Civil Liberties 1 st Amendment First Amendment Congress
Civil Liberties 1 st Amendment
First Amendment • Congress shall make not law respecting the establishment of religion, • Or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, • Or abridging the freedom of speech, • Or of the press; • Or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, • And to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Establishment Clause • Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) • Nonpublic Elementary and Education Act in Pennsylvania allowed the state to reimburse nonpublic schools (most were Catholic) for the salaries of teachers who taught secular material and for secular textbooks. ? $
Establishment Clause • The court creates the Lemon Test: • For legislation to be legal it must meet all three requirements: • The government’s action must have a secular legislative purpose. • The government’s action must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion • The governments action must not result in an “excessive government entanglement” with religion.
Establishment Clause • The court ruled that the Nonpublic Elementary and Education Act was unconstitutional based on the third prong of the Lemon Test.
Establishment Issues • Use of school facilities cannot be denied to religious clubs or groups if available to other school groups • The government may provide financial aid to parents who want to send their children to private schools that may be religious or secular. • See the First Amendment Issues handout for Establishment court cases.
Free Exercise Clause • Reynolds v. United States (1879) • George Reynolds belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He married a second woman which violated Utah’s Morrill Anti. Bigamy Act. • The Mormons believed the law was unconstitutional so they had George Reynolds marry a second woman to become a test case.
Free Exercise Clause • He was indicted by a grand jury and served two years in prison. • Supreme Court upheld this decision. Key points: • There is a distinction between religious belief and action that flowed from religious belief. Congress can regulate actions. • Religious duty was not a suitable defense to a criminal indictment.
Free Exercise Issues • Employment Division v. Smith (1990) – Law against using peyote was upheld because the law did not intend to disadvantage a particular religion. • Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) – Amish families were removing their children from public schools after the 8 th grade. SC ruled for the Amish families. Their decision stemmed from deep religious convictions and the students would not become burdens on society.
Freedom of Speech • Schenck v. United States (1919) – Man passed out leaflets telling people to oppose the draft. • Court rules: Defendant's criticism of the draft was not protected by the First Amendment, because it created a clear and present danger to the enlistment and recruiting practices of the U. S. armed forces during a state of war. • This case leads to the Clear and Present Danger Test.
Freedom of Speech • However, in Brandenburg v Ohio (1969) hateful and violent speeches made by KKK members were protected under the 1 st amendment. • Brandenburg Test: • For the government to intervene the speaker must subjectively intend incitement (imminent evil), use words which are likely to produce action (imminent action), and openly encourage or urge incitement (suggesting, for example, it's a duty to commit a crime).
Freedom of Speech - Symbolic • Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) – The right for students to wear black armbands to protest the Vietnam War was upheld. • Texas v Johnson (1989) – Burning an American flag to protest the policies of Ronald Reagan was protected as symbolic speech.
Freedom of Press • Prior Restraint – The government cannot establish rules about what can or cannot be published but it can punish after the fact • New York Times v. United States (1971) – The SC refused to block the printing of the Pentagon Papers (classified Do. D documents about the Vietnam War).
Freedom of Press • Reporters want to keep their sources confidential so people will be willing to share secrets. • However, the Supreme Court has ruled that reporters must respond to questions in the course of a trial like any other citizen. • Reporters can be arrested for refusing to testify.
Freedom of Assembly • Government can limit the time, manner, and place of peaceable assembly but usually not the content of the opinions shared by those assembling. • Content that can be restricted is • Overthrow of the government • Messages which intend to incite violence
- Slides: 15