Civil Liberties (Rights to Life, Liberty and Property)

Chapter 16

Citizenship Rights

The right of citizenship was not given constitutional protection until 1868, when the 14th Amendment was

adopted.

14th Amendment

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein

they reside

Property Rights

What happens when the government takes our

property?

Eminent Domain

The power of the government to take private property for

public use

(5th Amendment)

Due Process Rights

Procedural Due Process

Constitutional requirement that

governments proceed by the proper methods; places limits on how governmental power

may be exercised

Substantive Due Process

Constitutional requirement that government act

reasonably and that the substance of the laws

themselves be fair and reasonable; places limits on what a government

may do

The Right to Privacy

The word “privacy” does not appear

in the Constitution

However, in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), Supreme Court determined that the right to privacy existed as an “unstated element” in several rights in

the Bill of Rights

Laid the groundwork for Roe v. Wade

Privacy Rights: Abortion

Roe v. Wade (1973)

• A woman in Texas claimed she was raped and not legally allowed by state law to have an abortion

• Brought the case to the Supreme Court

• The Court ruled 7 to 2 that the Texas law violated her constitutional right to personal privacy

Privacy Rights: Abortion

Recent changes in the Court’s composition have opened up the possibility to the Roe ruling eventually being overturned

Privacy Rights

• Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

– Bowers v. Hardwick, a 1986 case that upheld a Texas sodomy law, was overturned

• Gay Marriage– Supreme court has not ruled on any

cases

– “Full Faith and Credit” constitutional provision

– 1996 Defense of Marriage Act

Rights of Persons Accused of Crimes

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 cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the

persons or things to be seized.

The Fourth Amendment

Rights of Persons Accused of Crimes

• Police must obtain a search warrant, which they obtain after proving to a judge that they have sufficient probable cause

Search and Seizures

Search and Seizure

• What can the police search, incident to a lawful arrest?– The individual being arrested– Things in plain view– Things or places under the immediate control

of the individual

Rights of Persons Accused of Crimes

Exclusionary Rule

Under this rule, evidence that is obtained improperly by the police cannot be used to prosecute someone

accused of a crime

• At first applied only to federal law enforcement

• After Mapp v. Ohio (1961), rule was applied to all police officers

Miranda Rights

Rights of Persons Accused of Crimes:Fair Trial Procedures

In all criminal proceedings, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district

wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to

have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

The Sixth Amendment

Rights of Persons Accused of Crimes:Sentencing and Punishment

Double jeopardy

Protection against being tried twice for the same

crime

“Three strikes and you’re out” laws

Laws enacted in a number of states that require a lifetime

sentence without the possibility of parole for

anyone convicted of a third felony, even if it is a minor

offense

The Death Penalty

• Can it be considered “cruel and unusual” punishment?

• If administered unfairly, does it violate the 14th Amendment right to due process?

Persons Executed, 1930-2003

Number of Death Row Inmates, 1953-2003

How Just is our System of Justice?

Too many loopholes?

• Do the rights of people accused of crimes place an undue burden on the criminal justice system?

• Does it allow guilty people to go unpunished?

Too unreliable?

• People are critical of the reliability of a trial by jury

• Sometimes jurors vote for an acquittal to express their displeasure with the law or the actions of prosecutors or police

How Just is our System of Justice?

Too discriminatory?

Over the past several decades, the Supreme court has worked hard to make the justice system more fair

• Government must furnish attorneys to those who can’t afford them•The poor cannot be put in jail if they can’t afford to pay a fine

Unfair to minorities?

Many minorities feel unfairly targeted by the police

• Racial profiling• Does Community policing help?

Terrorism and Civil Liberties

• U.S. Patriot Act meant to increase federal government’s powers to combat terrorism

• An executive order then proclaimed a national emergency; non-citizens believed to be terrorists, or to have harbored a terrorist, will be tried by a military court

Rights of the Accused

Are persons captured on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq entitled to the protections of the U.S. Constitution?