Civil Liberties Flashcards
Main interpreter of civil liberties
Supreme Court
Habeas corpus
Right to be brought in front of judge and told what your charged or accused of
a. Can be suspended in cases of rebellion/invasion
i. It only counts if civil courts are not working
U.S.A Patriot Act
A law passed shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States giving law enforcement agencies increased, broad powers to bring terrorists to justice. The USA Patriot Act is an acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.
Right to counsel
From:
- Powell vs. Alabama (life at stake, you have right to be given a lawyer)
- Gideon vs. Wainwright (innocent before proven guilty)
Freedom of speech
Part of First Amendment:
a. no imminent lawless action
b. must adhere to proper time, place & manner
i. cannot hold rally @ a busy intersection during rush hour traffic
ii. ex: states can create buffer zones for those who protest at a funeral
c. no obscenity
i. appeals to the prurient interest (makes someone lustful)
ii. Applies to contemporary community standards
iii. Has no redeeming social value
iv. Lenny Bruce & George Carlin jailed for their “obscene” comedy
d. no slander or libel
i. I.e. false spoken or published statement, respectively
i. ever since NY Times v. Sullivan it is harder because have 2 prove “actual malice”
e. Cannot threaten the president or any of his successors
Free exercise clause vs. Establishment clause
a. Separation of church and state
i. NO reciting prayers in pub schools (Engle v. Vitale 1962)
ii. NO moment of silence in pub schools
iii. NO school led prayer at pub school football games
iv. NO ten commandments on court house wall (in KY)
v. NO teaching of creationism/intelligent design in pub schools
vi. Sunday= day of rest according 2 gov’t
vii. Cong prays before a session (i.e. praying to resolve standoff about budget)
viii. Government provides military chaplains
ix. School vouchers for private religious schools or private non-religious schools
x. 10 commandments monument allowed in public park
Exceptions to the free exercise clause
- Free exercise of religion
i. People cannot do the foll’g in the name of religion:
i. Practice polygamy
ii. Smoke peyote (or use other illegal drugs)
iii. Make human sacrifices
iv. Handle venomous creatures (like snakes)
v. Refuse lifesaving medical treatment for their kids (faith healing)
i. A couple practiced faith healing on two of their kids and died
a. they were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years on probation.
-
Prior restraint
- efforts by govt agency to block the publication of material it deems libelous or harmful in some other way; otherwise know as Censorship
- protected by first amendment: freedom of press
- Near v. Minnesota: First amendment prohibits gov agencies from seeking newspapers or magazines
- New York Times v. United States: Gov’t couldn’t block the pentagon papers from being published
City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)
the Supreme Court ruled that Congress exceeded its authority when it passed a law that, among other things, prohibited the states from regulating religious uses of land. As in Cooper v. Aaron (1958), the Court asserted its primacy in matters of constitutional interpretation and struck down a governmental act that challenged that primacy.
(separation of Powers and limited government)
Capital punishment
8th Amendment
- No cruel AND unusual punishment
a. Government cannot do the following:
i. Torture
ii. Cancel citizenship of U.S. citizen
iii. Punish a mentally ill person
2. Capital punishment= allowed (since 1970s)
3. Btw, 50 years to life is allowed
a. Prison sentence is not cruel and unusual punishment.
i. A man in CA got 25 years to life for stealing $150 worth of video tapes three different times
Exclusionary rule
- Must have warrant for item to use it in Court
- From the case Mapp vs. Ohio
b. exceptions
i. Incriminating evidence in plain view
ii. Incident to an arrest
iii. Consent searches
iv. Fleeing suspect
v. Stop and frisk
vi. Inevitable discovery
vii. Retroactive probable cause
viii. Checkpoint for drivers to measure intoxication (not arbitrary)
ix. No knock & announce rule
x. Good faith exception
c. house warrant=probable cause
d. street warrant= reasonable suspicion
Selective incorporation
The incorporation of the Bill of Rights is the process by which American courts have applied portions of the U.S. Bill of Rights to the states
-Fourteenth amendment protected people from federal and state govts
Fourth Amendment
B. Fourth Amendment
1. No unreasonable searches and seizures
a. Reasonable= with a warrant (for the house)
b. Warrants demonstrate probable cause
c. In order to get a warrant, police officer needs to say what they are looking for and where they expect to find it.
2. Exclusionary rule
Fifth Amendment
- Just compensation (1897)
2. Self-incrimination
a. Miranda warning
From the Case Miranda v. Arizona
ii. Exceptions
a. If the suspect agrees
b. The police did/do the following people to confess:
i. Lie during interrogations (i.e. “interviews”)
ii. Threaten to jail the person’s family
iii. Threaten to take away welfare
iv. Threaten to take away the children
v. 36 hour interrogation
vi. Deprive you of food
vii. Put a gun to their head
viii. Use heat lamps, etc.
b. Immediate threat to public safety which justified immediate questioning
3. Double jeopardy a. Cannot be tried twice for the same crime in the same court
i. can go once to criminal court and once to civil court
ii. Can go to court a many times for different crimes.
iii. Mistrials don’t count.
Due process clause
-Right of every citizen against arbitrary action by national or state governments
Sixth Amendment
- Public trial (1948)
2. Right to counsel
a. From the case ____Gideon v. Wainright__ (1963) __
3. Impartial jury
4. Confronting witnesses (1965)
5. Speedy trial (1967)
a. The Speedy Trial Act of 1974 makes some guidelines which have been updated since then.
b. 72 hours after arrested -> brought before a court and told the nature of the accusation (i.e. arraignment)
c. 30 days to charge you with something
d. 70 days before trial starts (there is no rule on how long trial should last)
e. If nothing happens after 70 days, all charges are dismissed.
6. Being told what you are accused of (i.e. exactly like habeas corpus which is in the original constitution)
7. Jury trial (criminal cases) (1968)
