Transcript Ch. 4

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
You must memorize the Bill of
Rights; there will be a quiz down
the road…
CH. 4
National Judiciary
Reading
 Understanding the Federal Court System
Review Game!!
Bong Hits for Jesus Court
Case
 Read the court case and then write either
your concurring or dissenting opinion
regarding this issue.
 Then read the 14th Amendment of the
Constitution and dissect it. Look for equal
protection clause, due process clause and
the definition of citizenship.
Historical Overview: The
14th Amendment Reading
 Read: Historical Overview: The Fourteenth
Amendment and the Selective Incorporation
of the Bill of Rights
 Answer the questions that follow
Ruth Bader Video
 The 14th Amendment
 Complete the questions as you watch the
video
Civil Liberties Defined
 What are civil liberties
 Essential ingredient for a democracy
 Legal and constitutional protections against the
government!
Bill of Rights
 First enacted in 1791
 Protect basic liberties
 Intended to be protection against the national government only
 1st Amendment: Congress shall make no law
 Barron v. Baltimore: 1833-restrained national government only
 Gitlow: 1925: now restrains states as well under the Fourteenth
Amendment
 What words in the 14th Amendment force states to protect rights
written in the Bill of Rights?
 Incorporation Doctrine: Started with Gitlow/See chart on p. 99:
Extending Bill of Rights to states is still controversial…
 What has not been incorporated? 2nd, 3rd, 7th, and grand jury in
5th…
Bill of Rights Quiz Next Week! Study with partner for 10
minutes and then play review game
Freedom of Religion
 Establishment Clause: Congress shall make
no law respecting an establishment of
religion.
 Free exercise clause: prohibits the
abridgment of citizens’ freedom to worship or
not to worship as they please.
 Wall of Separation…what is your view? P. 99
 Aid to religious school
 Johnson said it is funding students not schools.
What does this mean?
Lemon v. Kurtzman Test
 In order to receive funding they must meet
the following criteria:
 Secular purpose only
 Have primary effect that neither advances nor
inhibits religion
 No religious entanglement/Can be spent on
building, textbooks, computers, equipment,
lunches, transportation/Can not be spent on field
trips, teacher pay…Why?
More Cases
 Agostini v. Feldman: public schools can send
teachers into religious schools to teach remedial
programs and supplemental programs for needy
children.
 Zelman v. Simmons-Harris: school vouchers to
pay tuition
 Can public schools be used for religious
purposes? Under what circumstances? Legally
how is this possible?
 Equal Access Act: What does this say?
 What can not be done in schools? Under more
scrutiny if money is used to support education…
School Prayer: Most
Controversial (1962)
 Engel v. Vitale: no school led prayer in public




schools (government is neutral in religion)
Case Reading/School Prayer Debate
School District of Abington v. Shempp: no
school required Bible reading in schools
Can students pray in schools? Under what
circumstances?
What is not allowed? How do you feel about
this?
Why can SCHS have a moment of silence?
 Fundamentalist Christians: What role have
they played in the religion in school debate?
What role do you think religion should play in
schools? Why?
 Darwin’s Theory: Should it be taught in
schools? Can it be taught?
 Religious Symbols: Okay as long as they have
secular purpose with little or no religious
benefit: nativity scenes must appear with
secular (Santa Claus)
Free Exercise Clause
 Should have right to practice religion as you
choose but becomes complicated quickly
 Believe what you want but can’t always
practice…
 What is not protected and why? “compelling
interest:” Up until 1988 states needed to have a
compelling interest before a government could
even indirectly limit or prohibit religious practice
 Employment Division v. Smith: State laws interfering
with religious practices but not aimed at them are
constitutional as long as law does not single out and
ban religious practices for religious reasons.
Free Exercise Clause
 Government, prior to this ruling, had not
allowed religious freedom to be an excuse for
any and all behaviors:




Polygamy: Forbidden
Business activity on Sunday
Native American sacred ground; building a road
Air force captain wearing a Yarmulke
 What is protected:
 Amish children and their education
 Flag saluting by Jehovah’s witnesses
Religious Freedom of
Restoration Act
 Passed by Congress to overturn Employment
Division v. Smith but was overturned by the
S.C.
 Compelling interest
 Intrusion on states’ prerogative to regulate health
and welfare of citizens.
Prior Restraint
 Censorship: government presenting
something from being published; way to limit
the press in other countries but considered
violation of first amendment in U.S.
 Near v. Minnesota 1931: State closed down
newspapers and SC ordered it re-opened!
State can sue after something has been
published!
 Read New York Times v. U.S.
Free Speech and Public Order
 Schench v. U.S., 1919: Wendell Holmes said gov.




