Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Descriptions of Freedom
• Civil Liberties
– Protections against government
• Civil Rights
– Protections against each other
• Purpose of the Bill of Rights?
• 9th Amendment
• Due Process Clause (5th and 14th Amendments)
– “No State shall…”
9th Amendment
“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain
rights, shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people.”
14th Amendment
“No state shall deprive a person of life liberty or
property, without the due process of law.”
Crash Course!
Religion
• 1st Amendment guarantee
– Establishment Clause (freedom from)
– Free Exercise Clause (freedom for)
• Government often does support churches
Supreme Court Decisions on Religion
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Released Time
Prayers and the Bible
Student Religious Groups
Evolution
Aid to Parochial Schools*
Seasonal Displays (Fortuna!)
Chaplains in Legislatures
Religion
• Lemon Test to determine federal aid
1. Purpose of aid must be nonreligious
2. Aid can not advance nor inhibit religion
3. Must not mix religion/government too much
• Crash Course video!
Speech
• Purpose of freedom of Speech and Press?
• 4 limits on speech
1. Libel
2. Slander
3. Obscenity
• "I know it when I see it."
4. Seditious speech
• Congressional limits on Sedition
Freedom of the Press?
• Limits on Radio and Television (FCC)
• Confidentiality
– Not protected by 1st Amendment
– Shield Laws
• Prior Restraint
– Cannot arrest someone before they act
Symbolic Speech
• Speaking without using words
– Expression by conduct
– Ex. Picketing
• Limited protection by the constitution
– Burning draft cards vs American flag
Civil Rights:
Equal Justice Under Law
Police Powers
• Purpose?
• 4 areas to enforce
1. Health
2. Safety
3. Morals
4. General welfare
Probable Cause
• Reasonable suspicion of crime
– Arrests
– Automobiles
– Drug Testing
• Exclusionary Rule
– Ex. Wiretapping
Restrictions on Power
• Writ of Habeas Corpus
– Prevents unjust arrest/imprisonment
• Bills of Attainder
– Punishes a person without a court trial
• Ex Post Facto Laws
– Laws written after the event occurred
• No Double Jeopardy
– You may not be tried for the same crime twice
Trial Rights
Speedy and Public Trial
Trial by Jury
Grand Jury
Self-Incrimination
Miranda Rule
Some rights of the accused:
1. to be informed of the content and form of the
accusation
2. to be confronted with the witnesses against
her/him
3. to be able to subpoena witnesses to testify on
his/her behalf
4. to have a lawyer speak in his/her defense
Cruel and Unusual Punishment
• Prohibited by 8th Amendment
– Intent?
• Supreme Court applied idea to states in 1962
• Interesting case examples
– Defining narcotic addition as crime?
– Denying prison inmate medical care?
– Death penalty?
Capital Punishment
• SC outlawed death penalty, 1972, on 8th Amendment
– Overturned precedent in 1976
• Two-stage trial process established
1. Guilty or Innocent?
2. Is death penalty warranted?*
• What is “clemency?”
Treason
• The only crime defined in the Constitution
• Definition
– Levying war against the United States
– Giving aid and comfort to the enemies of
the United States.
• Can only occur in times of war (John Brown?)
• Punishable by the death penalty
• Other crimes against government?
Civil Liberties:
Protecting Individual Rights
Equal Protection Clause
• The 14th Amendment
• However, government MAY differentiate people
– MAY NOT discriminate unreasonably
• Two measures to determine this:
1. The Rational Basis Test
2. The Strict Scrutiny Test
Segregation
• Definition
• Jim Crow Laws
– Plessy v Ferguson
• Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
• Integration programs
• De facto segregation
Only Mention of Sex in Constitution?
• 19th Amendment
• Can laws treat men and women differently?
• Yes, IF
1. “important government objective”
2. “substantially related” to achieving that
goal
Civil Rights Acts
First Civil Rights Act passed in _____?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
24th Amendment
Voting Rights Act of 1965*
The Civil Rights Act of 1968
Voting Rights Video #1
Voting Rights Video #2
Affirmative Action
• What is it?
• Who does it affect?
• Important SCOTUS decisions
– Regents of the U. of California v. Bakke, 1978
– Adarand Constructors v. Pena, 1995
– Fisher v. University of Texas, 2016!
Citizenship
• Definition
• Birth Citizenship and 14th Amendment
– Jus Sanguinis vs. Jus Soli
• Naturalization
• Expatriation
– Voluntary
• Denaturalization
– Involuntary by fraud or deception
Immigration
• America is a heterogeneous society
• Only Congress can regulate immigration
– Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882
– National Origins Act, 1929
– Immigration Act of 1965
• Undocumented Aliens
• Deportation
• Trump’s plans?
Journal #12
• What to do about “Fake News”?