Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Evolution and Public Policy

Civil Liberties Definition: The legal constitutional protections against the government. Where are civil liberties guaranteed? How do the provisions of the Bill of Rights apply to the states? Why is incorporation “selective”? Barron v. Baltimore (1833) Gitlow v. New York (1925)

Freedom of Religion What is meant by the establishment clause? – Engel v. Vitale (1962) – Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) What is meant by the free exercise clause? – Reynolds v. U.S. (1879) – Oregon v. Smith (1990)

Freedom of Expression (Speech/Press) What is meant by prior restraint? – Near v. Minnesota (1931) What limits can be placed on free expression? – Schenck v. U.S. (1917) – Roth v. U.S. (1957)/ Miller v. California (1973) – NY Times v. Sullivan (1964) – Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) – Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Freedom of Expression (Speech/Press) Is symbolic speech protected? What about commercial speech? Why is government censorship accepted for television and radio, but not for print media? How does free press impact impartiality of trials?

Freedom of Assembly What limits can be placed on freedom of assembly? Why is the right to associate protected?

Defendants’ Rights What is due process? Where is it guaranteed? What are the criteria for legal searches? – Weeks v. U.S. (1914) – Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Defendants’ Rights What is self-incrimination? How are we protected against self-incrimination? – Miranda v. Arizona What is meant by “the right to counsel”? – Gideon v. Wainwright

Defendants’ Rights Does plea bargaining defeat the purposes of due process? What is meant by “a jury of peers”? Is the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment?

The Right to Privacy What is the right to privacy? Why is it controversial? Where is it guaranteed? – Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) – Roe v. Wade (1973) Is euthanasia a right? Who should be allowed to make this decision? When should abortions be legal?

Understanding Civil Liberties How do civil liberties advance democracy? Why is “freedom versus order” a central question in the discussion of civil liberties?

Civil Rights Definition: Policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals. Where does the Constitution provide this guarantee? Where does the basis for civil rights come from?

What is Equality? Conceptions of Equality – Equal opportunity – Equal results How is this related to “equal protection”?

The Evolution of Civil Rights The Era of Slavery – Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) – The Civil War – The Thirteenth Amendment The Era of Reconstruction and Resegregation – Jim Crow laws – Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

The Evolution of Civil Rights The Modern Civil Rights Movement – Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – Civil Rights Act of 1964 Other Minority Groups – Native Americans – Hispanic Americans – Asian Americans

Enfranchisement Who was able to vote in the early U.S.? How has suffrage been expanded?

Women’s Rights What are the ongoing issues for women’s rights advocates? Why are some issues – like comparable worth – so controversial? Is there some disagreement about the equality women desire?

Newly Active Groups Older Americans Children’s Rights Disabled Gay Rights

Affirmative Action Definition: – A policy designed to give special attention to or compensatory treatment of members of some previously disadvantaged group. What is the controversy? Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

Understanding Civil Rights What is the relationship between civil rights and democracy? What has the advance of civil rights meant for the scope of government?