Government Civil Liberties Part 1

Civil liberties and civil rights

Civil Liberties

Protections AGAINST government. Guarantees that the government will not violate the safety, opinion or property of a person. These rights are found in the Bill of Rights.

Civil Rights

POSITIVE ACTS of Government that protect people from discrimination based on sex, race and religion. (example the Civil Rights Act of 1964).

Bills of Attainder

Imprisonment by government, without a trial.

Ex Post Facto Laws

After the fact laws.

Habeas Corpus

A legal principle that protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment; it allows individuals to seek relief from unlawful detention. A writ that allows you to be brought before a judge.

Barron v Baltimore

1833
1st time the Supreme Court is called upon to decide if the Bill of Rights also applied to the state governments.

Vetoed the incorporation of the BOR to states.

14th Amendment

Proposed by Congress to protect the rights of newly freed slaves, who were not being treated fairly or equally by state governments – was meant to apply the Bill of Rights against state governments.

14th Amendment Clauses

Citizenship, Privileges or Immunities, Due Process, Equal Protection.

Slaughterhouse Cases

It distinguished national citizenship from a state citizenship.

States could not abridge your NATIONAL privileges/immunities, but were free to abridge your STATE privileges/immunities because the 14th Amendment said nothing about that.

Gitlow v New York

Gitlow spreading socialist pamphlet → Arrested and argued 1st amendment.
First time the Supreme Court accepted that a civil liberty in the Bill of Rights (in this case, speech) applied to State governments through the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.

Total Incorporation

Applying the entire Bill of Rights against the states ALL AT ONCE.

Selective Incorporation

Applying the Bill of Rights against the states on a case-by-case basis through the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.

Warren Court

Almost completely incorporated the first 8 amendments against State governments using the due process clause of the 14th Amendment

1st Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof

Two clauses/two categories of cases:

Establishment

Free Exercise

Establishment Clause

Separation of church and state. The government can not favor or establish a particular religion

Free Exercise Clause

Each person has the right to believe in whatever he or she chooses. There are limits of free exercise. The practice can an not harm society/others or laws. (polygamy)

Engel v Vitale

Nondenominational prayer reading at the beginning of school day.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, this violates the 1st amendment establishment clause since the school is a government entity

Santa Fe ISD v Doe

Student was elected to recite a Christian prayer over the intercom.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, it violated the 1st amendment establishment clause since it was not private speech and was authorized by the school.

Kennedy v Bremerton School District

High school football coach conducted a prayer at the center field after the game.

Supreme Court ruling: No, it does not violate the 1st amendment and is protected under the freedom of speech since it is personal religious observance.

Wisconsin v Yoder

Amish people do not want to send their kids to high school because it is against their religion. Wisconsin law required students to attend school until 16.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, the law did violate the 1st amendment free exercise protections since Wisconsin could not prove that missing two years of school would impair their children.

Employment Div. v Smith

Native Americans use a banned drug for religious exercise.

Supreme Court ruling: No, state law did not violate the 1st amendment free exercise clause because the law was not directed at any one religion.

Carson v Makin

Maine created a program that gave tuition assistance for public schools and did not give tuition assistance for secretarian schools.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, it violates the 1st amendment free exercise clause since parents should be allowed to choose their school for their student, religious or not.

New York Times v Sullivan

Sullivan basically thought that the NYT article about Martin Luther King Jr. was libel.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, it was against the 1st amendment freedom of speech Freedom of speech and press protects all statements, even false ones, EXCEPT when the statements are made with actual malice.

Schenek v US

Schenek passed out anti-draft pamphlets.

Supreme Court ruling: No, this speech is not protected under the 1st amendment because it can harm the general welfare.

New York Times Co. v US

Nixon tried to prevent the Pentagon Papers from getting published after they were leaked to the press.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, this violated the 1st amendment free speech clause because publication would not cause an inevitable, direct, and immediate event imperiling the safety of American forces, prior restraint was unjustified.

Hazelwood ISD v Kuhlmeier

Students of a school newspaper wanted to publish articles about things that the school principal thought was inappropriate so he prevented their publication.

Supreme Court ruling: No, this does not violate the 1st amendment freedom of speech. Schools retain the right to censor speech that is inconsistent with the values of a civilized social order.

