Civil Liberties

1. Civil Liberties AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

2. WHAT ARE “CIVIL LIBERTIES”? • Constitutional protections againstgovernment • denial of individual freedoms. • Basic individual freedoms found in • 1st 10 Amendments • Proposed in 1789 • Into effect in 1791 AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

3. BILL of RIGHTS • FIRST AMENDMENT • Freedom of Religion • Freedom of Speech & the Press • Freedom of Assembly & Petition AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

4. BILL of RIGHTS • SECOND AMENDMENT • The right to bear arms • The right to arm bears? AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

5. BILL of RIGHTS • 4th – 5th – 6th – 8th AMENDMENTS • Rights of Defendants • Searches & Seizures • Self-Incrimination • Right to Counsel • Trials • Cruel & Unusual Punishment AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

6. A KEY QUESTION • Does the Bill of Rights apply to States? • Or does it only limit Federal government actions? • 1st Amendment begins . . . • “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion . . . etc.” AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

7. KEY QUESTION: Does the Bill of Rights Apply to the States? • Barron v. Baltimore (1833) • Held that the first ten • "amendments contain no expression • indicating an intention to apply them to the State governments. This court cannot so apply them.“ • Therefore, the Bill of Rights only restrains the • federal government, not the states. AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

8. RECONSTRUCTION AMENDMENTS • Post Civil War Amendments • Thirteenth (1865) • Fourteenth (1868) • Fifteenth (1870) Abolished Slavery Reconstruction was . . . The period after the Civil War . . . in which the South was rebuilt and change was implemented . . . or was it? Prohibited denial of right to vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude” AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

9. RECONSTRUCTION AMENDMENTS • 14th AMENDMENT • No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States . . . • nor shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; • nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

10. KEY QUESTION: Does the Bill of Rights Apply to the States? • Gitlow v. New York (1925) • Benjamin Gitlow was a member • of the Socialist Party of America • Published works that urged • “a revolutionary dictatorship • of the Proletariat.” • Arrested under the Criminal Anarchy Law of New York AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

11. KEY QUESTION: Does the Bill of Rights Apply to the States? • Gitlow v. New York (1925) • Held that the 1st Amendment freedoms • of press and speech are • “protected by the due process clause • of the 14th Amendment from impairment by the states”. • But the Supreme Court upheld his conviction . . . stating that the government could suppress speech that advocated the unlawful overthrow of the government. “Big Bill” Taft Chief Justice AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

12. RECONSTRUCTION AMENDMENTS • 14th AMENDMENT • No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States nor shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

13. THE INCORPORATION DOCTRINE • Legal concept under which the Supreme Court has applied most of the Bill of Rights to the States . . . • through the 14th Amendment. • An important element of the expansion of • Federal power over time. AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

14. and now a • Quick Trip • through the • Individual Liberties AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

15. FREEDOM of RELIGION • The Establishment Clause Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion . . . I am of a sect by myself, as far as I know • Jefferson argued that a • “wall of separation” • prevented government • support of religion AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

16. FREEDOM of RELIGION: Establishment Clause • Engel v. Vitale (1962) • A school district in New York composed an official school prayer and required that it be recited by students. • Court held that state officials violated the 1st Amendment. • The mere promotion of religion in general (a “family of religions”) violates the Establishment Clause. AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

17. FREEDOM of RELIGION: Establishment Clause • Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) Pennsylvania gave money to non-public schools for teacher salaries & books & materials. Ruled unconstitutional as “excessive entanglement” of government & religion. Established “Lemon Test” for state support of non-public schools to be constitutional: • Have a secular legislative purpose • Have a primary effect that neither advancesnor inhibits religion • Not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

18. FREEDOM of RELIGION: Establishment Clause • Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002) • City of Cleveland gave school vouchers ($) to parents who sent their kids to non-public schools. • Court held that a state could provide vouchers to help parents pay for tuition at religious schools. • The “Test” for a law/policy to be constitutional: • Program must have a secular purpose • Aid must go directly to parents, not the school • A broad class of people must benefit • Must be neutral regarding religion • Must be adequate non-religious options AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

19. FREEDOM of RELIGION: Establishment Clause • “the place of religion in our society is an exalted one . . . but in the relationship between man and religion, the State is firmly committed to a position of neutrality”. • Court does not require complete separation of Church & State . . . instead mandates accommodation of all religions and forbids hostility toward any. • Constitution forbids government endorsement of any specific religious beliefs. • Dilemma = drawing a line between neutrality / accommodation and promotion AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

20. FREEDOM of RELIGION: Free Exercise Clause • Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, • or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . . • = tolerance of religious views • Generally courts accept the basic right to BELIEVE whatever people want to believe. AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

21. FREEDOM of RELIGION: Free Exercise Clause • However, the courts and legislatures may restrict • ACTIONS . . . • as long as the restriction applies to all and is not aimed only at the people practicing their religion. AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties

22. FREEDOM of RELIGION: Free Exercise Clause • Examples : • Use of peyote (drugs)? • Polygamy? • Animal sacrifice? • Teen sacrifice? Restriction allowed? YES YES NO ? AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS – Civil Liberties