Chapter 6: Civil Liberties Flashcards
Bill of Rights consists of the first ___ amendments
10
The _____ Amendment provides several rights protections: to express ideas through speech and the press, to assemble or gather with a group to protest or for other reasons, and to ask the government to fix problems.
first
The ______ Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms.
Second
The _____ Amendment prevents the government from forcing homeowners to allow soldiers to use their homes. Before the Revolutionary War, laws gave British soldiers the right to take over private homes.
Third
The _____ Amendment bars the government from unreasonable search and seizure of an individual or their private property.
Fourth
The _____ Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes. It states that serious criminal charges must be started by a grand jury.
Fifth
The ______ Amendment provides additional protections to people accused of crimes, such as the right to a speedy and public trial, trial by an impartial jury in criminal cases, and to be informed of criminal charges.
Sixth
The ________ Amendment extends the right to a jury trial in federal civil cases.
Seventh
The ______ Amendment bars excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
Eighth
The ______ Amendment states that listing specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people do not have other rights that have not been spelled out.
Ninth
The ______ Amendment says that the Federal Government only has those powers delegated in the Constitution. If it isn’t listed, it belongs to the states or to the people.
Tenth
Be able to explain the difference between civil liberties and civil rights
Civil liberties are freedoms guaranteed to us by the Constitution to protect us from tyranny (think: our freedom of speech), while civil rights are the legal rights that protect individuals from discrimination
Be able to explain the concept of selective incorporation through Barron v. Baltimore
In Barron v. Baltimore (1833), the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution’s Bill of Rights restricts only the powers of the federal government and not those of the state governments.
After the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court favored a process called “selective incorporation.” Under selective incorporation, the Supreme Court would incorporate certain parts of certain amendments, rather than incorporating an entire amendment at once.
Be able to list and explain each of the Five Freedoms in the First Amendment
The five freedoms it protects: speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government
Be able to explain the division between the separation of church and state and how it uses the Lemon Test (Lemon v. Kurtzman)
The establishment clause mandates a strict separation of church and state
According to the lemon test, if any of the following 3 conditions is not met, then the law is an unconstitutional violation of the establishment clause:
The law must have a secular legislative purpose
Law must not result from an excessive government entanglement with religious affairs
Laws must neither advance nor inhibit religious affairs
Be able to identify, define, and explain the different types of speech and if they are considered protected or not
Unprotected speeches consist of the following: obscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement, fighting words, true threats, speech integral to criminal conduct, and child pornography.
Examples of protected speeches are:
- Hate speech
- Flag burning
- Protection of political spending
- Commercial Speech
- Symbolic Speech
- Student Speech
Be able to identify the significance of Gitlow v. New York, Chaplinsky
Gitlow v. New York – fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from the impairment by the states
Be able to identify the significance of Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire – The Supreme Court decision in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942), established the doctrine of fighting words, a type of speech or communication not protected by the First Amendment.
Chaplinsky, a Jehovah’s Witness, called a city marshal a “**ed racketeer” and “a damned fascist” in a public place. He was arrested and convicted under state law for violating a breach of the peace.
Be able to identify the significance of New York Times v. Sullivan
New York v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the freedom of speech protections in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution restricts the ability of American public officials to sue for defamation.
This case is about a full-page ad alleging the arrest of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for perjury in Alabama. The false statement’s intention was to destroy King’s effort to integrate public facilities and encourage black Americans to vote. Mr. Sullivan, the Montgomery city commissioner, issued a LIBEL SUIT against NYT and 4 blacks listed as endorsers of the ad, claiming that the allegations against Montgomery police defamed him personally. However, Sullivan did DIDN’T HAVE TO PROVE THAT HE was HARMED UNDER ALABAMA LAW.
Be able to explain the history of gun rights in the United States (District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago)
o 1) The Second Amendment protects “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,”
o 2) U.S. Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia in 2008 (District of Columbia v. Heller).
o 3) As a result, the Heller decision left open the question of whether the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments
o 4) Before 2010, the Supreme Court had never ruled on whether the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms was one of those fundamental rights that states could not infringe.
