Political science

Libel

False information with mal intention

What war was deadliest and how long did it last

Us civil war was deadliest from 1815-1914

Death penalty cases

Virginia v Atkins (2002) The Supreme Court rules that states cannot execute "mentally retarded" defendants. In this case Atkins had an IQ of 59. Roper v Simmons (2005) The state of Missouri was not allowed to execute a 17 year old murderer. The court ruled that states could only execute murderers who were at least 18 years of age when they committed the crime. Kennedy v Louisiana (2008) The Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana could not execute a child rapist. The one area since 2000 that is a victory for the pro death penalty side is that in 2008 the Supreme Court upheld the lethal injection process of execution used by the state of Kentucky and most states in the case of Baze v Rees.

gender discrimination

Female sexism: In a recent national survey women strongly preferred a male supervisor.

What case established the right to counsel for poor and indigent

Gideon v. wainwright (public defenders for all)

How a case is decided?

Judicial review v. Judicial activism

legacy of slavery

Many early Africans until the 1660s came as indentured servants. From the 1660s until 1865 we see a couple of centuries of only enslavement for life.

Responding to Jim Crow

Marshall took a three step strategy to overturn the "Separate but Equal" doctrine.

original

Original: These are often called trial courts. These courts are interested in "the facts" of a case and render a decision or verdict.

How do President's decide who to nominate for the Supreme Court?

Policy Preferences: Typically, this has been the most important criteria for the nomination of Supreme Court justices. President's want to nominate a justice who views the world or at least the law the way that they do.

The Free Exercise Clause:

The Court distinguishes here between "Belief and Practice" Individuals can believe whatever they want but are not always free to act on those beliefs.

The Supreme Court is the most trusted Institution in American Government even though it is the least democratic.

true

Civil Rights movement events

1. Montgomery Bus Boycott: The boycott began in 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give her seat on a bus to an unidentified white man. Martin Luther King Jr. organized a 381 day boycott of the bus lines as a result. 2. Birmingham March (May 1963) This march was met with violence by the local police. The violence was televised and the result was a change in public opinion. King received an outpouring of support as a result. 3. The Washington March for Jobs and Freedom (August 1963) King gives his greatest address his famous "I have a Dream" speech from the Lincoln Memorial. Nobel Pece prize 4.President Kennedy attempted to introduce the Civil Rights Act in June of 1963 but ran into resistance in Congress. With his death in November of 1963, Johnson was able to get civil rights legislation passes.

The Civil War Amendments: After the Civil War, three Constitutional Amendments were passed dealing with slavery and former slaves.

13th Amendment: This amendment prohibited slavery 14th Amendment:The amendment granted former slaves citizenship which overturned the Dred Scott case. 15th Amendment: This granted black men the right to vote. Note the disappointment of early feminists who had to wait another 50 years until the passage of the 19th amendment giving them the right to vote nationally in 1920.

The Founding fathers intended and believed that the Judiciary would be the weakest branch of the national government

Alexander Hamilton in The Federalist Papers said that the Judiciary would be "The least dangerous branch" because they lacked the two most essential powers of government the powers of the purse (belonged to Congress) and the power of the sword (belonged to the President) the courts also lack the ability to enforce their decisions (look at the battle between Marshall and Jackson over native American relocation, and southern states refusing to implement desegregation efforts after Brown v Board of Education).

The Supreme Court is a very political institution

All federal judges are nominated by the President, confirmed by a majority of the Senate (50%+ 1) and serve for life. The historical average for tenure has been 15 years (half of the Supreme Court justices that have served have served for more than 15 years and half less)

Amicus briefs

Amicus Briefs: In about 80% of cases there are briefs that are filed by interested parties, usually interest groups that attempt to lobby the court. An example of a case where an amicus case was crucial to the decision was in 2005 in Roper v Simmons. There was a brief filed by the American Psychological Association that suggested that juvenile brains were fundamentally different than adult brains (impulse control, peer pressure etc) The brief was widely used by the majority who concluded that Missouri could not execute a 17 year old murderer because that would be Cruel and Unusual punishment under the 8th

Who alleged that Justice Thomas sexually harassed her when he was her supervisor at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Anita Hill

Bradwell v. Illinois (1873)

Bradwell sued claiming that an Illinois law prohibiting women from being an attorney was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court by an 8-1 margin upheld an Illinois law prohibiting women from becoming an attorney.

