1. American Government and Politics Today

2. The Difference….
Civil Liberties are limits on the government; founded in the Bill of Rights; personal freedoms
Civil Rights are those things that a government is forbidden to do; mostly founded in 14th amendment

3. The Bill of Rights and State Governments
While the Bill of Rights protected the people from the national government it did not protect the people from state governments.
14th amendment 1868, imposed step-by-step most of the Constitutional protections of civil liberties upon state governments.
Incorporation Theory: The view that most of the protections of the Bill of Rights apply to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause.
1st to be incorporated was speech; Gitlow v. New York

4. Freedom of Religion Separation of Church and State
How does that read? Does it say those words?
Establishment Clause (schools)
Aid to church-related schools
Lemon v Kurtzman
2. School prayer—
Engel v. Vitale
3. Moment of Silence
Wallace v. Jeffree
4. Outside school at school functions
Lee v. Weisman
5. Teaching evolution
7. Religious speech

5. Free Exercise Clause
Guarantees the free exercise of religion; restrained when religious practices interfere with public policy.
Examples: the ability of school districts to select texts for students, and the requirement of vaccinations for school enrollment.
Oregon v. Smith
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act; ruled unconstitutional
Free Exercise in the Public Schools; student led

6. Freedom of Expression No Prior Restraint Protection of Symbolic Speech
New York Times v. U.S. Pentagon Paper
Protection of Symbolic Speech
Texas v. Johnson
Protection of Commercial Speech
Permitted Restrictions on Expression
Clear and Present Danger (Schneck)
Limits (Brandenberg)

7. Freedom of Expression (cont.)
Unprotected Speech
Obscenity
Pornography/Internet Pornography
Child protection
Slander
Campus Speech
Hate Speech on the Internet

8. Freedom of the Press Libel, a written defamation of character
Public figures must meet higher standards than ordinary people to win a libel suit. NY Times v Sullivan
A Free Press versus a Fair Trial
Gag orders: the right of a defendant to a fair trial supersedes the right of the public to “attend” the trial.
Films, Radio, and TV
Freedom of the press is no longer limited to just the print media, though broadcast media do not receive the same protection as print media.

9. The Right to Assemble and Petition the Government
The Supreme Court has held that state and local governments cannot bar individuals from assembling. State and local governments can require permits for such assembly so that order can be maintained. However the government cannot be selective as to who receives the permit.
Wall Street?
Smith v. Collins
Nazis could march

10. Privacy Rights
There is no explicit Constitutional right to privacy, but rather the right to privacy is an interpretation by the Supreme Court.
From the 9th, 4th, 5th 14th .
The right was established in 1965 in Griswold v. Connecticut.

11. Privacy Rights and Abortion
In Roe v. Wade (1973) the court held that governments could not totally prohibit abortions because this violates a woman’s right to privacy.
Government action was limited depending on the stage of the pregnancy.
The controversy continues

12. Privacy Rights and The Right to Die
Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health (1997):
a patient’s life support could be withdrawn at the request of a family member if there was “clear and convincing evidence” that the patient did not want the treatment.
This has led to the popularity of “living wills.”
What If There Is No Living Will? For married persons, the spouse is the relative with authority in this matter. (this is an issue with homosexual couples)

13. Privacy Rights and The Right to Die (cont.)
Physician-Assisted Suicide.
The Constitution does not include a right to commit suicide. This decision has left states much leeway to legislate on this issue.
Since that decision in 1997, only the state of Oregon has legalized physician-assisted suicide.

14. Privacy Rights vs. Security Issues
Privacy rights have taken on particular importance since September 11, For example, legislation has been proposed that would allow for “roving” wiretaps, which would allow a person (and his or her communications) to be searched, rather than merely a place. Such rules may violate the Fourth Amendment.
The USA Patriot Act
Civil liberties concerns

15. The Bill of Rights and the Accused v. Rights of Society
Miranda v. Arizona: 5th amendment
Exceptions to the Miranda Rule. These include a “public safety” exception, a rule that illegal confessions need not bar a conviction if other evidence is strong, and that suspects must claim their rights unequivocally.

16. The Bill of Rights and the Accused (cont.)
(Gideon v. Wainwright): public defender. 6th amendment
The Exclusionary Rule. This prohibits the admission of illegally seized evidence (Mapp v. Ohio 1961). 4th amendment

17. The Death Penalty Today
37 states allow the death penalty.
Time Limits for Death Row Appeals.
The 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act limits appeals from death row.
Recently, DNA testing has led to the freeing of about a hundred death row inmates who were wrongly convicted, throwing doubt on the death penalty. Furman v. Georgia,

19. Slavery in the United States
Ending servitude
The Thirteenth Amendment (1865) prohibits slavery within the United States.
The Fourteenth Amendment (1868) established that all persons born in the United States are citizens and no state shall deprive citizens of their rights under the Constitution.
The Fifteenth Amendment (1870) established the right of citizens to vote.

