Lecture Civil Liberties

1. Is freedom of speech an absolute right?

No. Freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment, but the government may limit speech in certain situations, such as incitement, libel, obscenity, and fighting words.

2. What was the Sedition Act of 1798?

It made it a crime to criticize the federal government and was the first major federal restriction on free speech.

3. Why was free speech limited during the 1950s?

During the Red Scare and fears of communism, the government restricted speech believed to support communist activities.

4. What was the Clear and Present Danger Test in Schenck v. United States (1919)?

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes ruled that speech may be restricted if it creates a clear and present danger to national security or public safety

5. What was the Clear and Probable Danger Test in Dennis v. United States (1951)?

The government could restrict speech if it posed a serious danger, even if the danger was not immediate.

What is the Imminent Lawless Action Test from Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)?

Speech can only be punished if it is intended to cause imminent illegal action and is likely to produce that action.

7. What is symbolic speech?

Symbolic speech is nonverbal expression, such as burning a flag, wearing an armband, or burning a draft card, protected under the First Amendment in many situations.

8. What did United States v. O'Brien (1968) decide?

The government may regulate symbolic speech if it has an important governmental interest unrelated to suppressing free expression.

9. What did Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) establish?

Students have First Amendment rights in school as long as their speech does not substantially disrupt learning.

10. What did Texas v. Johnson (1989) rule?

Flag burning is protected symbolic speech under the First Amendment.

11. What did Citizens United v. FEC (2010) decide?

Corporations and unions have the right to spend unlimited money on independent political advertisements because political spending is protected speech.

12. What is commercial speech?

Advertising or business-related speech that receives limited First Amendment protection.

13. What did New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) establish?

Public officials must prove actual malice to win a libel lawsuit.

14. What is libel?

Written false statements that damage someone's reputation.

16. What did Miller v. California (1973) establish?

Created the Miller Test to determine whether material is legally obscene and therefore not protected by the First Amendment.

17. What did Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942) rule?

Fighting words that are likely to provoke immediate violence are not protected speech

18. What is prior restraint?

Government censorship before something is published.

19. What did Near v. Minnesota (1931) decide?

Prior restraint is generally unconstitutional.

20. What did New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) decide?

The government could not stop publication of the Pentagon Papers because it failed to prove publication would cause serious harm to national security.

21. What is the right to privacy?

The implied constitutional right to make personal decisions without government interference.

22. What did Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) establish?

Married couples have the constitutional right to use contraception because of a constitutional right to privacy.

23. What did Roe v. Wade (1973) decide?

It recognized abortion as part of the constitutional right to privacy. (Note: This ruling was later overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022), which returned abortion regulation to the states.)

24. What did Lawrence v. Texas (2003) rule?

Laws banning private consensual same-sex relationships are unconstitutional.

25. What is due process?

The government must follow fair legal procedures before depriving someone of life, liberty, or property.

26. What rights are protected by the Fourth through Eighth Amendments?

Protection against unreasonable searches, self-incrimination, double jeopardy, unfair trials, cruel punishment, and guarantee of legal counsel.

27. What does the Fourth Amendment protect?

People from unreasonable searches and seizures.

28. What did United States v. Leon (1984) establish?

The Good Faith Exception allows illegally obtained evidence if police reasonably relied on a defective warrant.

29. What is the Exclusionary Rule?

Evidence obtained illegally cannot be used in court.

30. What did Mapp v. Ohio (1961) decide?

Applied the Exclusionary Rule to state governments.

31. What did Miranda v. Arizona (1966) establish?

Police must inform suspects of their constitutional rights before custodial interrogation.

32. What is double jeopardy?

Being tried twice for the same crime after acquittal or conviction.

33. What did Benton v. Maryland (1969) decide?

Applied protection against double jeopardy to the states.

34. What did Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) establish?

Defendants who cannot afford an attorney must be provided one by the government.

35. What did Furman v. Georgia (1972) decide?

Temporarily halted the death penalty because it was applied arbitrarily, violating the Eighth Amendment.

37. What did District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) decide?

Individuals have the right to possess firearms for self-defense in the home.

38. What did McDonald v. Chicago (2010) establish?

Applied the Second Amendment to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Why are civil liberties often limited during wartime?

Courts often allow greater government power to protect national security.

40. What did the USA PATRIOT Act do?

Expanded government surveillance and investigative powers after the September 11 attacks.

41. What is FISA?

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (1978) established procedures for surveillance related to national security.

42. What did Edward Snowden reveal in 2013?

That the NSA collected large amounts of Americans' phone data through secret surveillance programs.

43. What is the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005?

It prohibited cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of detainees while allowing certain exceptions in interrogation policies.