AP US Government Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Essential Knowledge (Redesign)

The government can respond to social movements through court rulings and/or policies, as in:

Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared that race-based school segregation violates the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 The Voting Rights Act of 1965

The debate about the Second and Fourth Amendments involves concerns about public safety

Concerns involving the Second Amendment = Some argue that the government should do more to prevent gun violence, while others argue that the government does not have the right to infringe on a person's right to own a gun Concerns involving the Fourth Amendment = Some believe that the collection of data on US citizens and others violates the Fourth amendment because the NSA does not have the proper warrants to collect this information, while others believe it is necessary to protect public safety and prevent terror attacks

The U.S. Constitution includes a Bill of Rights specifically designed to protect individual liberties and rights.

First 10 amendments of the Constitution that explicitly protect individual rights and liberties The supreme court is responsible for hearing cases and interpreting the application of the provisions in the Bill of Rights

The debate on affirmative action includes justices who insist that the Constitution is colorblind and those who maintain that it forbids only racial classifications designed to harm minorities, not help them.

Debate on Affirmative Action = Some argue that the Constitution pnly forbids racial classifications designed to harm minorities, while others argue that affirmative action is unconstitutional because it creates race-based and gender-based classifications that benefit certain groups over others Affirmative action = efforts to improve opportunities for underrepresented or disadvantaged groups, espcially in relation to employment or education

The leadership and events associated with civil, women's, and LGBTQ rights are evidence of how the equal protection clause can support and motivate social movements, as represented by:

Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and the civil rights movement of the 1960s The National Organization for Women and the women's rights movement The pro-life (anti-abortion) movement

Court decisions defining cruel and unusual punishment involve interpretation of the Eighth Amendment and its application to state death penalty statutes over time.

Eight Amendment = Protects individuals from the government enforcing excessive bails or fines, or inflicting cruel and unusual punishment In some recent cases, it has prevented states from issuing the death penalty to defendants who are minors or are legally judged to be mentally incompetent.

The interpretation and application of the First Amendment's establishment and free exercise clauses reflect an ongoing debate over balancing majoritarian religions practice and free exercise, as represented by such cases as:

Engel v. Vitale (1962), which declared school sponsorship of religious activities violates the establishment clause Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), which held that compelling Amish students to attend school past the eighth grade violates the free exercise clause

The due process clause has been applied to guarantee the right to an attorney and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, as represented by:

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), which guaranteed the right to an attorney for the poor or indigent in a state felony case The exclusionary rule, which stipulates that evidence illegally seized by law enforcement officers in violation of the suspect's Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures cannot be used against that suspect in criminal prosecution

The Supreme Court's decisions on the Second Amendment rest upon its constitutional interpretation of individual liberty.

In cases that attempted to limit an individual's access to guns or to particular types of guns, the Court has struck down laws that place restrictions on gun ownership. The majority in both cases argued that gun control legislation gave the government too much power and violated individual liberties.

The doctrine of selective incorporation has imposed on state regulation of civil rights and liberties as represented by:

McDonald v. Chicago (2010), which ruled the Second Amendment's right to keep and bear arms for self-defense in one's home is applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment

The Miranda rule involves the interpretation and application of accused persons' due process rights as protected by the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, yet the Supreme Court has sanctioned a public safety exception that allows unwarned interrogation to stand as direct evidence in court.

Miranda Rule = A requirement that law enforcement officers must inform a person subject to an interrogation of their rights Public Safety Exception = allows officers to interrogate a suspect without informing them of their rights if there is an objective need to protect the police or the public from immediate danger.

The Supreme Court bolstered freedom of the press in:

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971), in which the court ruled established a heavy presumption against prior restraint, even in cases involving national security, meaning that the Court is very likely to find cases of government censorship unconstitutional. Prior restraint = Government censorship of materials before publication takes place

While a right to privacy is not explicitly named in the Constitution, the Supreme Court has interpreted the due process clause to protect the right of privacy from state infringement. This interpretation of the due process clause has been the subject of controversy, such as has resulted from:

Roe v. Wade (1973), which extended the right of privacy to a woman's decision to have an abortion while recognizing compelling state interests in potential life and maternal health

Decisions demonstrating that minority rights have been restricted at times and protected at other times include:

State laws and Supreme Court holdings restricting African American access to the same restaurants, hotels, schools, etc., as the majority white population based on the "separate but equal" doctrine Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared that race-based school segregation violates the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause The Supreme Court upholding the rights of the majority in cases that limit and prohibit majority-minority districting

The application of the Bill of Rights is continuously interpreted by the courts

The Court has found that the Bill of Rights must be upheld, even in states whose constitutions and laws do not protect fundamental liberties as fully as the Bill of Rights.

The Supreme Court has on occasion ruled in favor of states' power to restrict individual liberty

The court ruled in Schenck v. US (1919) that speech creating a "clear and present danger" is not protected under the First Amendment The Supreme Court's interpretation of the First Amendment sometimes sacrafices individual freedoms in order to preserve social order

Pretrial rights of the accused and the prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures are intended to ensure that citizen liberties are not eclipsed by the need for social order and security, including:

The right to legal counsel, a speedy and public trial, and an impartial jury Protection against warrantless searches of cell phone data under the Fourth Amendment Limitations placed on bulk collection of telecommunication metedata (Patriot and USA Freedom Acts)

Civil Liberties

The rights of citizens to be free from undue government interference in their lives, including those rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and those established by long legal precedent (such as the right to marry or travel freely)

Civil Rights

The rights of citizens to be free of unequal or discriminatory treatment on the basis of race, gender, or membership in a particular demographic group

Civil rights protect individuals from discrimination based on characteristics such as race, national origin, religion, and sex

These rights are guaranteed to all citizens under the due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution, as well as acts of Congress. Fourteenth Amendment = Granted citizenship to all persons botn or naturalized in the US and guaranteed all citizens equal protection of the law

Efforts to balance social order and individual freedom are reflected in interpretations of the First Amendment that limit speech, including:

Time, place, and manner regulations Defamatory, offensive, and obscene statements and gestures That which creates a "clear and present danger" based on the ruling in Schenck v. United States (1919)

The Supreme Court has held that symbolic speech is protected by the First Amendment, demonstrated by:

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), in which the court ruled that public school students could wear black armbands in school to protest the Vietnam War