Civil Liberties

  • Civil Liberties

    • Civil Liberties - freedoms from government intrusion;

    • DUE PROCESS - legal system protections

    • prevent or limit government action

    • Bill of Rights - 1st 10 Amendments

    • Ex, free speech, assembly, privacy, keep and bear arms, religion, etc

    • Civil Rights - equal treatment

      • employment, education, housing, etc

      • Ex. race, gender, disability, sexuality

        • Masterpiece Cake Case - same sex couple who wanted a cake for their wedding. Baker refused service; violation of his religious freedom. Same sex couple said what about our equal treatment.

    • Habeas Corpus - “you have the body”

      • can’t be held without cause/improperly

      • protects against arbituary use of power

    • 14th Amendment

      • applies Bill of Rights to the states

      • “No stat…shall deprive…”

      • SELECTIVE INCORPORATION

        • Exception - Trial by jury civil cases

  • Freedom of speech

    • essential to democracy but also for intellectual enlightenment and growth of the human species

    • “Marketplace of Ideas”

    • Limits: obscenity, defamatory; standing in society, threats

    • Defamatory - Libel and Slander - lies or reckless disregard for the truth

    • 1st legal test - Clear and present danger test; hard to prove

      • must be obvious and immediate harm or lawlessness

    • 2nd legal test - Bad tendency test; easier to prove or crack down on speech

      • can produce a bad outcome, even if unlikely

      • fear of atheist/socialists/etc.

    • 3rd legal test - Imminent lawless action test - Used NOW; it has to be clear that harm was present

      • repealed bad tendency

      • protected KKK speech

    • Map Targeting Democrats; Arizona Representative - Democrat shot and protected

  • Obscenity

    • “I know it when I see it” - pornography view

    • MILLER TEST

      • prurient (sexual) in nature?

      • would the average person, using contemporary community standards, find the material offensive?

      • lacking any redeeming social, artistic, scientific value?

      • If yes to all of the above it is OBSCENE!!!

  • Assembly and Symbolic Speech

    • right to peaceful assembly - TXST

    • right to protest - gov may regulate time, place, and manner - LIMITED

      • burning draft cards? - NOT PROTECTED

      • burning US Flag? PROTECTED

      • blocking traffic? NOT PROTECTED

      • Westboro baptist? PROTECTED, but not widely accepted or popular

      • civil disobedience? - intentional breaking of the law

  • Freedom of the Press

    • prior restraint - can Gov prevent publication information?

      • public interest over national security and difficult to stop

        • pentagon papers & WikiLeaks

        • Julian Assange

    • gov can’t force publication either

    • but it can regulate/license TV/radio, why?;

      • Gov can regulate broadcast TV/radio airways to a greater degree; limited frequency so it’s considered a public good

    • No Special Rights: no access to country jails, pretrial hearings, etc

  • Campaign Speech

    • Valeo v. Buckley

      • campaign $ = free speech

      • can’t limit self-funded campaigns

      • can limit direct contributions

    • Citizens United v. Fed Election. Com.

      • Corporations and Unions also have unlimited free speech rights

      • Corporations and Unions can not give directly to candidates

    • Campaign Funding

      • wealthy individual donor; own unlimited

      • Candidates - “Hard Money” limited contribution; regulate/disclose

      • Political Action Committees Political Parties/Orgs. - “Soft Money” unlimited contributions; aka Dark Money

      • Corporation and Unions can’t give to candidates, but can give unlimited contributions to Political Action Committees Political Parties/Orgs.

  • Freedom of Religion

    • “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the exercise thereof”

    • Constitution - NO religious test as a qualification for office/vote/citizenship

    • No National Religion

    • Free exercise clause: what are the limits on gov regulation of religious expression?

    • belief vs. action

      • polygamy (multi spouse), snake handling, sacrifice

    • police, safety of others, general welfare, etc.

    • Establishment Clause

      • Separationists - clear wall, no interaction between government and religion

        • “A union of gov and religion tends to destroy government and degrade religion” - Hugo Black

      • Accommodationists - courts typically side with this

      • can be interaction. Government can show no preference for or against a specific religion.

        • “In God We Trust” & “One Nation Under God”

        • Ex. Use of public land/facilities

      • Lemmon test

        • A Court may determine that a law violates the Establishment Clause if the law:

          • Does NOT serve a secular purpose

          • Advances or inhibits a specific religion or Fosters excessive entanglements (taxes)

  • Freedom of Religion Cases

    • State of Tenn. v. J.T. Scopes

      • Kitzmiller v. Dover Area ISD

        • teaching evolution in public school is ok

        • creationism/intelligent design is NOT

    • Santa Fe ISD v. Doe

      • prayer at football games?

