AP Gov't Bill of Rights review
1st Amendment
Establishment clause
Two important clauses to remember: Establishment and Free Excercise Clause
a. Establishment Clause: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”—> separates gov’t from church and state
b. Free Excercise Clause: Prohibits the abridgement of a citizens’ freedom to worship/not worship as they please
Religion and Education Problems:
Aid to church-related schools
Can catholic and other religious schools get aid?
—> Lemon v. Kurtzman:
Church-related schools may receive gov’t funds but the laws must have a secular legislative purpose, have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion, and not foster an excessive gov’t “entanglement” with religion
Religious schools can use public funds to build buildings, buy textbooks/administer tests, and provide lunches/transportation to and from schools.
Can’t:
pay teacher salaries, and provide transportation for field trips
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris: Ohio wanted to start more charter schools and use the voucher programs. They upheld the voucher program in Ohio.
Religion activities in public schools
Lamb’s Chapel v. Center Moriches School district:
—> Public schools that permit their facilities to be used by community groups are not permitted to discriminate against religious groups.
The Equal Access Act (1984):
—>intended to prevent discrimination against student extra-curricular activities “on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical or other content of the speech” at such student-run events.The Act applies to any public secondary school which receives federal assistance.
In 1990, in the Board of Education v. Mergens, the Sup Court upheld the constitutionality of the Act, affirming the right of “equal access” to student groups w/o regard of the “religious, social, philosophical/other content” of their activities.
Display of Religious Symbols:
Texas 2005:
The Ten Commandments display is allowed b/c it was w/ 17 other historical markers. The difference btwn Kentucky and Texas is that one advances religion the other is historical and passive
Kentucky 2005:
Ten Commandments display in the court house is not allowed.
Lynch v. Donnelly:
Nativity scenes are allowed because it was to celebrate the holiday season and wasn’t purposeful to enforce a religious teaching
Stone v. Graham
Teachers have the ability to display religious symbols in teaching about religion as long as they’re used as teaching aids on a temporary basis as part of an academic program.
Engel v. Vitale
State officials violated the 1st Amend Establishment Clause by mandating a recited prayer in public schools. Even though students had the option to back out of it, it was considered unconstitutional b/c the students would feel like they were being pressured to participate and the school is a form of gov’t agents.
Related to School District of Abington Township Penn v. Schempp —> law required bible readings in schools violated the establishment clause
Summary: basically students can pray as much as they want to in public schools but schools cannot sponsor/encourage prayers in any form which also includes praying at school football games and graduations.
Teachings on Evolution:
Evolution can be taught in schools but public schools cannot enforce religion alongside the teachings of evolution
Free Exercise Clause:
Employment Division v. Smith:
Oregon persecuted people using the drug peyote for religious purposes. Court states that an individual’s religious beliefs doesn’t excuse them from complying with the law.that prohibits conduct.
Church of Lukumi Babau Aye Inc v. City of Hialean:
City of Hialean passed a law outlawing animal sacrifice which was specific to the church. Court says that it violated the free exercise clause because it only applied this law to the church.
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby:
Family owned corporations do not have to offer their employees contraceptives that conflict with the owners’ religious beliefs based on the RFRA.
Protected:
Amish parents do not have to send their kids to school after 8th grade
Religious schools
not saluting the flag
Conscientious objectors—> a person who is opposed to serving the forces to comply w/ a particular requirement especially in the armed forces
Employment discrimination for religious organization
Non Protected
Polygamy
Banning business activities on Sundays
Denying tax exemptions to religious schools that discriminate
Building of roads through Native American lands
Freedom of Expression:
Speech can be restricted for example
Schneck v. United States
Speech is limited if it presents a “clear and present danger”.
Speech was also restricted during the Civil war when President Lincoln arrested the editors of two NY newspapers. He also suspended the free press of the Amendment provision.
Debs v. United States:
Court uphled the conviction of Eugene v. Debs b/c of his antiwar speeches had the “tendency” to obstruct recruitment efforts.
Gitlow v. New York:
Benjamin Gitlow was convicted of anarchy. Supreme Court upheld his conviction because he was inciting to overthrow the gov’t. The first time the Supreme Court established that the states had to follow the Bill of Rights (an ex of selective incorporation)
Brandenburg v. Ohio:
Permissible to advocate the violent overthrow of gov’t in abstract, but not to incite anyone to imminent lawless action.
Symbolic Speech:
Symbols, signs, and other methods of expressions.
Tinker v. DesMoines:
Students can peacefully protest as long as it doesn’t interrupt the school’s daily activities.
Texas v. Johnson:
Burning the american flag is a symbolic speech protected by the 1st Amend.
Commercial Speech:
Communication in the form of ads are generally restricted the most
U.S. v. Playboy Entertainment:
Regulation must be narrowly tailored to promote a compelling gov’t interest and must be at least restrictive
Miller v. California:
Materials were obscene if the work appeals to a prurient interest in sex, showed patently offensive sexual conduct, and lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. —> Carlin’s Dirty 7 words are regarding to cursing on live television couldn’t be banned but could be regulated on certain times/day [as].
