PSCI Exam 2 -- Civil Rights & Civil Liberties

civil rights

represents protections by government or that government secures on behalf of its citizens; government duty is to step in and do something (ex. civil rights act of 1964 and disabilities education act); government enforces and provides

civil liberties

constitution’s protections from government power; concern basic freedoms thought to apply to everyone; violations occur when a government agency oversteps its authority; bill of rights is an example; negative rights; government duty is to stand back and do nothing

obergefell v hodges

2015 sc case; court held that the right to marry is a fundamental liberty; individuals cannot be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation; gay marriage is a civil right and marriage itself is a liberty

emancipation proclamation

lincoln’s executive order; did not include all enslaved people (ex. border states who had slavery but did not secede from the union and parts of the confederacy that were under union control at the time); did not outlaw slavery in us territories that would become states; executive orders can be overturned by the judiciary

black codes

laws that explicitly only applied to black people and subjected them to criminal prosecution for offenses such as loitering, breaking curfew, vagrancy, having weapons, and not carrying proof of employment; detailed where and how formerly enslaved people could work and for how much compensation

convict laws

southern states leased prisoners to private railways, mines, and large plantations; practice was profitable for states, counties, and local governments; conditions were worse than slavery and about 25% died; was not fully phased out until WW2

14th amendment section 1 clause 1

established citizenship for all persons born or naturalized in the us; repudiated the dred scott decision

dred scott v sanford

1857 sc decision which ruled that black men, even if born free, could not claim rights of citizenship under the us constitution

due process clause

clauses 2 and 3 of the 14th amendment; specifically mentions states and applies to state laws; expanded civil and legal rights of citizens and states; reiterated due process clause of 5th amendment; interpreted as affording people the right to privacy (which is not explicitly guaranteed in the constitution)

equal protection clause

14th amendment section 1 clause 4; state governments cannot discriminate against black americans; was “read” into the 5th amendment so the federal government also cannot discriminate; has been broadened beyond race

14th amendment section 2

politics of enfranchisement was political; protection of african americans in the south would protect the republican majority in dc; civil rights were a result of partisan, self-interested pollitics

14th amendment section 3

congress has the authority to bar public officials, who took an oath of allegiance to the us constitution, from holding office for engaging in insurrection or rebellion against the constitution

trump v anderson

2024 sc case; addressed whether section three of the fourteenth amendment disqualified donald trump from holding the office of president of the us and thus from appearing on colorado’s 2024 presidential primary ballot; court ruled that states do not have the authority to disqualify a federal official under section three

14th amendment section 4

prohibited payment of debt owed to the confederacy; banned payments to former enslavers as compensation for the loss of human “property”

14th amendment section 5

gave congress the power to enforce this amendment; congress had a lot of potential power over the states for the first time; key moment in which national government started to eclipse state power

why 14th amendment passed

republicans had veto-proof majorities in hor and senate; first reconstruction act of 1867: disbanded state governments; replaced state governments with five military districts that were headed by generals and relied on 20,000 northern troops; voters included all freedmen but not white, rebel ex-soldiers; congress made readmission to the union contingent on passing the 14th amendment

15th amendment clause 1

guaranteed the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude

15th amendment clause 2

gave congress the power to enforce the provisions of this article with appropriate legislation

13th amendment

ended slavery

focus of reconstruction

republican majority in congress opted for political reform rather than a massive social and economic reconstruction of the south; focus was on making the south solidly republican

why reconstruction was so short

politics; 1874 midterms brought in a democratic majority; no funds to support military forces in the south; northern constituents wanted sons home; high war time taxes; presidential election of 1876 went to the hor bc there was no majority in the electoral college and the republican pledge to end reconstruction caused some southern democrats to support rutherford b hayes (republican)

jim crow laws

state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation; end of civil war - 1968; rooted in black codes; segregation in all forms of public and private life

disenfranchisement of african americans

literacy tests; poll taxes; white only primaries; violence and intimidation (kkk)

why congress didn’t pass laws protecting african americans against jim crow laws

white northerners did not have a vested interest in what was going on in the south; filibuster and requirement of supermajority in the senate

civil rights movement

struggle for justice and equality for african americans that took place mainly in the 1950s and 1960s

civil rights act of 1964

authorized the national government to end segregation in public education and public accommodations; commerce clause; equal protection clause

voting rights act of 1965

before this legislation individuals would have to prove discrimination in court which is difficult and lengthy; enforced voting rights from 14th and 15th amendments; prohibits states and localities from imposing voting laws that result in discrimination against racial minorities; outlaws literacy tests; creates covered jurisdictions that required federal oversight

identifying covered jurisdictions

as of nov 1, 1964, the jurisdiction had: (1) a test or device restricting the opportunity to vote like a literacy test, having another voter vouch for qualifications, establishing good moral character, or (2) less than 50% of people of voting age were registered or that less than 50% of people of voting age voted in the 1964 presidential election

covered jurisdictions

doj sent federal officers to register voters and observe elections; had to receive preclearance for any change to voting laws or policies (including districting); burden of proof was on the states to show that the policy change did not have a discriminatory effect

shelby v holder

2013 sc case; determined whether the renewal of section 5 of the voting rights act under the constraints of section 4b exceeded congress’ authority under the 14th and 15th amendments and violated the 10th amendment and article 4 of the constitution; 5-4 ruling that section 4 is unconstitutional but did not rule on constitutionality of preclearance (section 5)

post shelby changes

voter id laws; amount of early voting; closing of polling stations; drop boxes; purging voter rolls very regularly; regular voter renewal with id; cannot proactively send mail ballot applications to voters in some states

robinson v callais and louisiana v callais

not yet decided sc case; question: Does Louisiana’s creation of a second majority-Black congressional district constitute unconstitutional racial gerrymandering, even when drawn in response to a federal court finding that the state’s prior single majority-Black district likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act?

