3.5-3.9

incorporating the Bill of Rights: Early Incorporation (part 2) (5)

1. Near v. Minnesota (1931): A MN statute permitted a judge to stop "obscene, malicious, scandalous, and defamatory material" 2. A paper published anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, antiblack, and anti-labor stories 3. ACLU defended Near's right to publish - SCOTUS agreed 4. SCOTUS rules the MN statute "raises questions of grave importance. It is no longer open to doubt that the liberty of the press is within the liberty safeguarded by the due process clause of the 14th Amendment." 5. SO... through doctrine of selective incorporation, SCOTUS imposed limitations on state regulation of civil rights and liberties

cruel and unusual punishments, and excessive bail: GUANTANAMO BAY & INTERROGATIONS (part 2) (4)

1. Once policies became public, international peace organizations and civil libertarians in the U.S. questioned the disregard for both habeas corpus rights and 8th's prohibition f cruel and unusual punishment 2. Domestic and international community wondered, "Do the protections of the Bill of Rights extend to suspected terrorists?" Guantanamo Bay and Interrogations 3. President Obama reversed many of the Bush positions regarding torture techniques on terrorism suspects 4. Many U.S. intelligence officials protested these changes - claiming a need for the flexibility of various techniques to acquire information vital to the nation's security from detainees

due process (3)

1. Procedural due process addresses the manner in which the law is carried out 2. Substantive due process addresses the essence of the law - whether the point of law violates a basic right to life, liberty, or property (Topic 3.9) 3. Both applied to federal and state governments through the 5th and 14th Amendments.

ROE V. WADE (part 2) (5)

1. Question: Does Texas's anti-abortion statute violate the due process clause of the 14th Amendment and a woman's constitutional right to an abortion? 2. Decision: Yes, for Roe, 7-2 3. Facts: Norma McCorvey (Roe), single and 21 became pregnant and sought an abortion States had developed anti-abortion laws since the early 1900s - and this case reached the Court as the national debate about morality, responsibility, freedom, and women's rights had peaked 4. Only 4 states allowed abortions as in this case, and TX was not one of them (TX did allow abortions in cases when mother's life was at stake) 5. Reasoning: Weddington (ACLU) argues that TX had violated Roe's "right to privacy" and that it was not the government's decision to determine a pregnant woman's medical decision

McDonald v. Chicago in 2010 (part 1) (5)

1. Question: Does the 2nd Amendment apply to the sates, by way of the 14th Amendment, and thus prevent states or their political subdivisions from banning citizen ownership of guns 2. Decision: YES, 5-4 for McDonald 3. Facts: Chicago required all gun owners to register guns, yet the city invariably refused to allow citizens to register handguns, creating an effective ban 4. McDonald pointed to the dangers of his neighborhood and how the ban rendered him w/o self-defense - and argued the 2nd Amendment should have prevented this vulnerability 5. Attorneys also attempted to take Heller decision further, extending its holding to the state governments via the 14th Amendment's due process clause

incorporating the Bill of Rights: 14th Amendment (6)

1. Ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1868 strengthened due process 2. Before and during the Civil War, southern states placed restrictions on basic liberties of African Americans and white citizens who tried to defend African American rights 3. After the war, Union leaders questioned if Southern states would comply with new laws that protected due process - esp. for former slaves 4. Would an accused African American man receive a fair and impartial jury at his trial? 5. Could an African American defendant refuse to testify in court (as a white person could)? 6. To ensure states followed these commonly accepted principles, republicans in the House drafted the most important and far-reaching of the Reconstruction Amendments

ROE V. WADE (part 3) (5)

1. Reasoning (cont.): Though no expressed right in the Constitution, the Court had decided in Griswold that the right to privacy was present in the penumbras of the Bill of Rights 2. TX stood by its legal authority to regulate health, morals, ad welfare under the police powers doctrine 3. while most of the public argued the procedure of abortion violated a moral code 4. Roe relied largely on the 14th Amendment's due process clause, arguing that the state violated her broadly understood liberty by denying the abortion 5. However, the majority opinion recognized that the "potentiality of human life" represented by the unborn child is also of interest to the state

