Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights AP Gov

Fifth and Sixth Amendments

5th - The Right to Remain Silent/Double Jeopardy, right to due process. No being held for a crime without indictment of Grand Jury 6th - The right to a Speedy Trial by jury, representation by an attorney for an accused person

Schenck v. USA

1919--Case involving limits on free speech. Established the "clear and present danger" principle. The Court held that the Espionage Act did not violate the First Amendment and was an appropriate exercise of Congress' wartime authority.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

"...A landmark civil rights and US labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations (Wiki)."

Second Amendment

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Eighth Amendment

"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." No cruel and unusual punishment

Ninth Amendment

"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

Gideon v. Wainwright

(1963) A person who cannot afford an attorney may have one appointed by the government.

Miranda rule

-Miranda rule gives one the right to remain silent.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954- court decision that declared state laws segregating schools to be unconstitutional. Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) "Segregation is inherently unequal."

Tinker v. Des Moines

1969: The wearing of arm bands by students to protest the war in Vietnam is protected by freedom of speech and cannot be prohibited by school officials. The Supreme Court held that the armbands represented pure speech that is entirely separate from the actions or conduct of those participating in it. The Court also held that the students did not lose their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech when they stepped onto school property.

Wisconsin v. Yoder

1972: School Attendance Law violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment because required attendance past the eighth grade interfered with the right of Amish parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children.the Court held that individual's interests in the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment outweighed the State's interests in compelling school attendance beyond the eighth grade"

McDonald v. Chicago

2010: Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms," applies to state and local governments as well as to the federal government.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

A letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. after he had been arrested when he took part in a nonviolent march against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. He was disappointed more Christians didn't speak out against racism. The four steps to a nonviolent campaign: -"collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive" -"negotiation" -"self-purification" -"direct action"

affirmative action

A policy designed to redress past discrimination against women and minority groups through measures to improve their economic and educational opportunities

exclusionary rule

A rule that provides that otherwise admissible evidence cannot be used in a criminal trial if it was the result of illegal police conduct

Civil rights: define, how are they different from civil liberties

Civil liberties are basic freedoms while civil rights are the basic right to be free from discrimination based on such characteristics as race, disability, color, gender, national origin, and others

freedom of religion: establishment clauses and free exercise clause

Establishment clause - Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The Supreme Court has interpreted this to forbid governmental support to any or all religions. Free exercise clause - Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.

protection against warrantless cell phone searches and bulk collection of telecommunications metadata

Patriot and USA Freedom Acts To help prevent the Patriot Act from infringing on Americans' civil liberties, President Barack Obama signed the USA Freedom Act into law on June 2, 2015. The act ended the bulk collection of all records under Section 215 of the Patriot Act and allowed challenges to national security letter gag orders Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001

Title IX of Education Amendments Act of 1972

Prohibited gender discrimination in federally subsidized education programs.

Fourth Amendment

Protection against Unreasonable Search and Seizure

NY Times v. USA

Supreme Court ruling in 1971 that newspapers cannot be censored by the government if there is no threat to national security.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

The "act, signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting."

Engel v. Vitale

The 1962 Supreme Court decision held that state officials violated the First Amendment when they wrote a prayer to be recited by New York's schoolchildren. The state cannot hold prayers in public schools, even if participation is not required and the prayer is not tied to a particular religion.

Roe v. Wade

The 1973 Supreme Court decision holding that a state ban on all abortions was unconstitutional. The decision forbade state control over abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy, permitted states to limit abortions to protect the mother's health in the second trimester, and permitted states to protect the fetus during the third trimester.

To what extent do the US Constitution and its amendments protect against undue government infringement on essential liberties and from invidious discrimination?

The Constitution and its amendments protect citizens from government infringement up until the point one's actions put other people in harm's way (ex. Clear and present danger in regards to free speech). In regards to discrimination, no American citizen should be treated differently simply because of their race or gender. However, if they show outright signs of causing or possibly causing danger to others, the government has a right and responsibility to protect the rest of its people from a potential threat.

How have US Supreme Court rulings defined civil liberties and civil rights?

The Supreme Court has determined how the Constitution and its amendments are to be interpreted concerning different aspects and situations concerning individual rights

civil liberties

The constitutional protections of all persons against governmental restrictions on the freedoms of conscience, religion, and expression. They are secured by the First Amendment and the due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

selective incorporation and the 14th Amendment

The process by which provisions of the Bill of Rights are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and local governments.

Right to privacy and 14th Amendment's due process clause

The right to privacy is most often cited in the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, which states: Wade in 1972 firmly established the right to privacy as fundamental, and required that any governmental infringement of that right to be justified by a compelling state interest.

"separate but equal"

Two separate facilities that are considered "equal" -- This is not always the case

Limitations on free speech

libel, slander, obscenity, pornography, sedition, incitement, fighting words, classified information, copyright violation, trade secrets, food labeling

symbolic speech

nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband. The Supreme Court has accorded some symbolic speech protection under the first amendment.

public safety exception to Miranda rule

which permits law enforcement to engage in a limited and focused unwarned interrogation and allows the government to introduce the statement as direct evidence.