Unit 3
Indictment
-A formal charge or accusation of a serious crime
Alcatraz, 1969
-A group of Native American activists from various tribes took control of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay -They demanded federal recognition for their rights
Feminist
-Advocates of women's equality
"Taking the fifth"
-Also known as self-incrimination and the right to remain silent -People have the right to not give evidence in court or to law enforcement officers might constitute an admission of guilt or responsibility of a crime
ADA
-Americans with Disabilities Act -Expanded opportunities and protections for people of all ages with disabilities -Expanded the categories and definitions of disability -Prohibits discrimination in employment based on disability -Requires employers to make reasonable accommodations available to workers who need them -Mandates that public transportation and public accommodations be made accessible to those with disabilities
Plessy v. Ferguson 1896
-Consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause and it allowed segregation to continue
Near v. Minnesota
-Early case regarding pressed freedoms -Supreme Court said the government, generally speaking, could not engage in prior restraint
Indian Reorganization Act of 1934
-Ended the division of reservation land into allotments -Returned to Native American tribes the right to institute self-government on their reservations, write constitutions, and manage their remaining lands and resources -Provided funds for Native Americans to start their own businesses and attain college education
EEOC
-Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -Monitors employment discrimination claims and helps enforce the Civil Rights Act of 1964
19th Amendment
-Granted women the right to vote -1920
Gay Liberation Front
-Organizations promoting LGBT rights that emerged after Stonewall -Called not just for equality before the law and protection against abuse but also for liberation
RFRA
-Religious Freedom Restoration Act -Intended to extend protection to minority religions, such as allowing the Native American Church -The legalization of same-sex marriage throughout the United States led some people to feel their religious beliefs were under attack, and many religiously conservative business owners have refused to acknowledge LBGT rights or the legitimacy of same-sex marriages
Grutter v. Bollinger
-Said that taking race into account as one of many factors in admitting a student to a college was acceptable
15th Amendment
-Stated that people could not be denied the right to vote based on their race, color, or their former condition of servitude -This allowed states to continue to decide the qualifications of votes as long as those qualifications were race-neutral -States could not deny African American men, but they could deny to women based on sex or to people who were illiterate
Prior Restraint
-States and the Federal Government couldn't, in advance, prohibit someone from publishing something without a compelling reason
Griswold v. Connecticut
-Struck down an state law that even married couples to use any form of contraception
New York Times v. Sullivan
-Supreme Court decided public figures needed to demonstrate not only a negative press statement about them was untrue but also that the statement was published with a malicious intent -This made it harder for politicians to silence potential critics or to bankrupt their political opponents through the court system
White flight
-The move of white city dwellers to the suburbs to escape the influx of of minorities
Civil disobedience
-The refusal to obey an unjust law
Exceptions to Freedom of Speech
Heckler's Veto - college campuses -Prior restraint Slander (Spoken lies) Libel (Typed or written down) Clear and present danger -Inciting a riot, fighting words, undue panic Obscenity -Hurts a brand - private sector (Rozanne) -Done in act of violence - (Charlottesville) -Disrupts order of business: Govt's meetings, School's mission
Brown v. Board of Education 1954
-1954 -Supreme Court unanimously overturned its decision in Plessy v Ferguson because it pertained to public education -It stated that a separate but equal education was a logical impossibility -With the same funding and facilities, segregated schools could not have the same teachers or environment as the same school for a different race -Court decided in part on social science studies suggesting that racial discrimination led to inferiority feelings among African American children -Needed to get rid of that sense of inferiority was to stop segregation and to integrate the public schools
Advances in Gay rights since the 1970's
-1973: the American Psychological Association stopped its classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder -1944: US military adopted the policy "Don't ask, don't tell" because homosexuality was still not allowed in the US military -2011: homosexuality was allowed in the military -2004: Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same sex marriage -2006: Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional state laws that criminalized sexual intercourse between two consenting adults of the same sex in the case Lawrence v Texas
Matthew Shephard Act
-2009 -Made it a federal hate crime to attack someone based on his or her gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability and made it much easier for federal, state, and local authorities to investigate hate crimes
Burwell v Hobby Lobby
-2014 -Supreme Court Case -Hobby Lobby: The chain of stores -David Greene, the owner, is a devout Christian who opposes abortion and contraception -He objected to the ACA (Affordable Care Act) -This required business insurance plans to include a no-charge access to contraceptive pills -He said that the requirement infringed on his conscience -Supreme Court agreed 5/4 with Greene and said that closely held businesses were not required to provide employees with emergency contraceptives if it interfered with their religious beliefs.
