Introduction to American Government

1
Introduction to American Government

• Session 6
• Civil Liberties

2
Civil Liberties

• The difference between civil rights and civil
• liberties . . .
• Civil liberties are constitutional provisions,
  laws, and practices that protect individuals from
  governmental interference .
• Civil rights are the legal and Constitutional
  guarantees that all citizens may participate as
  equals in democratic life.

3
Rights and Liberties in the 19th Century

• The Primacy of Property over Other Rights and
  Liberties
• Barron v. Baltimore (1833)
• Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
• The language in the Bill of Rights and the
  language in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
  protect a variety of individual liberties

4
Nationalization of the Bill of Rights

• Selective Incorporation incorporating those
  liberties in the Bill of Rights deemed
  fundamental to democracy accomplished primarily
  through the 14th Amendment
• Beginning with freedom of speech. . .
• The standard from Schenck v. United States a
  clear and present danger
• Gitlow v. New York (1925)

5
Nationalization of the Bill of Rights

• Freedom of the press . . .
• Near v. Minnesota (1931)
• The difference between libel and slander
• New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) a more
  rigorous standard for public figures and public
  officials

6
Nationalization of the Bill of Rights

• Freedom of speech . . .
• What type of expression is protected?
• Symbolic Speech
• Prior Restraint
• New York Times v. United States (1971)
• Types of speech that may be protected . . .
• Hate Speech
• Obscenity/Pornography Miller v. California
  (1973)
• Community standards
• Conduct defined by state law
• The work must lack serious literary, artistic,
  political or social value
• The Communications Decency Act of 1996 and Reno
  v. ACLU (1997)

7
Nationalization of the Bill of Rights

• Freedom of religion . . .
• The first amendment guarantees both the free
  exercise of religion and that Congress will not
  establish a religion
• Free Exercise allows beliefs but not always
  actions
• Establishment Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
• The law must have a secular purpose
• The primary effect of the law must not be to
  advance or retard religion
• Government must never foster excessive
  entanglements between the state and religion

The Lemon Test
8
Other Protections in the Bill of Rights

• The rights of criminal defendants . . . (4th,
  5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments)
• Due Process rights procedural guarantees
• How should they be implemented?
• Example cruel and unusual punishment
• Furman v. Georgia (1972)
• Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
• The Warren Court (1953-1969) expanded due
  process, preferred constitutional guarantees to
  efficient law enforcement
• Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
• Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

9
Other Protections in the Bill of Rights

• The rights of criminal defendants . . . (4th,
  5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments)
• The Burger Court (1969-1986) preserved most of
  the basic due process decisions of the Warren
  Court but limited the growth of protections and
  introduced many exceptions
• Good faith exception
• Inevitable discovery
• Exceptions to Miranda

10
Other Protections in the Bill of Rights

• The rights of criminal defendants . . . (4th,
  5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments)
• The Rehnquist Court (1986-present) added
  exceptions for the use of evidence obtained
  without a warrant, expedited the use of the death
  penalty
• Retroactive probable cause Murray v. United
  States (1988)
• The New Frontier of Civil Liberties for Criminal
  Defendants Drug Tests, DNA Sampling

11
Other Protections in the Bill of Rights

• The right to privacy . . .
• (wait a minute, is that in the Constitution?)
• An implied right suggested by the freedom of
  religion and the guarantee against unreasonable
  searches and seizures
• Birth Control Griswold v. Connecticut (1965),
  the zone of privacy includes a couples right to
  plan a family
• Abortion Roe v. Wade (1973), a womens right to
  privacy includes her decision to terminate a
  pregnancy
• Exceptions Homosexuality Bowers v. Hardwick
  (1986) no constitutional protections for
  homosexuality Right to Die