compelling government interest

when infringing on liberties, government must justify why such actions are necessary

barron v baltimore

1833 sc case; wharf owner was upset that baltimore was diverting water for development and claimed that it violated 5th amendment right; 7-0 ruling against barron because the 5th amendment is about the federal government and not the states

selective incorporation

started seeing parts of the bill of rights apply to state governments; individual pieces of individual amendments were slowly incorporated through judicial interpretation

establishment clause

separation of church and state is not in the constitution; congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion; in the first amendment

everson v board of ed

1947 sc case; establishment clause; allowed reimbursement of school boards for buses even though 96% of the private schools that benefited from this were catholic; constitutional since it was for secular purposes (reimbursement is open to overyone)

engel v vitale

1962 sc case; establishment clause; bible readings in public schools and the pledge of allegiance being accompanied by a prayer in school was not constitutional; neutrality test

neutrality test

the government would treat religious groups the same as other similarly situated groups; no favoritism among religious groups; religious groups are not preferred over nonreligious groups

free exercise clause

or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; in the first amendment

cantwell v connecticut

1940 sc case; free exercise clause; the cantwells could not be arrested for proselytizing; unanimous decision; while the message might be offensive it idd not threaten bodily harm; maintenance of public order was a valid state interest but could not be used to justify the suppression of free communication of views

employment division v smith

1990 sc case; the free exercise clause is limited and the state can deny benefits

kennedy v bremerton

2022 sc case; free exercise clause; 6-3 ruling in favor of kennedy getting his job back since his liberty via the free exercise clause was violated; establishment clause was not violated enough to warrant intervention

schenck v us

1919 sc case; asked whether first amendment rights were being violated by preventing socialists from handing out leaflets during ww1 encouraging people to resist the draft; unanimous ruling that the speech created a clear and present danger (oliver wendell holmes); not an example of selective incorporation because the federal government was responsible for the arrests (not the states)

gitlow v new york

1925 sc case; ny had a criminal anarchy law and left wing manifestos were being handed out that encouraged the overthrow of the government; court ruled that ny could make those arrests; one of the very first cases with incorporation at the state level

brandenburg v ohio

1969 sc case; brandenburg was the leader of the kkk and was arrested after giving a speech in ohio; sc ruled in favor of brandenburg under a new two pronged standard((1) inciting or producing imminent lawless action, (2) likely to incite or produce such an action); in this case the first prong was met but not enough people took him seriously that anything was likely to happen

moody v netchoice llc

sc kicked it back down to the states (tx and fl); social media platforms as common carriers; questions of free speech on social media

griswold v connecticut

1965 sc case; about providing contraception for married couples; answered the question of whether the constitution protects the right of martial privacy against state restrictions on a couples ability to be counseled in the use of contraceptives; court ruled yes; right to privacy is grounded in amendments 3 (soldiers being quartered in homes), 4 (unreasonable searches and seizures), and 5 (due process)

eisenstadt v baird

1971 sc case; built on griswold; challenged the idea that only married couples could get contraception; decided bc of the equal protection clause; court ruled that massachusetts law needed to be struck down bc it was treating married people differently

roe v wade

1973 sc case; due process clause provides right to privacy vs state interest in potentiality of human life; court established a trimester framework

planned parenthood v casey

1992 sc case; replaced the roe trimester framework with pre and post viability tests

changes since roe

states can impose certain regulations as long as they do not pose an undue burden on the woman’s right to an abortion

dobbs v jackson womens health organization

sc case; court overturned roe precedent and went further; returns authority to the people and their elected representatives (federalism); states decide abortion rules; thomas said in his concurring opinion that other due process precedents like griswold, lawrence, and obergefell should be reconsidered

elections clause

article 1 section 4; times, places, and manners of holding elections are up to the states but can be altered by congress; relates to federalism

shift in redistricting policy

relatively new shift away from legislative redistricting (CA via proposition in 2008 and AZ via referendum in 2012)

arizona state legislature v arizona independent redistricting comission

2015 sc case; connects to brutus and the idea that those who have power won’t give it up; ruled that move away from legislative redistricting to a nonpartisan/independent commission is constitutional; bc arizona allowed the state constitution to be amended by voters this did not violate the election clause

baker v carr

1961 sc case; ruled that courts have jurisdiction over debates associated with legislative reapportionment; not a “political question”

wesberry v sanders

1964 sc case; court ruled that districts must have as close to equal populations as possible; wesberry had sued because ga’s apportionment violated his equal protections clause of the 14th amendment

gerrymandering

sc decided that racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional but is not weighing in on partisan gerrymandering, leaving it up to congress, state legislatures, and state courts

thornburg v gingles

1986 sc case; districting plan created seven districts that would not be able to elect representatives of their choosing; violated section 2 of the vra and the 14th/15th amendments; section 2 of vra was about discriminatory outcome not intent

gingles test

minority group is large enough and geographically compact enough to constitute a majority in a single member district; minority group needs to be politically cohesive; majority group must vote sufficiently as a bloc to defeat the minority’s preferred candidate

rucho et al v common cause & lamone v benisek

2019 sc cases; sc ruled that partisan gerrymandering was beyond the reach of the federal courts

filibuster

only exists in the senate; need a cloture vote to end debate; rule 22 says that vote must have a 3/5 (60 vote) margin; budget resolutions could not be filibustered

two-track system

senate does not need to shut down other business

nuclear option

procedure that allows the senate to override a rule with a simple majority vote, rather than the supermajority (typically 60 votes) that is normally required; most frequently used to change the rules regarding filibusters on presidential nominations