Civil Liberties & Civil Rights What you need to know to protect your rights and responsibilities as a citizen

The First Amendment: Freedom of Religion The establishment clause provides that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. Issues include — school prayer, nativity scenes, Pledge of Allegiance, bible class, evolution, The 10 Commandments, private school vouchers. Lemon v. Kurzman 1971 – Lemon Test. (secular, religiously neutral, avoid government religious entanglement.) The free exercise clause protects the right to believe and practice whatever religion one chooses. Issues include — polygamy, religious holidays — peyote and work.

The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech “Congress shall make no law . . . Abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. . . .” Not an Absolute Freedom Strict scrutiny places the burden on the government to prove that a restriction on speech or press is constitutional. — Speech that presents a clear and present danger is not protected by the First Amendment. (Sedition and “fighting words”) — Libel and slander is not protected. — Obscenity is not protected. — Symbolic speech (nonverbal, e.g. flag burning) is protected speech. Figure 5.1

Freedom of the Press Clear and Present Danger Test a threat to public order Preferred-Position Doctrine government must prove limiting is absolutely necessary Prior Restraint censorship and national security

Freedom of Assembly Parades, marches, protests, demonstrations. Court allows requiring permits. Assembling versus loitering. KKK, Nazis, Westboro Baptist Church

The 2nd Amendment: The Right to Bear Arms “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep an bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

The 3rd Amendment: Quartering Troops During peacetime with owners consent During war only by previously established laws.

The 4th Amendment: Rights of the Criminally Accused “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause . . . .” Failure to comply with the Fourth Amendment restricts the use of evidence pursuant to the exclusionary rule (Mapp v. Ohio)

The 5th Amendment: Rights of the Criminally Accused Individuals have the right to a grand jury to determine the merit of criminal charges. A person cannot be tried for the same crime twice (double jeopardy). Individuals have the right to remain silent and cannot be compelled to testify against themselves in a criminal case. Property cannot be taken by the government without just compensation.

The 6th Amendment: The Right to Counsel “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy: the right to a speedy and public trial confronted with witnesses the assistance of counsel.” Gideon v. Wainwright establishes the right to counsel in all felony cases. Figure 5.2

The 7th Amendment Lawsuits in amount exceeding $20, the right to trial by jury shall be preserved. Evidence heard by jury shall only be reconsidered using appropriate common law appeals process.

The 8th Amendment: Cruel and Unusual Punishment The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty was declared unconstitutional in 1972, but was reinstated in 1976, after procedural changes were implemented.

The 9th Amendment The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

The 10th Amendment “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”.

The Right to Privacy Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) created a “zone of privacy” when it was ruled that the state of Connecticut could not prohibit the use of contraceptives. —The U.S. Supreme Court concluded that a right to privacy was created through the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Ninth Amendments.

The Right to Privacy: Abortion In Roe v. Wade (1973), the right to privacy was extended when the U.S. Supreme Court declared restrictive abortion statutes unconstitutional. In Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld restrictions on the use of public facilities for abortions. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), the court narrowed the scope of Roe v. Wade. Gonzalez v. Carhart (2007) – partial birth abortion ban.

The Right to Privacy: Right to Die Assisted suicide. Most states say no and court agrees. In 1997 Oregon became first state to allow assisted suicide.

Civil Rights Legal basis for civil rights Enforcing the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is referred to as the “equal protection clause”. “no State shall make or enforce any law which shall.. deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

The Equal Protection Clause: Supreme Court Interpretations The Supreme Court refused to apply the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to private businesses in the civil rights cases (1873). “Jim Crow” system of segregation in the south.

Civil Rights: Plessy v. Ferguson In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court upheld segregation, as long as the facilities were equal. The doctrine of “separate but equal” was born. Legal or “de jure” segregation was the acceptable to the courts. Sweatt v. Painter – 1950 Texas State University for Negroes ( Created 1947) Texas Southern University

Civil Rights: Brown v. Board of Education In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine and ordered the desegregation of the nation’s public schools. NAACP – 1909 Thurgood Marshall and Rosa Parks

Civil Rights Legislation: The Civil Rights Acts The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was declared unconstitutional. The Civil Rights Acts of the 1950s and 1960s were upheld on a variety of grounds, including the power to regulate interstate commerce.

Affirmative Action Affirmative action encompasses government policies or programs that seek to redress past injuries against specified groups by providing access to education and employment opportunities. It is difficult to determine the best way to provide opportunity. — Quotas -Legal Action

The Supreme Court and the Burden of Proof In Bakke v. UC at Davis (1978), the United States Supreme Court recognized the importance of affirmative action programs, but rejected the procedures used by the University to ensure minority admissions. Specifically, the use of quotas was found to violate the equal protection rights of Mr. Bakke.