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Civil Liberties

Explore the history, importance, and application of civil liberties in the United States, from the birth of the Bill of Rights to the incorporation of the 14th Amendment. Learn about landmark Supreme Court cases that have shaped our understanding of freedom of speech, religion, and the press.

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Civil Liberties

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  1. Civil Liberties Sticking it to the Man

  2. Civil Liberties • PERSONAL rights and freedoms that can not be abridged either by law, constitution, or judicial interpretation. • “Unalienable Rights”

  3. Birth of the Bill of Rights • It was apparent that without an article directly speaking to the Bill of Rights the Constitution would not be ratified. • Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists • Federalist 84- Bill of Rights “Unnecessary and Dangerous” • Anti-Federalists win and Bill of Rights 1791

  4. Dual Citizenship • Bill of Rights was designed to limit the powers of the National Government. • Barron vs. Baltimore (1833) • (Supreme Court Supported the Idea) • Courts ruled that the Bill of Rights only applied to the national government and not the state. • “Each state established a constitution for itself”

  5. Incorporation • 14th Amendment not only defined citizenship but placed Restrictions on the State Government • “NO STATE SHALL…”

  6. INCORPORATION • USING THE 14th AMENDMENT TO APPLY THE BILL OF RIGHTS TO THE STATES ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS • Tool used in incorporation is the 14th AMENDMENT Due Process Clause (Civil Liberties) Equal Protection Clause (Civil Rights)

  7. Selective Incorporation • The Supreme Court waited until 1925 to interpret the 14th Amendment to protect individuals from State Action • Gitlow vs. New York (1925) • Gitlow was Advocating a Forcible overthrow of the New York Government • Gitlow was arrested for his inflammatory remarks • The Court Case went to the Supreme Court and the Court ruled States no longer had the power to Abridge free speech due to the 14th Amendment

  8. Near v. Minnesota (1931) • Near wrote and published an Anti-Semitic and Anti- Catholic newspaper • The State of Minnesota refused to let it be sold • INCOROPORATED FREEDOM OF PRESS

  9. First Amendment Guarantees • Freedom of Religion • The Establishment Clause • Prohibits the government from establishing a national religion • Thomas Jefferson Called it “Wall of Separation”

  10. Establishment Clause • School Prayer • Engel vs. Vitale (1962) New York • "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and beg Thy blessings upon us, our teachers, and our country." • Struck down Non-Denominational Prayer • Constitutional Issue: Whether the establishment clause of the First Amendment was violated by New York State because it made the recitation of this prayer mandatory. • Majority Decision: “We think that, by using its public school system to encourage recitation of the Regents’ prayer, the State of New York has adopted a practice wholly inconsistent with eh Establishment Clause. There can, of course, be no doubt the New York’s program of daily classroom invocation of God’s blessings as prescribed in the Regents’ prayer is a religious activity.”

  11. Free Exercise Clause • “Congress shall make no law… prohibiting the free exercise” • However this clause is also open to interpretation. Several Religious Practices have been ruled as unconstitutional including • Wisconsin v Yoder (1972) • The State of Wisconsin had a law that mandated school attendance for everybody past the eighth grade. Amish students refused to attend high school after finishing the eighth grade. • Constitutional Issue: Did the law violate the free exercise clause of the First Amendment? • Unanimous Decision: The Supreme Court ruled that the state could not force Amish students to attend school past the eighth grade because it violated the free exercise clause.

  12. Freedom of Speech • Schenck vs. U.S. (1919) • “Clear and Present Danger”; Espionage Act of 1917 • Essential Facts: Schenck continued to print, distribute material and speak against the United States efforts in WW I. He was tried and convicted for violating the Espionage Act. • Constitutional Issue: Did the government have the right to censor material in a time of national emergency? • Unanimous Decision: Justice Holmes ruled for the majority that Schenck did not have the right to print, speak and distribute material against United States efforts in World War I because a “clear and present danger” existed.