De facto segregation
-A form of segregation that results from the choices of individuals to live in segregated communities without government action or support
Due process
-A guarantee that people will be treated fairly by the government officials when the government wants to fine or imprison them or take their personal property away from them
Grand Jury
-A jury, normally of twenty-three jurors, selected to examine the validity of an accusation before trial
Search warrant
-A legal document that has been signed by a judge that allows the police to search and or seize a person or property
Coverture
-A legal status of married women in which their separate legal identities were erased -Not only did women lose their last names and take their husbands, they also lost all their personal property that they owned legally
Grandfather clause
-A loophole by disenfranchisement that allowed less literate whites to vote -Exempted the people who had been allowed to vote in that state prior to the Civil War -Most white men had been voting during the time where there were no literacy tests and this loophole allowed many illiterate whites to vote while leaving obstacles in place for blacks that wanted to vote too
Bail
-A payment of money that allows a person that has been accused of a crime to be freed pending trial -If you make bail in your case you don't show up for your trial and you will forfeit the money you paid
DREAM Act
-A proposal for granting undocumented immigrants permanent residency in stages
Issues with indecency standards
-A quality of acts or statements that offend societal norms or may possibly be harmful to minors -These apply only to radio and television broadcast where children might be the audience -Issue: Children may always be within the audience
Common law right
-A right of the people rooted in legal tradition and past court rulings, rather than the Constitution -During the Civil War, most states had white men that were of military age and they were considered part of the militia. These men were liable to be called on for service to put down rebellions and invasions and they had the right to keep and bear arms. This was a common law right -These were inherited from English law that predated the federal and state constitutions
Statistics on violence and assault on women
-About ⅓ of all women have experience domestic violence -⅕ women is assaulted in her college years
Nationality Act of 1940
-Allowed Native Americans to become citizens
AIM
-American Indian Movement -A more radical group than the occupiers of Alcatraz -Temporarily took over the offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, DC
Plea bargain
-An agreement between the defendant and the prosecutor where the defendant pleads guilty to the charges in question
Glass ceiling
-An invisible barrier caused by discrimination -Prevented women from rising to the highest levels of American organizations, including governments, corporations, academic institutions, and religious groups -Women earn less than men while doing the same work
Poll tax
-Another tool for disenfranchisement -Most commonly used in states where the voting rights of poor whites were less of a concern -An annual per-person tax that was typically one or two dollars that a person had to pay to vote -That 1 - 2 dollar range is basically equivalent to $20 - $50 today -People who didn't want to vote didn't have to pay -In several states, the poll tax was cumulative so if you wanted to vote, you would have to pay for the tax due from the current year but also the previous years -Former slaves were quite poor and they were less likely than white men to be able to pay poll taxes
Title IX
-Applies to all educational institutions that receive federal aid and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in academic programs, dormitory space, health-care access, and school activities including sports -Schools can't spend more money on men than women
Booker T Washington compared to W.E.B. Dubois
-Argued that acceptance of inequality and segregation over the short term would allow African Americans to focus their efforts on improving their educational and social status until whites were forced to acknowledge them as equals
How a Bail bond works
-Bail bond is used since many people can't pay bail directly -This allows people to pay a fraction of the money (10%) to a person who sells bonds and who pays the full bail amount
24th Amendment
-Banned poll taxes in elections to federal office (not state or local) -Went into action in 1964
Why a trial may not be held in the state or district where crime was committed
-Because people accused of crimes may ask for a change of venue for their trial if they think pre-trial publicity make it difficult or nearly impossible for them to receive a fair trial where the crime happened
14th Amendment
-Changes from this were more extensive than the 13th amendment -Introduced the equal protection clause -Extended the due process clause -Required that the states respect the privileges/immunities of all citizens -For the first time defined citizenship at the national and state levels -No one could be excluded from citizenship based on their race
Examples of censorship
-Civil War The Union post office refused to deliver newspapers that opposed the war or sympathized with the Confederacy, while allowing pro-war newspapers to be mailed. -World War I The United States was swept up in two waves of hysteria. Anti-German feeling was provoked by the actions of Germany and its allies leading up to the war, including the sinking of the RMS Lusitania and the Zimmerman Telegram.
