AP Government- Civil Rights & Liberties

Civil Liberties

- belong to all citizens

- limitations on the power of the government to protect individual freedoms

Writ of Habeas Corpus

-Prisoner's right to a court review of his/her case to determine if there is sufficient cause to keep him/her in jail

-Construction (Article I, Section 9) guarantees this right, except in a time of rebellion or invasion when it may be suspended

Ex Post Facto Law

-A law making an action illegal retroactively

-Criminalizes acts that were legal when committed

-State and federal governments prohibited from making such last by the Constitution (Article I, Section 9)

Bill of Attainder

-Act of the legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of trial

-State and federal governments cannot do this(Article I, Section 9)

Establishment Clause

-First Amendment prohibits gov. from establishing a state religion

-Referred to as separation of church and state

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

-Supreme Court ruled that school prayer violates the establishment clause

Free Exercise Clause

-First Amendment prohibits government from interfering with a person's right to practice a religion

What are the 3 prongs of the Lemon Test?

-Must have a secular legislative purpose (Purpose Prong)

-Must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion (Effect Prong)

-Must not result in an "excessive government entanglement" with religion (Entanglement Prong)

Freedom of Speech

-Basic right guaranteed by the First Amendment

-Speech has been interpreted to include all types of communication of ideas and opinions, including films, books, flyers, websites, art, as well as "pure speech"

What are limitations on free speech?

Court has upheld various laws that limit the exercise of free speech including: libel and slander laws, obscenity laws, and laws against incitement of violence

Symbolic Speech

-Using actions and symbols to convey an idea rather than words (burning a flag, wearing an armband, etc.)

-Supreme Court has ruled that symbolic speech is protected by the First Amendment

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Supreme Court ruled that high school students wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War was symbolic speech and could not be banned or punished by the school administration

Schenck v. United States (1919)

-Supreme Court upheld conviction of a man who had sent out a flyer urging World War I draftees to protest the draft

-Court held speech was not protected when it constituted a "clear and present danger" to the country in wartime

Due Process Clause

-Contained in the Fourteenth Amendment

-Prohibits states from depriving citizens of "life, liberty, or property without due process of law"

-Basis for extension of Bill of Rights to state governments through selective incorporation.

Selective Incorporation

-Application of the rights guaranteed in the federal Constitution's Bill of Rights to state governments

-Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides legal structure under which incorporation has taken place

Prior Restraint

-Blocking publication or censoring a story before it is published

-Supreme Court has generally rejected prior restraint, thus prohibiting government from blocking publication of news stories

Due Process of Law

-Generally accepted to mean that government must act in a fair manner according to established rules when conducting trials and restricting people's liberties

Eminent Domain

-The power of the government to take private property for public use (for example, building a highway)

-Constitutional requirements regarding eminent domain: government must follow due process of law and must provide just compensation

Right to Privacy

-Not mentioned in the Constitution or Bill of Rights

-However, the Supreme Court has determined that it exist based on the First, Third, Fourth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendment

Roe v. Wade (1973)

-Supreme Court voided state laws that outlawed all abortions, saying decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy is a private matter during first trimester

-In subsequent trimesters, the state has increasing power to regulate or prohibit abortion

Rights of the Accused

-The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Amendments list rights that apply to persons accused of a crime

-The Fourteenth Amendment extends those protections to apply to state government

Unreasonable Search and Seizure

-Fourth Amendment provides protection

-Search warrant required and can only be obtained by showing probable cause

-Warrant must be specific as to place to be searched and what to be seized

Exclusionary Rule

-Evidence obtained illegally cannot be used against a person in a trial

-incorporated by Mapp v. Ohio

Protection from Double Jeopardy

-Fifth Amendment states that a person, if found innocent, cannot be tried again for the same crime

-However, being tried for the same offense in state and federal courts does not constitute double jeopardy (Bartkus v. Illinois, 1959)

Right to an Attorney

Sixth Amendment grants the right for the accused to hire an attorney to defend him/her

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

-Supreme Court ruled that those who cannot afford an attorney in criminal cases must have one provided by the state government

Civil Rights

-Right of a minority group to be free from discrimination by the majority

-Equal treatment of minorities by states guaranteed by Equal Protection Clause of Fourteenth Amendment and, at the federal level, by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment

Civil Rights Movement

-African American movement to gain equal rights, in many cases they were treated as second class citizens

-During 1950s and 1960s the movement was most active and achieved several landmark successes

Amendments that transitioned from Slavery to Freedom

-Thirteenth Amendment (1865): abolished slavery

-Fourteenth Amendment (1866): required states to treat blacks and whites equally

-Fifteenth Amendment (1870): guaranteed right to vote to all races

Equal Protection Clause

-Contained in Fourteenth Amendment

-Declares that no state shall "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"

-Protects minorities from discrimination by state governments

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

-Landmark Supreme Court decision declared racial segregation in schools unconstitutional

-Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896); Declared separate facilities "inherently unequal"

Twenty-Fourth Amendment

Abolished poll taxes in 1964, which were used to subvert the Fifteenth Amendment and keep African Americans from voting

Civil Rights Act of 1964

-Landmark legislation that banned racial segregation in schools, public transportation, public facilities and employment—ended Jim Crow

-Based on the federal government's power to control interstate commerce

Voting Rights Act of 1965

-Landmark legislation that outlawed discriminatory voting practices responsible for widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the South

-Ended literacy tests

Women's Movement

-Movement by women to end discrimination and gain equal rights

-Most active in 1960s and 1970s

-Achieved passage of importation legislation but failed in effort to pass equal rights amendment for women

Legislative Achievements of Women's Movement

-Civil Rights Act of 1964

-Gender discrimination outlawed in pay, hiring, firing, and promotion (1972) Equal Pay Act

-Schools required to give girls equal opportunity in sports programs (1972) Title 9

Affirmative Action

-Policy designed to correct effects of past racial or gender discrimination by giving certain preferences in education or employment to these groups

-Courts are increasingly limiting the use of racial preferences entailed in affirmative action

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 age 16. 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.

New York Times 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. Based on the first amendment and prohibitions against prior restraint by the government

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.

1st Amendment Rights

Freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition.

2nd Amendment

Right to keep and bear arms

3rd Amendment

No quartering of soldiers (used to imply right to privacy)

4th Amendment

Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures

5th Amendment

Criminal Proceedings; Due Process; Eminent Domain; Double Jeopardy; Protection from Self incrimination

6th Amendment

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

8th Amendment

No cruel or unusual punishment, has been applied overtime to prevent using the death penalty on minors or the mentally incompetent

9th Amendment

Citizens entitled to rights not listed in the Constitution

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 and advocated for continuing protests to call attention to the lack of equal protection for African Americans.

Time, Manner, Place Restrictions

Government regulations that place restrictions on free speech. These regulations, specifying when, where, and in what way speech is allowed, are applied when unrestricted free speech will conflict with the rights of others.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Found a "right to privacy" in the Constitution that would ban any state law against selling contraceptives

substantive due process

Judicial interpretation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments' due process clauses that protects citizens from arbitrary or unjust state or federal laws.