Civil Rights and Liberties Flashcards
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
The Supreme Court ruled that students wearing armbands to protest the Vietnam War were protected by the First Amendment, affirming that students retain their right to free speech in schools as long as it does not cause substantial disruption Students wearing armbands to protest the Vietnam War. Decision: Ruled that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Impact: Protected students’ First Amendment rights in schools.
Loving v. Virginia (1967)
Issue: Interracial marriage bans.
Decision: Declared Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional, affirming marriage as a fundamental right.
Impact: Struck a blow against racial discrimination and strengthened protections for the right to marry.
The result of Loving v. Virginia (1967) was a unanimous Supreme Court decision (9-0) that invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage across the United States. The Court ruled that Virginia’s anti-miscegenation statute violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, ensuring that individuals could marry regardless of race. This decision effectively ended all remaining racial marriage bans in the U.S.
Morse v. Frederick (2007)
Issue: Student speech promoting illegal drug use (“Bong Hits 4 Jesus”).
Decision: Limited student speech advocating illegal activities, but reaffirmed the general principle that students have First Amendment rights.
Impact: Highlighted the boundaries of Tinker while reinforcing protections for legitimate student expression.
Morse v. Frederick (2007): The Supreme Court ruled that schools could restrict student speech promoting illegal drug use, such as the “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” banner, without violating the First Amendment. While limiting this specific type of speech, the decision reaffirmed that students still retain free speech rights in broader contexts.
In Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023)
he U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-2 that using race as a factor in college admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The Court concluded that racial preferences in admissions are unconstitutional, emphasizing that such policies unfairly disadvantage certain groups and undermine the principle of equal treatment under the law. This decision effectively ended the use of race in admissions at public and private universities.
Dennis V United States (1951)
was a landmark Supreme Court case that dealt with the First Amendment and the limits of free speech in the context of national security. The case involved a group of Communist Party leaders who were convicted under the Smith Act for advocating the violent overthrow of the U.S. government.
Washington v. Davis (1976, U.S.)
was a landmark Supreme Court case that set a higher standard for proving racial discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause.
Key Points:
The case involved two Black applicants who challenged a police hiring test (Test 21) that disproportionately affected Black applicants. They argued it was discriminatory, but the Court ruled that discriminatory impact alone was not enough to violate the Equal Protection Clause.
The Court ruled that to prove a violation, plaintiffs must show intentional discrimination, not just a law or policy with a racially disparate impact.
The decision made it harder to challenge systemic racism in areas like employment and housing, where laws might not explicitly mention race but have discriminatory effects.
Impact:
Washington v. Davis set a precedent requiring proof of discriminatory intent to win Equal Protection claims, making it more difficult to challenge policies based on their unequal effects.
The ruling also clarified the distinction between constitutional claims (which require proof of intent) and statutory claims (under laws like Title VII, which allow claims based on disparate impact).
Aftermath:
The decision has been criticised for failing to account for unconscious bias and institutional racism, making it harder to address systemic inequality.
Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)
Upheld a Georgia law Banning sodomy between two consenting adults (both homosexual and heterosexual) by a 5-4 ruling
In early July 1982, Atlanta Police Department officer Keith Torick issued Michael Hardwick a citation for public drinking after witnessing Hardwick throw a beer bottle into a trash can outside the gay bar where he worked, allegedly observing him violating the city’s ordinance that prohibits drinking in public. Due to a clerical error on the citation issued by Torick, Hardwick missed his court date and Torick obtained a warrant for Hardwick’s arrest. Hardwick then settled the matter by paying a $50 fine at a court office, but Torick showed up at Hardwick’s house three weeks later, on August 3, to serve the now-invalid warrant. At the time, an unrelated guest of Hardwick was sleeping on the couch in Hardwick’s living room; at around 8:30 am, Officer Torick entered the house (the front door may have been ajar) and awoke the guest, then proceeded down a hallway towards Hardwick’s bedroom. The officer opened the bedroom door, and Torick observed Hardwick and a companion engaged in mutual, consensual oral sex
Lawrence v. Texas (2003) Overturned Bowers v. Hardwick
Ruled that US state laws banning sodomy were unconstitutional.
The court reaffirmed a ‘right to privacy’
In 1998, John Geddes Lawrence Jr., an older white man, was arrested along with Tyron Garner, a younger black man, at Lawrence’s apartment in Harris County, Texas. Garner’s former boyfriend had called the police, claiming that there was a man with a weapon in the apartment. Sheriff’s deputies said they found the men engaging in sexual intercourse. Lawrence and Garner were charged with a misdemeanor under Texas’ anti-sodomy law
Oregon v. Rideout (1973)
was the first trial challenged marital rape since the state revised its rape law in 1977 to eliminate the marital rape immunity. Although Rideout was acquitted, this had eventually led to criminialisation of marital rape across the federal states in 1993.
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
in which the SCOTUS ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.
Roe v. Wade (1973)
in which the SCOTUS ruled that the Constitution of the United States generally protected a right to have an abortion. However, this is overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson (2022) which returned to individual states the power to regulate any aspect of abortion.
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
in which the SCOTUS ruled that the US Constitution did not extend American Citizenship to people of Black African Descent, and therefore they could not enjoy the rights and privileges the Constitution conferred upon American citizens. In 1865, the Court’s ruling in Dred Scott was superseded by the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery, and the Fourteenth Amendment, whose first section guaranteed citizenship for “all persons born or naturalised in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof”.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Which previously supported racial segregation is overturned by Brown v. Board of Education (1954) in which the SCOTUS ruled that racial segregation in public schools are prohibited.
Section 4(b) and 5 of Voting Rights Act (1965)
ruled unenforceable by the SCOTUS rulings Shelby County v. Holder (2013) that requiring certain states and local governments to obtain federal preclearance based on their history of racial discrimination in voting before implementing any changes to their voting laws or practices, is unconstitutional. This makes it easier for state officials to engage in vote suppression.
Fisher v. University of Texas (2013)
in which the SCOTUS ruled that Affirmative Actions in universities admission should be strictly scrutinised. However, this case is overturned by Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023) that race-conscious admissions are unconstitutional.
