Chapter 6

Did civil liberties listed in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution apply to actions taken by state governments prior to the Civil War? Did they apply to actions taken by the federal government prior to the Civil War?

-No, state govs could pass laws because the US constitution only applied to FEDERAL gov. -Yes.

Establishment Clause: What is the difference between the concepts of "separation of church and state" and "accommodationism"?

-SOCS- reduces or eliminates the role of religion in government affairs altogether. -Accommodationism- government should accommodate religion so long s it does not show preferential treatment.

What are the two forms of expression that are protected by the U.S. Constitution (as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court) but that are not constitutionally protected in other democratic countries?

-hate speech -the spending of money on political campaigns

According to the Supreme Court, which of the following forms of expression are entitled to less First Amendment protection than ordinary forms of political expression: -flag burning -defamation -slander of public figures -obscenity; student speech (in public schools) -hate speech -the spending of money on political campaigns -"fighting words;" -expression that merely promotes (but is unlikely to actually produce) lawless action -content-neutral restrictions on the time, place, and/or manner in which ideas are expressed -expression that promotes, and is likely to incite or produce, imminent lawless action; libel of public figures?

-obscenity -fighting words -defamation -an expression that promotes, and is likely to incite or produce, imminent lawless action; libel of public figures?

Establishment Clause: What is the Lemon Test and why is it associated with the Establishment Clause?

3 prong test that if any of the 3 conditions are not met, a law is an unconstitutional violation of the Establishment Clause. 1) Must have secular legislative purpose 2) Not result in execessive gov. entanglement with religious affairs. 3) Must neither advance or inhibit religious practice

Is it liberals or is it conservatives who tend to favor gun rights more than gun control

Conservatives

According to the U.S. Supreme Court, what part of the U.S. Constitution is violated if state or local governments deprive same sex couples of the right to marry?

Due Process Clause

According to the U.S. Supreme Court, what part of the U.S. Constitution is violated if state or local governments deprive same sex couples of the right to marry?

Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment when laws seek to regulate sexual activity engaged by consenting adults.

Beginning with Roe v. Wade (1973), what part of the Constitution has the Supreme Court claimed to be the source of protection for the right to privacy?

Due Process of the 14th Amendment

What is the name of the first two clauses of the First Amendment that are the constitutional basis of religious freedom in the United States?

Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause

How does the textbook define "religious freedom"?

Federal statute that exempts people from laws and regulations that interfere with their religion, so long as it does not interfere with others.

What is meant by "content-neutral regulations" and what do they entail?

Gov regulation that can restrict freedom of expression but does so without being directed at any particular speaker or message based on time place and manner.

What does Oliver Wendell Holmes' notion of a "marketplace of ideas" have to do with the Court's insistence that content-based restrictions are almost always in violation of the constitutional right to free expression?

Government should not supress ideas. Rather, it should let different viewpoints compete for social acceptance since the "best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market"

How do proponents of gun rights differ from proponents of gun control in how they interpret the Second Amendment?

Gun rights- any one can have a gun for any reason Gun control- only well-regulated militas (since US no longer depends on militias, this amendment should no longer apply)

What is the exclusionary rule? What is its purpose? Why are a growing number of constitutional scholars, lawyers and judges questioning its wisdom?

If a government seizes evidence through an unconstitutional search, then the evidence may not be admitted to court. Even if evidence proves someone guilty of a crime, it can still be thrown out. Thus, allowing a guilty person to go free.

(1) Incorporation and (2) Unenumerated Constitutional Rights. What's the difference between those two constitutional sources of civil liberties?

Incorporation-explicitly stated civil liberties. Unenumerated- Implied constitutional rights both are protected by US Supreme Court

What does the "right to privacy" have to do with "unenumerated constitutional rights"?

It is not explicitly listed in the constitution

What does judicial review have to do with how civil liberties are enforced in practice?

It is the authority of the courts to decide whether an act of government (state/federal) is constitutional or unconstitutional.

Free Exercise Clause: What is strict scrutiny? What does it have to do with the Sherbert Test?

Label given to the most stringent approach taken by courts when reviewing potentially unconstitutional gov actions. A court makes the presumption that the government action in question is unconstitutional. It is only ruled constitutional if 1) The action was in furtherance of a compelling government interest 2)The least restrictive (burdensome) option availible to the gov for pusuing that compelling gov interest.

Generally speaking, how do liberals and conservatives tend to differ in how they interpret civil liberties pertaining to the criminal justice system?

Liberals- more concerned with protecting the rights of criminal suspects and convicts Conservatives- concerned with the importance of empowering government to prevent and punish criminal activity.

What test has the Court established for determining whether expression is obscene?

Miller Test 1) work taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest 2)work depicts in offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law 3) work lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value

Why, according to the textbook, is the incorporation of criminal justice rights under the 14th Amendment "especially important"?