McDonald v. Chicago in 201o (part 2) (3)

1. Reasoning: SCOTUS applied the 2nd Amendment to the states via the 14th's due process clause - based on Heller, the right to individual self-defense is at the heart of the 2 nd Amendment 2. Majority also noted the historical context for the 14th and asserted the amendment sought to provide a constitutional foundation for the Civil Rights Act of 1866 3. Selective incorporation doctrine has encouraged the Court to require state governments and their political subdivisions to follow most parts of the Bill of Rights

Procedural Due Process: Fourth Amendment and the Exclusionary Rule (part 3) (4)

1. Rule was later refined to include exceptions 2. the "inevitable discovery" exception - evidence police find in an unlawful search but would have eventually found in a later, lawful search 3. "good faith" exception - searches under a court-issued warrant that is later proven unconstitutional or erroneous 4. Evidence discovered under these exceptions will likely be admitted at trial

incorporating the bill of rights (4)

1. SCOTUS has ruled in landmark cases that state laws must also adhere to certain Bill of Rights provisions through the 14th Amendment's due process clause 2. The process of declaring only certain, or selected, provisions of the Bill of Rights applicable to states rather than all of them is known as selective incorporation 3. The concept of fundamental fairness that ensures legitimate government in a democracy is due process 4. It prevents arbitrary government decisions to avoid mistaken or abusive taking of life, liberty, or property from individuals w/o legal cause

the second amendment and gun policy (7)

1. SCOTUS interpretations of second amendment represent a commitment to individual liberties, its precise meaning is difficult to ascertain in today's world 2. was amendment written to protect the state's right to maintain a militia or the citizen's unfettered right to own a gun? 3. gun control advocates point out that the state militias were well regulated and subject to state requirements 4. the concern at the time was about the federal govt imposing its will on or overthrowing a state govt witha standing federal army 5. the original concern at the time was not with the general citizen's right to bear arms 6. advocates (supported by recent SCOTUS decision) argued the amendment guarantees the personal right to own and bear arms because each citizen's right o own a firearm guaranteed the states ability to have a milita 7. gun rights proponents argue the right of the people clause means the same as it does with other parts of the bill of rights

cruel and unusual punishments, and excessive bail: SCOTUS & death penalty (8)

1. SCOTUS put the death penalty on hold in Furman v. Georgia (1972) 2. a 5-4 decision: 3. Two justices called death penalty itself a violation 4. Brennan: "most of society rejects the unnecessary severity of the death penalty and there are other less sever punishment available 5. Marshall: death penalty is excessive and served "no legislative purpose" 6. Court also addressed the randomness of the application of the death penalty - and the disproportionate application of the death penalty to the socially disadvantages, the poor, and minorities Eighth Amendment 7. Gregg v. Georgia (1976) - state cannot make death penalty mandatory by law - deliberate look at circumstances must be taken into account in second phase of trial following a guilty verdict 8. More recently SCOTUS has outlawed for mentally handicapped defendants and those under 18 years of age at the time of the murder.

contemporary procedural due process rights: RIGHT TO COUNSEL (part 3) (5)

1. SCOTUS responds and appointed an attorney for Gideon to argue this case 2. His attorney argued that the 14th Amendment's due process clause required states to follow the 6th Amendment provision 3. Rules 9-0 ruling that FL had to provide defense attorneys to all indigent defendants 4. Every defendant should have an equal change at a fair trial and without an attorney, a defendant does not have that equal chance 5. No distinction between a capital offense and a noncapital offense

Fourth Amendment and the Exclusionary Rule: Searches in Schools (part 3) (4)

1. SCOTUS ruled that although the 4th Amendment does protect students from searches by school officials - in this case the search was reasonable 2. Officials are not required to have the same level of probable cause as police 3. Students are entitled to a "legitimate expectation of privacy," but this must be weighed against the interests of teachers, administrators, and the school's responsibility and mission 4. "Reasonable cause or suspicion" - not probable cause