  13. Freedom of Press • Prior Restraint- Censorship • NYT vs. United States (1971) • Key Facts: The New York Times printed the Pentagon Papers, a secret study of the Vietnam War, and the United States government attempted to halt the publication, claiming that it would injure the national security of the United States. • Constitutional Issue: Was the New York Times protected by the First Amendment’s free-press clause even in the case where the government declares the material to be essential to national security? • Majority Opinion: The government did not have the right to prevent the New York Times from printing the information about the history of the country’s involvement in the Vietnam War. • Government can practice prior restraint if they can prove the information can create a “clear and present danger” towards National Security.

  14. Freedom of Assembly • De Jonge vs. Oregon (1933)- “Criminal Syndicalism” Incorporated freedom of Assembly • Terminiello v Chicago (1949) Justice Douglas "a function of free speech under our system is to invite dispute. It may indeed best serve its high purpose when it induces a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger." • National Socialist Party of America vs. Village of Skokie (1977) • Skokie Case- It is constitutional for the Nazis to march in a Jewish Neighborhood

  15. 1st Amendment at School • “Students do not shed their constitutional rights when they enter the schoolhouse door."  • Tinker vs. Des Moines (1969) • Essential Facts: Students were suspended after being warned not to wear black armbands as a symbol of protest against the Vietnam War. • Constitutional Issue: Were the students’ First Amendment free-speech rights violated by the school district for protesting while using symbolic speech? • Majority Decision: They were not disruptive and did not impinge upon the rights of others. In these circumstances, their conduct was within the protection of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

  16. 2nd Amendment • McDonald v Chicago (2010) • Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment used to protect the “Fundamental Right” to own a gun for self-defense • Essential Facts: Chicago maintained its gun-control laws after the Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v Heller (2008) that the Second Amendment gave an individual the right to bear arms • Constitutional Issue: Did Chicago violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause?

  17. Rights of the Accused

  18. 4th Amendment • Unreasonable Search and Seizure • Mapp v. Ohio (1961) • Incorporated the Exclusionary Rule • Anything obtained in an illegal search and seizure may not be used at a trial • Katz v. United States (1967) • Wiretapping without a warrant violates the 4th amendment

  19. 5th Amendment • Indictment by a grand jury, self incrimination, double jeopardy, and eminent domain • Miranda vs. Arizona (1966) • Miranda Rights • Kelo vs. City of New London (2005) • The government can take public property to give to private companies

  20. 6th Amendment • Right to a Speedy and public trial, Right to a lawyer • Gideon vs. Wainwright (1963) • Right to an attorney during the trial • Escobedo vs. Illinois (1964) • Right to have a lawyer present during police interrogation

  21. 8th Amendment • Cruel and Unusual Punishment • Gregg v. Georgia (1976) • Death Penalty is NOT cruel and unusual punishment

  22. Other Freedoms and Limitations • First Amendment • Freedom of Expression • Texas v. Johnson (1989)…Its constitutional to burn a U.S. Flag • First Amendment • Prohibitions on Speech/Press • Libel- Knowingly defaming a person’s character with malicious intent. (PRESS) • NY Times v. Sullivan (1964) • Slander- Knowingly defaming a person’s character with malicious intent. (Speech)

  23. Right to Privacy? • No where in the Constitution does it state you or I have the right to privacy. • However, the courts have used several amendments to “interpret” a right to privacy • Griswold vs. Connecticut (1965) • Law was passed in Connecticut banning the dissemination of information about the sale of Contraceptives • Courts ruled the law was Unconstitutional based on Amendments 1,3,4,9,and 14 • Establishes the RIGHT TO PRIVACY

  24. Roe v. Wade • Argued that the decision to carry a pregnancy to term was a Women’s fundamental right • In Roe v. Wade (1973), the court found it was a fundamental right of a woman to have an abortion. • Used right to privacy and primarily the 9th amendment to reach their conclusion

  25. The Right to Die • Cruzan by Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Dept of Health (1990) • Living will is legitimate only if the patients family is able to provide “ Clear and convincing evidence” like a living will 9th Amendment

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