Case involving gender discrimination in the 19th century

Bradwell v Illinois in 1873

Legacy of Segregation: There are two types of segregation

DeJure: This is segregation that is legally mandated or required by law. For example, in 1954 17 states required their schools to be segregated by law. DeFacto: This is segregation that results from non-legal factors such as economic inequalities, racial attitudes or the settlement patterns of people.

Harry Truman

Desegregated of the military by executive order

Schenck v United States (1919):

During normal times the speech would be protected, however during a war time emergency, they are a Clear and Present Danger that government and society have a right to suppress." The key provision that you need to know about this case is that the Supreme Court established the Clear and Present Danger test for speech in this case.

No Establishment Clause causes

Everson v Board of Education (1947) The most significant legal principle is that the Supreme Court "incorporated" the establishment clause in this case. The Court upheld a New Jersey transportation reimbursement program for both private and public school students claiming that the primary purpose of the law was secular, in this case getting children to and from school. Engel v Vitale (1962) The Supreme Court overwhelmingly (6-1) ruled that a New York nondenominational school prayer is an unconstitutional establishment of religion. Justice Black wrote that public school prayer is an establishment of religion and such a union of government and religion tends to destroy government and to degrade religion. Lemon v Kurtzman (1971) The important point for exam purposes is that the Supreme Court established the "Lemon Test" that is still the most common standard used by the Supreme Court in establishment clause cases. The three pronged test as discussed in the textbook is:

Deciding a case

Every year there are 7,000 to 8,000 requests for Supreme Court review. Of these the Supreme Court holds hearings and writes full opinions in about 80 of these cases.

Death penalty

Furman v Georgia (1972) By a 5-4 margin the Supreme Court strikes down the death penalty in Georgia. Thurgood Marshall ruled that in Georgia the death penalty was arbitrary like a bolt of lightning arbitrarily striking one person and not another without rhyme or reason. Gregg v Georgia (1976) By the same 5-4 margin, the Supreme Court upheld the death penalty if administered fairly. McCleskey v Kemp (1987) This is the most important of the three cases, in this case the defense not only claimed that the death penalty was Cruel and Unusual they also used statistical data to claim that the state of Georgia was using the death penalty in a racially discriminatory way. By a 5-4 margin the court upheld Georgia's death penalty, however, even the majority acknowledged a problem when they wrote (Rehnquist) "Despite statistical oddities we find no evidence of racial bias against this particular defendant."

Death penalty is not applicable to

Intellectually disabled, underage people (only execute murderers who were at least 18 years old: Roper v. simmons), and couldn't execute a child rapist (Kennedy v. Louisiana 2008 but upheld lethal injection process execution)

Modern Movement was complex it involved

Involves economic, political, reproductive and other components. The earliest victories for women were legislative in Congress.

Affirmative Action

Johnson pioneered Affirmative Action in federal contracting but, the Sup Court has been most active in cases involving university admission. In the 1978 case of UC Regents v Bakke the Court ruled that rigid racial quotas are illegal, however, universities can use a factor in admissions. This decision was reaffirmed in the University of Michigan cases.

Judicial Restraint vs. Judicial Activism

Judicial Restraint: These justices believe that the courts should defer to popularly elected institutions of government. The basic idea is that in a republic people elect representatives to make laws for society. Justices should strike down these laws as seldom as possible and on as narrow a basis as possible. This view stresses majority rule. Judicial Activism-These justices believe that the courts should be a tool to protect oppressed minorities from majoritarian tyranny. This view stresses minority rights.

What did women receive from modern movement

Many early feminists gained valuable political experience fighting slavery. They believed that when black men were granted the right to vote that they would also receive the right to vote. When women were excluded this drove a wedge in the feminist movement that split into two distinct movements. Women received the right to vote initially at the state level. Western states took the lead and eventually every western state except New Mexico gave women the right to vote before the passage of the 19th On the other hand no southern state gave women the right to vote before the passage of the 19th Amendment which was passed in 1920.