Fourth Amendment and the Exclusionary Rule: Searches in Schools (part 1) (2)

1. Students in school have fewer protections against searches that may violate the public interest than do average citizens in public or in their home 2. Within the school context, at times the public interest argument outweighs concerns for individual liberties

The Right of the Accused: PUBLIC SAFETY EXCEPTION (7)

1. Subsequent cases have allowed statements into court that were obtained before a suspect was warned of his/her rights 2. If the officer was acting in the name of public safety, a delayed reading or failure to read the warning would not necessarily exclude confessions or statements at court 3. This public safety exception puts the protection of people before procedural protections for suspects (a balance) 4. In New York v. Quarles (1984), police chased a suspect who had been identified as assaulting a woman and carrying a gun into a grocery store 5. Police found an empty gun holster and asked suspect where the gun was - and he indicated it was in an empty milk carton 6. At trial, suspect's attorneys tried to have his statement re the location and gun inself suppressed from evidence because he had not been "Mirandized" 7. SCOTUS, however, reasoned that although he was surrounded by police, he was not coerced to answer the questions - and the question was necessary to protect the public from the danger of a loaded gun

substantive due process (4)

1. Substantive due process places substantive limits on what liberties the government can take away or deprive a citizen of 2. If the substance of the law - the very point of the law - violates some basic right, even one not listed in the Constitution, then the court can declare it unconstitutional 3. State government policies that might violate substantive due process rights must meet some valid state or public interest to promote the police powers of regulating health, welfare, or morals 4. Right to substantive due process protects people from policies for which no legitimate state interest exists or the state interest fails to override the citizens' rights

substantive due process: right to privacy: GRISWOLD V. CONNECTICUT (4)

1. The 1960s brought a new lass of substantive due process suits to the Court that sought to protect individual rights - esp. those of privacy and lifestyle 2. In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the Court ruled an old anti-birth control state statute violated the Constitution Right to Privacy 3. Overturned law had barred married couples from even receiving birth control literature 4. Court for the first time emphasized an inherent right to privacy that, although not expressly mention in the Bill of Rights, could be found in the penumbras (shadows) of the 1st, 3d, 4th, and 9th Amendments

3.6 balancing individual freedom with political order and safety (5)

1. The 1st and 2nd Amendments focus on guaranteeing individual liberties in relation to speech, religion, assembly, and bearing arms. 2. The other amendments in the Bill of Rights protect minorities and vulnerable populations 3. Those suspected or accused of crimes, those suspected or accused of crimes, the poor, the indigent through the due process clause of the 5th and 14th amendment 4. Provisions also help guide conflict between individual liberties and national security concerns. 5. Those conflicts range from the 2 nd Amendment argument of the right of one person to own a gun versus another person's right to be safe from gun violence to the 4th Amendment's protections against illegal searches and seizures versus the government promoting public safety

cruel and unusual punishments, and excessive bail: 8th amendment (6)

1. The 8 th Amendment prevents cruel and unusual punishments and excessive bail 2. Capital punishment (death penalty) has been in use for most of U.S. history - and was allowed at the time of ratification of the Constitution and Bill of Rights 3. Nevertheless, there is debate about whether the death penalty fits the definition, according to the framers, of cruel and unusual 4. A handful of states have banned the practice, as have most Western and developed countries 5. Lethal injection is most common method 6. In the U.S., majorities have long favored the death penalty for premeditated murders

substantive due process: right to privacy: ROE V. WADE IN 1973 (4)

1. The Court further bolstered the right to privacy in Roe v. Wade (1973) 2. Primarily addressing the question of whether Texas or other states could prevent a woman from aborting her fetus, the decision rested on a substantive due process right against such a law Right to Privacy 3. Whether a pregnant woman was to have or abort her baby was a private decision between her and her doctor and outside the reach of the government 4. These two cases together revived the substantive due process doctrine first laid down a century earlier (in the Slaughterhouse cases - see text)

3.8 Amendments: Due process and rights of the accused (4)

1. The U.S. has struggled to fully interpret and define phrases in the bill of Rights and has done so differently at different times. 2. Justice Brandeis - from his dissent in an early FBI wiretapping case - speaks to his concern for citizens' rights to privacy and protection from government intrusion into the home as basic wiretapping technology enabled the government to create a surveillance state 3. Brandeis could not have known how right he was predicting technological possibilities of invading all aspects of citizen's space, information, and routines 4. New technologies raise the question: "What is the proper balance between liberty and order?"

