1.  Three major issues / Supreme Court cases of the early 70’s (we’re sayin’ still the 60’s…)

2. Abortion - politics  landmark Roe v. Wade case in 1973 establishes Supreme Court “legitimacy” of abortion (5-4 vote)  extended concept of “right to privacy” from Bill of Rights (4th Amend.) as applied in Griswold v. Conn. case of 1965 (birth control)  late 1960’s saw many states liberalize their abortion laws  Hawaii, NY, Colorado, NC and Cali. legalize it before Roe v. Wade  by 1973 67% of US pop. within 100 miles of legal abortion clinic

3. Abortion - moral issue  when does “personhood” begin?  papacy / Catholic Church as outspoken opponents  liberal / feminist views of privacy, womens’ rights to own body  Religious views (across many denominations and faiths) of protection of life that cannot protect itself  people freak, freak, freakin’ out !!!!!

4. Abortion – Roe definitions  Roe decision said no state had the power to restrict abortion in the first trimester  6 months chosen as point of viability (when fetus is capable of surviving outside the womb)  2nd trimester open to regulation by states based on “ways reasonably related to maternal health”  3rd trimester states may ban abortions “except where necessary for the preservation of the life of the mother”

5. Abortion - multi-sided issue  personal issue  regulation issues  parental information  mate information  age regulation  multiple abortions  RU 486  dangers of prohibition and “back alley”abortions

6. Abortion – Pro’s and Con’s  Pro  4 th Amendment (right to privacy)  Choice of woman who has to carry  Unwanted pregnancies lead to societal issues  Illegal abortions kill 1000’s  Fetus not viable till 6 months or later  Con  Rights of fetus?  More involved than just woman  Irresponsibility (abortion as birth control)  “sanctity of life”  Morally corrupts US  Partial-birth abortions as immoral and criminal

7. Death Penalty - history -capital punishment older than history, and in America is older than the nation itself -17th century used even for such crimes as pick pocketing and stealing a loaf of bread!!!! -19th century saw growing opposition to death penalty in Europe - post WWII saw dramatic drop in popularity which spreads to US -1960’s and liberal trends sees public polls in favor of death penalty dip below 50%

8. Death Penalty – recent history - numbers of executions decrease in 50’s and 60’s only 2 executions in 1967 -1968 sees SC strike down death penalty for all crimes except murder -1972 SC case (Greg v Georgia) called death penalty unconstitutional as it was being used -‘72 case said there was no consistency in how it was applied (race / reasons)

9. Death Penalty - reforms - between ‘72-’76 some 35 states passed new laws to make their death penalty laws acceptable under SC ruling -set up standards for what crimes would get death penalty and how decision to use penalty would be made - SC later strikes down mandatory death sentence for crimes; SC accepts some plans for how decisions are made / rejects others

10. Death Penalty - changes  laws set up a weighing system to decide if death penalty is to be applied  separate penalty trial after conviction of 1st degree murder has jury weigh out aggravating and mitigating circumstances  aggravating circumstances - circumstances that made the crime seem worse and worthy of a death sentence  mitigating circumstances - circumstances that tend to provide some excuse for the crime or criminal’s behavior and seem unworthy of the death sentence

11. Death Penalty – since ‘76  since 1976 SC ruling allowed death thru weighing circumstances saw use of penalty again  only 50 executed between 1976-1985 (still working out fair application of it)  rising crime saw popular calls for death penalty increase (up to 80%)  since mid 80’s we see about 30 executions a year (about 30,000 homicides a year)  recent SC cases have made it harder to appeal a death sentence, yet some 80% of death sentences have been reversed since 1967

12. Death Penalty  over 2,000 inmates on death row across America today  since early 1990’s 3/4 of all executions have occurred in 5 southern states  since early 90’s, DNA testing has exonerated hundreds  used 7 times more often on blacks than on whites in the South  Ma. - 2x in last 10 years has voted against death penalty

13. Death Penalty – yea, or nay  Con  8 th Amendment  Used unfairly  Costs  Life in prison is bad enough  National shame  Society responsible for “deviants” it creates  Death of innocent people  Pro  5 th Amendment  Toughest penalty available  Costs  Some people are not “rehabilitatable”  Lessen prison populations

14. Obscenity  Miller v California case of 1973 sets rubric for judging speech vs obscenity  Right to free speech is not unlimited (treason / “breach of the peace”)  Miller does mass mailing of “adult” materials to promote mail order business; CA prosecutes  Determine that obscene material is NOT protected by free speech, but warned states to determine material as “obscene” with care  Carlin “7 Words” and the FCC (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrD6k8PDr1o)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrD6k8PDr1o

15. Obscenity - standards  whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards (not national standards, as some prior tests required), “would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest”  whether the work “depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct or excretory functions [ specifically defined by applicable state law” [  whether the work, “taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value”

16. What does it mean??  States and localities have more authority to set standards – federal courts tend to let lower decisions stand  What may be obscene in Utah may not be in Massachusetts – regional view of “community standards”  Big question going forward – whose community is the internet????