Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

- # History

- Former colonists justified their independence from Great Britain because the British government violated their rights and liberties by imposing excessive restrictions which prevented them from government representation

- the American political system has struggled in its efforts to balance civil rights and liberties throughout history

- multiple controversies regarding the distinctions between civil rights and civil liberties have occurred over time in the courts and other branches of government

- ## Preservation of Rights and Liberties

- The judicial branch is the most active in the preservation of rights and liberties

- the Supreme Court has provided constitutional protections for historically marginalized groups

- The Court has inferred an additional right to privacy implied in the Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments to the Constitution

- they have used this implied right to privacy to justify decisions in favor of individual rights and liberties

- Has also failed to preserve individual rights and liberties at various points in US history

- ## Historical Problems, Legislation, and Court Cases

- The United States does not possess a perfect record of living up to its symbol ideals of diversity, individual freedom, and equality.

- ![[{C8006EAE-9D63-4214-9D93-E71323198EFD}.png]]

- ### Civil War Era

- After the Civil War, Congress adopted the [[Thirteenth Amendment]], [[Fourteenth Amendment]], and [[Fifteenth Amendment]] in an attempt to protect the civil rights that slavery had violated

- The [[Thirteenth Amendment]] prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude

- The [[Fourteenth Amendment]] asserted a broader idea of civil rights, extending it to more citizens

- established the [[equal protection clause]], which guarantees citizens the "equal protection of the laws"

- The [[Fifteenth Amendment]] Extended the right to vote to black Americans

- took several decades for these amendments to be fully enforced

- [[Dred Scott v. Sanford]]

- ruled that enslaved persons were not considered people

- Following the Civil War amendments that ended slavery and extended due process to the formerly enslaved and voting rights to Black men, the Courts allowed racial discrimination to occur during the [[Jim Crow]] era

- [[Plessy v. Ferguson]]

- upheld segregation on the “[[separate but equal principle]]”

- any observer of the Jim Crow can confirm that facilities and resources for Black people were not of equal quality to those available for the White people

- ### World War II Era

- Established restrictions on arrests and search and seizures

- Expanded the right to privacy

- [[Korematsu v. United States]]

- upheld the federal government's forceful relocation of people of Japanese ancestry to concentration camps following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor

- ### Late 20th Century

- [[Jim Crow laws]] continued to relegate Black people to second class citizenship in the South, with limited access to resources

- Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Black Americans engaged in nonviolent forms of political protest to raise awareness of the pervasive discrimination and racial prejudice

- [[Brown v. Board of Education]] (1954)

- ended racial segregation in schools

- ruled that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal"

- profoundly unpopular at first

- jump-started a constitutional revolution by influencing the increase of incorporated civil liberties

- even as southern schoolboards eliminated their legally enforced [[de jure segregation]] (what the law says about segregation), [[de facto segregation]] (how segregation exists in practice) remained as a result of radically segregated housing

- ##### School Desegregation

- the Deep South responded with [[massive resistance]] to delay court-ordered segregation

- the most serious occurrence was in [[Little Rock, Arkansas]], in which the governor [[Orval Faubus]] mobilized the [[National Guard]] to prevent black students from entering the local high school

- In response, [[President Eisenhower]] deployed U.S. troops and placed the city under [[martial law]] in order to integrate the school

- In recent years, disengagement from desegregation efforts (justified under the [[equal protection clause]] of the [[Fourteenth Amendment]]) has led to an increase in schools that are "intensively segregated" and that these same schools are showing "increasing achievement gaps between White and Black students" based on a study by the [[Government Accountability Office]]

- [[Civil Rights Act]] of 1964

- outlaws discrimination not only on the basis of race but also color, national origin, religion, sex, and later concerns related to sexuality and gender identity

- [[Voting Rights Act]] of 1965

- prohibits racial discrimination at the polls

- outlawed measures like poll taxes and literacy tests that restricted suffrage from historically marginalized groups

- actualized the provisions of the [[15th Amendment]]

- ### Modern Day

- Many Muslim immigrants and Mexican immigrants have reported frequent experiences where individuals express prejudice toward them

- ## Supreme Court Responses to Civil Rights Cases

- ### Preservation of Rights and Liberties

- the Supreme Court has provided constitutional protections for historically marginalized groups

- The Court has inferred an additional [[right to privacy]] implied in the Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments to the Constitution

- they have used this implied right to privacy to justify decisions in favor of individual rights and liberties

- Has also failed to preserve individual rights and liberties at various points in US history

