CIVIL LIBERTIES

AP GOVERNMENT

CIVIL LIBERTIES

Civil Liberties are individual’s legal and constitutional protections against the government.

Although our civil liberties are set down in the Bill of Rights; the courts, police, and legislatures define their meaning.

Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights and the StatesThe Bill of Rights is the first 10

amendments.Written to restrict the national

government.Most are “incorporated” into state and

local laws.

A literal meaning of the First Amendment suggests that it does not prohibit a state government from passing a law prohibiting the free exercise of religion, free speech, or freedom of press

Due Process Clause: Contained in the 5th and 14th Amendments, guarantees individuals a variety of rights

Substantive due process: protects citizens from arbitrary or unjust state or federal laws

INCORPORATION DOCTRINE

○Incorporation Doctrine: The legal concept under which the Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights by making most of its provisions applicable to the States through the 14th Amendment

FREEDOM OF RELIGION

Establishment Clause: Part of the first amendment stating that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion

The Free Exercise Clause:Prohibits government from interfering

with the practice of religionSome religious practices may conflict

with other rights, and then be denied or punished

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Prior restraint: Censorship- A government preventing material from being published. This is a common method of limiting the press in some nations but the First Amendment deems this to be unconstitutional in most cases.

LIBEL

The publication of false or malicious statements that damage someone’s reputation

Symbolic Speech:

nonverbal communication such as burning the American flag. Some symbolic speech is protected under the 1st Amendment.

Action cannot be seen as a threat!!

Commercial Speech: Communication in the form of advertisement

FREEDOM TO ASSEMBLE

It is the basis for forming interest groups, political parties, and professional associations as well as picketing and protesting.

Time, place, and manner restrictions enforced

4th Amendment: Search & Seizure

Defendant’s Rights Probable Cause: when the police have reason to

believe that a person should be arrested Unreasonable Searches and Seizures: Obtaining

evidence in a haphazard or random manner Mapp v. Ohio (Exclusionary Rule)

Exclusionary Rule: Evidence, no matter how incriminating cannot be introduced into a trial if it was not constitutionally obtained

Search warrant: A written authorization from a court specifying the area to be searched and what the police are searching for

5th Amendment: Self-Incrimination and Double Jeopardy

Self-IncriminationThe situation occurring when

an individual accused of a crime is compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in court

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

6th Amendment: Right to Counsel

The state must provide lawyers in most criminal cases.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) Right to speedy and public

trial by an impartial jury

8th Amendment: Cruel and Unusual Punishment

The Death PenaltyVaries from state to stateCannot be mandatory

“RIGHT TO PRIVACY”

Is There a Right to Privacy?The right to a private personal live

free from the intrusion of government.

Not explicitly stated in the Constitution

Implied by the Fourth AmendmentVery debatable

Understanding Civil Liberties

Civil Liberties and DemocracyPeople need the right to express

themselves.Courts continue to define the limits of

civil liberties. Civil Liberties and the Scope of

GovernmentMust decide the line between freedom

& orderCivil liberties limit the scope of

government