Civil Liberties: First Amendment Freedoms

1. Civil Liberties: First Amendment Freedoms

2. Bill of Rights • The general rights of the people are found in the Bill of Rights • Not just citizens, but aliens as well • 13th & 14th added to the Constitution’s guarantees of personal freedoms • Not universal • Relative to the rights of others • Cannot do something if it infringes on the rights of another • Rights can conflict with one another • Can be limited during wartime

3. National Government • Bill of Rights applies only to the national government • Barron v. Baltimore (1833) • SC determined BoR restricts only National Government

4. 14th Amendment • No State can “deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law…” • Process of Incorporation • SC has to define the rights on a case by case basis with regard to states

5. 9th Amendment • American people possess rights that are not set out explicitly in the Constitution • Example: Right to privacy • The Constitutional guarantees of due process create a right to privacy (more on that later)

6. Religion • Guards against establishing a mandated religion • Guards against the government interfering in the exercise of any religion • “Believe what you want to believe” Establishment Free Exercise

7. Separation of Church & State • Church and government are constitutionally separated • Government supports churches and religion in a variety of ways • Tax exemption

8. Lemon Test • Lemon v. Kurtzman • Lemon Test • Purpose of the aid must be nonreligious (secular) • Aid cannot advance nor inhibit religion • Aid must not excessively entangle the government with religion

9. Free Exercise • When it violates social duties or disrupts social order • Examples • Bigamy • Using poisonous snakes in religious ceremonies • Schoolchildren who have not been vaccinated • Examples: • Amish children cannot be forced to go to school after grade 8 • Ministers are allowed to hold elective office • Unemployment benefits cannot be denied to someone who quit their job because of religious beliefs Limited Upheld

10. Freedom of Speech & Press • Right of free expression • Protects right to have a complete discussion of public affairs • Not universal • Has been restricted the most in radio & television (most accessible) as compared to magazines, movies & newspapers • Does not protect: • Libel • Slander • Obscenity • Words that incite other to commit crimes

11. Seditious Speech • Speech that advocates the overthrowing of the government & disrupting lawful activities by violent acts • Alien & Sedition Acts – made false criticism of the government illegal • Expired in 1800 • Sedition Act of 1917 – crime to encourage disloyalty or spread anti-government ideas during a time of crisis • SC upheld in cases of “clear & present danger” • Smith Act of 1940 – forbade advocating the violent overthrow of the govt or belonging to a group that does • SC upheld, but makes it difficult to enforce

12. Prior Restraint • The concept that the government can restrict what you say before you say it • SC has rarely upheld prior restraint • SC often believe the government cannot curb ideas before they are expressed. • It can punish ideas after they are expressed

13. Symbolic Speech • Expression by conduct • Examples: • Picketing • Flag burning • Does not cover: • Destroying draft cards

14. Right to Assembly • Time-Place-Manner Regulations • The government can make and enforce rules regarding the time, place and manner of assemblies • Protect against violence or riots • Private Property • Right to assembly does not give people a right to trespass on private property

15. Civil Liberties: Protecting Individual Rights

16. Due Process • “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law” • At the federal level • Extends that restriction to state and local government 5th Amendment 14 Amendment

17. Two Types of Due Process • The fairness of the laws themselves • The fairness of the procedures used to enforce the laws Substantive Procedural

19. Right to Privacy • The Due Process clause has created an implied right to privacy • The right to privacy has been applied most recently in Roe v. Wade • Abortion

20. 2nd Amendment • Allows each state the right to establish a militia • U.S. v. Miller (1939) • Forbid shipping sawed-off shotguns, silencers & machine guns across state lines without informing the Treasury Dept and paying a tax • Court upheld this provision • 2nd Amendment has not been extended to each state under the 14th Amendment • States have the right to regulate arms

21. 4th Amendment “right against unreasonable search & seizure”

