AP GOVERNMENT CHAPTER 8 CIVIL LIBERTIES Civil Rights

AP GOVERNMENT CHAPTER 8 CIVIL LIBERTIES

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties – Involve basic freedoms, and are protections against government restraint (freedom or speech, religion, press etc. ) Civil Rights is a term sometimes reserved for those positive acts of government that seek to make constitutional guarantees a reality for all people.

Federalism & Incorporation The Bill of Rights The most famous of the Constitution’s guarantees apply only to the National Government, not the government of the States. The Supreme Court held that the Bill of Rights only restricts the National Government in Barron v. Baltimore, in 1833.

Federalism & Incorporation The Modifying Effect of the 14 th Amendment The 14 th Amendment’s Due Process Clause provides that no State can “deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law…”. However, to include rights under that heading, the Supreme Court had to define the rights on a case by case basis, called the process of incorporation or selective incorporation

The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments The 5 th Amendment provides that “no person … shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law…”. The 14 th Amendment extends that restriction to State and local governments. Due process means that the government must act fairly and in accord with established rules at all times. Due process is broken down into two branches: Substantive due process—the fairness of the laws themselves Procedural due process—the fairness of the procedures used to enforce the laws

Freedom of Religion Two guarantees of religious freedom: Establishment Clause Guards against establishing a mandated religion. In effect, freedom from religion Free Exercise Clause Guards against the government interfering in the exercise of any religion. In effect, freedom for religion.

Freedom of Religion A wall of separation? Church and government are constitutionall y separated from one another. However, the government supports churches and religion in a variety of ways, including tax exemption.

The Lemon Test is based on Lemon v. Kurtzman, (1971) The purpose of the aid must be nonreligious. The aid can neither advance nor inhibit religion. Aid must not excessively entangle the government with religion.

The Free Exercise Clause Limits Actions that violate social duties or disrupt social order are not covered under the Free Exercise Clause. Examples: Bigamy (Reynolds v. U. S. 1879) No state-sponsored, recited public prayer in public school (Engle v. Vitale Schoolchildren who have not been vaccinated Free Exercise Upheld The Court has found many government actions to be counter to the Free Exercise Clause. 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

Freedom of Speech and the Press Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Press guarantees are meant to: Protect each person’s right of free expression, whether spoken, written, or communicated in any other way. Protect all persons’ right to a complete discussion of public affairs.

Freedom of Speech and Press do not Protect: Libel, the false and malicious use of written words Slander, the false and malicious use spoken words Obscenity Words that incite others to commit crimes Schenck v. US (Clear and Present Danger Test) Speech posing an immediate serious threat to national security Gitlow v. New York (Bad Tendency Test ) Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

Obscenity laws are enforced under the postal power (Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the Constitution). Obscenity Test laid out in Miller v. California, 1973 1) The average person finds that the work appeals to “prurient interests” judging from contemporary standards. 2) The work describes offensive sexual conduct that is specifically outlawed as obscene. 3) The work lacks serious value of any variety.

Symbolic Speech Symbolic speech is expression by conduct. Picketing, the patrolling of a business site by workers on strike, is a prevalent form of symbolic speech Somewhere between speech and action - generally protected Burning draft cards is not protected (United States v. O’Brien, 1968) Flag burning is protected (Texas v. Johnson, 1989) Students wearing black arm bands to protest the Vietnam War is protected (Tinker v. Des Moines, 1969)

Prior Restraint The Media and Freedom of the Press In most cases, the government cannot curb ideas before they are expressed. It can punish ideas after they are expressed. In New York Times v. United States, 1971, the government sought a court order to keep newspapers from printing “the Pentagon Papers” which had been stolen and leaked to the press. The Supreme Court found that the government couldn’t show that the papers endangered national security enough to justify prior restraint of publication.

The Federal Communications Commission The government can limit content on radio, television and in movies Examples include: barring false and misleading advertisement, advertising illegal goods or services, and the promotion of tobacco products on the radio or television, and “indecent material”

Freedom of Assembly & Petition The right to assemble, or gather with one another to express views. The right to bring views to the attention of public officials. The Government can limit Time, place & manner, require permits, and this only apples to public, not private spaces W

Prior Restraint and “Hecklers Veto”

The Second Amendment: The Right to Keep and Bear Arms Colonial times Distrust of standing armies evident State militias 2 nd Amendment passed to make sure that Congress could not pass laws to disarm state militias – appeased Anti-Federalists 1934 – Congress passed the National Firearms Act Response to organize crime U. S. v. Miller (1939) upheld the constitutionality of the act Brady Bill - Ban on Assault Weapons (Clinton; ten year time limit) Not renewed by Bush or the Republican-controlled congress prior to the 2004 elections when it expired Heller v. D. C. (2008) Court rewrites the Constitution 5 -4

Rights of those Accused of a Crime Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953 – 1969) The Warren Court Substantially Expands the Rights of the Accused

Defendant Civil Liberties The th 4 Amendment Search & Seizure Protections Mapp v. Ohio 1961 and the exclusionary rule

Protection Against Self Incrimination The Fifth Amendment Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

The Fifth Amendment Grand Jury – a group of citizens who, based on evidence presented to them as a jury, decide whether or not there is enough evidence to take a defendant to trial. Double Jeopardy – prosecution of an individual more than once for the same crime. You can be tried for them same crime in both state and federal court however.

Sixth Amendment The Sixth Amendment guarantees a right to counsel. In the past this meant that a defendant could hire an attorney. Since most criminals are poor they did not have counsel. In Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), Gideon, a poor man, was accused of a crime and denied a lawyer. The Court ruled unanimously that a lawyer was a necessity in criminal court, not a luxury. The state must provide a lawyer to poor defendants in felony cases.

Right to Counsel Gideon v. Wainwright, (1963) Public Defender Law is Established Extension of the Sixth Amendment

The Eighth Amendment Is the Death Penalty Cruel and Unusual? Furman v. Georgia, (1972) The Court voted 5 to 4 to invalidate all then-existing death penalty laws based on the inherent arbitrariness of their application

Death Penalty by State

The Eighth Amendment Gregg v. Georgia, (1976) The Court upheld Georgia's new capital-sentencing procedures, concluding that they had sufficiently reduced the problem of arbitrary and capricious imposition of death associated with earlier statutes.

The 9 th Amendment “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. ” The Ninth Amendment states that the American people possess rights that are not set out explicitly in the Constitution. It has been used to protect rights as various as the rights of the accused to a woman’s right to abortion without undue interference by government

The Right to Privacy The constitutional guarantees of due process create a right of privacy. Established in Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965, which held that a law outlawing birth-control was unconstitutional. In Stanley v. Georgia, 1969, the right of privacy was defined as “the right to be free, except in very limited circumstances, from unwanted governmental intrusion into one’s privacy. ” The right of privacy provoked controversy when it was applied to a woman’s right to an abortion, beginning with Roe v. Wade in 1973.

The Right to Die 1997 Court ruled unanimously that terminally ill persons DO NOT have a constitutional right to physician assisted suicide Oregon voters approved a right to die law in 2001. Attorney General Ashcroft issued legal opinion that this was not acceptable. State and national conflict Federal judge ruled that Ashcroft, then Attorney General, had overstepped his authority Gonzales v. Oregon (2005) Court once again disagreed and upheld Oregon’s law by a 6 -3 vote.