Gideon v WainWright
-Clarence Gideon was accused of breaking into a pool hall in Panama City, Florida and stealing money and other items -He was denied a lawyer and was tried and convicted and sentenced to five years in prison -While he was in prison he wrote a handwritten appeal and sent it off to the Supreme Court and they agreed to hear his case. -The justices ruled that Gideon and anyone else who is accused of a serious crime, would be entitled to the assistance of a lawyer even if they couldn't afford one -That became part of the general due process right to a fair trial
Tinker v. Des Moines
-Courts ruled that, even though public schools officials are government actors, the First Amendment freedom of expression rights of children in public schools are kind of limited -Supreme Court upheld restrictions on speech that creates large interference with school disciplines or the rights of other people. -Ex: The content of school-sponsored activities like speeches by students, can be controlled
Intermediate scrutiny
-Craig v Boren -Clark v Jeter -Makes the government demonstrate that treating men and women differently is related to an important governmental objective -It puts the proof burden onto the government to demonstrate why/how unequal treatment is justifiable and not on the person who alleges unfair discrimination -This means that laws that treat men and women differently are sometimes upheld although they are not usually
14th Amendment impact on Bill of Rights
-Dealt with civil liberties and civil rights in general -Guaranteed that the freed slaves were on an equal playing field as whites -Because of this civil liberties had more clarification
Lemon Test
-Decides whether a law or other governmental action that might promote a specific religious practice should be allowed to stand -Has three criteria that must be satisfied for that type of law or action to be found as constitutional and to remain in effect -The law or action cannot lead to excessive government entanglement with religion (Managing the boundary between government and religion should be relatively straightforward and not need extensive effort by the government) -The law or action cannot inhibit or advance religious practice (It should be neutral on the effects of religion) -The law or action must have some sort of secular purpose (There must be a non-religious justification of the law) Ex: Say Minnesota decides to fund a school voucher program that allows children to attend private and parochial schools at public expense; the vouchers can be used to pay for school books and transportation to and from school
Executive Order 9066
-During World War II, citizens of Japanese descent living on the West Coast, whether naturalized immigrants or Japanese Americans born in the US, were going to be removed from their communities and interned
Seneca Falls Convention
-Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott called for a women's rights convention in 1848 -Seneca Falls, New York -Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments -Modeled after the Declaration of Independence -Proclaimed women were equal to men and deserved the same rights -In the Declaration Stanton wanted women to be able to vote -Once the Declaration passed there was only one right that wasn't passed, suffrage, the right to vote, unanimously
When a warrant isn't needed
-Emergencies/hot pursuit -Stop and Frisk (Can be illegal) (New York City more crime prone. Police do random pat down) -Consent -Arrest -Plain View -Exigent Circumstances (Time)(Drugs involved)(Drunk/High) -Security Clearance (Airport)(Post 9/11)
Historic reasons for increased gun restrictions
-Ensuring slaves didn't have guns -Ensuring that abolitionist allies didn't have guns -Former slaves couldn't own guns -United States vs Cruikshank (Supreme Court declined to intervene to ensure that the states would respect it) -Gun restrictions in the 1930s because of organized crime -Stricter laws to regulate many commerce and trade guns coming into force and use with the wake of street protests in the 1960s -Laws requiring background checks for prospective gun buyers were passed due to the assassination attempt on President Reagan in the early 1980s
ERA
-Equal Rights Amendments -Mandated equal treatment for all regardless of sex -Written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman -When first proposed to Congress in 1923 it was unsuccessful -Didn't pass both the House and the Senate until 1972 -The amendment failed to to be ratified by the required 38 states needed even after an extension
Exclusionary Rule
-Established on a federal level in Weeks v. United States -Doesn't only apply to evidence found or to items or to people seized without a warrant -Also applies to any evidence that developed or was discovered because of the illegal search of seizure Ex:if police search your home without a warrant, find bank statements showing large cash deposits on a regular basis, and discover you are engaged in some other crime in which they were previously unaware (e.g., blackmail, drugs, or prostitution), not only can they not use the bank statements as evidence of criminal activity —they also can't prosecute you for the crimes they discovered during the illegal search.