Miller v California

Miller sent out many advertisements promoting his adult business.

Supreme Court ruling: No, this does not violate the 1st amendment free speech clause since obscene materials are not protected and established the miller test (would community consider it obscene, is it sexually offensive, does the work have literary, political, or artistic value)

Cohen v California

19 year old walked into a store wearing jacket that stated FUCK THE DRAFT and arrested.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, California law did violate the 1st amendment free speech protections. The expletive was not directed at any one person and there was no evidence that people would be provoked into violence.

Tinker v Des Moines

Students wore armbands to protest the Vietnam war and the principal asked them to take it off.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, this violated the 1st amendment right to speech since it was a political statement and did not cause a disturbance.

Texas v Johnson

Burning of American flag→ went to jail.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, this violated the 1st amendment; flag burning is protected as a political statement.

Slander and Libel

false and malicious use of spoken and printed word. Not protected by 1st amendment.

Seditious Speech

attempting to overthrow the govt by force or violence. Not protected in the 1st amendment.

Obscenity

material is not protected if the average person applying community standards finds it obscene or it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Prior Restraint

Gov can not restrict ideas before they are made except in extreme cases. (printing of pentagon papers)

Symbolic Speech

nonverbal speech, carrying a sign, wearing an armband, burning the flag is protected by 1st amend.

McDonald v Chicago

Chicago banned guns because of high crime rates in the city.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, this violates the 2nd amendment which is the right to bear arms.

Due Process

Government must act fairly and in accord with established rules

4th Amendment

freedom against unreasonable search and seizure (police must have a warrant).

5th Amendment

right to grand jury to determine if trial is warranted; freedom against double jeopardy (being tried for the same crime twice); freedom against self-incrimination (being a witness against yourself); guarantee of due process of law (that you be treated fairly and in accord with established rules); guarantee of compensation (money) in case of eminent domain (the government takes your property for public use)

6th Amendment

guarantee of a speedy and public trial (can not be tried in secret); guarantee of an impartial (not biased) jury; guarantee that witnesses will confront you in court; guarantee assistance (a lawyer) in case you can’t afford one

8th Amendment

freedom from excessive bail (the amount of money it takes to get you out of jail); freedom from excessive fines (you can’t be fined $1M for a traffic ticket); freedom from cruel and unusual punishment

Mapp v Ohio

Officers illegally searched a house (no warrant) and presented the evidence in court.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, this violates the 4th amendment right to protection from illegal search and seizure.

Exclusionary Rule

Any evidence obtained in an illegal search can not be used in a court of law

Miranda v Arizona

Miranda raped a girl then signed a confession to rape but was not told of his rights.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, this violates the 5th amendment self incrimination clause and police could not use statements from someone who doesn’t know their rights.

Miranda Rights

protects against unfair interrogations.

1. Person must be told of right to remain silent,

2. warned what you say can but used in court,

3. right to an attorney during questioning,

4. an attorney will be provided if unable to hire,

5. right to bring police questioning to an end at any time.

Gideon v Wainwright

Gideon was charged with breaking and entering but couldn’t afford a lawyer so he had to defend himself.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, this violated the 6th amendment right to a counsel.

Gregg v Georgia

Gregg was on death row and he tried to appeal it as cruel and unusual punishment.

Supreme Court ruling: No, death penalty is not cruel and unusual punishment in extreme criminal cases.

The trial and sentencing proceedings are conducted separately.

Can only be imposed by a jury; taking into account the severity of the crime, and the character and record of the defendant.

Griswold v Connecticut

Griswold was convicted for giving advice to married couples about birth control.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, this violated the implied right to privacy by the zones of the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 9th amendments.

Roe v Wade

Roe challenged the Texas law which prevented women from getting an abortion.

Supreme Court ruling: Yes, this violated the right to privacy and split pregnancy into different trimesters.

Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization

Is Mississippi’s law banning nearly all abortions after 15 weeks’ gestational age unconstitutional?

Supreme Court ruling: No, it is not unconstitutional since abortion is not protected in the constitution making it a state right (overturned Roe v Wade).

Incorporated Amendments

First Amendment, Second Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment (partial), Sixth Amendment (partial), Eighth Amendment