Ap u.s. government & politics Thursday, April 5, 2018

Warm-Up/HW Check Most of the individual protections of the Bill of Rights now apply to the states because of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution’s: a. Preamble. b. Necessary and proper clause. c. Supremacy clause d. Tenth Amendment e. Fourteenth Amendment

Current events discussion 7 Minutes

“selective incorporation” of rights, via the due process clause

The Bill of Rights Protects many of the traditional rights of citizens: Religion Speech Keep and bear arms From unreasonable searches Trial by jury Etc. When the Bill of Rights was originally enacted, who did it protect us against? The Supreme Court confirmed this in Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

The 14th Amendment and Incorporation The 14th Amendment places serious restrictions on the states’ police power In the wake of its enactment, some scholars argued that the Amendment incorporated the protections in the Bill of Rights, making them applicable to the states The Supreme Court never definitively answered this question Instead, the Court has opted for Selective Incorporation: Specific fundamental rights are ruled to be applicable to the states, when issues regarding the denial of those rights have been raised in individual cases The textual “vehicle” for incorporation is the Due Process Clause: Selected rights are ruled to be so fundamental to individual liberty, that denial of those rights by a state would amount to a denial of “due process”

Student SCOTUS Intro: Free Speech Fact Pattern Individually, read the fact pattern and consider the question of whether the statute at issue is a violation of the right to free speech. Write your Opinion, in which you decide the case and explain your reasoning.

Homework 1) Freedom of Speech Fact Pattern and Opinion 2) Textbook, p. 109-121