Gov

First Amendment

Extended the 5 basic freedoms, Speech, Religion, Assembly, Petition,

Press

Significant because it was the 1st and the anti-federalists wanted to make

sure those rights were given and couldn’t be taken away by the

government.

Establishment Clause: “Congress shall make no law respecting an

establishment of religion”

Fourth Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and

effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Significant because it protects people against unreasonable searches and

seizures without probable cause, and was extended to the states in Mapp

v. Ohio

Fifth Amendment

Self-Incrimination: The Fifth Amendment protects criminal defendants

from having to testify if they may incriminate themselves through the

testimony.

Due process clause: different from the version in 14th amendment, since

it only restricts the federal government. Says to the federal government

that no one shall be "deprived of life, liberty or property without due

process of law.

Sixth Amendment

Grants all those in criminal prosecution the right to a public and speedy

trial, by an impartial jury of the State in the district where the crime was

committed.

Evident in Gideon v. Wainwright, which guaranteed that anyone convicted

for a crime that could result in jail time, no matter how poor, has the right

to a lawyer.

Tenth Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor

prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to

the people, meaning that the Federal Government only had the powers

that are delegated in the constitution

Significant because it further defined the balance of power between the

Federal government and the states.

Thirteenth Amendment

The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified after the Civil War that forbade

slavery and involuntary servitude

Significant because it abolished slavery in the United States, and marks

the start of an era of Civil rights

Fourteenth Amendment

Due process clause: Different from the one in 5th amendment, the due

process clause in 14th Amendment expanded the application of The Billof Rights to state government, making it mandatory for states to respect

personal freedom. (Incorporation Doctrine).

“No State shall make or

enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of

citizens of the United States”

Equal protection clause: The Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection

Clause requires states to practice equal protection regardless of race,

gender, etc. (Incorporation Doctrine) It is crucial to the protection of civil

rights and the promotion for equality.

The first amendment of the Constitution that mentions equality. Equality is

not mentioned in the original constitution.

Fifteenth Amendment

Passed in 1869

Prevented the government from discriminating against voters or

preventing them based on race, sex, skin color, etc.

Seventeenth Amendment

Passed by Congress on May 13, 1912

Allow voters to cast direct votes for U.S. senators.

Twenty Fourth Amendment

Passed in 1964

Eliminated the ability for the state or federal government to impose taxes

at voting polls.

Equal Rights Amendment

Passed in 1972 but not ratified until 2020, well after the deadline.

A proposed Amendment designed to guarantee legal rights for all citizens

regardless of sex.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Passed in 1990

Prohibits discrimination based on disabilities and makes sure disabled

people have an equal opportunity for employment.

Civil Rights Act

Passed in 1964

Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or

national origin. Provisions of this also applied this prohibition of

discrimination in hiring, promoting, and firing in the workplace.

Significant because it encouraged the enforcement of voting rights and

desegregation of schools.

Voting Rights Act

Passed in 1965

A law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African

American suffrage.

Significant because hundreds of thousands of African Americans were

registered, and the number of African American elected officials increased

dramatically.

Cases to Have understanding of:Regents of UC vs. Bakke

Bakke created an argument against an admissions quota set forth by

affirmative action for his college admissions.

The use of race as a definite and exclusive basis for an admission

decision violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth

Amendment.

Bakke won the case.

Barron v. Baltimore

Baltimore dock owner John Barron claimed that the city's construction

had disrupted water flow in the harbor area. He said that sand

accumulations in the harbor denied Barron access to deep waters,

reducing his revenues. He filed a lawsuit against the city to recoup some

of his financial losses. The trial court granted him $4,500 in damages,

which was overturned by the state appeal court. Question: Does the Fifth

Amendment deny the states as well as the national government the right

to take private property for public use without justly compensating the

property's owner?

Dred Scott v. Sanford

the U.S. Supreme Court stated that enslaved people were not citizens of

the United States and, therefore, could not expect any protection from the

federal government or the courts

Dennis v. US

11 communist party leaders were convicted of advocating the violent

overthrow of the US government which violated several points in the

Smith Act. The act made it unlawful to knowingly conspire to teach and

advocate the overthrow of the US government. However, one of the

leaders, Eugene Dennis, argued that the Smith Act violated their First

Amendment rights.

Significant because the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Smith Act

meaning that advocating the overthrow and destruction of the US

government is unconstitutional. The Court said that the Smith Act did not

“inherently” violate the 1st amendment.

US won

Schenck v. US

During World War I, socialists Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer

distributed leaflets and argued the public to disobey the military draft, but

advised only peaceful action. Schenck was charged with conspiracy to

violate the Espionage Act of 1917 by inciting people to violate the draft.