- Despite passage of civil rights legislation, discrimination persists

- the court uses distinct levels of scrutiny when evaluating cases related to various types of discrimination

- #### [[Strict Scrutiny]]

- the discrimination at hand relates to factors like race, national origin, and religion

- the Supreme Court justices assume that the law which discriminates based on one of these factors is in violation of the [[U.S. Constitution]], and they require the party involved to present a compelling state interest to justify the discrimination

- Example: [[affirmative action]] cases

- #### [[Immediate Scrutiny]]

- cases pertaining to discrimination based on sex

- Because biological differences may warrant varying standards for males and females, the Court does not assume immediately that a provision is violating the Constitution

- #### Without Scrutiny

- all remaining forms of discrimination use the [[rational basis test]]

- A party's explanation of a rational intention behind the law in order for the Court to deem it constitutional

- # [[Civil Rights]]

- protections by the government

- determines who may receive the right to participate or be represented in collective decision making, what that right is, and how much an individual may exercise that right

- Two general principles adopted throughout American history states that:

- 1. Civil rights ought to be universal-- all persons should enjoy them

- 2. Civil rights ought to be equal-- those who enjoy a civil right ought to have equal ability or opportunity to practice that right

- regulates the way the government may treat its citizens

- ensure citizens enjoy access to political equality and representation in politics

- Provide [[due process]] and equal treatment under the law

- Today, civil rights are guaranteed to all U.S. citizens

- includes [[natural-born citizens]] and [[naturalized]] citizens

- Some rights have age restrictions

- example: voting age, age restrictions for public offices

- the most basic civil right is the right to be in that country to begin with

- i.e. immigration laws

- Today U.S. immigration requires a [[green card]] through family or employment based sponsorship

- those who have civil rights are often the ones who hold the power to extend those rights to those who do not have them

- Various types of civil rights exist:

- Political Rights

- Includes #sufferage (the right to vote) and run for office

- Legal Rights

- Property Rights

- Education Rights

- Medical Rights

- ## the [[Civil Rights Act]] of 1964

- prohibits discrimination based on an array of demographic factors

- [[Title VII]] outlaws job discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin by all private and public employers that employ more than 15 workers

- since deliberate discrimination is difficult to prove, the courts have allowed aggrieved parties to make their case by proving disparate or adverse impact (the effect of exclusion)

- ## Declaration of Independence

- the first symbol of civil rights

- “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

- ## The Civil Rights Movement

- Prompted the [[Civil Rights Act]] and the [[Voting Rights Act]]

- ### Black Americans

- granted suffrage with the [[Voting Rights Act]], which swept aside many discriminatory state laws

- ### Disability Rights

- the [[Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)]] (1990) prohibited discrimination based on disability

- was amended in 2008 to clarify and expand the definition of disability

- provided people with disabilities the civil rights protections necessary for them to participate in employment and education settings with necessary accommodations.

- ### Women’s Rights

- [[Roe v. Wade]] establishes a woman’s access to abortion during the first trimester of their pregnancy

- justified by the right to privacy as an implicit civil liberty protected by the Constitution as a result of the provisions granted by the Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments

- [[Dobbs v. Jackson]] overturned the court’s previous ruling on abortion

- the majority stated that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, and as a result, laws about abortion are now set at the state level

- Abortion is banned outright in over a dozen states and access is limited in several others.

- the divide on "women's issues" exist between individuals who identify as feminists and those who do not

- granted #suffrage for federal elections under the [[Nineteenth Amendment]]

- Guaranteed equal access to education by the [[Education Act]] of 1972

- ### LGBTQ+ Rights

- [[Obergefell v. Hodges]] (2015)

- ruled that prohibitions on same-sex marriages violate the [[14th Amendment]]’s equal protection under the law

- established gay marriage equality

- ### Immigration

- the [[Immigration and Control Act]] of 1986 imposed sanctions of employers who hired undocumented workers

- resulted in a widespread pattern of discrimination against Latinos and others who appear "foreign"

- #### Latin Americans

- #### Asian Americans

- [[Chinese Exclusion Act]] of 1882 suspended the entry of Chinese laborers until 1942

- The encampment of Japanese Americans in WWII based on the 1944 Supreme Court decision of [[Korematsu v. United States]]

- has since been overruled and deemed unconstitutional

- Asian American and Pacific Islander immigration climbed rapidly after the 1965 [[Immigration and Nationality Act]]

- ## [[Affirmative Action]]

- compensatory action to overcome the consequences of past discrimination and encourage greater diversity

