Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Flashcards
(28 cards)
What did Barron v. Baltimore establish about the Bill of Rights?
It held that the Bill of Rights only applies to the federal government, not the states.
What did Section 1 of the 14th Amendment do?
It granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., overturning Dred Scott.
What protections does the 14th Amendment provide?
Privileges or Immunities of national citizenship, Due Process (procedural & substantive), Equal Protection, and gives Congress enforcement power.
What does the 14th Amendment Privileges or Immunities Clause protect?
Rights of national citizenship only (per Slaughter-House Cases).
What fundamental right did Saenz v. Roe establish under the P&I Clause?
The right to travel and to be treated equally after establishing state citizenship.
What are the 5 steps of a Procedural Due Process claim?
1) State action, 2) Directed at a person, 3) Deprivation, 4) Of life, liberty, or property, 5) Matthews balancing test.
What is the Matthews v. Eldridge balancing test for procedural due process?
Weigh private interest, risk of error and value of additional safeguards, and government’s interest.
What did Goldberg v. Kelly and Matthews v. Eldridge say about property interests?
Goldberg: Welfare is a property interest.
Matthews: Disability is not as critical—no property interest.
What was the holding in Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill?
A public employee with for-cause protection has a property interest in continued employment and is entitled to a pre-termination hearing.
Compare Perry v. Sindermann with Bd. of Regents v. Roth.
Perry: Legitimate expectation of renewal = property interest.
Roth: No promise or law for renewal = no property interest.
What is substantive due process?
It protects fundamental rights from government interference under 5A (federal) and 14A (state).
What is the Palko test for incorporation?
Rights that are “implicit in the concept of ordered liberty and essential to a fair system of justice.”
What did Adamson v. California say about the 5th Amendment?
The Court refused to incorporate the 5th Amendment privilege against self-incrimination under the Palko test.
What shift occurred after Lochner v. New York regarding economic liberties?
The Court moved from strict scrutiny for economic rights to rational basis (West Coast Hotel, Carolene Products).
What was the significance of Footnote 4 in Carolene Products?
It suggested heightened scrutiny for laws affecting discrete and insular minorities.
What standard of review applies to economic legislation today?
Rational basis review (Williamson v. Lee Optical).
What rights are protected as fundamental under substantive due process?
Parenting, procreation, privacy, and other deeply rooted liberties.
What right was recognized in Meyer v. Nebraska and Pierce v. Society of Sisters?
The fundamental right of parents to control their children’s education.
What did Skinner v. Oklahoma recognize?
The right to procreate is a fundamental right and was unequally burdened—EPC violation.
What did Griswold v. Connecticut establish?
A “zone of privacy” exists, and laws banning contraceptives for married couples are unconstitutional.
What determines scrutiny for speech laws?
Content-based = strict scrutiny, content-neutral (time/place/manner) = intermediate scrutiny.
What did Reed v. Town of Gilbert hold?
Laws regulating speech based on content are presumptively unconstitutional.
What’s the difference between Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses?
Free Exercise protects personal religious practices; Establishment prohibits government from endorsing religion.