Most law enforcement activities are condusted by state and local police departments and most criminal trials take place in state courts and pertain to state criminal laws.

Be sure to know and understand the Eighth Amendment and how it came to be interpreted throughout Supreme Court history. Are there instances when the death penalty cannot be applied?

No cruel/unusual punishment. No excessive bail or fines. -Children cannot recieve the death penalty. -Unable to rationally understand why they are recieving this punishment - Victim does not die

Do constitutions protect civil liberties against infringement by private individuals (or businesses) or do constitutions only protect against infringement by government?

ONLY protects against the government. (Think: being told to keep it quiet in a restaurant vs. legally not being able to ay anything negative about the president)

Free Exercise Clause: There are two phases in the Sherbert Test. Which questions are asked are in each phase?

Phase 1: 1) The person has a claim involving a sincere religious belief 2) The gov action is an actual burden on the person's ability to act on that belief. Phase 2: 1) the gov interference with religious practice is the result of pursuing a compelling government interest 2) There's a way for gov to pursue the compelling gov interest that would have placed less of a burden on the free exercise of religion.

According to recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, does the Second Amendment protect a right for individuals to own firearms for self-defense? Or does it only instead protect the right for persons to own guns for purposes of serving in a "well-regulated militia"?

Protects individuals rights to own a firearm for self-defense

What did the Supreme Court declare about the 6th Amendment right to an attorney in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)? What specific impact (discussed by the textbook) did this decision have on the criminal justice system?

Requires the government to provide an attorney if the defendan cannot afford one.

What is Selective Incorporation?

Selective- gradual process by which the supreme court has chosen which civil liberties from the Bill of Rights to incorporate the 14th amendment due process clause. -Used by Supreme Court

On what ground did the U.S. Supreme Court, in Lawrence v. Texas (2003), declare unconstitutional a Texas statute that made it a crime to engage in sodomy "with another individual of the same sex" ?

Sodomy by any consenting adults.

Has the U.S. Supreme Court incorporated the Second Amendment under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment?

Supreme Court ruled the right to bear arms is protected by the US constitution against state and local governments.

What is "Incorporation"? What does it have to do with the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment?

The court declares a civil liberty from the Bill of Rights to be protected against the state government abuse through the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment (no state shall deny any person of life, liberty, or property without due process)

What is Total Incorporation?

The idea that all of the provisions of the Bill of Rights were applied to the states by the 14th Amendment at once.

What did the Supreme Court declare about the right of self-incrimination in Miranda v. Arizona (1966)? Specifically, according to the Court in Miranda, what must police tell criminal suspects before they question them?

The police must tell a suspect of their right to remain silent as well as any other rights.

In Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), the Supreme Court replaced the "trimester framework" (from Roe v. Wade) with something called the "undue burden standard"? What according to the textbook did the "undue burden standard" open the door for pro-life leaders to successfully implement?

Tighter restrictions on abortion at the state level. -UBS: government may pass laws intending to inform a woman's free choice so long as doing so so not hinder that free choice.

What, according to the textbook, is the purpose (or "aim") of civil liberties pertaining to criminal justice that establish rules and procedures that the executive and judicial branches must follow when investigating, accusing, convicting, and punishing criminal suspects and convicts?

To empower the government to prevent and punish crime while also leading the government to respect the rights of the innocent, the accused, and even (to some extent) the guilty.

What, according to the textbook, is "the primary purpose" of the 4th Amendment?

To protect citizens from unjustified government interference when law enforcement officials search for evidence of criminal activity.

What does "reasonable expectation of privacy" have to do with how the Supreme Court has interpreted the 4th Amendment?

Wiretapping to listen to phone conversation for criminal activity requires a warrant.

If someone goes a full year after being charged with a crime before having a trial, would this necessarily result in charges being dropped on account of the person being deprived of their right to a speedy trial?

Yes

Free Exercise Clause: What act of Congress requires the federal government to pass the Sherbert Test whenever it passes laws or enacts policies that infringe on religious activities?

cases under the Free Exercise Clause

The Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination protects just about everyone when they are being officially questioned, but it is more strongly protected for______

criminal defendants.

According to the Supreme Court, what exactly is required by the 6th Amendment command that criminal trials must be by an "impartial jury"?

randomly selected from population to closely resemble the community from which they are drawn. Forbids exclusion based on race or sex/gender.

What is the "actual malice standard" and what is its relevance for speech that allegedly defames public figures?

standard used for determing whether defamatory statements made about elected officials or other public figures are protected by 1st amendment. For someone to be legally liable for a defamation suit, it must be proven that they knew the statement being made was false/ disregarded the truth.

Civil Liberties

the legal constitutional protections for individuals against government abuse of power