"Fruit of the poisonous tree"
-Extension of the exclusionary rule -It is a metaphorical tree that is poisoned(The illegal search warrant = tree) and so is everything that happens to grow out of that tree is also poisoned
Double jeopardy
-Fifth Amendment also protects the people from this -A process that subjects a subject to prosecutions twice for the same criminal act -No one who has been found not guilty of a crime can be found not guilty for that same crime twice
Establishment Clause
-First of the two freedoms in the First Amendment -Congress is not allowed to create a state-sponsored religion -Forbids the creation of "The Church of the United States" or "The Church of Ohio State" -Also forbids the government from favoring one set of religion over another
Exceptions to grand Jury rights
-First, courts have discovered this requirement to apply only to felonies, less serious crimes can be tried without a grand jury proceeding -Second, this provision to the Bill of Rights doesn't apply to the states because it hasn't been incorporated. Many states require a judge to hold a preliminary hearing to decide whether there is enough evidence to hold a full trial -Third, members that are part of the armed forces that are accused of crimes are not entitled to a grand jury proceeding
Purpose of the 10th Amendment
-Focuses on power instead of rights -Rather than limiting the power of the federal government in a meaningful way. It just restates what is made obvious elsewhere in the Constitution: government has enumerated and implied powers, where the government does not exercise powers, it is up to the states
Equal Protection Clause
-Fourteenth Amendment -Adds more guarantees of equality -States "No State shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Korematsu v. United States
-Fred Korematsu challenged the rights of the government to imprison law-abiding citizens -Supreme Court ruled that the decisions of the government as a necessary precaution of war -Japanese were imprisoned for fear of helping the Japanese during the war
Religion
-Free exercise Clause- Government cannot deny you the right to worship whatever you want -Establishment Clause- Government cannot show preference for one religion over another -Controversies: -Wall of Separation: Jefferson (Religious law does not drive government law) -Medical treatment -Public schools -Funding/grants to religious groups -Church Tax exempt status
Civil Rights
-Guarantees that government officials must treat people equally -Decisions must be based off of merit not gender, race, or other personal characteristics. Ex: -It is unlawful for a school that is governmentally run to treat students differently because of certain personal characteristics. (Schools that were race based were then turned illegal because courts deemed them in violation of civil rights)
Civil rights
-Guarantees that the government will treat people equally, specifically groups that have been known as being discriminated against throughout history -"all men are created equal" appears in both the Declaration of Independence and the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment -Due process clause says the federal government must treat everyone equally
How President Andrew Jackson ignored the Supreme Court
-He refused to enforce the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of Worcester v Georgia -Court said that whites could not enter tribal lands without permission but whites refused to abide by the ruling
Hispanic v. Latino
-Hispanic: Usually refers to native speakers of Spanish -Latino: refers to people who come from, or whose ancestors came from, Latin America -Not all Hispanics are Latins -Latinos may be of any race or ethnicity; they may be of European, African, Native American descent, or they may be of mixed ethnic background. Thus, people from Spain are Hispanic but are not Latino
Exceptions to a search warrant
-In the 1960s the Supreme Court issued a series of rulings that limited the warrant requirement in situations where a person can be said to lack a "reasonable expectation of privacy" outside of the home -Police also can search/seize people or property without warrant if the owner or renter consents to the search if there is a reasonable expectation that evidence may be destroyed or tampered with before the warrant can be issued or if the items in question are in view for the government officials to see -Courts found that police don't generally need a warrant to search the passenger compartment of a car -Also don't generally need a warrant to search people entering from another country
Who is protected by the Bill of Rights
-Individuals (Often referred to as 'persons' in the constitution) (Not limited to citizens or adults) -Children -Visitors from other countries -Immigrants (Permanent or not) (Legal or undocumented)
Examples of religious group discriminated in U.S. History and today
-Irish Catholicism -Catholics -Mormons -American Jews -Muslims -"Christians"
Sherbert Test
-It must show there was a very good reason for the law in question and that the law was the only feasible way of achieving that goal.