Schenck defended himself by saying the act violated the First

Amendment freedom of speech.

The Court held that the Espionage Act did not violate the First

Amendment and was an appropriate exercise of Congress’ wartime

authority.

Schenck lost the case.Gitlow v. NY

Gitlow, a socialist, was arrested in 1919 after distributing a “left-wing

manifesto” that called for the establishment of socialism. He was

convicted under NYs Criminal Anarchy law, which punished the advocacy

for overthrowing the government. Gitlow argued that since there was no

action sprouting from his actions, his arrest was wrongful.

Resulted in a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court decided that

the 14th amendment extended the 1st amendment’s provisions protecting

freedom of speech and freedom of the press to apply to state

governments. The Court decided that the speech is not sufficient to pass

the clear and present danger test used in Schenck, and therefore Gitlow

won the case

Gitlow won.

McCulloch v. Maryland

McCulloch created an argument stating if the federal government had the

power to set up a national bank. And if Maryland’s attempt to tax it,

because it was within its state borders, was unconstitutional.

The Necessary and Proper Clause (Art I, Section 8) was used as a part of

his argument. It grants implied power to the Congress, giving them the

authority to establish a national bank.

McCulloch won

Korematsu v. US

Was the first time the Court created a separate standard of review for a

law utilizing a suspect classification, stating that laws which discriminate

on the basis of race “are immediately suspect” and must be subjected to

“the most rigid scrutiny.

”

The Supreme Court held that the wartime internment of American citizens

of Japanese descent was constitutional

Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg County Schools

established that federal courts had the authority to intervene regarding the

desegregation of schools in the states.

The Fourteenth Amendment permits the systematic use of buses to

convey children of different races across district lines to further the goal of

integrating public schools.

Brown v. Board of Education

The public school system in Topeka, Kansas, refused to enroll local black

resident Oliver Brown's daughter at the school closest to their home for

the reason of racial segregation.

The Court decided that State-sanctioned segregation of public schools

was a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment and

was therefore unconstitutional.

Significant because this decision marked the end of the "separate but

equal" precedent set by the Supreme Court nearly 60 years earlier inPlessy v. Ferguson, although in reality racial segregation was still

enforced by some states.

Brown won the case.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Plessy sat in the whites only section of a train and was arrested. Plessy’s

loss resulted in the formation of the “Separate But Equal Clause” which

stated that though whites and blacks were in different train cars, they

were equal and therefore not impacted by the 14th amendment equal

protection clause.

Near v. Minnesota

The Minnesota Gag Law was deemed unconstitutional. It was established

it was unconstitutional for the government to censor or prohibit anyone

from publishing articles and lawsuits against publications must be carried

out after publication.

Prior restraint violates the first amendment guarantee of freedom of

speech and

Miller v. California

Marvin Miller was convicted of violating a California statute that prohibited

the distribution of obscene material. This was after he conducted a mass

mailing campaign to advertise the sale of “adult” material.

Significant because the Court established a modified test for obscenity in

the prior case Roth v. United States and Memoirs v. Massachusetts. The

Supreme Court also ruled that obscene material was not under First

Amendment protection.

California won

NY Times v. Sullivan

Sullivan (Alabama police commissioner) sued the New York Times for

defamation.

NY Times won. The First amendment protects the right to make

unintentional mistakes in speech. Instead, the target of the statement

must show that it was made with knowledge of or reckless disregard for

its falsity.

Mapp v. Ohio

Landmark decision in which the Supreme Court ruled that the

exclusionary rule, which prevented prosecutors from using evidence that

was obtained by violating the 4th amendment, applies not only to the

federal government but state governments as well.

Dollree Mapp was convicted of possessing obscene material after the

police raided her home without obtaining a warrant searching for a

fugitive. She appealed her conviction on the basis of freedom of

expression

Miranda v. Arizona

Miranda was arrested and questioned by the police about kidnapping and

rape.Police officers admitted that they had not advised Miranda of his right to have an

attorney present during the interrogation.

The 5th amendment guarantees the right against self incrimination and

the right to legal counsel. It applied in this case, and Miranda won the

case.

Roe v. Wade

Jane Roe (fictional name to protect her identity) filed a lawsuit against

Henry Wade, the district attorney of Texas, challenging a Texas law

making abortion illegal. Roe argues that the 1st, 4th, 9th, and 14th

amendment protected her right of privacy.

Significant because the Court decided that the right to have an abortion is

a right that is protected by the 14th amendment, making it legal.