GOVT2305: Chapter 5- Civil Rights
Civil Liberties: 4th Amendment Privacy Clause
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable clause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Legal discrimination against blacks and women was challenged but persisted
- *abolitionists movement*: the *Dred Scott* decision (1857) stated slaves were property and protected under the 5th amendment- reason behind 13th amendment - *suffrage* movement: *Seneca Falls Convention* (1848) began the movement but the 19th amendment wasn't ratified until 1920
The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees civil rights to citizens
- *civil rights*: obligation imposed on government to take positive action to protect citizens from any illegal action of government agencies and of other private citizens
14th Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law IN THE STATES
- *equal protection clause*: "NO STATE shall make or enforce any law which shall... deny any person within its jurisdiction the EQUAL PROTECTION of the laws"
Disabled Americans
- 1973 Rehabilitation Act outlawed discrimination against individuals with disabilities > The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 followed - it guarantees equal employment rights and access to public businesses - it also prohibits discrimination in housing, employment, and health care
Griswold v. Connecticut (1964)
- Griswold was the Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut > both she and the Medical Director of the League gave information, instruction, and other medical advice to married couples concerning birth control - Griswold and her colleague were convicted under a Connecticut law which criminalized the provision of counseling, and other medical treatment, to married persons for purposes for preventing consumption
Advances of the lgbtq movement include:
- Lawrence v. Texas (2003): the Court overturned Bowers and struck down a Texas statue criminalizing intimate sexual conduct between consenting partners of the same sex - Obergefell v. Hodges (2015): ruled that equal protection clause guaranteed same-sex couples the right to marry
Gregg vs. Georgia (1975)
- a jury found Gregg guilty of armed robbery and murder and sentenced him to death > Gregg challenged his death sentence- claimed it was a "cruel and unusual punishment" that violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments
Griswold v. Connecticut (1964) OUTCOME
- although the Constitution does not actually say "privacy," it does create zones that establish a right to privacy- 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 9th amendment all work together to create a "right to privacy" > Griswold led to the later SCOTUS decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) establishing a woman's right to abortion
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
- applied a "strict scrutiny" test to the University of Michigan Law School's policy - 5-4 decision found the law school's admissions process was narrowly tailored to the school's compelling state interest in diversity > "Race-conscious admissions policies must be limited in time. The Court takes the Law School at its word that it would like nothing better than to find a race-neutral admissions formula and would terminate its use of racial preference as soon as practicable. The Court expects that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today."
Voting Rights Act of 1965
- bans literacy test - interfering with efforts to vote is a crime - specific states (ex: Texas) required to get preapproval before redrawing Congressional districts due to history of voter suspension- knocked down by SCOTUS in 2013 > 24th amendment- banned poll taxes
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) led the legal fight against discrimination
- established in 1909 to win equal political rights for people of color by using political pressure and litigation
Immigration and Civil Rights
- immigration has become a civil rights issue - The Supreme Court has ruled that unauthorized immigrants are eligible for education and emergency medical care but can be denied other services > in 2014, Obama issued an executive order granting quasi-legal status to millions of people who entered the United States illegally first > Trump attempted to dismantle this program but was blocked by a federal court decision
Sexual Harassment
- in 1986, the Supreme Court recognized two forms of sexual harassment > quid pro quo harassment - an explicit or strongly implied threat that submission is a condition of continued employment > a hostile work employment - harassment that creates offensive or intimidating employment conditions > sexual harassment remains relevant today- The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) advised colleges to adopt stricter harassment procedures in 2011
Gregg vs. Georgia (1975) OUTCOME
- no the court held that the punishment of death did not violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments - in extreme criminal cases, such as when a defendant has been convicted of deliberated killing another, the careful and judicious use of the death penalty may be appropriate if carefully employed
Discrimination remained in voting, employment, public accommodations, and social and economic activity
- protests after the Brown decision > the Montgomery bus boycott started after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat > the March of Washington: Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., gave his famous "I have a dream" speech > more recently black lives matter
What is the appropriate level of judiciary scrutiny in affirmative action cases: Who should bear the burden of proof?
- regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) > affirmative action was upheld > quotas and separate admission for minorities were rejected
Affirmative Action Program
- seek to redress past injustices against specified groups by making specified efforts to provide members of those groups access to educational and employment opportunities
Civil Rights Act of 1964
- segregation in public accommodations banned - title VI of the act empowered the executive branch to deal with segregated schools by denying federal funds - title VII of the act created the *Equal Employment Opportunity Commission* and allowed for the Justice Department to enforce fair-employment practices - employment discrimination based on color, religion, sex, race, or national origin was outlawed - CRA was silent on interracial marriage- Loving v. Virginia (1967): SCOTUS ruled state laws prohibiting interracial marriage were unconstitutional
Brown v. The Board of Education (1954) overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine
- states no longer had the power to use race as a criterion of discrimination of law - the national government now had the power to intervene against discrimination by state governments
Equality in Education
- title XI of the 1972 Education Act prohibits gender discrimination in education > the act was expanded in Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools - violations could be remedied with monetary rewards > had led to parity in college athletics programs, but gender barriers remain in many STEM fields
Southern Resistance to equality continued
> Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875 - it was intended to protect African Americans from discrimination in public accommodations - declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court > Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): "separate but equal" rule - established that public accommodations could be segregated by race as long as facilities were "equal" - Jim Crow laws enforced segregation
In the post-Brown era, the Court relies on the "strict scrutiny" test
> reminder: *strict scrutiny* places the burden of proof on government to show the law in question is constitutional- *very hard to do* - most states initially refused to cooperate with new laws - even when *de jure* segregation (by law) ended, *de facto* segregation (by fact) remained
Right to privacy is not explicitly written in the Constitution, but has been interpreted in the Fourth Amendment, facilitated by the Ninth Amendment
> the right to privacy covers controversial matters such as: - birth control - abortion - homosexuality - the right to die
strict scrutiny
A test used by the Supreme Court in racial discrimination cases and other cases involving civil liberties and civil rights that places the burden of proof on the government rather than on the challengers to show that the law in question is constitutional. (125)
By seeking to provide compensatory action to overcome the consequences of past discrimination, affirmative action has expanded the goals of groups championing minority rights.
Affirmative action has been a controversial policy. Opponents charge that affirmative action creates group rights and establishes quotas, both of which are inimical to the American tradition. Proponents of affirmative action argue that the long history of group discrimination makes affirmative action necessary and that efforts to compensate for some bad action in the past are well within the federal government's purview.
Freedom of speech generally implies freedom of the press. With the exception of the broadcast media, which are subject to federal regulation, the press is protected under the doctrine against prior restraint (efforts by a governmental agency to block the publication of material it deems libelous or harmful in some other way; in other words, censorship).
Among the forms of speech that are absolutely protected are the truth, political speech,symbolic speech, and speech plus, which is speech plus a physical activity such as picketing. The forms of speech that are currently only conditionally protected include libel and slander;obscenity and pornography; fighting words and hate speech; and commercial speech
The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. One of the greatest challenges in interpreting this provision consistently is that what is considered "cruel and unusual" varies from culture to culture and from generation to generation.
Another important aspect of the right to privacy is the possession of private property. The Fifth Amendment includes the takings clause, which extends to each citizen a protection against the "taking" of private property "without just compensation." The purpose of the takings clause is to put limits on the power of eminent domain through procedures that require a showing of a public purpose and the provision of fair payment for the taking of someone's property
Brown v. Board of Education
The 1954 Supreme Court decision that struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine as fundamentally unequal; this case eliminated state power to use race as a criterion of discrimination in law and provided the national government with the power to intervene by exercising strict regulatory policies against discriminatory actions. (125)
Although the language of the Fourteenth Amendment seems to indicate that the protections of the Bill of Rights apply to state governments as well as to the national government, for the remainder of the nineteenth century the Supreme Court (with only one exception) made decisions as if the Fourteenth Amendment had never been adopted.
As of 1961, only the First Amendment and one clause of the Fifth Amendment had been selectively incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment. After 1961, however, most of the provisions of the Bill of Rights were gradually incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment and applied to the states.