3.9 Amendments: Due Process and the Right to Privacy

1. The framers did not explicitly state in the Constitution that citizens have a "right to privacy" 2. The idea of a "right to be left alone" or a right to privacy can be pulled from the language of several amendments

Incorporating the Bill of Rights: BARRON V. BALTIMORE

1. The question of whether the Bill of Rights limited the federal government ONLY, or also the states, was originally answers in Barron v. Baltimore (1833) 2. Justice Marshall's Court made clear that states, if not restrained by their own constitutions or bill of rights, did not have to follow the federal Bill of Rights

search and seizure: CELL PHONES AND METADATA (part 1) (4)

1. Threat of terrorism and the availability of modern electronic communication have altered the application of the 4th Amendment 2. In response to find 9/11 terrorists and prevent future attacks, the U.S. government capitalized on modern forms of investigation and electronic surveillance 3. Soon after, President Bush initiated a program by executive order that secretly allowed the executive branch to connect with third parties - Verizon and other telecoms - to acquire and examine cell phone data 3. Arrangement excused the government from obtaining warrants as long as the third party was willing to give up the information 4. Some companies cooperated with the administration in the name of catching terrorists - but raised the question whether such cooperation compromises citizens' right against unreasonable searches

founding principles and bearing arms: constitutional convention (5)

1. debate about weapons related to shay's rebellion 2. it made congress maintain a regular armed force that's paid, professionally trained 3. others clung to the idea of states keeping regular militias the federal governemnt could call into service 4. debate itself showed how the revolution resulted in anti-traditional thinking, that locally controlled militias would be less prone to corruption and abuse 5. delegates had no idea that the idea of private gun ownership would be a risk

how other amendments relate to individual's right to privacy (5)

1. first Amendment - the privacy of one's thoughts or associations with others 2. third Amendment - protects privacy of one's home from the government's quartering of solders 3. fourth Amendment - protects against illegal searches, keeping a home (or other areas) private 4. fifth Amendment - entitles an accused defendant to refrain from testifying and thus to keep information private 5. ninth Amendment - a cautionary limit to the power of the federal government in general, which states that the people have rights not specifically listed, such as privacy

Founding principles and bearing arms (3)

1. founding fathers debated necessity of antion being able to defend itself from outside and inside souces 2. increase of gun violence = calling for local and national change on gun laws 3. debate the meaning of the second amendment and degree to which the government may limit guns has become especially heated in last few decades

Procedural Due Process: Fourth Amendment and the Exclusionary Rule (part 1) (4)

1. fourth Amendment prevents law enforcement from conducting unreasonable searches and seizures 2. In Weeks v. U.S. (1914), SCOTUS established the exclusionary rule, which states that evidence the government finds or takes in violation of the 4th Amendment can be excluded from trial 3. This decision protected the citizenry from aggressive federal police by reducing the chances of conviction 4. Justice system rejects evidence that resembles the "fruit of the poisonous tree"

the second amendment and gun policy: national and state laws : National Firearms Act 1934

1. gun laws such as defining where people can carry, fallin within the police powers of the state 2. in 1934, the era of bootleggers and gangsters drove Congress to pass a national statute about possession of guns 3. the National firearms Act required registration of certain weapons, imposed a tax on the sale of manufacture of certain guns and restricted sale and ownership of high risk weapons, shotguns, and automatic machine guns 4. the law was challenged shortly after passage and upheld by the SCOTUS

loopholes of the BRADY BILL (4)

