Civil Liberties

What are Liberties?

• Civil liberties are basic human rights, granted to all people.
  

Writ of Habeas Corpus: must be brought before a court and informed of charges against you; right to plead guilty or not guilty.

No Bills of Attainder: you cannot be punished without a trial.

Ex Post Facto: Latin for “after the fact” - laws applied to acts committed before the law’s passage are unconstitutional. You cannot arrest someone in the past for an action that is unconstitutional today.

• The colonist felt so strongly about making sure the Constitution protected their rights against things like bills of attainder and ex post facto laws because they had bad prior experiences with the British and wanted to protect the people from the government.

• Texas v. Johnson (1989): decided that flag burning is legal.

• United States v. O’Brien (1968): draft card burning is not protected.

Freedom of Religion

Free Exercise and Establishment Clause.

Church and State

Establishment Clause: separates the state from the church. The government cannot favor one religion over another or tax American citizens to support any one religion.

What are a few cases that have shaped the Establishment Clause?

• the Everson v. Board of Education (1947): reimbursed parents for busing to Catholic schools.

• Engel v. Vitale (1962): decided that having voluntary prayer (nondenominational) during public school hours was unconstitutional.

  • The case was brought by a group of parents in New York who objected to a school district's practice of reciting a prayer at the start of each school day

  • The court held that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits government-sponsored religious activity, including prayer in public schools.

  • Engel is a Jewish kid, who thought that reciting prayers in school were unnecessary.

    • The Establishment Clause is a part of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution that prohibits the government from establishing an official religion or giving preferential treatment to any particular religious group. It ensures that the government remains neutral in matters of religion and does not show favoritism or discriminate against any particular religion or religious group.

• Abington School District v. Schempp (1963): struck down Penn. law requiring a reading of a Bible passage at the beginning of each day.

• Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971): struck down Penn. law reimbursing parochial schools for textbooks and established the Lemon test.

  • have a primary secular purpose.

  • its principle effect must either aid nor inhibit religion.

  • it must not create excessive entanglement between government and religion.

Free Exercise Clause: how you exercise your religious beliefs.

What are a few cases that have shaped the Free Exercise Clause?

• Reynolds v. United States (1879): decided that polygamy is illegal. (Although some religions do practice polygamy, polygamy is still illegal in the United States).

• Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972): doesn’t require Amish parents to send their children to public school beyond 8th grade as it would violate their religious beliefs.

  • This decision affirmed the First Amendment's protection of religious freedom and the right to free exercise of religion.

• Employment Division of Oregon v. Smith (1990): ruled that Oregon could deny unemployment benefits to workers fired for using drugs (peyote) as part of a religious ceremony.

• Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993): ruled that laws banning animal sacrifices were unconstitutional because it targeted the Santeria religion.

Freedom of Speech

Pure Speech: verbal speech; given most protection by the courts.

Speech Plus: verbal and symbolic, mostly holding something physical like a sign at a rally then picketing. May also be limited.

Symbolic Speech: using both action and symbols to convey an idea rather than just using words. May be subject to government restrictions if it endangers public safety.

Regulating Speech

your speech is protected as long as you do not present a clear and present danger.

Your freedom of speech rights are infringed upon when they cause a form of distraction.

The Supreme Court highly prioritized the 1st amendment in these cases.

What are a few cases that have shaped regulating speech?

• Alien and Sedition Acts (1798): ruled that it was illegal to say anything against the government that are “false, scandalous, and malicious or its officials.” (expired in 1801).

  • Sedition laws were enforced again after the assassination of President McKinley; prevented verbal attacks on the government.

• Schenck v. United States (1919): Schenck was arrested for sending out fliers telling people not to go to war as a protest during World War I; government claimed that Schenck encouraged disobedience of military orders.

• Gitlow v. New York (1925): the government declared that free speech should be protected under all federal levels, and only on federal level. (under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment).

• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942): 1st amendment didn’t protect you from making threats; making threats can land you in jail.

• Tinker v. Des Moines (1969): Ruled that wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War was symbolic speech, protected by the 1st amendment.

• Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969): made the “clear and present” danger be more less restrictive; you can be arrested for doing the things you said in a threat.

• Miller v. California (1973): established the Miller test; sets standards for measuring obscenity in 1973.

  • major theme appeals to indecent sexual desires applying contemporary community standards.

  • shows in clearly offensive way sexual behavior outlawed by state law

  • “lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”

• Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986): allows schools to suspend students for speech considered to be lewd or indecent.

• Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988): declared that intentional infliction of emotional distress was permissible under the 1st amendment, as long as its towards a public figure. Parodies are not actionable offense.

• Texas v. Johnson (1989): flag burning is a protected form of symbolic speech.

• Reno v. ACLU (1997): ruled that regulating speech on the internet (under the Communications Decency Act) was unconstitutional. (it was “overly broad and vague”) in regulating internet speech.

• Morse v. Frederick (2007): high school students were suspended for holding up a sign that says “Bong hits 4 Jesus” during a parade off campus on a non-school day; ruled in favor of the principle, since the sign encourages drug-use, even off campus.

  • Majority opinion called the sign a “sophomoric” banner.

  • Your freedom of speech is limited at school versus outside of school is true.

• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010): declared that corporations are still protected under the 1st amendment, and spending is also a form of expressing freedom of speech (in support of a White House official or Candidate).

Freedom of the Press

Freedom of Press includes newspapers, magazines, radio, televisions, and the internet.

prior restraint is the government’s ability to prevent the press from printing freely.

What are a few cases that have shaped this amendment?