In the case of Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court found a right of privacy in acombination of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth amendments to the Constitution. This right was confirmed and extended in 1973 in the case of Roe v. Wade.
Cases concerning the scope of right to privacy have included debates over birth control,abortion, and LGBTQ rights.
Civil liberties are protections from improper government action. This contrasts with civil rights, which are obligations of government power. The Bill or Rights outlines many civil liberties and rights, and the expansion of civil liberties has come through litigation in the Supreme Court
Despite the insistence of Alexander Hamilton that a bill of rights was both unnecessary and dangerous, adding a list of explicit rights was the most important item of business for the First Congress in 1789.
"separate but equal" rule
Doctrine that public accommodations could be segregated by race but still be considered equal. (124)
The hopes of African Americans for achieving full citizenship rights initially seemed fulfilled when three constitutional amendments were adopted after the Civil War: the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery; the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed equal protection under the law; and the Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed voting rights for African Americans.
From 1896 until the end of World War II, the Supreme Court held that racial discrimination did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause as long as the facilities were equal, thus establishing the "separate but equal" rule, which prevailed through the mid-twentieth century
affirmative action
Government policies or programs that seek to redress past injustices against specified groups by making special efforts to provide members of those groups with access to educational and employment opportunities. (141)
The Bill of Rights, generally considered to be the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, is made up of provisions that protect citizens from improper government action.
In 1833, the Supreme Court found that the Bill of Rights limited only the national government and not state governments
In constitutional terms, the Second Amendment may protect a citizen's right to bear arms,but this right can be regulated by both state and federal law.
In 2008, the Supreme Court struck down a District of Columbia law that was designed to make it nearly impossible for private individuals to legally purchase firearms. The Court declared in the Heller case that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for private use.
The concept of rights for the disabled began to emerge in the 1970s as the civil rights model spread to other groups. The movement achieved its greatest success with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, which guarantees equal employment rights and access to public businesses for people with disabilities.
In less than 50 years, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) movement has become one of the largest civil rights movements in contemporary America. In 1996, the Supreme Court, in Romer v. Evans, explicitly extended fundamental civil rights protections to gays and lesbians. In Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the Court struck down a Texas statute criminalizing certain types of intimate sexual conduct between consenting partners of the same sex, thus extending the right of privacy to sexual minorities
In the 1970s, the Supreme Court helped to establish gender discrimination as a major and highly visible civil rights issue. Although the Court refused to treat gender discrimination as the equivalent of racial discrimination, it did make it easier for plaintiffs to file and win suits on the basis of gender discrimination by applying intermediate scrutiny to cases involving education, sexual harassment, and employment.
Latino political strategy for securing civil rights has developed along two tracks. One is a traditional ethnic-group path of voter registration and voting along ethnic lines. The second is a legal strategy using the various civil rights laws designed to ensure fair access to the political system. Since the 1960s, rights for Latinos have been intertwined with immigrant rights.
Jim Crow laws
Laws enacted by southern states following Reconstruction that discriminated against African Americans. (123)
de facto
Literally, "by fact"; refers to practices that occur even when there is no legal enforcement, such as school segregation in much of the United States today. (125)
de jure
Literally, "by law"; refers to legally enforced practices, such as school segregation in the South before the 1960s. (125)
civil rights
Obligation imposed on government to take positive action to protect citizens from any illegal action of government agencies and of other private citizens. (121)
Thirteenth Amendment
One of three Civil War amendments; it abolished slavery. (122)
Fourteenth Amendment
One of three Civil War amendments; it guaranteed equal protection and due process. (123)
Fifteenth Amendment
One of three Civil War amendments; it guaranteed voting rights for African American men. (123)
equal protection clause
Provision of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing citizens "the equal protection of the laws." This clause has been the basis for the civil rights of African Americans, women, and other groups. (121)
The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. One of the most important procedures that has grown out of the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Fourth Amendment is the exclusionary rule, which prohibits evidence obtained during an illegal search from being introduced in a trial.
