Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

AP GOV Unit 3

1st Amendment

Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition

2nd Amendment

Right to bear arms

3rd Amendment

No quartering of soldiers

4th Amendment

Protection against Unreasonable Search and Seizure

5th Amendment

Right to due process of law and protection against self incrimination

6th Amendment

Right to a fair and speedy trial, including the right to an impartial jury and the right to informed of the charges

7th Amendment

Right to confront witnesses and have compulsoruy process for obtaining witnesses

8th Amendment

Protection against excessive bail and fines, and cruel and unusual punishments

9th Amendment

The enumeration of certain rights shall not be contrued to deny or disparage other rights retained by the people

10th Amendment

Powers not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states or people

Civil Liberties

The basic rights and freedoms for American citizens guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, particularly in the Bill of Rights

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments to the Constitution; major source of civil liberties; applies to states via selective incorporation doctrine; promised to Anti-Federalists to secure ratification of Constitution

Establishment Clause

Clause in the First Amendment that says the government may not establish an official religion; gives US Citizens the freedom of religion

Free Exercise Clause

A First Amendment provision that reserves the right of American citizens to practice any religious faith or ritual

freedom of speech and expression

a key liberty protected in the first amendment, this freedom protects individuals' rights to express their opinions

freedom of the press

protected in the first amendment, establishes the right of newspapers and other public media to publish articles believed to be accurate without fear of government retribution

peaceful assembly

protected in the first amendment, establishes the right to hold public meetings and form associations/groups without interference by the government.

peition the government

protected in the first amendment, allows individuals to voice their complaints against the governemnt and seek redress for grievences from the goverment

lemon test

The three-part test for Establishment Clause cases that a law must pass before it is declared constitutional: it must have a secular purpose; it must neither advance nor inhibit religion; and it must not cause excessive entanglement with religion

Engel v. Vitale

The 1962 Supreme Court decision holding that state officials violated the First Amendment, establishment clause, when they wrote a prayer to be recited by New York's schoolchildren

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 age16. Result: This law is in conflict with the Free Exercise clause. The statute is in direct conflict with Amish beliefs.

Tinker v. Des Moines

U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld a student's First Amendment right to engage in symbolic speech in school; significant because it establishes that symbolic expressions, not just verbal speech, is protected by the First Amendment

Schenck v. United States

A 1919 decision upholding the conviction of a socialist who had urged young men to resist the draft during World War I. Justice Holmes declared that government can limit speech if the speech provokes a "clear and present danger" of substantive evils; significant because it establishes a limit to the freedom of speech

clear and present danger test

Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that the government cannot interfere with speech unless the speech presents a clear and present danger that it will lead to evil or illegal acts.

New York Times v. US

The President argues that the publication of the Pentagon Papers is in violation of executive privilege. Result: The barring of the publication of these papers is in violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of the press; establishes the prior restraint doctrine

Prior Restraint Doctrine

Legal doctrine that gives individuals the right to publish without prior restraint- that is, without first submitting material to a government censor

application of the 2nd amendment

SCOTUS has upheld individual's rights to bear arms even though they are not in the military or using the arms in the military; example non-required case is DC v. Heller where SCOTUS decided that the 2nd amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm regardless of their intended use

individual freedom v public safety

The tension between public safety considerations and individual rights plays out at all levels of government, and is frequently a factor in cases in which the Court considers selective incorporation. For example, McDonald v Chicago came about because of a city-level handgun ban motivated by public safety, but the Court's ruling gave primacy to individual rights and reversed the ban; another example - the death penalty

exclusionary rule

a law that prohibits the use of illegally obtained evidence (evidence obtained without a search warrant or probable cause) in a criminal trial.

selective incorporation

The process by which provisions of the Bill of Rights are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and local governments; the protections of the Bill of Rights only protect citizens from the federal government, not state governments until cases are brought to the SCOTUS and decided on

14th Amendment

Declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection of the laws

Equal Protection Clause

Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that forbids any state to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. By interpretation, the Fifth Amendment imposes the same limitation on the national government. This clause is the major constitutional restraint on the power of governments to discriminate against persons because of race, national origin, or sex.

Due Process Clause

14th amendment clause stating that no state may deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law

McDonald v. Chicago

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