McDonald v. Chicago
-Justice Clarence Thomas argued that the individual right to bear arms is applied to the states because of the privileges and immunities clause -Supreme Court overturned the Cruikshank decision of 5-4 and found that the right to bear arms was a right incorporated against the states -This meant that the state regulation of firearms, in some situations, was constitutional
Examples of modern legal discrimination
-LGBTQ -Disabilities -Mental disabilities
Black Codes
-Laws designed to reduce former slaves to the status of indentured servants -Blacks couldn't vote and would be jailed and arrested for vagrancy or lack of a job -They were also excluded from public schools and state colleges -They were also subjected to a lot of violence by whites
Jim Crow
-Laws were passed that excluded African Americans from juries -Allowed the imprisonment and forced labor of 'idle' black citizens -Called for segregation between the whites and the blacks in public places -Doctrine of "separate but equal" -As long as equal facilities were offered to both blacks and whites, it was legal to do this and have the different races use the facilities given to them -State and local governments passed laws that limited what neighborhoods blacks and whites could live in
LGBT
-Lesbians, Gay, Bisexuals, Transgender people
Limits of the Emancipation Proclamation
-Limited in effect to the states that had rebelled -Slaves in states that remained within the Union (Maryland/ Delaware) and in parts of the Confederacy, were already occupied by the Union army and weren't set free. Even though they were technically freed, it was practically impossible the ensure that enslaved people were freed in reality rather than just on paper because Union troops controlled a smaller portion of the states at a time
Civil Liberties
-Limits government powers -Protect freedoms that the government cannot legally intrude on Ex: -First Amendment says that the government prohibit the exercise of religion. (The government cannot stop you from following the religion of your choosing even if they believe inappropriate. You may also create your own religion and recruit people as long there is no cruel punishments involved and it follows certain rules)
2010 Arizona law on immigration
-Made illegal immigration a state crime -Forbade undocumented immigrants from seeking work and allowed law enforcement officers to arrest people suspected of being in the US illegally
Examples of controversies concerning the Free Exercise Clause
-Many controversies reflects the way laws or rules that apply to everyone might apply to people with particular religious beliefs -can a Jewish police officer whose religious belief, if followed strictly, requires her to observe Shabbat be compelled to work on a Friday night or during the day on Saturday? Or must the government accommodate this religious practice, even if it means the general law or rule in question is not applied equally to everyone?
Literacy test
-Most famous disenfranchisement tools used against the blacks -Originally used in the North to disqualify naturalized European immigrants from voting -Called on the voter to demonstrate his ability to read a particular passage of text -The voter registration officials had the ability to decide what text the voter was to read, they could give easier text to voters they wanted to register, who were typically white, and harder text to those they did not want, which were typically blacks.
Examples of how advances of technology has challenged right to privacy
-Much easier to track and follow people -Police and roadways have cameras -GPS
NOW
-National Organization of Women -Promoted equality in the workplace, called for a greater presence of women in public office, the professions, and graduate and professional degree programs
Stonewall (Inn) Riots
-New York City police attempted to arrest customers at a gay bar in Greenwich Village -The patrons' ability to resist arrest and fend off the police inspired many members of New York's LGBT community -This lead to the riots lasting for several more nights
Black Power
-Not assimilation into white society
Obscenity
-One of the exceptions to the right of freedom of expression -Acts or statements that are extremely offensive under the current societal standards. -Defining this is always challenging for the Supreme Court
Affirmative Action
-Originated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order 11246 -The practice of ensuring that members of historically disadvantaged or underrepresented groups have equal access to opportunities in education, workplace, and government contracting
Civil Rights Act of 1964
-Outlawed government discrimination and unequal voting qualifications by race -Outlawed segregation and other forms of discrimination by most businesses that were publically open, for the first time (hotels, theatres, and restaurants that weren't private clubs) -Outlawed discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sex, religion, or national origin by most employers -Created the EEOC
The issue with the simplicity of the 2nd Amendment wording
-People are wondering if the amendment is a protection of the right of states to organize and arm a "well regulated militia" for the civil defense, or if it is a protection of a "right of the people" as a whole to individually bear arms -Before the Civil War it would've been an almost meaningless distinction
Conscientious objector
-People who claim the right to perform military service on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion -Have also been controversial -Many have contributed services as non-combat medics during the war/wartime
When Death Penalty may not be issued
-People with mental disabilities -Defendants who were under eighteen at the time of the crime
