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| Protections of citizens from improper governmental action; limiting the government through substantive and procedural restraints. (Due Process) |
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| Putting limits on what the government shall and shall not have the power to do, such as establishing a religion or seizing private property without just compensation. |
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| How the government is supposed to act. For example, the rule that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, the rule questions the way that the government determines who committed a crime. |
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| Obligations imposed on government to guarantee equal citizenship and protect citizens from discrimination by other private citizens and other government agencies. Empowers the government to protect equality. |
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| The Bill of Rights did not apply to decisions or procedures of state governments. Each American was a citizen of the national government and separately a citizen of one of the states. The Supreme Court Case of Barron v. Baltimore confirmed this. |
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| Provided for a single national citizenship, which implied that civil liberties should not vary drastically from state to state. However, the shadow of Barron v. Baltimore left the Court unwilling to nationalize civil liberties for almost a century. |
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| One-by-one application of the provisions of the Bill of Rights, as the Supreme Court began recognizing a role for the national government to protect citizens from state governments. First Wave: eminent domain, speech, press, religion and assembly. Second Wave: search and seizure, right to counsel, against self-incrimination, against double jeopardy. |
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| The power of public agencies to seize private property. According to the 5th Amendment, private owners must be paid "just compensation" by the government. This power is essential to the very concept of sovereignty. |
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| The Court's ruling in the Miranda v. Arizona case required that arrested persons be informed of the rights to remain silent and have counsel present during interrogation. |
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| A virtual wall of separation between church and state. Highly controversial involving issues of school prayer. Eventually the Lemon Test was established. |
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Government aid to religious schools would be accepted as constitutional if:
(1) it had a secular purpose
(2) its effect was neither to advance nor to inhibit religion
(3) it did not entangle government and religious institutions in each other's affairs. |
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| Protects the right to believe and practice whatever religion one chooses. The court has taken pains to distinguish between religious beliefs and actions based on those beliefs. Precedent setting case was West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) |
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| The truth is always protected, even when its expression damages the person to whom it applies. Defamatory speech is protected when it is written by a pubic official or official business, or is a statement of the press against someone in the public eye. |
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| True speech can be regulated if it fails the clear and present danger test, or if it falls below standards of obscenity or pornography. False speech can be regulated if there was a reckless disregard for the truth (libel or slander). |
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| The criterion used to determine whether speech is protected or unprotected, based on its capacity to present "clear and present danger" to society. This is the first and foremost "test" of when government censorship can be permitted. |
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| Freedom of Assembly and Petition |
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| Associated with speech, but go beyond it to speech associated with action. Usually the purpose of a symbolic act is not only to send a direct message but also to draw a crowd to action in order to strengthen the message. One example is the burning of the American flag as a symbol of protest. |
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| Speech accompanied by activities such as sit-ins, picketing, and demonstrations. Protected under the First Amendment is conditional, and restrictions imposed by State and local authorities are acceptable if properly balanced by considerations of public order. |
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| Protected under the doctrine prohibiting prior restraint. Beginning with the case of Near v. Minnesota, the Court has established that expect under the most extraordinary circumstances, the First Amendment prohibits government agencies from seeking to prevent newspapers or magazines from publishing anything. |
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| A government agency can block the publication of material if it is deemed libelous or harmful; censorship. |
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| A written statement made in "reckless disregard of the truth" considered damaging to a victim because it is "malicious, scandalous, and defamatory." |
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| An oral statement made in "reckless disregard of the truth" considered damaging to a victim because it is "malicious, scandalous, and defamatory." |
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| Speech that directly incites damaging conduct. "Expressive speech" is no longer protected when it moves from the symbolic realm to the realm of actual conduct. |
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| Does not have full First Amendment protection because it cannot be considered political speech. Part of the free flow of information necessary for informed choice and democratic participation. |
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| The Second Amendment is the provision for militias; backing of the government for the maintenance of local public order. The Court has made it clear that this does not allow citizens to form their own militias free from government control; private militias. |
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| Guarantee the security of citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures. |
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| Prohibits evidence obtained during an illegal search from being introduced in a trial. A recent controversy is over mandatory drug testing. |
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| Determines whether a trial is warranted, whether sufficient evidence is available. |
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| A person cannot be tried twice for the same crime. Established in the Palko Case in 1937. |
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| The right to have a grand jury, protection from double jeopardy, and a protection against the taking of private property. |
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| The right to counsel, the right to a speedy trail and the right to confront witnesses before an impartial jury. |
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| Prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment. The most controversial issue is the death penalty. |
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| The right to be let alone, a "zone of privacy" created by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Amendments, which has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to entail free access to birth control and abortion. Roe v. Wade: established a woman's right to seek an abortion. Griswold v. Connecticut: right to use contraceptives. |
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| New legislation introduced in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Designed to make it easier for federal law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute suspected terrorists. |
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| The Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment's "equal protection of the laws" was not violated by racial discrimination as long as the facilities were equal, not reversed until 1954. |
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| Brown v. Board of Education |
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| Opened the question of whether any segregated facility could be truly equal. The Brown decision stated affirmed that States would no longer have the power to use race as a criterion of discrimination in law, the national government would have the basis for extending its power and to intervene with strict regulatory policies. |
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| Racial segregation that is a direct result of law or official policy. |
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| Racial segregation that is a reflection of residential patterns, income distributions, or other social factors. |
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| Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 |
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| Outlawed job discrimination by all private and public employers, including government agencies. Originally the plaintiff had to show that deliberate discrimination was the cause of failure to get a job, but then the Courts allowed the plaintiffs to make cases if they could prove that hiring or firing practices had the effect of exclusion. |
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| Is the law necessary for a compelling interest? Involves race, religion, political beliefs, ethnicity, and country of origin. |
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| Is it reasonable for a rational purpose? It involves income, age, and location or type of residence. |
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| Does it meed a need that is a compelling or urgent interest? It involves sex (male/female). |
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| Made it a crime to say or publish anything that might tend to defame or bring into disrepute the government of the United States. |
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| The Supreme Court has rule that illegal immigrants are eligible for education and medical care but can be denied social benefits; legal immigrants are to be treated the same as citizens. |
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| The Rights of Native Americans |
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| All those born in the United States were granted citizenship (1924), Indians were given more control over their own land (1975), Lau decision: right of Native Americans to be taught in their own language. |
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| A policy designed to redress historic injustices committed against specific groups by making special efforts to provide members of these groups with access to educational and employment opportunities. Two Major Cases: Bakke: white man argued that he had not been accepted to the University of California Medical School because of his race. Bollinger: involved the U of M law school, declared that race could be considered a positive factor in admissions decisions. |
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