Bill of Rights Quiz: Court Cases + Acts (copy)

Engel v Vitale (1962)

Engel v Vitale (1962)

• NY students were to voluntarily recite a prayer at the beginning of each school day

• Supreme Court: rules against this; it is illegal because of Establishment Clause; any state-sanctioned prayer, regardless of specific religious reference, was an unconstitutional recognition of religion

• Violates Freedom of Religion (1st Amendment)

New York Times v Sullivan (1964)

• Alabama city commissioner L.B. Sullivan sues NYT for libel because it criticized anti-civil rights activities in Montgomery with advertisements

• Supreme Court: rules in favor of NYT; a statement only counts as libel only when it is false and made with “actual malice,” which is knowledge or disregard of falsity .

• Freedom of speech (1st amendment)

Schenck vs US (1919)

• Socialist Charles Schenck distributed antiwar leaflets protesting against WWI draft

• Supreme Court: rules against Schenck, his speech counts as speech that incites illegal action (“poses a clear and present danger of inciting imminent, lawless action”), especially in wartime

• Freedom of Speech (1st Amendment)

Tinker v Des Moines (1969)

• Three students were suspended for wearing black armbands to school, protesting the Vietnam War

• Supreme Court rules for students; speech does not create a material or substantial disruption in the classroom

• Freedom of Speech (1st Amendment)

Buckley v Valeo (1976)

• Supreme Court invalidates provisions restricting candidates funding their own campaign, limiting campaign expenditures by an outside group, and limit total campaign spending

• Such expenditure counts as “political speech”

• Freedom of Speech (1st Amendment)

Allegheny County v ACLU (1989)

• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged a Christmas creche (inside an Allegheny County Courthouse) and a Hanukkah menorah (outside the courthouse)

• Supreme Court: Anything that clearly expressed official endorsement was unconstitutional

• Creche was unconstitutional because it was inside the courthouse; menorah was allowed because it was outside and just “celebrated the season”

• Freedom of Religion (1st Amendment)

Brady Bill (1994)

• Named after former Presidential press secretary James Brady, who was seriously wounded during the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan

• Establishes background check process for federally licensed firearm dealers with law enforcement officials; determining whether buyer is prohibited by state law of 1968 Gun Control Act

• Right to Bear Arms (2nd Amendment)

Pattern with new acts regarding weapons

• Usually something has to be changed every time the president, VP, or someone of power becomes a victim of an assassination attempt or threat

DC v Heller (2008)

• Allows individuals to keep and bear arms for purposes other than militia service (e.g. self defense at home)

• Allowed the right to own a gun in your home for self-defense. Reverses law passed in Congress that said cannot have private ownership of weapons in DC - Supreme Court says you can own a gun even on federal territory for self-defense.

• Right to Bear Arms (2nd amendment)

McDonald v Chicago (2010)

• Challenged private ownership of guns again but this time at the state level and Supreme Court still let people own guns for self-defense.

• Right to Bear Arms (2nd Amendment)

Mapp v Ohio

• Police got search warrant for man’s home for bomb making material but instead found porn. Since the warrant did not cover the porn, the man could not be charged for it.

• Exclusionary rule (evidence obtained by illegal search and seizure cannot be used in court) applies to both federal and state governments

• Evidence becomes tainted fruit- from the moment illegally gathered evidence starts, the rest doesn’t count 

• Illegal Search and Seizure (4th Amendment)

Terry v Ohio (1968)

• Undercover police officer sensed something was off with 3 men who seemed to be casing local bank. Officer searched them and found weapons.

• Brief investigatigatory stops and searches are allowed when police have good reason to be lieve that a person has committed or is about to commit a crime (instinct)

• Terry Search consists of a patdown to check for weapons or contraband or to question the suspect; a full search is allowed if evidence is found with a Terry search

• Search and Seizure (4th Amendment)

Veronia School District v Acton (1995)

• Vernonia School District requires students participating in interscholastic sports to be randomly tested for drugs; this was found not to violate the 4th Amendment by the Supreme Court

• Court agreed that random testing has to balance student privacy with the school’s legitimate desire to protect students from harm

• Search and Seizure (4th Amendment)

Katz v US (1967)

• Police wiretapped a public phone booth. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional because even if phone wasn’t person’s property they had a reasonable expectation of privacy so the police needed  a warrant.

• Wiretapping phone booths/lines without a warrant violates 4th Amendment, counts under Exclusionary Rule

• Search and Seizure (4th Amendment)

Lanza v US (1922)

• Lanza broke both state and federal Law and thought that it was a violation of the Double jeopardy clause of the 5th amendment to prosecute him at both levels.

• Trial of a defendant in both state court and federal court for the same crime does not count as double jeopardy because the state and federal legal systems are different government “units”

• Fair Method for Trying a Crime (5th Amendment)

Miranda v Arizona (1966)

• Right against self-incrimination is not limited to in-court testimony but also applies to police questioning

• Before questioning begins, police have to tell the suspect that they have the right to remain silent, that anything they say can be used as evidence against them, and that they have the right to an attorney — these are known as Miranda Rights

  • Any confession has to be voluntary

• Fair Method for Trying a Crime (5th Amendment)

Kelo v New London

• Seizing private property under eminent domain from one private owner to another is constitutional

• Eminent Domain: “The Takings Clause”

Gideon v. Wainwright

• Gideon was imprisoned and wrote to Supreme Court on back of a napkin and they decided his trial was unfair because he couldn’t afford an attorney.

• SCOTUS ruled that the federal government has to provide counsel for defendants in federal court trials who cannot afford to pay for one

• Gideon v. Wainwight ruled that this extends to state trials as well

• Right to a Fair Trial (Right to an Attorney) (6th Amendment)

Roper v. Simmons

• Strikes down state death penalty laws for those 17 and younger as “cruel and unusual” punishment because they aren’t fully developed

• Cruel and Unusual Punishment (8th Amendment)

Atkins v. Virginia

• Atkins was given strong antipsychotics on death row to keep him sane in order to die. He was determined to have schizophrenia.

• Supreme Court declared issuing the death penalty to the mentally ill is unconstitutional

• Cruel and Unusual Punishment (8th Amendment)