Chapter Three Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Enduring

Chapter Three Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Enduring Questions • Why not display religious symbols on government property? • If a person confesses that he has committed a crime, why is that confession sometimes not presented in court? • Should numerical goals be used to ensure that students and workers are drawn from every racial group? • Why has abortion become so controversial an issue? Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 2

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties • Definition of civil liberties • Definition of civil rights • Bill of Rights added as amendments to Constitution, following ratification • Initially, Bill of Rights applied to the federal government • Americans preoccupied with rights for a number of reasons • Few rights are absolute, most are in conflict Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 3

Freedom of Expression • If government wants to restrict expression, it carries the burden of proof • Exceptions to protection • Corporations have many of the same rights as individuals, except those relating to campaign finance • Minors do not have same rights as adults Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4

Church and State • Free exercise clause • The establishment clause Copyright © Houghton

Crime and Due Process • Both the meaning of the protections and the implementation of the Court’s decisions are matters of controversy • Most nations punish police misconduct apart from the criminal trial • United States punishes by excluding improperly obtained evidence Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 6

Crime and Due Process (Cont’d) • The exclusionary rule • Search and seizure • Confessions and self-incrimination • Relaxing the exclusionary rule Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 7

Terrorism and Civil Liberties • USA Patriot Act • Powers of government investigators who have a court order • Other investigatory powers • Statutes of limitation on terrorist crimes eliminated and penalties increased • Noncitizens believed to be terrorists or who have harbored terrorists to be tried in a military court Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8

Equal Protection of the Laws • Violations of the equal protection clause • Race

Table 3. 1: Increase in Number of Black Elected Officials Copyright © Houghton Mifflin

Equal Protection of the Laws (Cont’d) • Sex and “reasonable classifications” • Sexual harassment • The draft: Rostker v. Goldberg (1981) • Privacy and sex Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11

Reconsidering the Enduring Questions • Why not display religious symbols on government property? • If a person confesses that he has committed a crime, why is that confession sometimes not presented in court? • Should numerical goals be used to ensure that students and workers are drawn from every racial group? • Why has abortion become so controversial an issue? Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 12