

Being tried twice for the same crime (prevented by 5th amendment)

Just Compensation Clause

*Fifth Amendment states that private property cannot be taken for public use without just compensation

*Applies to the government's power of eminent domain

6th Amendment

The right to a Speedy Trial by jury, representation by an attorney for an accused person

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Gideon was convicted for a crime and could not afford a lawyer so he asked the court for one. The court refused to provide one and Gideon was convicted. SCOTUS ruled that this violated Gideon's 6th amendment right to an attorney. Etablished the criminal justice act that ensure an attorney for all defendents

Federal Speedy Trial Act of 1974

requires those charged with a crime be indicted within 30 days and that trial occurs within 70 days after indictment

How can the jury be regulated?

Lawyers can eliminate certain people from the jury before trial to eliminate biases

8th Amendment

No cruel or unusual punishment

What has the court ruled on the Death Penalty?

They gave the power back to the states to decide; some states still have the death penalty today

Privacy Rights

Liberties protected by several amendments in the Bill of Rights that shield certain personal aspects of citizens' lives from governmental interference (1st, 3rd, 4th, 14th)

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Connecticut passed a law that banned the use of any drug or medical device in furthering contraception. A gynecologist (Grisowld) opened a birth control clinic and was arrested under this law. She argued that rights to privacy protected an individual's right to use contraception. The court ruled in favor of Griswold that married couples have a right to privacy which protects them from government interference on matters such as birth control.

3rd Amendment

No quartering of soldiers in private homes without owner's consent

7th Amendment

Right to jury in civil trials.

9th Amendment

Citizens entitled to rights not listed in the Constitution