CIVIL LIBERTIES

• legal and constitutional rights that protect individuals from arbitrary acts of gov (speech, press, religion, fair trial)

selective incorporation

• the Supreme Court uses due process clause of the 14th amendment to apply the specific rights of the bill of rights to the states and local Govs

• selective- used when describing the piece by piece/ right by right concept of the incorporation doctrine

• incorporation is a choice made by the court- judicial activism

• barron v Baltimore- established the precedent that the bill of rights does not apply to states or local Govs

• gitlow v New York

-often called the first incorporation case

-gitlow’s conviction was upheld but the court ruled that freedom of the press and speech are fundamental rights and liberties proved by the due process clause of the 14th amendment and the states cannot impair these rights

1ST AMENDMENT- RELIGION

• establishment clause- prohibits an establishment of a national religion- separation between church and state

• free exercise clause- prohibits gov from interfering w the practice of religion

• ALL RIGHTS ARE LIMITED BY THE GOV

supreme court cases

• engel v vitale

• Wisconsin v yoder

• lemon v kurtzman

• Oregon v smith- jammed the use of illegal drugs in religious ceremonies

• Reynolds v US- banned polygamy bc court did not want religious beliefs to supersede the laws of the land

CIVIL LIBERTIES

1ST AMENDMENT- FREE SPEECH- ALWAYS LIMITS ON FREEDOMS

• schenck v US- clear and present danger

• New York Times v Sullivan- written statements are only libelous when they are both false and purposely malicious

-libel- written defamation that falsely attacks a person’s good name and reputation

-slander- spoken defamation that falsely attacks a person’s good name and reputation

obscenity- immoral or indecent words or actions

• roth v US- obscenity is not within the area of constitutionally protected speech

• miller v California- created tests for obscenity and solidifies that obscenity is not protected

symbolic speech

• tinker v des moines

-upheld freedom of speech In a school

-students and teachers do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech at the school house

• texas v johnson- flag burning is a form of symbolic speech protected by the 1st amendments

• prior restraint- attempt to limit freedom or press by preventing material from being published

-near v Minnesota + New York Times company v US- court ruled that prior restrain is a violation of the 1st amedmemt protection of freedom of press

4TH AMENDMENT

• wolf v colorado- incorporated the 4th amedment (not exclusionary rule)

• mapp v Ohio- incorporated the exclusionary rule (evidence obtained by illegal searches or seizures from being admitted in court

6TH AMEDMENT

• Gideon v wainwright- incorporated the right to an attorney

• miranda v arizona- police must inform criminal suspects of their constitutional rights- read them their miranda rights when arrested

RIGHTS TO PRIVACY- THE RIGHT TO BE LEFT ALONE

• Griswold v Connecticut

-ruled that the law criminalizing the use of contraceptives violated the right to marital privacy

• roe v wade- desision to obtain an abortion should be protect by the right to privacy IMPLIED by the bill of rights

CASES

• Marbury v Madison 1803

• McCulloch v maryland 1819

• schenck v marland 1919

• brown v board of education 1954

• baker v Carr 1961

• engel v vitale 1962

• Gideon v wainwright 1963

• tinker v des moines 1969

• New York Times co v US 1971

• Wisconsin v yoder 1972

• shaw v reno 1993

• US v Lopez 1995

• citizens united v federal election commission 2010

• mcDonald v chicago 2010

RACIAL EQUALITY

• dred Scott v sandford

• the reconstruction amendments

• plessy v ferguson- separate but equal

• brown v board of education- overturned separate but equal using the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment

civil rights act of 1964

• ended Jim Crow segregation

• prohibited discrimination in employment on basis of race, color, national origin religion, or gender

• created the equal employment opportunity commission to monitor and enforce protections against job discrimination

• eliminated the poll tax- 24th amendment

VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965

• outlawed literacy tests and other discriminatory practices that had been responsible for disenfranchisement

• provided for federal oversight of voter registration in areas w a history of discriminatory voting practices

• reduced the owner of states in election (states generally had power over elections)

• improved the voter registration disparity between whites and blacks

• increased minority voting

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

• a policy requiring federal agencies, universities, and most employers to take positive steps to remedy the effects of past discrimination

  • cases- university of California v bake, greater v Bollinger, Gratz v Bollinger

  • court has ruled against quota systems while affirming the right of organizations to use race as one factor among other is admissions and hiring policies

OTHER CIVIL RIGHTS POLICY

• letter from Birmingham jail

  • 14th amendment’s equal protection clause as well as other constitutional provisions have often been used to support the advancement of equality

  • civic participation in a representative democracy

  • the leadership and events associated w civil rights are evidence of how the equal protection clause can support and motivate social movements

• what is a social movement?

  • a widely shared demand for change in some aspect of the social or political order

• other policies

  • civil rights act of 1964

  • voting rights act of 1965

  • Americans w disabilities of 1990

  • equal rights amendment

  • 24th amendment

  • 26th amendment

  • title IX of the education amendment act of 1972

  • fair housing act 1968

  • executive order 11246

  • civil rights act of 1991

  • Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act of 2009

  • obergefell v Hodges 2015