Free press and fair trials
Public has the right to know what happens; trials are open to the public.
Prior Restraint:
Gov’t preventing material from being published; censorship; unconstitutional —> Near v. Minnesota, Village of Skokie
NYT v. United States:
Court ruled that the publication of the top-secret Pentagon papers are allowed unless its during war times or it will endanger the United States’ security.
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier:
School newspapers can be restricted b/c the Court sees it as part of the school curriculum which is where prior restraint can be used
Libel: the publication of false/malicious statements that damage someone’s reputation
Slander: the same thing only spoken
Public figures cannot sue for libel/slander unless it’s actual malice —>NYT v. Sullivan (private individuals can sue for that instead)
Right to Assemble
Generally permissible to gather in a public space but must meet the local standards.
Village of Skokie v. Nationalist Socialist Party of America:
The display of swastikas didn’t mean fighting words and therefore it was unconstitutional prior restraint.
NAACP v. Alabama:
Anyone can be in a group/association without gov’t interference.
2nd Amendment (Right to Bear Arms)
District of Columbia v. Heller:
The ban on registering handguns and the requirement to keep guns in the home disassembled/nonfunctional with a trigger lock mechanism violated the 2nd Amendment.
McDonald v. Chicago:
14th Amendment makes the 2nd Amendment the right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self defense applicable to the states —> prior restraint
4th Amendment (Searches and Seizures)
Probable Cause
When the police has reason to believe that a person should be arrested —> happens in schools more often
Unreasonable searches and seizures:
evidence that is obtained in a haphazard/random manner, prohibited by the 4th Amend
Mapp v. Ohio:
Exclusionary Rule:
Evidence no matter how incriminating cannot be introduced into trial if it wasn’t obtained without a search warrant
Good Faith Exception
If the prosecutor can prove to the judge that even though its true and it may turn out to be wrong, they cannot be sued for libel/slander
5th Amendment (Protection from self-incrimination)
Miranda v. Arizona
Protection from coerced confessions and entrantrapments, police must read you your rights and make sure you are aware of them before convicting you
Barron v. Baltimore
Bill of Rights applies only to the federal gov’t for imminent domain
6th Amendment (Right to counsel)
Gideon v. Wainwright:
Required states to appoint attorneys for defendants who could not afford to have one
Escobedo v. Illinois:
Right to counsel when being questioned
Plea Bargaining
a bargain between the prosecution and defense for a defendant to plead guilty for a lesser crime
Protects against the suspension of habeas corpus
8th Amendment: Forbids cruel and unusual punishment
Gregg v. Georgia:
The death penalty’s use and application will vary by state
McClesky v. Kemp:
Court ruled that the death penalty even when it appeared to discriminate against African Americans it did not violate the Constitution
Thompson v. Oklahoma:
Execution of a person under the age of 16 at the time of offense is a violation of the Constitution
Double Jeopardy:
Cannot try you for the same crime even when you’re proven innocent
Right to suicide is not part of the 8th Amendment
9th Amendment
Certain rights that aren’t specifically enumerated into the Constitution shall not be construed or denied to the people. —> right to privacy
Roe v. Wade uses the 9th Amendment to defend women being able to get an abortion for the first trimester
10th Amendment
U.S. v. New York:
Violated the 10th Amendment; the gov’t was overstepping their boundaries with the states b/c of the “take title”' for the radioactive waste.
14th Amendment
Due Process Clause:
Anything that would take anyone’s freedom/rights is only if you’re accused of crimes. But otherwise you cannot take anyone’s rights away.
Equal Protection Clause:
Everyone’s rights are equally protected under the law
Brown v. Board of education:
Public schools cannot segregate, overturned plessy v ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson
Established the “separate but equal precedent”
Obergfell v. Hodges:
Gay marriage is legal
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S.:
racial integration of motels using the commerce clause
Shaw v. Reno:
Racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional
Baker v. Carr
Established the “one person one vote” doctrine to equally represent the populations
Sweatt v. PainterUniversities must integrate black people with whites even though the unis may create separate universities it’s still unconstitutional
California v. Bakke:
Cannot use race as part of a racial quota for colleges to accept you.
Affirmative Action:
A policy designed to give special attention to compensatory treatment of members of some previously disadvantaged groups
Title IX:
gave female athletes the right to the same financial support as male athletes
Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Stonewall Riots are some of the key events of the civil rights movement era.
Selective Incorporation:
Individually each of the Amendments are applied to the states from the Bill of Rights in separate action (3rd Amendment hasn’t been applied to the states because soldiers haven’t been quartered into our houses).
—> examples of the selective incorporation is Gitlow v. New York, McDonald v. Chicago, Mapp v. Ohio, and Gideon v. Wainwright.
Selective incorporation used the 14th Amendment to apply these rights to the states.