Civil Liberties

Chapter 4

Civil Liberties- Those specific individual rights that cannot be taken away by government and are guaranteed by the Constitution.

- 14th Amendment “no state can deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process”

Free Exercise of Religion- 1st Amendment, 1802 Jefferson “wall of separation” - conflict: national vs. religious responsibility. -WWII: West Virginia vs. Barnette (1943) - 7th day Adventist: Sherbert vs. Verner (1968) - Amish: Wisconsin vs. Yoder (1972) - Polygamy: Reynolds vs. U.S. (1878) - Employment division vs. Smith (1990)

Civil LibertiesThe Establishment Clause - law established to prohibit laws that favor a certain religion -Modern neutrality (2005 10 Commandments) - Prayer in Schools - The Lemon Test (Lemon vs. Kurtzman) 1971

Freedom of Expression- Clear & Present Danger (Schenck vs. US, 1919). - Dennis vs. US (1951). - The Warren Court (1953) – Brandenburg vs. Ohio (1969)”imminent danger”

Freedom of Press- Libel: the crime of printing or disseminating false statements that harm someone. (John Peter Zenger 1734, Sedition Act 1800).- NY Times vs. Sullivan,- Montgomery, Alabama (1960) = “malicious intent”- Richard Jewell (1996 Olympics in Atlanta) – negligence- Prior Restraint.

Freedom of Expression- Obscenity- Miller vs. California (1973). SLAP Test (pg. 105-106). - Rise of the Internet and the ACLU

Freedom of Expression- “Symbolic Speech”- 1968 U.S. vs. O’Brien: Vietnam veteran wanting to burn draft card. 1) government interest must be valid and important

2) interest must be unrelated to the suppression of free speech

3) The restriction should be no greater than is essential to the furtherance of that interest

- Texas vs. Johnson (1989): George Lee Johnson arrested for flag burning. Supreme Court overruled case.- 2nd Amendment: Right to Bear Arms: - District of Columbia vs. Heller (2008) - Reagan and Brady(1981) = Brady Bill 1993

Civil Rights- The rights and privileges guaranteed to all citizens under the equal protection and due process clauses of the 5th and 14th amendments. - Inherent characteristics vs. suspect classification

The Civil War - Reconstruction Era:13th amendment (1865) – end of slavery14th amendment (1868) - citizenship to all people born in the US15th amendment (1870) – every man has the right to vote regardless of race.

Black Codes- laws passed immediately after the Civil War by the confederate states that limited the rights of former slaves.

Post-Reconstruction:- (Hayes elected President – pulled Union Troops). Jim Crowe Laws: white primary, literacy test, poll tax, grandfather clause- 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson – “equal but separate”

Civil LibertiesTurn of the Centruy- W.E.B. Du Bois - NAACP- 1951 (Brown v. Board of Education) – Thurgood Marshall- 1955 – Rosa Parks – Montgomery Alabama (MLK) - Dr. King and civil disobedience- Civil Rights Act (1964)