22. Article I, Section 9 & 10 • Writ of Habeas Corpus: prevents unjust arrests & imprisonment • Bills of Attainder: laws that inflict punishment without a court trial • Ex Post Facto laws: new laws cannot apply to things that happened in the past

23. 5th Amendment • Cannot be “compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” • Cannot be forced to confess to a crime • Husband/wife cannot be forced to testify against their spouse • Attorney • If you cannot afford one, you still get one (if you want)

24. 6th Amendment • Criminals are guaranteed a speedy & public trial • Criminal trials are guaranteed an impartial jury • If the defendant waives the right to jury trial, a bench trial is held • Most juries have to be unanimous to convict

25. 8th Amendment • Forbids “cruel & unusual punishment.” • SC extended it to the states in Robinson v. California (1962)

26. Capital Punishment • SC voided capital punishment in the early 1970s • 1976 • New law • 2-stage trial • 1st trial would determine guilt/innocence • 2nd trial would determine if death penalty was warranted • SC would later limit the death penalty to cases where the victim died

27. Treason • Only crime defined by the Constitution • Examples: • Levying war against the U.S. • Giving aid/comfort to enemies • Treason can only be in times of war, espionage or sabotage can be committed in peacetime • John Brown only person to be executed for treason

28. Civil Rights Equal Justice Under the Law

29. Heterogeneous Society • The U.S. has a heterogeneous society • Composition of the U.S. has changed over time • Immigrants • African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American populations • Women • Over time, the makeup of the American population has become more diverse

30. Equality • Over time, the group that has historically held power (white-male) have been reluctant to accept equality among minority groups • Even though the Constitution states that no person can be denied equal protection of the law

31. Women’s Rights • 1848 • Declaration of Sentiments • Modeled after the Declaration of Independence • Attempted to highlight the inequality that existed with the creation of the DoI & the execution of the Constitution

32. Women • Women are not a minority, making up 51% of the U.S. population • But, on average: • Earn less than men • >10% of Congress • >20% of State legislatures • Underrepresented in the private sector

33. Women & the Supreme Court • Since 1971, the Supreme Court has struck down many laws that discriminate on the basis of gender • However, some laws allow men and women to be treated differently, but they must meet certain criteria • Serve an “important government objective” • “Substantially related” to achieving that goal

34. Segregation • Segregation: separation of one group from another • De jure segregation: separation by law • Jim Crow laws • De facto segregation: separation by societal means • Housing & schooling patterns in some areas of the country

35. Plessy v. Ferguson 1896: Established a policy of separate but equal Facilities could be separated based on race as long as the facilities were of equal quality

40. Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Overturned the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson “Separate is inherently unequal”

41. Civil Rights Legislation • Created U.S. Civil Rights Commission • Commission would inquire into claims of voter discrimination • It gave the Attorney General power to get court orders to protect any person’s right to vote in a federal election • Appointment of federal voting referees • They would help qualified persons register & vote Civil Rights Act of 1957 Civil Rights Act of 1960

42. March on Washington (1963) • MLK Jr. and more than 200,000 people march on Washington • Delivers his famous “I Have a Dream” speech

43. Civil Rights Act of 1964 Outlaws discrimination in areas such as jobs Forbids the use of voter registration or literacy requirements in an unfair or discriminatory way

44. Selma, Alabama Early 1965 Martin Luther King Jr. leads voter registration drive Met with insults and violence from civilians, city police & state troopers

48. Voting Rights Act of 1965 Made the 15th Amendment truly effective Applied to all elections—State, local and federal Challenged the constitutionality of poll taxes Suspended literacy tests Made preclearance a requirement for certain states

49. Preclearance Applied to states/counties where a majority of the electorate had not voted in the 1964 election No new laws and no changes to existing laws could go into effect in these states without the approval of the Justice Department Six entire states were required to do this: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia

50. Affirmative Action • Beginning in 1965, affirmative action programs established guidelines for overcoming past discriminations • Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) • Race cannot be used as the only factor in making affirmative action decisions