20. Early Civil Rights Legislation
The Civil Rights Acts of 1865 to 1875
Aimed at the Southern states.
Attempted to prevent states from passing laws that would circumvent the amendments
The Civil Rights Cases (1883)
Invalidated much of the civil rights legislation in the Civil Rights cases.

21. Challenges to Civil Rights Legislation
Plessy v. Ferguson
Separate-but-Equal Doctrine
Voting Barriers
White primary, the grandfather clause, poll taxes, literacy tests
Extralegal Methods of Enforcing White Supremacy

22. The End of the Separate-but-Equal Doctrine
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson
“With All Deliberate Speed.”
States were ordered to eliminate segregation policies with all deliberate speed.

23. School Integration
De facto segregation—racial segregation that occurs because of past social and economic conditions and residential racial patterns.
De jure segregation—racial segregation that occurs because of laws or administrative decisions by public agencies.
Court-Ordered Busing
The Resurgence of Minority Schools

24. The Civil Rights Movement
Martin Luther King’s Philosophy of Nonviolence
Nonviolent marches and demonstrations
Another Approach: Black Power.
Leaders such as Malcolm X advocated a more forceful approach than King. They also resisted the impulse to cultural assimilation that was implied by the integrationist philosophy.

25. The Climax of the Civil Rights Movement: Civil Rights Legislation
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
voter registration
public accommodations
public schools
employment
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Urban Riots
The Civil Rights Act of 1968 and Other Housing Reform Legislation

26. Consequences of Civil Rights Legislation
Political Participation by African Americans.
Political Participation by Other Minorities.
Lingering Social and Economic Disparities.

27. Women’s Struggle for Equal Rights
Early Women’s Political Movements
Activism for women’s rights began with the Seneca Falls convention in 1848.
Women’s Suffrage Associations
This struggle would continue until the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution that states “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”

28. Years, by Country, in which Women Gained the Right to Vote

29. The Modern Women’s Movement
The Equal Rights Amendment
Additional Women’s Issues
domestic violence
abortion rights
pornography (divided the movement rather than united it).
Discrimination in the Courts
Expanding Women’s Political Activities

30. Women in Politics Today
Women in Congress
Women in the Executive and Judicial Branches
Continuing Disproportionate Leadership

31. Gender-Based Discrimination in the Workplace
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
This title prohibits gender discrimination in employment.
Sexual Harassment
The Supreme Court also has held that Title VII includes prohibitions on sexual harassment.

32. Gender-Based Discrimination in the Workplace (cont.)
Wage Discrimination
Recent figures show a woman earns 76 cents for every dollar made by a man.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963.
The Glass Ceiling.

33. Immigration, Hispanics, and Civil Rights
Immigration rates today are the highest they have been since their peak in the early twentieth century.
By 2050, minority groups collectively will constitute the majority of Americans.

34. Illegal Immigration
Mostly Latin Americans entering states bordering Mexico looking for work.
Issues include:
Citizenship
Border Crime

35. Bilingual Education Accommodating Diversity
Controversy over Bilingual Education

36. Affirmative Action
Describes those policies that give special preferences in educational admissions and employment decisions to groups that have been discriminated against in the past
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
Quota systems that only considered the race of an applicant were unconstitutional

37. Special Protection for Older Americans
Age Discrimination in Employment
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
prohibits discrimination by age in all but a limited number of occupations where age is considered relevant to the job.
Mandatory retirement has progressively been made illegal by laws passed in 1978 and 1986.

38. Securing Rights for Persons with Disabilities
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Prohibits job discrimination against individuals with physical or mental disabilities. Furthermore, it requires physical access to public buildings and public services.

39. Securing Rights for Persons With Disabilities (cont.)
Limiting the ADA. No longer covered are:
persons who wear eyeglasses.
carpal tunnel syndrome, a repetitive stress injury

40. The Rights and Status of Gay Males and Lesbians
Growth in the Gay Male and Lesbian Rights Movement
State and Local Laws Targeting Gay Males and Lesbians

41. The Rights and Status of Gay Males and Lesbians (cont.)
The Gay Community and Politics.
Gay activists now play a role in both major parties. Eleven openly gay men or lesbians sit in the House.
Gay Men and Lesbians in the Military
Same-Sex Marriages
Child Custody and Adoption

42. The Rights and Status of Juveniles
The presumption is that children are protected by parents
Depending on the jurisdiction and the issue, children may be defined as those under ages that vary from sixteen to twenty-one.
Voting Rights and the Young
The Rights of Children in Civil and Criminal Proceedings

43. The Rights and Status of Juveniles (cont.)
Civil Rights of Juveniles. If a person is a minor, that person is not usually held responsible for contracts he or she may have entered into.
Child custody issues
Criminal Rights of Juveniles
Dealing with Juvenile Crime
Increasingly, minors who commit acts such as murder have been tried as adults. Another approach is to hold parents responsible for the crimes of their children.

44. Questions for Critical Thinking
Why was the Voting Rights Act necessary?
Are there any obstacles today to the civil rights of various groups in society?
Should affirmative action exist? If you do not favor affirmative action, how should society address the economic gap between men and women and whites and African Americans?