AP Government Unit 3

Civil Rights - people vs. people, or minority vs. majority

Civil Liberties - individual rights (BOR), or people vs. government

Civil Law - lawsuits between individuals

Criminal Law - misdemeanors and felonies

Federal Judiciary

• made up of 94 districts, 13 circuits, and 1 supreme court

Appellate Jurisdiction

• ability to review legality of lower court rulings (circuits)

Original Jurisdiction

• ability to hear a case first, generally in a trial

District courts have original jurisdiction, circuit courts of appeal has appellate, and supreme court has both

Concurring opinions - agree with majority opinion, but not for the same reason

Dissenting opinions - doesn’t agree with the majority opinion

Supreme Court will hear a case if:

• case of national importance (pertains to constitution)

• lower court invalidates federal law

• resolves split decision (in the circuit courts)

Access to the Supreme Court

• less original, more appellate

• moot cases - involves a pretended controversy or one where the Court’s judgement would have no practical effect upon the existing controversy

• standing to sue - must have a direct, personal interest before suing

• ripe - if another body can decide the question, that body must have had the opportunity to settle that issue (must go through the correct process)

Rule of four - requires that at least four justices of the Supreme Court must agree to hear a case before it can be placed on the Court’s docket.

Writ of Cert. - Writ of Certiorari - an order by a higher court directing a lower court to send up a case for review.

due process of law - notice, hearing, ruling

• procedural (enumerated) due process - conservative, implementing fairness through legally blinding laws and produces, also known as judicial restraint

• substantive (implied) due process - progressive, more susceptible to the bully pulpit, an implementation of fairness, based on basic human rights and not always codified law, also know as judicial activism

Recess Appointments -

• basically the president can appoint judges when Congress is not in session, and the confirmation will have to take place by the end of next session (delayed)

  • this is checked as both chambers must consent to end a session

    • senate can hold pro-forma sessions to block appointments, where they keep a couple of people there so session is still going on

SCOTUS and Scrutiny:

• strict scrutiny - involves race, nationality, religion, or fundamental rights. The Government is more heavily scrutinized and enhanced by the Civil Rights Act of 1964

  • Forms of Discrimination:

    • De Jure - where the law says you can do it

      • legal, codified, mandated

      • mostly considered involuntary

        • ex. jim crow laws, and internment order

      • the government is most likely going to lose

    • De Facto

      • not codified law, but it is widely accepted

      • mostly considered voluntary

        • ex. minority - majority schools

      • could go either way

• Intermediate scrutiny -

  • involves gender and content neutral speech (it’s not what you said, but where you said it)

    • gov is less scrutinized

      • criteria: must have an important government interest, treatment related to the government interest

• rational basis scrutiny -

  • involves other examples not already listed

    • gov usually given benefit of the doubt

      • criteria: gov only needs to show that the treatment is reasonable

Incorporation Doctrine - Bill of Rights applies to the states, not just the federal government

Selective Incorporation - ensures certain protections in the Bill of Rights are applied to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause

Brown v. Board of Education (1954):

• This landmark Supreme Court case declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson. It held that segregated schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and marked a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement.

Engel v. Vitale (1962):

• The Court ruled that a state-sponsored, nondenominational prayer in public schools violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. This decision reinforced the principle of separation of church and state.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963):

• The Court unanimously held that the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel applies to state courts through the Fourteenth Amendment. It ensured that defendants unable to afford an attorney in criminal cases must be provided one by the state.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010):

• This case extended the Second Amendment's right to bear arms to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause. It struck down Chicago's handgun ban, affirming the right to self-defense as fundamental.

New York Times v. United States (1971):

• Known as the "Pentagon Papers Case," the Court ruled that the government could not impose prior restraint on the press to prevent the publication of classified documents unless it could prove a direct, immediate threat to national security. This decision upheld the First Amendment's protection of freedom of the press.

Schenck v. United States (1919):

• The Court established the "clear and present danger" test, ruling that speech creating a significant risk of harm, such as obstructing military recruitment during wartime, is not protected by the First Amendment. It upheld Charles Schenck's conviction under the Espionage Act.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972):

• The Court held that requiring Amish children to attend school beyond the eighth grade violated their First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. It balanced the state's interest in education with the religious practices of the Amish community.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969):

• The Court ruled that students do not lose their First Amendment rights at school, holding that wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War was protected symbolic speech. It emphasized that schools must show substantial disruption to justify suppressing student expression.

Prior restraint occurs when an authority actively prevents the publication or distribution of content before it is released.

Prior review involves an authority reviewing content before it is published but not necessarily stopping it.