- Introduced by President Lyndon Johnson via executive order

- reached prominence in the 1970's and has weakened over time

- maintains the goal of a "diverse student body", but the method of a rigid quota assigned on the basis of race is incompatible with the [[equal protection clause]]

- requires "individual consideration" of applicants and must not employ favorable minority points in a "mechanical way"

- government must show that affirmative action programs serve a compelling government interest and address identifiable past discrimination

- # [[Civil Liberties]]

- protections from the government

- ensure that individuals can live free from excessive governmental intervention by restricting the collective actions that government can take

- ## [[Bill of Rights]]

- a political symbol which constrains the actions by the government by establishing civil liberties which cannot be infringed upon

- contains protections for specific behaviors and protections individuals can receive to protect them from federal oversight

- [[substantive restraints]] limit what the government has the power to do

- [[procedural restraints]] limit how the government can act

- contains the first 10 amendments to the Constitution that explicitly grant citizens civil liberties

- [[Barron v. Baltimore]] concluded the principle of [[dual citizenship]], which establishes that each American is both a citizen of the national government and separately a citizen of one of the states

- determined that the Bill of Rights applies only to the National government

- slowly overruled in fits over the course of centuries resulting nationalization of government powers

- ### [[Amendment I]]

- #### [[Freedom of Religion]]

- guarantees the freedom of religion via two clauses

- [[establishment clause]] states that "[[Congress]] shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"

- has three common interpretations:

- 1. the clause prohibits the government only from establishing an official church

- 2. the "nonpreferentialist" or "accomodationist" view, the government may not show favoritism between religions

- 3. the "wall of separation" between church and state

- [[free exercise clause]] protects the rights of citizens to believe and practice whatever religion they choose (or not)

- the government may intrude if the religious practices constituted criminal acts as articulated in [[Reynolds v. United States]]

- Americans are free to adhere to any religious beliefs but the place, time, and manner in which they exercise these beliefs are subject to regulation in the public interest

- #### [[Freedom of Speech]] and [[Freedom of the Press]]

- Subject to [[Strict Scrutiny]]

- not all forms of speech are absolutely protected

criteria for what constitutes as unprotected speech has changed over the years

- ##### Political Speech

- Federal courts typically strike down speech restrictions that are "vague", "overbroad", or lacking "neutrality"

- limits on individual and corporate financial contributions to political candidates has been considered a breach on freedom of speech

- ##### Symbolic Speech, Speech Plus Action, and the Rights of Assembly and Petition

- state and federal governments may establish time, place, and manner regulations provided it does not discriminate against a particular message

- Courts use the O'Brien test, as articulated under [[United States v. O'Brien]], to limit symbolic actions

- a statue that restricts expressive or symbolic speech bust be justified by a compelling governmental interest and narrowly tailored to achieve that interest

- [[speech plus]], speech accompanied by activities, is consistently protected by the courts

- ##### Freedom of the Press

- Excluding electronic media, press is protected under the doctrine prohibiting [[prior restraint]], an effort by a government agency to block a publication by a magazine or newspaper (i.e. censorship)

- The Government may prosecute journalists who refuse to reveal their sources and may prosecute individuals who leak information to the press

- ##### Libel and Slander

- Some types of speech is not protected at all

- #libel is a written statement that is made in "reckless disregard of truth" and is considered damaging to a victim because it is "malicious, scandalous or defamatory"

- #slander an oral statement that is made in "reckless regard of truth" and is considered damaging to a victim because it is "malicious, scandalous or defamatory"

- Must be deliberate (*[[New York Times v. Sullivan]])

- #### Obscenity and Pornography

- impossible to clearly define where protected speech ends and unprotected speech begins

- in recent years, discussion has surrounded internet porn

- [[PROTECT Act]] outlawed the creation, possession, and sale of internet child porn

- #### Student Speech

- The [[First Amendment]] applies to schools (*[[Tinker v. Des Moinew Independent Community School District]]*)

- Speech may not interfere with the schools goal of teaching students the limits of socially acceptable behavior

- applies off campus (*[[Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.]])