The Fifth Amendment requires a grand jury for most crimes, protects against double jeopardy, and provides that you cannot be forced to testify against yourself
In 2010, the Supreme Court incorporated the Second Amendment and applied it to the states when it announced its verdicts in the cases of McDonald v. Chicago. The Court declared that the right to keep and bear arms was protected from state as well as federal action.
The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth amendments, taken together, are the essence of the due process of law, the right of every citizen against arbitrary action by national or state governments.
In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the Constitution's equal protection clause and the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee same-sex couples the right to marry in all states.
The LGBTQ movement continues to press for legislation to extend the definition of hate crimes to include crimes against gays and transgendered people.
Miranda v. Arizona advanced the civil liberties of accused persons not only by expanding the scope of the Fifth Amendment clause covering coerced confessions and self-incrimination but also by confirming the right to counsel, a provision of the Sixth Amendment. Together these make up the Miranda rule
The Sixth Amendment requires a speedy trial and the right to witnesses and counsel.
Freedom of speech and the press have a special place in American political thought. Democracy depends on the ability of individuals to talk to each other and to disseminate information and ideas
The extent and nature of certain types of expression are subject to constitutional debate. The Supreme Court must balance the protection of political speech with issues such as national security and fairness in campaign finance.
After World War II, the Supreme Court began to undermine the separate but equal doctrine,eventually declaring it unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. This decision marked the beginning of a difficult battle for equal protection in education, employment,housing, voting, and other areas of social and economic activity.
The first phase of school desegregation was met with such massive resistance in the South that 10 years after Brown, less than 1 percent of black children in the South were attending schools with whites.
The establishment clause of the First Amendment has been interpreted in several ways, one being the strict separation of church and state. But there is significant disagreement about how high that wall is and of what materials it is composed.
The free exercise clause protects the right to believe and to practice whatever religion one chooses; it also involves protection of the right to be a nonbeliever. The Supreme Court has taken pains to distinguish between religious beliefs and actions based on those beliefs.
African Americans built organizations and devised strategies for asserting their constitutional rights. One such strategy, championed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), sought to win political rights through political pressure and litigation.
The movement toward women's suffrage was formally launched in 1878 with the introduction of a proposed constitutional amendment in Congress. Parallel efforts were made in the states. Women's organizations staged mass meetings, parades, petitions, and protests.The Nineteenth Amendment, giving women the right to vote, was ratified in 1920.
With the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, civil rights became part of the Constitution, where they are guaranteed to each citizen through "equal protection of the laws." This equal protection clause launched a century of political movements and legal efforts to press for racial equality.
The movements for women's rights and the abolition of slavery were closely linked. The start of the modern women's movement was considered the Seneca Falls Convention, where the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions was drafted.
Asian Americans faced discriminatory citizenship and immigration regulations in the early to mid-twentieth century. The denial of basic civil rights to Japanese Americans culminated int he decision to forcibly remove Americans of Japanese descent and Japanese noncitizen residents from their homes and confine them in internment camps during World War II.Asian immigration increased rapidly after the 1965 Immigration Act, which lifted discriminatory quotas
The political status of Native Americans was left unclear in the Constitution, and through the 1800s, many were killed or moved to reservations. In 1924 congressional legislation granted Native Americans citizenship, and certain protections of tribal sovereignty engendered by reservations have been a basis for further expansion of Native-American rights.
In 1965, Congress significantly strengthened legislation that protects voting rights by barring literacy and other tests as a condition for voting in southern states. In the long run, the laws extending and protecting voting rights could prove to be the most effective of all civil rights legislation, because increased political participation by minorities has altered the shape of American politics.
The protections won by the African American civil rights movement spilled over to protect other groups as well, including women, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans,disabled Americans, and gays and lesbians.
discrimination
The use of any unreasonable and unjust criterion of exclusion. (121)
In 1971, the Supreme Court held that state-imposed desegregation could be brought about by busing children across school districts.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed job discrimination by all private and public employers—including governmental agencies—employing more than 15 workers.
Thirteenth Amendment
abolished slavery
Fourteenth Amendment
guaranteed equal protection under the law
Fifteenth Amendment
guaranteed voting rights for black men
Discrimination
use of any unreasonable and unjust standard of execution
