Unit 3

Essential knowledge 3.1-3.13

Bill of Rights

The U.S. Constitution includes a ________ specifically designed to protect individual liberties and rights.

• is continuously interpreted by the courts

• first 10 Amendments to the Constitution

Civil liberties

Constitutionally established guarantees and freedoms that protect citizens, opinions, and property against arbitrary government interference.

Establishment, Free Exercise

The interpretation and application of the First Amendment’s _____________ and ____________ clauses reflect an ongoing tension between government power to make law and an individual’s right to religious freedom.

(K) This ongoing interpretation underscores the balance between preserving individual rights and enabling lawful governance.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Declared that school sponsorship of religious activities violates the Establishment Clause.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Held that compelling Amish students to attend school past the eighth grade violates the Free Exercise Clause.

First Amendment

The Supreme Court has held that speech, including symbolic speech (nonverbal action that communicates an idea or belief), is protected by the _______________.

(K) This protection extends to various forms of expression, such as protests and demonstrations, as long as they do not incite violence or unlawful actions.

social order and individual freedom

Efforts to balance _________________________ are reflected in interpretations of the First Amendment that limit speech, including:

• Time, place, and manner regulations that impose restrictions such as limits on the time of day an event can be held, limits on where an event can be held, and limits on the noise levels at an event 

• Limitations on some obscene and offensive communication.

• Protections against defamation (language that harms the reputation of another) including libel (written communication) and slander (oral communication). 

• Restrictions on speech that create a clear and present danger and subsequent interpretations which have refined those restrictions

Freedom of the press

The Supreme Court bolstered the ____________, affirming support for a heavy presumption against prior restraint even in cases involving national security.

(K) This principle was notably reinforced in the landmark case of New York Times Co. v. United States (1971), where the Court ruled that the government could not prevent the publication of classified information unless it posed a direct threat to national security.

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

In ________________, the Supreme Court bolstered the freedom of the press, establishing a “heavy presumption against prior restraint” even in cases involving national security.

Right to bear arms

The Supreme Court’s decisions on the Second Amendment rest upon its constitutional interpretation of the _____________.

Cruel and unusual punishment

Court decisions defining ______________ involve interpretation of the Eighth Amendment and its application to state death penalty statutes.

Public safety and individual rights

The debate about the Second and Fourth Amendments involves concerns about public safety and whether or not the government regulation of firearms or collection of digital metadata promotes or interferes with ________________.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

The doctrine of selective incorporation has imposed limitations on state regulation of civil rights and liberties as represented by _____________, which ruled the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms for self-defense in one’s home is applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

National, states

The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments include clauses which state that the government may not infringe on a person’s right to life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The due process clause in the Fifth Amendment applies to the ________ government and the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment applies to ______. Some government interests may justify the restriction of individual rights; for example, speech can be limited when it is shown to present a danger to public safety.

Procedural due process

_________________ requires that government officials use methods that are not arbitrary when making and carrying out decisions affecting constitutionally protected rights. These _________________ protections are reinforced by key protections enshrined in other provisions of the Bill of Rights and key legal doctrines established by the Supreme Court. For example, the Miranda rule requires accused persons to be informed of some procedural protections found in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments prior to interrogation. However, these procedural protections are not absolute. A public safety exception has been sanctioned by the Court that allows unwarned interrogation to stand as direct evidence in court.

Individual liberties

Procedural rights of the accused and the prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures are intended to ensure that _____________ are not eclipsed by the need for social order and security, including: 

• The right to legal counsel, speedy and public trial, and an impartial jury 

• Protection against warrantless searches of cell phone data under the Fourth Amendment 

• Limitations placed on bulk collection of telecommunication metadata

Exclusionary rule

Procedural due process also protects the rights of the accused during a trial. The Bill of Rights guarantees the right to an attorney and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. The ____________, as decided by the Supreme Court, stipulates that evidence illegally seized by law enforcement officers in violation of the suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights (including the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures) cannot be used against that suspect in criminal prosecution.

Right to privacy

Over time, the Supreme Court has recognized constitutionally protected rights that are not explicitly listed in the Bill of Rights. These unenumerated rights include the __________. Justices and scholars have drawn on several arguments to defend the existence of unenumerated rights. Some argue that an unenumerated right is implied by certain amendments that assume the existence of such rights. Others argue that the Ninth Amendment, which states that individuals have protected rights beyond those listed in the first eight amendments, provides support for the existence of unenumerated rights. In a range of cases, the Supreme Court has used substantive due process to examine whether government laws and actions are arbitrary infringements of individual rights.

Due process

While a right to privacy is not explicitly named in the Constitution, the Supreme Court, in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), interpreted the _________ clause to protect the right of privacy from government infringement. In Roe v. Wade (1973), the Supreme Court held that the application of substantive __________ further extended the privacy right to abortion. The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v.  Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) overturned Roe v. Wade, holding that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, leaving decisions about the regulation of abortion to legislatures. The actions that are protected by the right to privacy and substantive ___________ continue to be debated.

Civil rights

________ protect individuals from discrimination based on characteristics such as race, national origin, religion, and sex; these rights are guaranteed to all persons under the due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution, as well as acts of Congress. 

• The civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement, and advocacy for LGBTQ rights are evidence of how the equal protection clause can support and motivate social movements, as represented by: Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and the civil rights movement of the 1960s 

• The National Organization for Women and the women’s rights movement

• The pro-life and pro-choice movements

Social movements

The government can respond to _____________ through court rulings and/or policies.

• Supreme Court decisions which declared that race-based school segregation violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in public places, provides for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and makes employment discrimination illegal.

• Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. 

• The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits racial discrimination in voting.

“Separate but equal” doctrine

Decisions demonstrating that minority rights have been restricted at times and protected at other times include:

• State laws and Supreme Court holdings based on the _______________ restricting African American access to the same restaurants, hotels, schools, etc., as the majority white population

• Court decisions declaring that race-based school segregation violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause 

• The Supreme Court upholding the rights of the majority in cases that limit and prohibit majority-minority districting

Affirmative action

____________ refers to policies intended to address workplace and educational disparities related to race, ethnic origin, gender, disability, and age. Supreme Court debate has focused on whether affirmative action is protected by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

Civil rights

• positive actions of government to create equality

• basic rights to be free from discrimination

• how people should be treated

• can’t be taken away

• can’t be changed or modified

Civil liberties

• protections against government

• basic freedom of everyone

• guaranteed by constitution

• can be taken away in emergency

• can sometimes be overturned