Political Reward or Support

Many have claimed that one of the reasons that Reagan selected Sandra Day O'Connor and Obama selected Sotomoyer were political reasons. They believed that these nominations could help them when they sought re-election. In these two cases both women were highly competent, ethical and experienced judges with the basic political orientations of the President nominating them.

Execution

Most executions occur in the south from 1977-April 15, 2016 Texas has had 537 executions, Oklahoma 112, Virginia 111, Florida 92, Missouri 86, by the way California has had 13. The top 10 countries in the world China, Iran, North Korea, Yemen, United States, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria, Bangladesh and Somalia The death penalty is a case study of American federalism. Currently 27 states have the death penalty and 23 do not.

civil rights: negative and positive freedoms

Negative Freedoms: These are individual liberties or "Freedom From" governmental power or regulation. often called Civil Liberties Positive Freedoms: group rights or "Freedom to" (vote, equal access to public accomodations etc)

No Establishment Clause

No Establishment Clause: While people often speak of a "Wall of Separation" between church and state, there is no mention of this in the Constitution. The question of when is government promoting or inhibiting religion is at the center of this controversy.

Jim Crow Laws

Political neutralization. The 15th amendment was threatening to white southerners. Who engaged in voter suppression. Some mechanisms were grandfather clauses, literarcy test, poll taxes. These devices were successful. After Sup. court ruling in Plessy and changed constitution in 1898. Voter suppression mechanisms decreased the number of black voters register to 5.000 (1900) and only 1772 (1916)

Free Exercise Clause events

Reynolds v United States (1878) The Supreme Court outlawed polygamy in this case. Cantwell Connecticut (1940) The most important thing about this case is that the Supreme Court "incorporated" the Free Exercise clause in this case. The Supreme Court ruled that the state of Conn could not require individuals to get a government permit to distribute religious materials. An important part of the free exercise of the J.W.s is the ability to converse and distribute their religious literature. The Flag Salute Cases: The J.W.s were involved in 23 Supreme Court cases from 1938-1946. Several of these involved the issue of flag salutes. What is amazing about the flag salute cases (Minersville v Gobitis, Jones v Opelika, West Virginia v Barnette etc) is that three Supreme Court justices changed their minds during a time of significant national security concerns. In 1940 the Court had ruled that the J.Ws had to salute the flag, however, by 1942, the Court reversed itself ruling that state laws requiring school children to salute the American flag infringed on the right of people to freely exercise their religion. The 6-3 decision of the Supreme Court in 1942 during the Second World War

Porno and obscenity

Roth v United States (1957) This was the first case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that obscenity is not protected by the first amendment. The Court, however, ruled that to be obscene material must be utterly without redeeming social value or importance. Stanley v Georgia (1969) The Supreme Court ruled that the private possession of pornography is protected in this case.

Legacy of slavery continued

Slavery was the Constitutional silence of the convention primarily because southern states that relied on slavery were needed for ratification. The Convention only dealt with slavery in two provisions. First was the infamous 3/5ths Compromise and the second was that Congress was allowed to ban the importation of slaves after 1808.

Steps that Marshall took to overturn "Separate but Equal" doctrine

Stage One: Go after states that do not even provide separate facilities. began in 1938 in Gaines v Canada. The Supreme Court in this case ruled that Missouri must provide either a colored (black) law school or integrate the white law school. Stage Two: Go after states that provided separate facilities but the black facilities were vastly inferior. The best example would be the 1950 case of Sweatt v Painter. The Supreme Court ruled that the separate black law school was not "substantially equal" to the white law school. Stage Three: case of Brown v Board of Education reversed the "Separate but Equal" doctrine from Plessy. A 9 to 0 ruled that public schools must be desegregated. Southern states refused to implement the court order and as a result in 1964 98% of black children in the deep south still attended all black schools. Desegregation in the south didn't take place in a meaningful way until congress put financial incentives into place in 1964. By 1970 only 14% of black students in the deep south still attended all black schools. The victory in Brown had gutted Plessy but did not impact the "private discrimination" that the Civil Rights Cases had allowed in 1883.

