Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

Federalism and Policy Debates

• Disputes between states and the national government are inevitable due to shared governance responsibilities.
• Examples include debates over railroads, child labor laws, minimum wage, abortion, education standards, speed limits, environmental protection, and healthcare.
• Many policy debates revolve around federalism.

Supremacy Clause

• Article Six of the Constitution, known as the Supremacy Clause, dictates the supreme law of the land:
  • The Constitution.
  • Laws of the national government consistent with the Constitution.
  • Treaties made by the national government.
• State officials are bound by oath to uphold the Constitution, even if it contradicts state laws.

Challenges to Federal Authority

• States occasionally challenge the national government's authority.
  • Examples: Kentucky and Virginia legislatures nullifying the Alien and Sedition Acts (1798); South Carolina attempting to nullify national tariffs (1832); challenges to federal education regulations (No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) and the Affordable Care Act (2010).
• Federal government usually prevails in disputes with states.

Shifts in Power

• The federal government has gained power over the states throughout history.
• Key events: Civil War, struggle for racial equality, Supreme Court interpretations of the Tenth and Eleventh Amendments, implied powers, and the Commerce Clause.

Civil War Context

• The Civil War (1861-1865) was also a struggle between states and the national government.
• Even though Lincoln was willing to allow slavery to save the union.
• The North's victory asserted the national government's power over state sovereignty claims.

Research Areas

• Welfare Reform: States' responses to block grant programs after 1996.
• Federalism and National Legislators: How congress members balance reelection goals with states' rights platforms.
• Tea Party Influence: Impact of Tea Party members in Congress on states' rights policies.

Healthcare

• The U.S. Constitution grants limited authority to the federal government, reserving powers for the states.
• States have traditionally managed health care policy.
• The federal government increased its role in the 20th century by funding health care programs.
• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010):
  • Aimed to expand health care coverage, improve public health, and lower costs.
  • Mandated individuals and businesses to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty.
  • Sparked debate over federal government overreach.

Diversity in Public Policies

• Consequences of federalism include policy diversity among states.
• States can reflect diverse opinions in their public policies (e.g., death penalty in Texas).

Policy Innovation

• States act as policy innovators, testing reforms from clean air legislation to healthcare policy.
• The national government often adopts policies that originated in the states.
• States have pioneered child labor laws, minimum wage legislation, unemployment compensation, anti-pollution legislation, civil rights protections, and income tax.
• Political polarization has affected policy diffusion, with states emulating policies from states controlled by the same party.

Decentralization

• Federalism decentralizes politics and policy, allowing states to experiment.
• This leads to diversity in public policy among states (e.g., death penalty, gay marriage).
• States depend on their resources, leading to disparities in public education spending.
• Federal government supplements resources in poorer states.

Key Issues of Federalism

• Civil Rights: Conflict between the federal government and Southern states over desegregation.
• Gay Marriage: Differing state policies and the constitutional requirement for states to recognize other states' acts.

Civil Rights vs. Civil Liberties

• Civil Liberties: Limitations on government to protect personal freedoms.
• Civil Rights: Guarantees of equal citizenship, protecting citizens from discrimination.
• Example: Same-sex marriage as a civil rights issue.

Substantive vs. Procedural Liberties

• Substantive Liberties: Limits on what the government can do (e.g., First Amendment).
• Procedural Liberties: Limits on how the government can act (e.g., presumption of innocence).

Bill of Rights

• Civil liberties are in the Bill of Rights (first ten amendments).
• Ninth Amendment: The list of liberties isn't exhaustive.
• Examples:
  • First Amendment: Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
  • Second Amendment: Right to keep and bear arms.
  • Fifth Amendment: Guarantees against self-incrimination.
  • Eighth Amendment: Prohibits cruel and unusual punishments.

Barron vs. Baltimore (1833)

• The Supreme Court ruled that the Bill of Rights applied only to the federal government, not to the states.

Fourteenth Amendment

• Added after the Civil War as part of reconstruction.
• Key Provisions:
  • Citizenship: Defines citizenship at the national and state levels.
  • Privileges and Immunities Clause: States cannot abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens.
  • Due Process Clause: States cannot deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process.
  • Equal Protection Clause: States cannot deny any person equal protection of the laws.

Selective Incorporation

• The Supreme Court incorporates rights and liberties against the states on a case-by-case basis.
• Examples:
  • Gitlow v. New York: Freedom of speech (First Amendment).
  • Mapp v. Ohio: Protection against warrantless searches.
  • Benton v. Maryland: Protection against double jeopardy.

Core of Freedom

• Civil liberties provide freedom against government abuses, ranging from establishing a religion to cruel and unusual punishment and self-incrimination.
• The Constitution protects individual rights even if the majority disagrees.

Drawing Lines and Balancing Rights

• Limits on freedom require drawing lines between acceptable and unacceptable actions.
• The Constitution's language (e.g., due process, equal protection, free speech) requires interpretation.
• The right to privacy is implied rather than explicitly stated in the Constitution.
• Competing rights often need to be balanced (e.g., fair trial vs. press coverage).

Politics in Action: Free Speech on Campus

• University of Wisconsin case: Mandatory activity fees to support campus activities.
• Students argued the fee violated their First Amendment rights.
• The Supreme Court held that universities may impose such fees if they maintain viewpoint neutrality in allocating funds.

Civil Liberties and Debate

• Civil liberties issues often arise from conflicting interests or strong differences of opinion (e.g., abortion, gun rights).
• Deciding complex civil liberties questions requires balancing competing values.

Role of Government

• Conservatives often advocate for a narrower scope of government, while liberals typically support a broader scope.

Civil Liberties

• Civil liberties are constitutional and legal protections against government actions.
• Disputes about civil liberties often end up in court, with the Supreme Court as the final interpreter.

The Bill of Rights

• The first ten amendments of The US Constitution list many of our civil liberties. But extend through laws and court. Decisions have extended and reinterpreted our civil liberties.

First Amendment

• The First Amendment lays out several civil liberties. Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom to petition.

Rights of the Accused

• All people accused of a crime are guaranteed rights that are listed in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eight Amendments.
• These protections include the right to plead the fifth or not incriminate yourself in court, the right to remain silent, your Miranda rights. The right not to be tried for the same crime twice, known as double jeopardy. The right to counsel. The right to trial by jury. Protection from unreasonable search and seizures, and protection from cruel and unusual punishment.

Right to Privacy

• For one, it is not explicitly defined in the constitution.
• Rather, it is implied or assumed from other rights (e.g., the Fourth Amendment).
• The Supreme Court formally established the right to privacy during the twentieth century when it was used to legalize access to birth control, abortion, and homosexual relations.
• The right to privacy, like other civil liberties, is limited.