AP Govpol Individual Liberties + Civil RIghts

1st Amendment (Five Freedoms)

Speech, religion, press, assembly, petition—core liberties in Bill of Rights

Establishment Clause

Prevents gov from endorsing/favoring religion; basis for church-state separation

Unprotected Speech

Includes obscenity, defamation, threats, incitement, and school/prison limitations

Time, Place, Manner

Gov can regulate how/when speech happens, if content-neutral & alternative exists

Schenck v. US

Allowed limits on speech posing a “clear & present danger” (wartime draft resistance)

Brandenburg v. Ohio

Modern test—speech must incite imminent lawless action to be restricted

Symbolic Speech

Protected expression via conduct (e.g., armbands, flag burning)

Tinker v. Des Moines

Students retain rights in school if speech doesn’t cause material/substantial disruption

Free Speech in School

Protected if non-disruptive (Tinker); unprotected if lewd/drug-related (Fraser/Morse)

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Free exercise > state school laws if no compelling interest exists

Engel v. Vitale

Banned school-sponsored prayer; upheld Establishment Clause

New York Times v. US

Gov can't prevent publication unless grave national threat—no prior restraint

Prior Restraint

Censorship before speech/publication—almost always unconstitutional

14th Due Process

Prohibits states from unfairly depriving life, liberty, property

Selective Incorporation

Extends federal rights to states case-by-case via 14th Amendment

Fundamental Rights

Rights essential to liberty (e.g., speech, marriage, privacy)

2nd Amendment

Right to bear arms; clarified in Heller and McDonald

DC v. Heller

Recognized individual right to firearm ownership for self-defense

McDonald v. Chicago

Incorporated 2nd Amendment to states

Procedural Due Process

Gov must follow fair legal steps before taking away rights

Fourth Amendment

Protects from illegal search/seizure; requires probable cause

Exclusionary Rule

Illegally obtained evidence inadmissible (Mapp v. Ohio)

Mapp v. Ohio

Applied exclusionary rule to states

TLO v. NJ

Student searches need only reasonable suspicion, not probable cause

Safford v. Redding

Strip searches in school require stronger justification

Miranda v. Arizona

Police must inform suspects of rights before questioning

Gideon v. Wainwright

States must provide lawyers to poor felony defendants

Guantanamo Bay

Military detention of terrorism suspects post-9/11

Habeas Corpus

Right to challenge unlawful imprisonment

Rasul v. Bush

Guantanamo detainees can file habeas petitions in US courts

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld

Military trials violated laws of war & due process

Hamdi v. Rumsfeld

US citizen detainees have right to due process

Substantive Due Process

Protects fundamental rights from gov even if procedures are fair

Roe v. Wade

Legalized abortion under right to privacy

Planned Parenthood v. Casey

Upheld Roe; created “undue burden” standard

Dobbs v. Jackson

Overturned Roe—no constitutional right to abortion

Griswold v. Connecticut

Recognized privacy right in marital contraception use

Obergefell v. Hodges

Legalized same-sex marriage; equal protection + due process

Loving v. Virginia

Struck down interracial marriage bans

Civil Rights vs Liberties

Rights = gov protection (equality); Liberties = freedom from gov

Equal Protection Clause

Requires equal treatment under state laws (14th Amendment)

Strict Scrutiny

Race cases—gov must show compelling interest & narrow tailoring

Intermediate Scrutiny

Sex cases—gov needs important interest

Rational Basis

Age/disability—gov must show legitimate reason

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery

14th Amendment

Citizenship + equal protection

15th Amendment

Voting rights regardless of race

Civil Rights Act (1875)

Banned segregation—struck down in 1883

Plessy v. Ferguson

Legalized segregation under “separate but equal”

Jim Crow Laws

Segregation laws in South (1880s–1960s)

Black Voter Suppression

Poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses

Brown v. Board

Struck down school segregation—Equal Protection violation

Letter from Birmingham Jail

MLK’s moral case for civil disobedience, rebuke of moderates

Civil Rights Act (1964)

Banned discrimination in public life & employment

Voting Rights Act (1965)

Banned voter suppression; required preclearance

Shelby v. Holder

Removed preclearance formula—voter restrictions rose

24th Amendment

Banned poll taxes in federal elections

Equality of Opportunity

Everyone should have same chance to succeed

Affirmative Action

Programs to boost minority representation

UC v. Bakke

Race can be a factor, but no quotas

DOMA

Defined marriage as man-woman—struck down in 2013

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

LGBTQ policy in military—repealed in 2011

First Wave Feminism

Women’s suffrage (1848–1920)

Nineteenth Amendment

Women’s right to vote

Second Wave Feminism

Equality in work, education, rights (1960s+)

Feminine Mystique

Betty Friedan book that launched 2nd wave

Title IX

Bans sex discrimination in schools

Roe & Women’s Movement

Abortion rights linked to gender equality

NOW

National Org for Women—fights for legal equality

ERA

Failed amendment guaranteeing sex equality

IDEA

Law ensuring education for disabled students

IEPs

Customized learning plans under IDEA

504 Plans

Accommodations for students with disabilities

ADA (1990)

Bans discrimination based on disability in public life