      • school policy; students elect a messenger, who gave Protestant prayer every game day. Sued by Catholic and Mormon family claim violation of establishment clause. School freedom of speech. Court Ruled violation of establishment clause

    • Medina Valley ISD

      • Prayer at graduation?

      • Valedictorian speaker at graduation tells school her speech will thank God and that she will pray. Court ruled it as a student speech and it is ok.

  • 2nd Amendment - keep and bear arms

    • “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right pf the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

      • Dem ocrats; Gun Control Collective Right vs. Republicans; Gun Rights Individule Right

    • Federal Regulations:

      • Federal Firearms - 1934

        • Tax and register machine guns, silencers, etc.

      • Gun Control Act - 1968

        • Minimum age to purchase, serial numbers, prohibited persons

      • Brady Act - 1993

        • background checks

        • licensed dealers vs. private sales

          • “Gun Show Loophole”

    • “Federal Assault Weapons Ban” - 1994

      • prohibited the manufacture, transfer or possession of certain semi-automatic firearms and large capacity magazines

        • Grandfathered weapons and ammo possessed before enactment date

        • expired Sept. 2004 (sunset provision)

        • Inconclusive evidence on the effect?

        • there was a spike in mass shooting during this ban

    • Washington DC’s & Chicago ban handguns

      • Individule Right & State Right?

        • individule right - own a handgun - home

        • States can regulate bearing of arms in public

      • Castle Doctrine - resident may use deadly force against a person who “unlawfully, and with force enters or attempts to enter”

      • Or who attempts to commits a qualifying felony: kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, robbery, etc

    • Texas handgun Law:

      • concealed carry w/ license - 1995

      • open carry w/ license - 2015

      • Constitutional Carry - 2021; no longer need a license

      • recent Federal ruling?

      • NO license has ever been needed for public carry of a rifle or shotgun in Texas

    • TX Campus Carry - 2015

      • publice vs. public campasses; must allow licensed concealed carry on campus

    • Red Flag Laws

      • charged with a crime - domestic violence

      • allows for temporary confiscation of weapons

        • “boyfriend loophole”

    • Safe Storage Laws

      • liability

    • Tower - Film

      • first mass shooting on campus University of Texas 1966

  • 2022 Gun Reform Bill

    • 1st gun legislation in 30 years (signed June 2022)

      • just over a month after Uvalde

    • passed House 234-193, Senate 65-33

    • Incentives for states to pass Red Flag Laws

      • voluntary state by state

    • closes the “boyfriend loophole”

    • Expands background checks for 18-20 yr olds

    • Focus on Mental Health and School Safety

    • Did NOT raise age to purchase rifles

  • Right to Privacy

    • Privacy to Reproductive Rights

    • Began by overturning state bans on contraception. Birth Control

    • Roe v. Wade - access to legal abortion.

      • state has right to regulate abortion to ensure safety, protect health of mother and unborn

      • Viability - can the fetus survive outside of the womb

        • Undue Burdon? Prohibit Access?

          • Banned after Texas 20 weeks

      • State Abortion laws

        • typically 18-20 weeks

  • Texas Abortion Laws

    • TX parental consent for minors - yeas

      • Judicial Bypass; seek abortion if threat present

    • Spousal consent?

      • Nope; struck down

    • TX Sonogram Law (2011)

      • must see Dr. and Dr. must find

        • heartbeat

        • describe fetal development

        • waiting period for the women to consider her decision

          • most 24 hrs

    • TX restrictions on providers (2013-W. Davis)

    • medicaid Women’s health Program Funding

    • Fetal Remains Bill

    • Heartbeat Bill - 6 weeks - 2021 (Unique)

      • allowed anyone in Texas to file Civil Lawsuits on anyone assisting an abortion

      • Minimum $10,000 fine plus legal fees

    • Texas Trigger Law - in effect Aug 2022

      • Felony for performing an illeagal abortion a felony punishable up to life in prison

      • Plus, civil penalties up to $100,000

      • Only exception to save the life of mother

    • 13 States may have abortion on the 2024 ballot

  • Cruel and Unusual Punishment

    • Death Penalty; #1 numbers in Texas; nationally going down

      • Trends in TX and US?

      • Life without parole option in TX (2005)

        • Morality?

        • Deterrent?

        • Cost? #1 reason

        • Issues with drugs used in lethal injection

        • Federal Government resumed execution briefly under President Trump

      • A lot of states don’t have the death penalty anymore or they have it and don’t use it

      • Innocence? they could be innocent

      • Exonerations?

      • 190 people have been exonerated after being sentenced to death

      • 1 in every 8 executions in ladt 50 yrs

      • texas leads the nation in executions and exonerations - (convicted the wrong person) since 1973

    • Head vs. Heart

    • as executions become more rare it becomes more unusual and must execute them in the most humane way