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Define civil liberties.
freedoms found primarily in the Bill of Rights, the enjoyment of which are protected from government interference
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Know what the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th amendments assure.
- 1st: freedom of religion, speech, press, assemble or petition the govt
- 4th: freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures but federal courts may issue search warrants with probable cause
- 5th: protected against double jeopardy, guaranteed against deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, guaranteed just compensation for public use of private property
- 6th: right to a speedy and public trial before an impartial jury, right to face their accuser and to cross-examine witnesses
- 8th: excessive bail and fines are prohibited, cruel and unusual punishment is prohibited
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Understand the significance of economic liberty. Was economic liberty a main goal of the US Constitution?
- economic liberty is the right to own and use property free from unreasonable government interference
- yes, property rights is partly why the constitutional convention convened in the first place (shay's rebellion, etc)
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Understand the Dred Scott v. Sanford ruling.
- Chief Justice Taney
- declared that slaves who traveled to free states with their masters could not sue for their freedom because that would mean depriving slave owners of their property
- helped bring on the Civil War
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Understand the due process clause.
section of the 14th amendment that prohibits states from depriving anyone of life, liberty or property without due process of law, a guarantee against arbitrary or unfair govt action
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Understand selective incorporation.
the gradual and piecemeal spread of the protections of the Bill of Rights to the states by the US Supreme Court
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Understand the Schenck v. United States ruling.
- Holmes in 1919
- content of speech can't be interfered with without a compelling reason
- for a reason to be compelling, govt must show that the speech poses a "clear and present danger"
- danger must be very substantial and the relationship between the speech and danger must be direct
- must also be so immediate that the people responsible for maintaining order cannot afford to tolerate the speech
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Understand the outcome in Texas v. Johnson.
- Rehnquist Court 1989
- challenged Texas state law against flag desecration under which he had been convicted for burning an American flag as part of a demonstration
- law was overturned saying that flag burning falls under the free expression protection of Constitution unless imminent incitement or violence is likely
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Understand prior restraint.
- governments power to prevent publication before it has occurred
- prohibition of prior restraint on publication remains the core of freedom of the press
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What is the legal term for sexual materials?
obscenity
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Which court ruling outlines the three-prong test regarding obscenity?
Miller v. California 1973
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What are the free exercise clause and the establishment clause?
free exercise clause: portion of the 1st amendment that prohibits congress from impeding religious observance or impinging upon religious beliefs
establishment clause: portion of the 1st amendment that prohibits congress from establishing an official religion; the basis for the doctrine of the separation of church and state
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Is the right to privacy stated in the Constitution?
no
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Understand Mapp vs. Ohio.
- 1961
- formed exclusionary rule that prevents police and prosecutors from using evidence against a defendant that was obtained in an illegal search
- majority of justices felt this would force police to play by the rules and get warrants
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Understand the outcome in Gideon v. Wainwright.
- 1963
- defendants accused of any felony in state jurisdictions ar eentitled to a lawyer and the states must supply a lawyer when a defendant cannot afford to do so
- anyone can mount a defense regardless of socioeconomic status
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Understand the history of the death penalty.
- Burger Court held that capital punishment was not cruel and unusual as long as the procedures were nonarbitrary and nondiscriminatory
- Rehnquist Court at first expedited use and then started pulling back in 2002
- Roberts Court has sent mixed signals
- States have begun abolishing death penalty
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Understand the outcome in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld.
ruled that both foreigners and American citizens detained as enemy combatants have a right to a hearing to contest the basis of their detention
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