Dred Scott v Sandford (1857)

Supreme Court not only declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, they also ruled that former slaves were not citizens, necessitating the need to pass the 14th Amendment that later gave former slaves citizenship.

Jim Crow was politically neutral

The 15th Amendment was threatening to white southerners. As a response they engaged in voter suppression. Your textbook discusses some of these mechanisms which include grandfather clauses, literacy tests, poll taxes and the white only primary (Texas). These devices were very successful. Black man voting decreased

Modern movement events (5)

The Equal Pay Act of 1963: Pres Kennedy pledged during the 1960 election to fight for equal pay act mandating equal pay for equal work. Problem in achieving the goal was segregation in the workplace. Men and women were doing very different jobs (Pink v Blue Collar jobs) The jobs that women were segregated into tended to be lower paying than the jobs that men were performing. In 2017 women are still only earning about 79 cents per dollar earned by men. The Civil Rights Act of 1964: Originally women were not included in the legislation. Women were only added as a last ditch effort to kill the bill by political opponents. Title IX: major federal law banning discrimination based on gender. It has usually been linked to athletics, however, the legislation has multiple provisions and applications. The Equal Rights Amendment: This Amendment was first proposed in 1923, however, the legislation did not go out to the states for ratification until 1972. After a bitter ratification struggle, the amendment failed because only 35 of the 38 required states ratified it. 1970s saw a lot of victories for women in the Supreme Court. Most famous of these victories was the landmark Roe v Wade case in 1972 guaranteeing the right to an abortion. Other cases from the decade include the landmark case of Reed v Reed which was the first time that the Supreme Court struck down a law discriminating against women.

rule of four

The Rule of 4 This means that if at least 4 justices want to hear a case it is accepted for Supreme Court review. The clerk of the court schedules oral arguments, notifies all interested parties that the case has been accepted.

Plessy v Ferguson (1896)

The Supreme Court by an 8-1 margin upheld Louisiana's "Separate but Equal" doctrine on Louisiana railcars. The result of this ruling was that states soon applied this standard to segregate schools, parks, beaches, bathrooms, drinking fountains and virtually every feature of public life.

Pornography and Obscenity:

The Supreme Court has ruled that pornography is protected by the first amendment but obscenity is not. Obscenity is criminal behavior.

The Supreme Court is part of a three tiered federal court system.

The Supreme Court is the only court that is created by Article III of the Constitution. The lower courts (The U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Courts) were created by Congress in The Judiciary Act of 1789.

Civil Rights Cases (1883)

The Supreme Court ruled that "private discrimination is legal" The Supreme Court by an 8-1 margin, declared the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional and upheld the property rights of businessmen in this case.

Gitlow v New York (1925)

The important legal principle which emerged in this case was that the Supreme Court incorporated freedom of speech in this case. In other words the Supreme Court said that New York must respect speech rights to the same degree as the national government. Even though Schenck lost, the idea that the Bill of Rights might now begin to apply to sub national government is very important.

Lemon test is 3 pronged test

The law must have a secular purpose The law must not advance or inhibit religion The law must not entangle government "excessively" with religion.

Era of Jim Crow

The purpose of Jim Crow laws were to establish wholesale segregation of the South. Although there were thousands of Jim Crow laws they rested on a foundation of two Supreme Court cases.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

The result of the voting rights act was that the number of black voters increased dramatically. black voter registration increased 900% in Mississippi from 1965 to 1970. In the 1966 case of Harper v Virginia Board of Elections, the Supreme Court struck down Virginia's Poll Tax.

A President's impact on the Supreme Court is unknown until after he leaves office.

There is no way to determine in advance if a Supreme Court justice is going to retire or die in advance. The result might be that a President does not get to nominate anyone for the Supreme Court (Carter) or the President may nominate all 9 of them (F. Roosevelt) obviously the norm is 2-4 for a two term President.

Appellate:

These are often called review courts. Theses courts are interested in the application of the law rather than the facts. Some would say these courts are interested in the constitutional claim.

Jurisdiction

This is the authority of a court to hear and decide certain cases.