Chinese Exclusion Act
-Prevented Chinese from immigrating to the US for ten years -Prevented Chinese already in the country from becoming citizens
White primary
-Primary elections where only whites were allowed to vote
Congressional Acts that took away American Indian sovereignty
-Protestant missionaries were allowed to adopt various tribes and try to convert them to Christianity -Indian children were taken from their parents and sent to boarding school -Children were forced to speak English and to abandon their traditional cultures -Dawes Severalty Act -All lands remaining after the division of reservations into allotments were offered for sale by the federal government to white farmers and ranchers. -Curtis Act: Abolished all tribal government
Symbolic speech - relate to Figure 4.9
-Raising a fist in the air -Wearing clothing as an armband that carried a political meaning -The U.S. flag -Burning the U.S. flag -Gregory Lee Johnson burned the flag to get attention to his cause of being part of various pro-communist groups and antiwar groups
13th Amendment
-Ratified December 1865 -First section stated, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." -This amendment outlawed slavery in the US
RFRA (Native Americans)
-Religious Freedom Restoration Act -1993 -Made in response to the Native Americans Church's replacement of the Sherbert Test -Part of it was struck down by the Supreme Court -Debate about whether businesses and other groups can have a religious liberty
Dred Scott v. Sandford
-Scott was born into slavery but spent time in free states/territories -Scott argued that his temporary residence in a free territory had made him a free man -The Supreme Court rejected his side of the argument -Majority of the Supreme Court actually voted that he didn't have any legal right to sue for his freedom because blacks, whether they were free or not, were not and could not be U.S citizens -Scott didn't have the standing to even appear before the court
Free Exercise Clause
-Second of the two freedoms in the First Amendment -Limits the ability of the government to control religious practices
Due Process Clause
-Second provision to the fourteenth amendment -Says: "nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law" -Similar to the fifth amendment since they both refer to the "due process". This term generally means that people must be treated fairly and impartially by government officials
De jure segregation
-Segregation required by law -Ended on paper but in practice few efforts were made to integrate schools in many school districts with a high black student population
Blue Laws
-Some laws that can appear to establish certain religious practices are allowed -Limits working hours on Sunday
Purpose of the 9th Amendment
-Some say the purpose of the 9th Amendment was that it was intended to extend the rights protected by the Constitution to those natural and common-law rights -Others say that it does not prohibit states from changing their constitutions and laws to modify or limit those rights as they see fit
Proposition 187
-Sought to deny non-emergency health services, food stamps, welfare, and Medicaid to undocumented immigrants -Also banned children from attending public schools unless they could present proof that their parents were legal residents -Found unconstitutional in 1997
Eugenics
-Sought to encourage childbearing among physically and mentally fit whites and discourage it among those with physical or mental disabilities
Obergefell v. Hodges 2015
-Supreme Court overturned state bans and made same-sex marriage legal throughout the US on June 26, 2015
Schenck v. United States
-Supreme Court said that people who were encouraging young men to avoid the draft would be put in jail for doing so -Supreme Court argued that telling people to disobey the law was equivalent to falsely shouting fire at a movie theatre
Pentagon Papers
-Supreme Court said that the government couldn't stop the New York Times and Washington Post newspapers from publishing the Pentagon Papers -They included secrets from the Vietnam War that were compiled in the military -They were compiled by the request of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and provided a study of U.S. military and political involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967
Roe v. Wade
-Supreme Court said the right of privacy encompassed a right for a woman to abortion, under certain circumstances
Kelo v City of New London
-Supreme Court sided with municipal officials taking homes in a middle-class neighborhood to obtain land for a larger pharmaceutical company's campus -This case led to a backlash in the public against the usage of eminent domain and legal changes in many different states, which made it harder for cities to take property from one private party and to give it to another for different economic redevelopment purposes
Bakke v. California
-Supreme Court upheld affirmative action and said that colleges could consider race when deciding whom to admit but could not establish racial quotas
United States v. Miller interpretation of 2nd Amendment
-Supreme Court upheld the 1934 National Firearm Act's prohibition of sawed-off shotguns mostly because the possession of that gun was not related to the goal of promoting a "well regulated militia" -This was generally understood as meaning that the Second Amendment protected the rights of the states to form a militia, not the individual right and lower courts typically found most firearm regulations to be Constitutional
Buck v. Bell 1927
-Supreme Court upheld the right of state governments to sterilize those people believed likely to have children who would become dependent upon public welfare
Famous Women's rights advocates (Names)