- #### Hate Speech

- Many jurisdictions have drafted ordinances banning forms of expression that assert hatred towards a specific group

- #### Commercial Speech

- Some commercial speech is regulated and therefore not covered under the First Amendment

- No false or misleading information regulated by {the [[Federal Trade Commission]]

- ## [[Amendment II]] and the Right to Bear Arms

- Provides for militias to assist the government in the maintenance of local public order

- some argue it also establishes an individual right to bear arms

- ## [[Amendment III]]

- no quartering of soldiers in times of peace without owner permission

- ## [[Rights of the Criminally Accused]]

- The [[Bill of Rights]] entitles every American to [[due process]], constituted by the, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth amendments

- In civil suits, the verdict rests on "the preponderance of evidence"

- in criminal cases, guilt must be proved "beyond a reasonable doubt"

- ## [[Amendment IV]] and Searches and Seizures

- Guarantees the security of citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures

- The case of [[Mapp v. Ohio]] established the [[exclusionary rule]], which requires that courts exclude evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment

- occasionally invoked to overturn cases in which the defendant seems guilty as charged

- in recent years federal judges have accounted for and made judgments on the "nature and quality of the intrusion"

- Police are prohibited from seizing and searching the digital contents of a cell phone during an arrest (*[[Riley v. California]]*)

- Weapon searches via "stop and frisk" are acceptable with "probably cause" (*[[Terry . Ohio]]*)

- limits government surveillance

- ### The Right to Privacy and the Constitution

- The [[right to privacy]] is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, but is established on a case-by-case basis from multiple amendments

- ### Birth Control

- supported by "the language and history of the [[Ninth Amendment]]"

- ### Abortion

- established a woman's right to seek abortion and prohibited states from making abortion a criminal act before the point at which the fetus becomes viable (*[[Roe v. Wade]]*)

- Overruled and returned to the states (*[[Dobbs v. Jackson]]*)

- ### Sexual Orientation

- [[Lawrence v. Texas]] determined that state legislatures no longer had the authority to make private sexual behavior a crime

- ### The Right to Die

- does not have a definitive ruling, but court has ruled in its favor on multiple occasions

- ### Privacy and Government Surveillance

- the [[Radio Act]] guarantees the secrecy of electronic communications

- Advancements in technology have enabled near constant government surveillance

- the source of growing tension between individual privacy and the nations struggle against crime and terrorism

- both individuals and rulers seek knowledge about the other to exercise or resist the exercise of power

- the origin of the #audit , in which officials periodically undergo public examinations of their actions

- ## Additional Amendments

- ## [[Amendment V]] and Criminal Proceedings

- Establishes a right to a [[grand jury]]

- a body of citizens who must agree that the prosecutor has sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against a suspect

- has not been #incorporated into the [[Fourteenth Amendment]

- thus, some states operate without grand juries and the prosecutor instead files a "bill of information" affirming that there is sufficient evidence for a trial

- Establishes protection against [[double jeopardy]]

- being tried more than once for the same crime

- Protects citizens from self-incrimination

- cannot be compelled to be a witness against oneself in a criminal case

- occasionally invoked to overturn cases in which the defendant seems guilty as charged

- Confirms the right to council

- basis for the establishment of "Miranda rights" or the reading of ones rights by police prior to arrest

- established the "[[takings clause"]], restricting [[eminent domain]]

- the government is required to give fair and just compensation when taking an individuals private property for public use

- ## [[Amendment VI]] and Right to Council

- Establishes the "right tot a speedy and public trial"

- Establishes the "right to council"

- occasionally invoked to overturn cases in which the defendant seems guilty as charged

- ## [[Amendment VIII]] and Cruel and Unusual Punishment

- prohibits "excessive bail", "excessive fines", and "cruel and unusual punishment"

- definitions of "cruel and unusual punishment" tend to differ from generation to generation

- although criminal conduct is regulated by the states, [[Congress]] has mandated [[capital punishment]] for more than 50 types of federal crimes

- execution is more expensive than life imprisonment due to the extend the government must go to to ensure it is not executing an innocent person

- ## [[Additional Amendments]]

- These amendments involve the process of [[selective incorporation]], which refers to the explicit one-by-one application of the Bill of Rights to the states.

- [[Amendment XIII]]

- ended slavery except for punishments of a duly convicted criminal

- [[Amendment XIV]]

- granted citizenship and due process to individuals who formerly were enslaved

- phrased in a way that imposed the Bill of Rights on the states, thereby reversing [[Barron v. Baltimore]]

- Began nationalization in the late 19th century by the Supreme Court

- incorporated civil liberty protections by establishing that the amendment's due process clause prohibited states from taking property for public use without proper compensation

- [[Amendment XV]]

- provided voting rights to Black males

- [[Amendment XIX]]

- expanded suffrage to include women

- [[Amendment XXIV]]

- outlawed poll taxes that infringed on suffrage among racial minority groups

- [[Amendment XXVI]]

- lowered the voting age to 18 years old