1. no background checks for the firearms purchased at private gun shows 2. some guns can be purchased via internet without background checks 3. in some states, juvenile can purchase long guns (rifles and handguns) form unlicensed dealers 4. National check system database is insufficient in housed records of all those to be denied gun ownership.

founding principles and bearing arms: in the states

1. several states' constitution had a bill of rights, 4 out of 13 protected right to bear arms as part of militia force 2. gun regulation was common 3. PA only one that protected righ tot bear arms as self defense; in MD catholic were barred from carrying guns 4. african americans were banned as well 5. RL created a gun registry in supporting the militia

The second amendment and gun policy: national and state laws: The Brady Bill of 1993 (part 1)

1. the Brady Bill followed after a mentally disturbed John Hinkley shot Ronald Reagan in 1981 2. reagan survived but his press secretary Hames Brady suffered a paralyzing head wound 3. he and his wife formed a coalition to prevent handgun violence and pushed for legislation that became the BRADY HANDGUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACT in 1993 4. the bill requires 5 y waiting period for purchase of handguns and background checks 5. expired in 1998 but current national instant criminal background checks system is in place

the second amendment and un policy: national and state laws: Gun Control Act of 1968

1. urban crime, protest, and asassinations in the 60s influenced the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968 2. it ended mail order sales of all firearms and ammunition and banned the sale of guns to felons, fugitives, illegal drugs users, people with mental illness, and those dishonorably discharged from the military 3. in reality, the effect was to punish those who owned a gun or used it illegally more than to prevent the purchase or possession of guns

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.

Essential question for 3.5

To what extent does the supreme court's interpretation of the second amendment reflect a commitment to individual liberty?

The Right of the Accused: SELF INCRIMINATION (5)

1. "You have the right to remain silent..." 2. The warning resulted from an overturned conviction of a rapist who confessed to his crime under some pressure and without being informed he did not have to talk (Miranda v. Arizona (1966)) 3. fifth Amendment states, "nor shall [anyone] be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself" Self-Incrimination 4. In Miranda, the Court declared the 5 th Amendment right applies once a suspect is in custody of the state 5. Custodial interrogation carries with it a badge of intimidation - and if such pressures from the state are going to occur, police must inform the suspect of his or her rights

37. Selective Incorporation (5)

1. ALL levels of government adhere to most elements of the Bill of Rights... but that wasn't always the case. 2. Bill of Rights was ratified to protect the people from the federal government. 3. The documents begins addressing what the government (e.g., CONGRESS) cannot do. 4. It then goes on to address additional liberties CONGRESS cannot take away 5. So most states had already developed bills of rights with similar provisions - but states did not originally have to follow the national Bill of Rights because it was understood that the federal Constitution referred only to federal laws, not state laws

cruel and unusual punishments, and excessive bail: GUANTANAMO BAY & INTERROGATIONS (part 1)

1. After 9/11, the U.S. military established a detention camp at its naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hold terror suspects captured in the global war on terror 2. Administration officials believed the location of the camp and interrogations outside the U.S. allowed a loosening of constitutional restrictions Guantanamo Bay and Interrogations 3. President Bush's lawyers issued the now infamous "torture memo" 4. defined torture as "severe physical pain or suffering" 5. pain "must be equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death" 6. led to technique of "waterboarding" - an ancient method that simulates drowning - to gather information from reluctant detainees

search and seizure: FOURTH AMENDMENT (part 1) (5)

1. Among the grievances that pushed the colonies toward revolution was the British practice of searching for smuggled goods - British-issued writs of assistance - broad search warrants - that enabled British soldiers to search any vessel, warehouse, home, or wagon 2. Conflicts b/w the overly aggressive soldiers and already freedom-deprived colonists propelled the revolution Fourth Amendment 3. 4th Amendment specifically protects against unreasonable searches and seizures 4. Provides that warrants are necessary for government or law enforcement to enter a person's home 5. Courts can issue warrants ony whe the information causing suspicion is delivered under oath and reaches the legal standard of probable cause - a reasonable amount of suspicion that a crime has been committed 5. Probable cause also needed to make an arrest - "seizing" a person

search and seizure: CELL PHONES AND METADATA (part 2) (3)

