US Supreme Court and Civil Rights: Key Cases and Principles

Supreme Court

Consists of nine justices, each appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress. Appointment is for life. Supreme Court exercises the power to determine constitutionality of statutes

Creation of court system (tiers)

1. District courts - trials (both civil and criminal) where cases begin

2. Courts of appeals (circuit courts) - review decisions from district courts and do not hold new trails. US is divided into 12

3. Supreme Court - final court of appeal, chooses which cases to hear, decisions set a binding precedent for the rest of the country

Rule of 4

How the Supreme Court decides whether to hear a case. Requires four or more justices to "grant certiorari" (agree to hear an appeal). Supreme Court agrees to hear <1% of cases.

Judicial implementation

How and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy, thereby affecting the behavior of others. The courts rely on other units of government to enforce their decisions.

Judicial Opinions

The Supreme Court's written opinions are exceedingly valuable. The majority opinions stand as precedents, or examples to be followed in similar cases.

Judiciary Act of 1789

In 1789 Congress passed this Act which created the federal-court system. The act managed to quiet popular apprehensions by establishing in each state a federal district court that operated according to local procedures.

legal brief

a written document drawn up by an attorney that presents the facts and points of law in a client's case

Amicus Curiae Brief

Literally, a "friend of the court" brief, filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case.

Federalist 78

written by Alexander Hamilton; talks about the federal judiciary; judiciary must depend on other two branches to uphold its decisions

Writ of Certiorari

An order by a higher court directing a lower court to send up a case for review

Marbury v Madison

This case establishes the Supreme Court's power of Judicial Review

stare decisis

Let the decision stand; decisions are based on precedents from previous cases

Judicial restraint /activism

-restraint: view that courts should reject any active lawmaking functions and stick to judicial interpretations of the past

-activism: view that courts should be lawmaking, policymaking bodies

Common Law

(civil law) a law established by following earlier judicial decisions

Senatorial Courtesy

Presidential custom of submitting the names of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.

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.

Civil War Amendments

1865-1870

*13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery in the United States

*14th Amendment (1868): African Americans became citizens and no state could deny life, liberty, or property without due process of the law

*15th Amendment (1870): No state could deny the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude

Schenck v. United States

A 1919 decision upholding the conviction of a socialist who had urged young men to resist the draft during World War I. Justice Holmes declared that government can limit speech if the speech provokes a "clear and present danger" of substantive evils.

Equal Protection

the equal application of the law regardless of a person's race, religion, political beliefs, or other qualities

Engel v. Vitale

The 1962 Supreme Court decision holding that state officials violated the First Amendment when they wrote a prayer to be recited by New York's schoolchildren.

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.

Gideon v Wainwright

a landmark case in United States Supreme Court history. In the case, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state courts are required under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution to provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants unable to afford their own attorneys.

Establishment/Free Ex clauses

Establishment clause - The government cannot establish an official religion or show favoritism toward one religion

Free Ex clause - People have the right to practice (or not practice) religion freely without government interference.

Example: In Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), the Court ruled Amish families could not be forced to send children to school past 8th grade if it violated their religious beliefs.

Exceptions to search warrants

Exigent circumstances, in plain view, cars, smell and feel

De facto v de jure discrim

De jure - Unequal treatment that is legally sanctioned or explicitly written into law. Ex- Jim Crow

De facto - Unequal treatment that happens in practice, even though it is not required by law. Ex: Housing segregation that resulted from economic inequality, redlining, or social customs—even after laws banned segregation.

Am with Disabilities Act

Prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including:

Employment

Public services

Public accommodations

Transportation

Telecommunications

Due Process

fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen's entitlement.

Voting Rights Amends (15, 19, 24, 26)

15. any citizen of the United States has the right to vote, regardless of their race and color of their skin

19. the right for any citizen of the United States to vote, regardless of their biological sex

24. banned poll taxes in federal elections

26. voting rights of all American citizens over 18

New York Times Co. v. US

Supreme Court case protecting the freedom of the press by allowing the New York Times to publish the "Pentagon Papers" despite the Justice Department's order to restrict it

Exceptions to free speech

-obscenity

-fighting words/true threats

-child pornography

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.

Exclusionary Rule

improperly gathered evidence may not be introduced in a criminal trial

3 equal protection tests

1. Strict scrutiny - the gov. needs to prove that there is a compelling interesting behind the challenged policy. Actions that discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion.

2. Intermediate scrutiny - the gov. action must serve an important gov. objective. Actions having to do with gender/sex

3. Rational basis review - has to be proved that the gov. has no legitimate interest in the policy or law. Actions that discriminate about age, disability, wealth, or felony status

Right to privacy

The right to a private personal life free from the intrusion of government.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

A letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. after he had been arrested when he took part in a nonviolent march against segregation. He was disappointed more Christians didn't speak out against racism.

Title IX

A United States law enacted on June 23, 1972 that states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

Bill of Rights Amends

1. Freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, etc.

2. The right to bear arms

4. the right to feel secure in their homes and possessions without fear of "unreasonable searches and seizures

5. the right to due process

6.innocence until proven guilty

8. a ban on extreme punishments for crimes, focusing on those that are "cruel and unusual" and on excessive fines or bail.

9. people have rights beyond those listed in the Constitution, and those unlisted rights are still protected.

Tinker v. Des Moines

U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld a student's First Amendment right to engage in symbolic speech in school

McDonald v. Chicago

The Court held that the right of an individual to "keep and bear arms" protected by the 2nd Amendment is incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment and applies to the states. The decision cleared up the uncertainty left in the wake of District of Columbia v. Heller as to the scope of gun rights in regard to the states.

Prior Restraint

A government preventing material from being published. This is a common method of limiting the press in some nations, but it is usually unconstitutional in the United States, according to the First Amendment and as confirmed in the 1931 Supreme Court case of Near v. Minnesota.

Voting Rights Act

law that banned literacy tests and empowered the federal government to oversee voter registration

Miranda v. Arizona

1966 Supreme Court decision that sets guidelines for police questioning of accused persons to protect them against self-incrimination and to protect their right to counsel.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

1964; banned discrimination in public acomodations, prohibited discrimination in any federally assisted program, outlawed discrimination in most employment; enlarged federal powers to protect voting rights and to speed school desegregation; this and the voting rights act helped to give African-Americans equality on paper, and more federally-protected power so that social equality was a more realistic goal

Roe v Wade

The 1973 Supreme Court decision holding that a state ban on all abortions was unconstitutional. The decision forbade state control over abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy, permitted states to limit abortions to protect the mother's health in the second trimester, and permitted states to protect the fetus during the third trimester.

Brown v Bd of Ed.

1954 Supreme Court case that ruled "separate but equal" segregated schools violated the Constitution.

Affirmative action

A policy designed to give special attention to or compensatory treatment for members of some previously disadvantaged group.