Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Unit VI Chapters 4 & 5

Liberties v. Rights  Civil Liberties - legal, constitutional protections AGAINST government, and are listed in the Bill of Rights  Civil Rights – policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials

Fourteenth Amendment  “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of the citizens of the United States.”  Due process now applies to States as well as the federal government – equal protection of the law at all levels  Incorporation Doctrine – the legal concept under which the Supreme Court nationalized the Bill of Rights

Establishment Clause  “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion…”  Lemon v. Kurtzman  Supreme Court ruled that aid to church-related schools must:  Have a secular (non-religious) legislative purpose (i.e., public funds may be used for buildings, textbooks, etc.)  Have a primary effect that neither advances or inhibits religion’  Not foster excessive government entanglement with religion

Establishment Clause cont.  Zelman v. Simmons-Harris  The Supreme Court upheld a program that provided families in Cleveland, Ohio, vouchers that could be used to pay tuition at religious schools  Group discussion – are school vouchers constitutional?

Freedom of Religion  Free Exercise Clause – prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion  Prayer in school – NOT unconstitutional; student may pray silently, BUT, student-led prayer at sporting games was ruled as unconstitutional in 2000  “Moments of silence” – unconstitutional because the intent was to bring prayer back to schools

Freedom of Expression  Prior restraint – government preventing material from being published = UNCONSTITUTIONAL  Near v. Minnesota – a newspaper editor called local politicians a slew of non-flattering names, and the State closed down his business. However, the S.C. ordered that the newspaper be reopened because newspapers are protected by the First Amendment, just as people are  HOWEVER, prior restraint may be used during wartime, and someone may be punished for their words after something is published

Freedom of Expression cont.  Speech is limited if it presents a “clear and present danger” (i.e., encouraging people to resist the draft)  Speech cannot be used to incite anyone to imminent lawless action  Speech is generally protected in public places, but usually not on another’s private property (i.e., shopping malls, businesses)

Freedom of Expression cont.  Obscenity – although not clearly defined, obscene speech is NOT protected  Miller v. California – Supreme Court held that community standards be used to determine whether material is obscene  Obscene if it:  Showed patently offensive sexual conduct  Lacked serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value

Freedom of Expression cont.  NOT PROTECTED  Libel – the publication of false or malicious statements that damage someone’s reputation ( written )  Slander - the publication of false or malicious statements that damage someone’s reputation ( spoken )

Freedom of Expression  Symbolic speech – nonverbal communication (i.e. flag burning or wearing an arm band) IS protected  Commercial speech – most restricted and regulated form of speech (Federal Trade Commission)  Right to Assemble – time, place, manner rules apply  Right to Associate – freedom to join groups without government interference  Defendants’ Rights – spelled out in Amendments 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)  Probable cause, no unreasonable search and seizure, protection against self incrimination, right to counsel and trials, no cruel or unusual punishment

Equality  Equal opportunity = same chances  Equal results – same rewards

Civil Rights Era  Plessy v. Ferguson – separate but equal accommodations are constitutional  Brown v. Board of Education – overturned Plessy; school segregation was unconstitutional  Civil Rights Act of 1964  Made racial discrimination illegal in hotels, restaurants, and other public accommodation  Created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Voting  Suffrage – the right to vote  Fifteenth Amendment – allowed African Americans to vote  Poll taxes – small taxes levied on the right to vote (later outlawed in the 24 th Amendment )  White Primary – only whites were allowed to vote in the party primaries (ended in 1944 as a result of Smith v. Allwright  Nineteenth Amendment – allowed women to vote

Affirmative Action  A policy designed to give special attention to previously disadvantaged groups (limited in Adarand Constructors v. Pena)