Be able to discuss the “due process” rights or the “rights of the criminally accused” found in amendments 4-8
o Fourth Amendment - Protections from Search and Seizure, Probable Cause
o Fifth Amendment - Right to Remain Silent, Protection from Self-Incrimination, right to a Grand Jury, Protection from Double Jeopardy
o Sixth Amendment - Right to be Informed of charges, right to counsel, right to confront witnesses, right to a Speedy Trial
o Seventh Amendment - (not incorporated) Right to a Jury in a Civil Trial
o Eighth Amendment - Protection from excessive bails and fines, Protection from Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Be able to identify and explain the five protections of the Fifth amendment
o Right to remain silent o Protection from self-incrimination o Right to a grand jury o Protection from double jeopardy o Eminent Domain
Be able to discuss the importance of Miranda v. Arizona for Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights
o 5th- self-incrimination, indictment by a grand jury, no double jeopardy, due process
o 6th- assistance of an attorney, own defense witnesses, cross-examined prosecution witness, informed of charges, speedy & public trial by an impartial jury in state/ district
Be able to discuss the concept of a “right to privacy” and how it applies to modern issues such as birth control, abortion, right to die, and homosexuality (Make sure to know Griswold v. Connecticut, Roe v. Wade, and Lawrence v. Texas)
o The supreme court has held that the 14th government due process clause provides a right of personal privacy and that this right provides women with the right to privacy is subject to expectations
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), the government may outlaw abortions (with expectations)
Roe v. Wade (1973) established undue burden standard
Lawrence v. Texas (2003), declared state anti-sodomy laws unconstitutional for violating the unenumerated constitutional right to privacy
Define Civil Liberties
The political freedoms that protect individuals from the abuses of powers by the federal government
Define Civil Rights
The rights that protect individuals from discrimination by other individuals and the government
Define Due Process Clause:
The due process clause acts as a safeguard from arbitrary denial of life, liberty, or property by the government outside the sanction of law
Define Equal Protection Clause
Provides that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction “the equal protection of the laws”.
Define Selective Incorporation
A constitutional doctrine under which certain rights and freedoms of the Bill of Rights are selectively applied to the states through various vehicles of the 14th amendment, specifically the Due Process Clause.
Define Establishment Clause
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof
Define Free Exercise Clause
Laws can’t interfere with religious practices/opinion, but laws can be made to regulate certain practices
Define The Lemon Test
First, the statute must have a secular legislative purpose; second, its principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion; finally, the statute must not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion.
Define Symbolic Speech
Action/speech that purposefully conveys a particular message to those that are viewing it.
Define Commercial Speech
The speech where the speaker is more likely to be engaged in commerce, where the intended audience is commercial or actual or potential consumers, and where the content of the message is commercial in character.
Define Hate speech
Speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of attributes such as race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, or gender
Define Obscenity
- Is the speech of a lewd interest to the average person?
- Does the speech depict or describe sexual acts or conduct in an offensive manner?
- Does the speech have a serious literary, political, artistic, or scientific interest?
Define Fighting Words
Written or spoken words intended to incite hatred or violence from their target
Define Student Speech
The protection of student’s rights to free speech and privacy—in and out of school
Define Libel
A public shed false statement that is damaging to a person’s reputation; written defamation.
Define Slander
The action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation
Define Actual Malice
The legal requirement imposed upon public officials or public figures when they file suit for libel
Define Terry Stop
If the police have a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed before stopping a suspect, or if they suspect the person is armed and dangerous, they may conduct a frisk, a quick pat-down of the person’s outer clothing.
Define Grand Jury
A legal body empowered to conduct official proceedings and investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought
Define Double Jeopardy
The prosecution of a person twice for the same offense.
Define Probable Cause
Reasonable grounds (for making a search, pressing a charge, etc.).
Define Eminent Domain
The right of a government or its agent to expropriate private property for public use, with payment of compensation.
Define Enumerated Rights
Rights that are clearly defined and explicitly stated within the wording of the Constitution
Define Implied Rights
Rights that are not clearly stated within the Constitution, but the Court has found basis to extend them to individual protection