could limit speech if it was a “clear and present
danger.” (impeding the war effort) Read Case
Smith Act 1940: Against subversion and violent
overthrow of the government. Used by McCarthy
against communist. S.C. upheld sentences.
(Changed in the 1960s).
Numerous organized rallies against Vietnam in 1960s
that strained constitutional meaning of free speech.
(burning draft cards, disruptions of the peace,
building takeovers).
Private property is protected!
Courts today support protest, petitions…
Obscenity
 Miller v. California 1973: Set standards for





obscenity. What are they?
Based on average community values
Difficult to define lewd and offensive
Child pornography: Define?
Why do women and Christian groups fight
pornography?
Homework: Read FCC S.C. Case
Symbolic Speech
 Texas v. Johnson 1989: Flag burning at
Republican National Convention
 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School
District 1969: Arm bans: S.C. says its okay
 Discuss/Read
Patriotic Clothes at School?
 Read Case and annotate
 With your partner, write the argument/claim for the
Supreme Court final decision. It must be outlined as
follows:
 Circumstances of the Case
 Constitutional Issues
 Majority Opinion (you decide the outcome)
 Dissenting Opinion (predict the dissenting opinion
regarding your majority opinion)
 Use precedent and the 1st amendment to support
your claims regarding student rights
Freedom of Assembly
 Right to Assemble
 Can regulate the time, place, and manner
 Can’t refuse permit based on content/message
 Abortion:
 Demonstrators have right to protest
 S.C. set limits on how close demonstrators can be
 Can’t picket in front of physician’s home
Right to Associate
 NAACP v. Alabama 1958: Alabama wanted
NAACP to turn over their membership list
 S.C. ruled it violated their 1st Amend. Right to
assemble!
Search and Seizure
 Mapp v. Ohio-Exclusionary Rule-Suspected
for illegal gambling activities and thought a
fugitive was there; found cache of obscene
material; no warrant Read Case
 Applied exclusionary rule to states using 14th
and 4th Amendment
 Reasoning: the Constitution is to protect the
accused, not the guilty
Good Faith Exception 1980s
 U.S. v. Leon 1984: LA police thought they
had a proper warrant; wasn’t their fault
 1987: Maryland officers mistakenly searched
the wrong apt. and found drugs. Honest
mistake
 Can use evidence that they obtained illegally
if they would have found it anyway.
 Read Ms. Montoya case p. 120
Self-Incrimination p. 121
 Should people be forced to testify against
themselves?
 Should people be offered immunity for their
testimony?
 What case protects 5th Amendment rights? What
3 rights are protected?
 Do you think the Miranda ruling should be
overturned?
 What is entrapment? Give an example.
 Miranda v. Arizona Read Case
Gideon v. Wainwright
 6th Amendment
 Answer the questions as you watch the video!
 Consider: Should criminals have the right to
an attorney provided by the state?
 Should plea bargaining be allowed?
Death Penalty p. 124
 Read Furman v. Georgia
 Gregg v. Georgia 1976
 McCleskey v. Kemp 1987
Abortion
p. 127
 Roe v. Wade: What was its ruling?
 Webster v. Reproductive Services: Court rules
state funding of abortion is not required and
upholds "life begins at conception" preamble
 Gag Rule on Federally Funded Clinics: slash
federal funding for clinics that mention abortion
 Planned Parenthood v. Casey: states may
regulate abortions so as to protect the health of
the mother and the life of the fetus, and may
outlaw abortions of "viable" fetuses.
 Read Case with viewpoints on the issue
War on Terror
 U.S. Patriot Act
 Video
Free Response
 Trial by jury is a fundamental right of the
accused, but criminal cases in the U.S. are
rarely decided by the dramatic jury trials seen
on television. Most cases are settled through
plea bargaining.
 Describe the plea-bargaining process
 Explain why prosecutors and defendants agree to
use this method rather than a full trial
 Identify at least one criticism of the plea
bargaining process
Free Response Ch. 4 #1
 Religion has been a controversial matter in American
politics since the colonial period, and continues to be
today, in part because the 1st Amendment does not
establish a simple “freedom of religion” but rather two
provisions that sometimes conflict.
 Introduction: Background Information with Thesis
 Describe the two provisions in the First Amendment which
pertain to the issue of religion (Examples)
 Choose one of the S.C. cases listed below:
 Lemon v. Kurtzman
 Engel v. Vitale
 Employment Division v. Smith
 For the case you choose, identify which part of the first
Amendment pertains to this case.
 For the case you choose, describe the ruling the S.C.
made in this case. (Provide background information of
the case to set the stage).