Traditional Male Sexism

Thomas Jefferson was asked what would the place for women be in our nation if our country were to become a purer democracy? Response: if you mix politics and women you are left with confusion.

Symbolic Speech: This is nonverbal speech that we would call freedom of expression. Tinker v Des Moines (1969) Mary Tinker was suspended from school for wearing a black arm band which her math teacher claimed was disruptive to the learning environment. The Supreme Court did acknowledge that children have fewer speech rights than adults, however, freedom of speech does not end at the classroom door. The significance of this case is that the Supreme Court expanded the definition of speech to freedom of expression. The black arm band was a well known symbol of opposition to the war in Vietnam and that message would be understood by an average person. Cohen v California (1971): Cohen wears a Levi's type jacket with the words F**k the Draft" sewn on the back with smaller lettering underneath it saying "Oppose the SE Asian war. Cohen is arrested after parading up and down the corridors of the Los Angeles County courthouse. Cohen is sentenced to 30 days in county jail for disturbing the peace. The Supreme Court overturned his conviction and ruled the jacket was an instrument of "Symbolic Speech" Justice Harlan in his famous opinion wrote that "One man's vulgarity is another's lyric, indeed because government officials cannot make principled distinctions in this area the Constitution leaves matters of taste and style largely to the individual." United States v O'Brien (1968) O"Brien after a lengthy anti Vietnam War speech burned a draft card on the steps of the United States District Court in Boston Massachusetts. The court upheld the conviction ruling that it was draft obstruction and the destruction of government property. Texas v Johnson (1989) The Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Johnson who had burned a flag in Dallas Texas after Johnson made a speech denouncing the foreign policy of President Reagan in Latin America. This narrow 5-4 vote by the court was unpopular and as a result the Congress unsuccessfully attempted to add a Constitutional amendment protecting the flag from being burned.

Tinker- The significance of this case is that the Supreme Court expanded the definition of speech to freedom of expression.

The alien and sedition act of 1798

You can't spread false info. resulted in conviction of criticize 10 newspaper editors that were critical of John Adams foreign policy positions (he was abusing his powers)

Brandenburg v Ohio (1969

a highly divided 5-4 decision overturned the conviction of a local K.K.K. leader for advocating revenge on public officials during a klan rally on a farm outside of Cincinnati Ohio. Justice Douglas said that "the threats were always loud but puny, nevertheless the Supreme Court permitted a climate of fear to overwhelm the first amendment for many years." This decision affirmed speech that was not accompanied by conduct, and demonstrates a wide latitude for free speech

written briefs are filed

by the attorneys for each side

Civil Rights Act of 1964

first Civil Rights act of the 20th century and dealt primarily with public accomodations and jobs. 2 relevant Supreme Court decisions were in Heart of Atlanta v United States and Katzenbach v McClung (1964) The Supreme Court upheld the Civil Rights Act in these two cases overturning the precedent of The Civil Rights Cases of 1883.

States couldn't execute

mentally disabled minors child rapist

Miller v California (1973) This is probably the most famous case to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court ruled that "Community Standards" can define obscenity. This was an acknowledgement by the court that they could not come up with a national standard for obscene material. The court ruled that communities could ban or censor materials unless they had "serious value" attached. The court ruled that serious value could be in any one of four distinct areas. Literary, Artistic, Political or Scientific. Jenkins v Georgia (1974) The problem with Miller was how much power do local juries have in determining what is obscene? This case arose from Albany Georgia. Local authorities arrested a local theatre manager that showed an "R-rated" movie called Carnal Knowledge. The local jury found the movie obscene. A unanimous Supreme Court disagreed claiming that the movie had been nominated for an academy award and had both serious literary and artistic value. The court ruled that local juries do not have unlimited discretion in deciding what is obscene. Ferber v New York (1982) The Supreme Court ruled that child pornography is obscene and not protected by the First Amendment. The reason being that the state has a compelling state interest in preventing the exploitation of children. Changes in technology, however, now allow for the production of "virtual child pornography" These are computer generated images that appear to be a child but are computer generated images that appear to be a child but are not. The Supreme Court in Ashcroft v Free Speech Coalition (2002) ruled that virtual child pornography is protected by the first amendment.

porno v obscenity cases