civil rights and liberties

Civil Rights Act of 1964:

Title Il bans discrimination in public places on basis of race, color, national origin, or religion.

Title VII:

Prohibits employment discrimination on basis of all of the above plus sex. Allows employers to give racial preferences in hiring.

Executive Order #11246 required federal contractors to adopt affirmative action programs.

Allowed class action suits.

Enforced by EEOC.

Voting Rights Act of 1965:

Suspended literacy tests.

Empowered federal officials to register voters.

Empowered federal officials to ensure that citizens could vote.

Empowered federal officials to count ballots.

Prohibited states from changing voting procedures without federal permission.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 1967:

Bans age discrimination for jobs unless age is related to job performance.

Title IX of Education Act of 1972:

No institution of higher learning that receives federal funding may discriminate on the basis of gender.

Schools forced to Increase funding of women's programs, especially sports programs.

Freedom of Information Act, 1974:

Allows public access to non-classified federal documents.

Communications Decency Act (CDA), 1997:

Prohibited circulation of "indecent material on internet to minors. Struck down by Supreme Court.

Brady Act, 1993:

Gun control act. Limited types of guns that could be purchased.

The provision of this law in which Congress required local law enforcement officers to do background checks on gun buyers was declared unconstitutional in 1997 - it interfered with the discretionary powers of the states.

Schenck v. U.S. (1919)

Oliver Wendell Holmes; dear and present danger test; shouting "fire" in a crowded theater; limits on speech, especially in wartime.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

"Students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate, and therefore are entitled to the free expression of their views as long as there is no substantial or material interference of the educational process”

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Struck down a Texas law that banned flag burning, which the Court declared was protected by First Amendment.

Reynolds v: U.S. (1879)

Religious duty (practice of polygamy) was not a suitable defense to a criminal indictment.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

 Prohibited state-sponsored recitation of prayer in public schools by virtue of First Amendment's establishment clause and the 14th Amendment's due process clause; Warren Court's judicial activism.

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

 Established 3-part test to determine if establishiment clause is violated: nonsecular purpose, advances/inhibits religion, excessive entanglement with government.

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

The Supreme Court rules on libel, which against public figures it stipulates must be published maliciously and with "reckless disregard for truth.

New York Times v. U.S. (1971)

Pentagon Papers; In order to exercise prior restraint, the government must show sufficient evidence that the publication would cause a "grave and irreparable" danger.

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

Supreme Court held that a constitutional right to gun ownership - irrespective of service in a state militia - did exist.

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

 Established exclusionary rule; illegally obtained evidence cannot be used in court; Warren Court's judicial activism.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Established Miranda warnings of counsel and silence. Must be given before questioning, Warren Court's judicial activism in criminal rights.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Ordered states to provide lawyers for those unable to afford them in criminal proceedings; Warren Court's judicial activism in criminal rights.

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

 Established precedent of federalizing Bill of Rights (applying them to the states); states cannot deny freedom of speech protected through due process clause of 14 Amendment,

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Established separate but equal.

Brown v. Board, 1\* (1954)

School segregation unconstitutional; segregation psychologically damaging to blacks; overturned separate but equal; use of 14! Amendment; judicial activism of Warren Court; unanimous decision.

Brown v. Board, 2nd (1955)

Ordered schools to desegregate "with all due and deliberate speed."

U.C. Regents v. Bakke (1978)

Alan Bakke and UC Davis Medical School; strict quotas unconstitutional, but states may allow race to be taken Into account as ONE factor in admissions decisions. Bakke admitted.

Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)

Struck down use of "bonus points" for race in undergrad admissions at University of Michigan.

Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

 Allowed the use of race as a general factor In law school admissions at University of Michigan.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Established right of privacy through 4th and 9th Amendments. Set a precedent for Roe v. Wade.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Established national abortion guidelines; trimester guidelines: no state interference in 15, state may regulate to protect health of mother in 2nd, state may regulate to protect health of unborn child in 3rd. Inferred from right of privacy established in Griswold v. Connecticut

Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)

States can regulate abortion, but not with regulations that impose "undue burden" upon

women; did not overturn Roe v. Wade, but gave states more leeway in regulating abortion (e.g., 24-hour waiting period, parental consent for minors).

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

Using right of privacy, struck down Texas law banning sodomy.