-Susan B. Anthony -Elizabeth Cady Stanton -Lucretia Mott -Sarah and Angelina Grimke -Amelia Bloomer -Lucy Stone -Alice Paul
Miranda v. Arizona
-Suspects were required to be informed and understand their most important rights, including the right to remain silent, before being interrogated in the custody of police -Miranda Warning -Law enforcement officials don't necessarily have to inform suspects of their rights before they are questioned in situations where they are free to leave
(Selective) Incorporation
-The Constitution puts parts of the Bill of Rights into state laws and constitutions even though it is not explicit
District of Columbia v Heller interpretation of 2nd Amendment
-The Supreme Court found that at least some gun control laws did actually violate the Second Amendment and that the amendment does protect an individual's right to own and bear arms, in some situations at least. -Things that were for traditional lawful purposes, like self defense within your home -Since D.C. is not a state the decision applied the right only to the federal government and territorial governments
Loving v. Virginia 1967
-The Supreme Court shot down a Virginia law that prohibited interracial marriage -1967
Operation Wetback
-The US government was alarmed by the large number of undocumented Mexicans crossing borders into the US in the 1950s so they started this -Wetback is a derogatory term for Mexicans living unofficially in the US -From 1953 to 1958, more than three million Mexican immigrants were deported from California, Texas, and Arizona
Strict scrutiny
-The burden of proof is again on the government in order to demonstrate that there is governmental interest in treating people from a group differently than another group. The law/ action can be "narrowly tailored" in order to achieve the goal being questioned. It is also the least restrictive means that are available to achieve the goal -If there is a non discriminatory way to accomplish the goal, that route should be taken
Mapp v. Ohio
-The court decided that evidence obtained without a warrant that didn't fall under one of the exceptions could not be used as evidence in a state criminal trial which gave rise to the exclusionary rule.
Example of national security concerns outweighing individual liberties
-The government has held suspected enemy agents without the access to civilian courts and they frequently don't have the access to lawyers or a defense. Ex: -During the Civil War, President Lincoln detained suspected Confederate saboteurs and sympathizers in Union controlled states and he attempted to have them tried in military courts. This lead the Supreme Court to rule in "Ex parte Milligan" which the government could not bypass the civilian court system in states where it was operating
Examples of controversies concerning the Establishment Clause
-The national motto "in God we trust" appears on our coins and paper money -"under God" in the pledge of allegiance
Rights to assembly restrictions
-The nature, place, and timing are all restrictions of the rights to assemble -These are constrained to balance free expression against the interests of public order -Their substantial content is not limited -Not all property is public forum
Disenfranchisement
-The revocation of voting rights
How some states have tried to circumvent Roe v. Wade
-They said it was harming a minor and the woman
Aquit
-To be found not guilty
Examples of current challenges experienced by African Americans
-Trapped in poor neighborhoods -Lack of high paying jobs in many urban areas -Poverty
Strict Scrutiny
-Under this, the 'burden of proof' is on the government to show that there is a governmental interest in treating people in one group differently from from others who are not part of that group -If there is a non-discriminatory way to reach the goal in question, take that route and don't discriminate -This was the legal basis for the Supreme Court's 1944 upholding of the legality of Japanese Americans during WWII
Congressional make-up of women
-Underrepresented -Hold about 20% of seats in Congress -25% of seats in state legislatures
Eminent domain
-Was originally used to obtain property for transportation corridors like railroads, highways, canals, and reservoirs. Those require a relatively straight routes in order to be efficient -Has more recently been used to allow economic development with beneficiaries ranging from politically connected big businesses such as car manufacturers building new factories all the way to highly profitable sports teams wanting new stadiums
Voting Rights Act of 1965
-Went beyond other previous laws because it required greater oversight of elections by federal officials -Literacy and other understanding tests were banned -Had a more immediate and dramatic effect than the laws that preceded it -Replaced a slow process of improving voter registration and participation with a rapid increase of black voter registration rates -White registration rates also increased during this time
Probable cause
-When a warrant is needed, law enforcement officers do not need enough evidence to secure a conviction, but they have to demonstrate to a judge that there is a probable cause to believe a crime has been committed or evidence will be found -The legal standard for determining if a search or seizure is constitutional or if a crime has been committed -Lower threshold than the standard of proof at a criminal trial
Chicano
-Young Mexican American civil rights activists
Privileges and Immunities Clause
Article IV, Section 2 Ensures that states citizens of other states the same and equally as citizens of their own state
Civil Rights of LGBTQ
Cant discriminate in workplace Cannot ban in millitary - maybe not Allowed to marry in all 50 states Can adopt and get custody Transgender use of public restrooms?