1. As governmental security organizations, esp. the NSA, increased their surveillance efforts, they instituted a program code-named PRISM 2. PRISM compels ISPs to give up information related to Internet activity and communications 3. Also, (as we know b/c of leaks provided by U.S. fugitive Edward Snowden) to collect and process overwhelming amounts of telephone metadata

search and seizure: fourth amendment (part 2) (5)

1. As the likelihood of danger or harm increases, the threshold for limitations on government search and seizure diminishes 2. There are exceptions to the warrant requirement - if officers see crime in plain view, no warrant is needed - limitless searches can be conducted in airports and at border crossings Fourth Amendment 3. School principals need only reasonable cause or suspicion to conduct searches in schools 4. If people give consent, waiting their protection against unreasonable searches, no warrant is required 5. SCOTUS has ruled that warrants are required for wiretapping a suspect's phone, bringing a drugsniffing dog upon the porch of a home, and looking into a cell phone of a suspect or even an arrested defendant... more in Topic 3.7

cruel and unusual punishment, and excessive bail: HISTORY (3)

1. Colonists who formed the U.S. saw some of the punishments toward critics of the British monarchy during the pre-war period as cruel and unusual 2. Kings had imprisoned their foes on false charges and denied the possibility for bail, mistreated or starved their foes to death 3. In the new republic, the U.S. Bill of Rights would protect these practices

ROE V. WADE (part 5) (4)

1. Court resolved this balancing test by tying state regulation of abortion to the three trimesters of pregnancy: Roe v. Wade 2. during the first trimester, governments could not prohibit abortions at all; 3. during the second trimester, governments could require reasonable health regulations 4. during the third trimester, abortions could be prohibited entirely so long as the laws contained exceptions for cases when they were necessary to save the life or health of the mother

ROE V. WADE (part 4) (3)

1. Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides a "right to privacy" that protects a pregnant woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion 2. Court also ruled that this right is not absolute, and must be balanced against the government's interests in protecting women's health and protecting prenatal life 3. "Though the State cannot override that right, it has legitimate interests in protecting both the pregnant woman's health and the potentiality of human life, each of which interests grows and reaches a "compelling" point at various stages of the woman's approach to term..."

contemporary procedural due process rights: RIGHT TO COUNSEL (part 2) (5)

1. Gideon v. Wainright (1963) - Gideon, a drifter who had served jail time four times before, was arrested for breaking and entering a FL pool hall and stealing drinks and coins 2. Came to trial expecting the local court to appoint him a lawyer because he had been provided on in other states in previous trials 3. At the time, 45 states appointed attorneys to indigent defendants - FL did not 4. Gideon is convicted and sentenced to prison 5. Files an in forma pauperis brief with Court.

contemporary procedural due process rights: SEARCHES AND THE ELECTRONIC WORLD (5)

1. Has the federal government gone too far in recent endeavors to catch terrorists or to conduct searches in the era of modern communication? 2. Government contends many of the new techniques 0 incl 3rd -party mining of metadata - are incompliance with 4th Amendment 3. But should government be privy to information such as "whether a person called a rape-crisis center, a suicide or drug-treatment hotline, a bookie or a particular political organization," without probable cause or securing a warrant? Searches and the Electronic World 4. Journalists report that "every major domestic telecom company provided telephonic metadata to the NSA" since 2006 5. 2015 USA FREEDOM ACT did prevent government's easy access to metadata - requires the Executive Branch to acquire a warrant to examine the metadata

Incorporating the Bill of Rights: AFTER HELLER AND MCDONALD (5)