• Near v. Minnesota (1931): an incorporation case that applied protections of free press to the states under the due process clause of the 14th amendment and prohibited prior restraint.

  • prior restraint is the government’s ability to stop things from being printed before they’re published.

• New York Times v. Sullivan (1964): protected statements about public officials. Sullivan was bothered by the rumors that he had been dealing with the mafia; court said that Sullivan just has to deal with it since he is a public figure.

• New York Times v. United States (1971)____: Court reaffirmed its position of prior restraint, preventing the Washington Post from printing out the publication of the Pentagon Papers.

  • the Pentagon Papers are documents that actually exposes how United States is doing in the Vietnam War, and what Vietnam actually is.

  • Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988): court ruled in favor of school district censorship of student newspapers as long as censorship is related to legitimate concerns.

Freedom of Assembly and Petition

Freedom of Assembly and Petition applies to both public and private places.

“Rights of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”

• Dejonge v. Oregon (1937): assembly is important as the other First Amendment rights; gets incorporated under the 14th Amendment.

• Thornhill v. Alabama (1940): it’s not unlawful to strike.

• Cox v. New Hampshire (1941): cities and towns could require permits to assemble.

• Lloyd Corporation v. Tanner (1972): mall owners can kick protesters out as it is private space.

• Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000): organizations can refuse membership to certain people based on their sexual orientation, or kick them out. This is because organizations are privately owned.

Property Rights

Due Process: your protections from having your “life, liberty, or property” taken without due process of the law. (You cannot be accused of something without any further disclosure; ensures you to be judged fairly).

Substantive Due Process: deals with the exact words in the written law, and whether or not they are fair. A legal concept that suggests that certain fundamental rights are protected by the Constitution.

Procedural Due Process: deals with government actions and whether the law has been carried out correctly according to established rules and procedures.

• If the police are enforcing a law in a discriminatory manner, this is known as Procedural Due Process.

Eminent Domain: allows government to take property for public use but also requires that government provide just compensation for that property.

• compensation must be buildings that can be publically used.

Right to Privacy

Constitution makes no mention of the Right to Privacy.

The Supreme Court has interpreted it into several rights.

What are a few cases that have shaped this amendment?

• Nix v. WIlliams (1984): established the inevitable discovery rule; allowing evidence discovered as a result of an illegal search to be introduced if it can be shown that the evidence would have been found anyways.

• United States v. Leon (1984): established a good faith exception to the exclusionary rule. Evidence discovered by accidentally stepping on property is not excluded.

• Griswold v. Connecticut (1965): court ruled that the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 9th, and 14th Amendments created “zones of privacy” and enhanced the concept of enumerated rights.

  • enumerated means written out.

• Roe v. Wade (1973): woman had the right to choose an abortion.

  • overturned in 2022; now allows sates to determine whether or not abortion is allowed within that state.

• Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989): gave states more power to regulate abortion (this case did not overturn Roe v. Wade).

• Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992): ruled that it was unconstitutional to require women to notify their husband before getting an abortion.

  • Parental consent with a certain time-period is allowed.

  • struck down a sodomy law that has criminalized homosexual sex in Texas. Overruled Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) saying that consensual sexual conduct was part of the liberty protected under the 14th Amendment.

Rights of the Accused

What are a few cases that have shaped this amendment?

• 4th Amendment

  • Search and Seizure Weeks v. United States (1914): established the exclusionary rule, no illegally obtained evidence can be used in a federal court.

  • Wolf v. Colorado (1949): the court applied protections against unreasonable search and seizure to the states under due process clause of the 14th Amendment.

    • Wolf v. Colorado is an incorporation case about the 4th Amendment.

  • Mapp v. Ohio (1961): the court ruled that evidence obtained without a search warrant was excluded from trial in state courts.

    • Exclusionary rule: bars from the court any evidence that has been obtained in violation of the 4th Amendment.

  • Terry v. Ohio (1968): searches of criminal subjects are constitutional and police may search suspects for safety purposes.

  • New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985): allowed student’s personal belongings to be searched for the greater safety of the school.

  
  

• 5th Amendment (self incrimination)

  • Miranda v. Arizona (1966): court ruled that suspects in police custody have certain rights and that they must be informed of those rights (right to remain silent, right to an attorney).

    • Miranda warning: “You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand your rights as they have been read to you?”

• 6th Amendment (right to an attorney)

  • Powell v. Alabama (1932): due process clause of the 14th Amendment guarantees defendants in death penalty cases the right to an attorney.

  • Betts v. Brady (1942): poor defendants in noncapital cases are not entitled to an attorney at government expense.

    • noncapital means any case where there is no murder involved.

  • Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): those who cannot afford an attorney will be provided one by the state, overturned Betts v. Brady.

  • Escobedo v. Illinois (1964): extended the exclusionary rule to illegal confessions in court cases.

    • Established the “Escobedo Rule”

    • Escobedo Rule: stated that persons have the right to an attorney when an investigation begins “to focus on a particular subject.”

      • If the suspect has been arrested and has requested an attorney, and has not been warned of his or her right to remain silent, the suspect has been “denied council in violation of the 6th Amendment.”

• 8th Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)

  • Woodson v. North Carolina (1976): used death penalty as mandatory punishment for specific crimes

  • Furman v. Georgia (1972): ruled the death penalty unconstitutional under existing state law because it was imposed arbitrarily.

  • Gregg v. Georgia (1976): the death penalty was constitutional because it was imposed based on the circumstances of the case.

  • Atkins v. Virginia (2002): forbade execution of mentally ill patients.

  • Roper v. Simmons (2005): unconstitutional for defendants whose crimes were committed as minors, even if they were charged as adults.