Civil Rights and Liberties

Civil Liberties

Protections given to the citizens to protect against an abusive government

Civil Rights

Steps taken by the government to provide equality to all citizens

Sources of Civil Liberties

Article 1 Section 9
Bill of Rights

Article 1 Section 9

Prohibits Ex Post Facto Laws & Bills of Attainder

Guarantees the right to Habeas Corpus

What amendments of the Bill of Rights pertain to Civil Liberties

Amendments 1-10

Who, originally, has to follow the Bill of Rights (pre 1868)

Only the national government had to follow the Bill of Rights, not the state governments

Think about the way amendments are written: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion…”

Reinforced by John Marshall’s decision in

Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

Who has to follow the Bill of Rights

The 14th amendment was ratified in 1868 and its DUE PROCESS clause has been used to now also make the states follow the Bill of RIghts. This process is known as INCORPORATION.

Selective Incorporation

Each amendment involving the actions of the state govs must be individually heard

2 Religion Clauses

Establishment Clause
Free Exercise Clause

Establishment Clause

The government cannot create, endorse or favor a particular religion

Abington v. Schempp (1963)

Free Exercise Clause

The government cannot interfere with a person’s ability to practice their own religion

Kennedy v. Bremerton (2022)

Free Speech Clause:

“…or abridging the freedom of speech”
Pure Speech:Spoken
Symbolic Speech:Wearing something, unspoken action

Unprotected speech

Speech that advocates VIOLENCE or puts people in danger is not protected

Libel (written) and Slander (spoken) is knowingly false speech that is meant to damage a person’s reputation. Also not protected1

1^st Amendment

Freedom of Speech, religion, and press

The government has frequently been allowed to regulate speech on…

TIME & PLACE

“Though the government is not typically able to regulate the content of individual speech, the courts have frequently granted the government the ability to regulate the TIME & PLACE of the speech”

Free Press Clause:

“…or of the press;”
The courts are reluctant to let the government engage in

PRIOR RESTRAINT, or preventing speech, unless national security is at risk

4th Amendment

Protects against unlawful searches & seizures by law enforcement

Law enforcement must obtain a WARRANT by demonstrating PROBABLE CAUSE to a judge

Mapp v. Ohio (1961) establishes the

Exclusionary Rule: evidence can be disqualified at trial if it is illegally obtained

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

establishes the

Exclusionary Rule: evidence can be disqualified at trial if it is illegally obtained

2nd Amendment

Right to bear arms

District of Columbia v. Heller

(2008)

Supreme Court clarifies the amendment protects an individual’s right to have a gun

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

Supreme Court clarifies the amendment protects an individual’s right to have a gun

Criminal Rights Amendments

4, 5, 6, 8

5th Amendment

Protects against self-incrimination, or being forced to testify at your own trial

Protects against double jeopardy, or being tried for the same crime twice

Rules for eminent domain. If the government seizures your property they must offer you fair market value

6th Amendment

Basic Trial Rights:
Right to an attorney

Speedy trial

Impartial jury

Right to confront witnesses against you

8th Amendment

Protects against Cruel & unusual punishment

Protects against Excessive bail & fines

SCOTUS has declared Capital Punishment / Death Pentalty…

Not in violation of being cruel and unusual.

Furman v. GA (1972)

The death penalty was suspended for 4 years bc it wasn’t uniform amongst the states

Atkins v. VA (2002)

Unlawful to execute the mentally ill

Roper v. Simmons (2005)

Juvenile death penalty abolished

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Law enforcement can’t assume that you know what your rights are

The courts have ruled that a PUBLIC SAFETY EXEMPTION exists. Miranda rights can be bypassed if there is an immediate danger

The Civil War (security v. rights)

President Lincoln suspends habeas corpus in the border states

Internment camps (security v. rights)

President Roosevelt ordered the internment of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast

9/11 Attacks (security v. rights)

The Patriot Act is passed
Government officials can wiretap phones w/o a warrant

Government officials can access medical records w/o a warrant

Government officials can access internet search records and hard drive w/o a warrant

Non-citizens in the country can be detained indefinitely w/o habeas corpus rights

Non-citizens will be tried in tribunals w/ lawyers assigned to their defense

Government officials can listen to conversations between non-citizen suspects and their lawyers

Torture warrants can be obtained and used against non-citizens

COVID (security v. rights)

Vaccine & mask mandates, forced business closures, no in-person religious services.

Judicial Activism

Believes people have rights not specified in the Constitution
Democrat

Judicial Restraint

Believes in a strict rights set by the Constitution
Republican

PENUMBRA

shadowy region produced by an eclipse

Justice William O. Douglas

The first to use the term to imply that people had an unstated right to PRIVACY

What amendments supported Justice Douglas’s opinion that the Constitution provided citizens with a right of privacy. When did he use this?

1st

Speech, political views, religious views

3rd

Your Home

4th

Property, Searches


Douglas used this concept in the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut case which overturned the state's ban on contraception.

Amendments Related to Racial Discrimination

13th Amendment
14th Amendment
15th Amendment
24th Amendment

13th Amendment (1865)

Officially abolished slavery
Muted Impact…
Sharecropping: farmed land owned by another for a share of the crop

Due Process Clause:

Incorporates the Bill of Rights

(state govs must follow)

Naturalization Clause

Grants citizenship to former slaves

Equal Protection Clause:

Basis for all discrimination lawsuits

15th Amendment (1870)

Eliminates race as a consideration to voting rights

Muted Impact

Voting Vouchers
Poll Taxes
Literacy Tests
Grandfather Clause

Grandfather Clause

voting barriers would not apply if the voter’s grandfather could vote prior to 1865

24th Amendment

ends the poll tax

1964 Civil Rights Act

Ended all remaining elements of de jure segregation

(legally enforced)

Brown v. Board of Ed ended segregation in public schools 10 years earlier

De facto segregation

persists today.
Segregation without law.

1965 Voting Rights Act

Abolished remaining barriers like literacy tests & voting barriers

Established future preclearance for counties with a history of discrimination

Affirmative Action

Policies that support members of a group that has suffered discrimination

California v. Bakke (1972)

Eliminated the use of QUOTAS, but allowed race to be a small component moving forward

Ex: 10% of the incoming students have to be African-American

Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

Univ of Michigan’s law school admission policies using affirmative action upheld because racial considerations were present but a very small part of the process

Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)

Univ of Michigan’s undergrad admission policies were struck down for being too reliant on race

Students For Fair Admission v. Harvard University (2023)

Race can no longer be taken into consideration

Key Amendments of Gender Discrimination cases

14th:

Equal Protection Clause

19th:

Women’s Suffrage

(1920)

Key Legislation of Gender Discrimination

1963 Equal Pay Act

Prohibits salary difference on gender

1964 Civil Rights Act

(Title VII)

Gender can’t be a condition of employment

Title IX (1972)
Requires any institution receiving federal money to provide equal opportunities regardless of gender