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Civil LibertiesCivil Liberties
The Bill of Rights
IntroductionIntroduction
Civil liberties: negative restraints on government– freedom v. order– freedom of speech, press, religion
Civil rights: what government must do– rights guaranteed to individuals– freedom v. equality
Civil libertiesCivil liberties
most people agree that liberties can be restrained
issue becomes who puts limits on our liberties and how many limits are acceptable
how much freedom are YOU willing to give up?
Should government restrain...Should government restrain...
a communist from teaching in college? in high school?
the distribution of a pamphlet to overthrow the government?
a KKK organization on campus? Detention of “enemy combatants”?
how about...how about...
burning the American flag? prayer in schools? Random security searches at airports? yelling “fire” in the theater during the
opening day of Harry Potter?
Freedom to believe what we want is absolute; freedom to act on those beliefs must be reconciled with social order
sand castles
Case write-ups
What issues involved in cases you researched?
Influences on civil liberties and rightsInfluences on civil liberties and rights new social experiences or events
(treason laws during times of war) composition of the Supreme Court change in public perspectives
Why is the 14th amendment important?Why is the 14th amendment important? vehicle by which the Supreme Court
has incorporated the Bill of Rights to state actions
incorporation has been by one phrase at a time
due process and equal protection clause
Palko v. CT (1937)Palko v. CT (1937)
reinforced “selective incorporation” Honor roll of rights: fundamental rights today, most of the Bill of Rights applies
to state actions
First amendment rights
Freedom of religion Freedom of speech and of the press Freedom of assembly
Freedom of speech and of the pressFreedom of speech and of the press not absolute, but marketplace of ideas advocacy of ideas must be linked to
lawless action
Types of restrictionsTypes of restrictions
inciteful speech slander and libel obscenity prior restraint
Inciteful speechInciteful speech
Sandcastle: bad tendency to “clear and present danger” to direct incitement
Slander and libelSlander and libel
slander: untrue spoken statement that defames a person’s character
libel: (written) requires proof of actual malice for public
figure
ObscenityObscenity
work lacks any serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value
“reasonable person”/local standards
Prior RestraintPrior Restraint
censorship: prohibiting something from being published
Freedom of religionFreedom of religion
“wall of separation” between church and state
at the core of our personal being
The establishment clause prohibitsThe establishment clause prohibits government sponsorship of religion government financial support of religion government’s active involvement in
religious activity
Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
1. secular purpose? 2. neither inhibits nor advances
religion? 3. Avoids excessive entanglement in
religion?
Free exercise clauseFree exercise clause
ability to practice religion freely freedom v. order tensions
Due process and criminal justiceDue process and criminal justice
4th, 5th, 6th and 8th amendments
Fourth amendmentFourth amendment
unreasonable searches and seizures without a warrant, police can search
– person arrested– things in plain view of the accused– places/things in the person’s immediate
control anything if given permission
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
exclusionary rule applied to states prohibits use of improperly seized
evidence at a trial
Fifth amendmentFifth amendment
protection from self-incriminationMiranda v. Arizona (1966)
–Miranda rights
Sixth amendmentSixth amendment
right to counselGideon v. Wainwright (1963)applied 6th amendment to state
felony cases
Eighth amendmentEighth amendment
cruel and unusual punishmentdeath penaltySandcastle: DNA tests; racial or
income levels
Food for thought...
should we be concerned about the uneven use of the death penalty among states?