1. Heller and McDonald partially govern gun policy in the U.S., but SCOTUS has done little to define gun rights and limits since (2010) 2. It has declined to hear cases on assault weapons bans from MD and from a Chicago-area municipality 3. Also declined to rule on a restrictive CA limitation on who may carry concealed guns 4. Discussion in Congress is loud and intense after a nationally notable mass shooting, but little national law changes 4. Republicans tend to fiercely defend citizens' right to own and carry guns --→ Democrats tend to seek stronger restrictions on sale, ownership, and public possession 5. Obama's EO to keep guns out of the hands of mentally disabled Social Security recipients after Newtown was reversed by President Trump, a gun advocate in 2017

The Second Amendment and Gun Policy: District of Columbia v. Heller (part 2) (2)

1. Heller is unique in that it struck down an overreaching law put forth by the District of Columbia - the seat of the federal capital 2. This was not a state law, and thus it would not directly impact or alter similar bans and limitations in state law or local ordinances beyond DC. That would come with the McDonald decision

individual rights and the Second Amendment: RECENT STATE POLICY (4)

1. High number of deaths from handguns in recent years and an uptick in mass shootings has brought attention to the issue of accessibility to weapons 2. After Newtown shooting (2012) many states passed laws restricting gun use or ownership - and included more broad definition of assault weapons, banning sales of large magazines, and increasing # of potentially dangerous people on the no-purchase list Recent State Policy 3. Other states approved more pro 2nd Amendment legislation - widening open carry and increasing number of states with reciprocity in respecting out-of-state permits 4. New policies on both sides of the gun argument will continue to come and go with public concern over the issue - as legislatures design and pass them - and as courts determine whether they infringe on citizens' civil liberties

The Second Amendment and Gun Policy: THE ROAD TO HELLER (part 1)

1. In 2008, SCOTUS issued its first Second Amendment decision in decades 2. The case arose out of a Washington, DC, security guard's desire to travel home with his revolver 3. Since 1976, a CD local ordinance barred individuals from keeping a loaded handgun at home without a trigger lock 4. Security guard (Heller) filed suit, claiming the ordinance violated his Second Amendment right 5. 5-4 decision that the Second Amendment recognizes an individual's right to own a gun unrelated to militia service 6. Scalia wrote that it "conferred an individual right to keep and bear arms. Of course, the right was not unlimited, just as the First Amendment's right to speech is not" unlimited

Fourth Amendment and the Exclusionary Rule: Erring on the Side of Warrants (part 2) (5)

1. In FL, an officer walked a drug-sniffing dog onto a citizen's front porch 2. The dog communicated to the officer that marijuana was inside the home - officer secured a warrant and found 25 pounds of marijuana in the home 3. Appealing the conviction, the suspect claimed the search had taken place on the porth long before a warrant was obtained Erring on the Side of Warrants 4. Law enforcement cannot search willy-nilly along citizens' front porches in hopes of having their dogs smell incriminating evidence that police can then pursue 5. SCOTUS was divided on this case - but for now, police cannot take drug dogs onto a resident's porch without a warrant

Procedural Due Process: Fourth Amendment and the Exclusionary Rule (part 2) (5)

1. In Mapp v. Ohio (1961), officers broke into Mapp's house looking for a fugitive and gambling paraphernalia 2. Police found no person or evidence related to the suspect or paraphernalia, but they did find some obscene books and pictures 3. Mapp was convicted on obscenity charges and sent to prison 4. SCOTUS ruled police had violated her rights and should never have discovered the illegal contraband 5. Mapp became the selective incorporation case for the 4th Amendment

Fourth Amendment and the Exclusionary Rule: Searches in Schools (part 2) (4)

1. In New Jersey v. TLO (1985), after a student informed a school administrator that another student (TLO) had been smoking in the restroom, an assistant principlal searchd TLO's purse 2. Found cigarettes, as well as marijuana, rolling papers, plastic bags, a list of students who owed her money, and a large amount of cash Searches in Schools 3. Administrator turned evidence over to local authorities who prosecuted the student 4. She appealed her conviction on exclusionary rule grounds

Since Roe v. Wade (8)

1. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Court outlawed a PA law designed to discourage women from getting an abortion 2. Court also knocked down the "informed consent" portion of the law that required the aborting woman (mother), married or unmarried, to inform and secure consent from the father 3. Casey decision did uphold such state requirements as a waiting period, providing information on abortion alternatives, and requiring parental (or judge's) consent for pregnant teens 4. Before 1973, abortion on demand was legal in only 4 states 5. Roe decision made it unconstitutional for a state to ban abortion for a woman during the 1st trimester (1st three months) 6. States passed statutes to prevent abortion at state-funded hospitals and clinics (to limit access) 7. They adjusted their laws to prevent late-term abortions 8. In 1976, Congress passed the Hyde Amendment to prevent federal funding that might contribute to an abortion

incorporating the Bill of Rights: Early Incorporation (part 1) (7)

1. In a series of cases that addressed state laws designed to crush radical ideas and sensational journalism (1920s), SCOTUS began to hold states to First Amendment standards 2. In Gitlow, Benjamin Gitlow, a NY Socialist, was arrested and prosecuted for violating NY's criminal anarchy law 3. Gitlow was arrested for writing, publishing, and distributing pamphlets that called for strikes and "class action... in any form" 4. ACLU appealed arguing the due process clause of the 14th compelled states to follow the same free speech and free press ideas in the 1st Amendment as the federal government 5. SCOTUS felt the reason for the state's limitation of Gitlow's message was justified to preserve order 6. "For present purposes, we may and do assume that freedom of speech and of the press... are among the fundamental personal rights and 'liberties' protected by the due process clause of the 14th Amendment from impairment by the States." 7. SO, Gitlow's free speech was not protected because it was a threat to public safety, but the Court did put the states on notice

Fourth Amendment and the Exclusionary Rule: Erring on the Side of Warrants (part 1) (4)

1. In recent 4th Amendment rulings, SCOTUS has extended protections regarding cell phones, GPS locators, and narcotics-snigfing dogs at a person's front door 2. For GPS - attaching a tracker to monitor a suspected drug dealer's movements and interactions was unconstitutional 3. Little expectation of privacy on the public streets - but few assume their movements are monitored for 24-hour cycles 4. Thus an unreasonable search (that might have been remedied with a warrant ahead of time

The Second Amendment and Gun Policy: national and state laws: NRA and republicans

1. Meanwhile, states have increasingly passed laws favorable to the possession of a gun 2. Powerful NRA and Republican-controlled legislatures have worked to pass a number of state laws to enable citizens to carry guns, some concealed, some openly 3. The NRA has also fought in the courts against laws restricting gun ownership

procedural due process (8)

1. Measures prevent government from depriving citizens of their freedoms or possessions without being heard or receiving fair treatment 2. Concept ensures government is consistently fair and does not act arbitrarily on unstable whims 3. The government can take away life, liberty, and property... but only in a highly specific, prescribed manner 4. As Court interpreted and defined due process in various cases, it also selectively required states to follow additional rights from the Bill of Rights (expanding incorporation doctrine) 5. Procedural due process refers to the way in which a law is carried out 6. Did the local court give the defendant a fair trial? 7. Did the zoning board accurately appraise the value of the citizen's house before seizing it under its legal powers? 8. Were the suspended students given a chance to explain their side of the story?

search and seizure: CELL PHONES AND METADATA (part 3) (3)

1. Metadata is all the cell phone communication information minus the actual conversation - who is calling whom, when, and for how long 2. Constitutional acceptance for collection parallels an earlier Court ruling that allowed police to monitor calls made, though not the content of the conversation, if disclosed by a third party 3. Government's motivation here is to determine who might be connected to terror suspects in the U.S. and abroad and to what degree

contemporary procedural due process rights: RIGHT TO COUNSEL (part 1) (4)

1. Miranda continues, "If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you..." 2. sixth Amendment's right to counsel was first merely the right to have a lawyer present at trial - and only applied to defendants in federal court 3. Series of cases starting in the 1930s, Court developed its view of right to counsel in state criminal cases 4. First established that when death penalty was possible, the absence of counsel amounted to a denial of fundamental fairness