Court Cases Flashcards
Civil rights
Right to equal treatment under the law; these specify what the govt must do to ensure equal protecting of the law and freedom from discrimination (14 amend) equal protection
Civil liberties
Personal freedoms that govt may not take away from you without due process of law (14 amendment) limitation on govt
14th amendment
No state can limit privelages of the citizen of the United States
Selective incorporation
Refers to which the SCOTUS gradually applied the freedoms protected by the bill of rights against state governments by way of 14th amendment due process clause
Establishment clause
Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion
Lemon vs kurtzman (1971)
Created lemon test to determine wether state aid to religious school violates the establishment clause
Lemon test
Secular purpose
Neither inhibit or advance religion
Avoid excessive entanglement between church and state
Engel vs vitals (1962)
Government official have no business for composing official prayers for any group
No state mandate prayer in public schools to be unconstitutional
Epperson vs arkansas (1968)
Struck down an ar statue making it illegal for teacher in a state-sponsored institution to teach the theory of evolution
Edwards v aquillard (1987)
Struck down a LA statue mandating balanced treatment of “creation science” and “evolution science” in public school
The free exercise clause
“Prohibiting the free exercise there of”
Belief cannot be outlaw, but conduct an be limited if it involves with other laws
Reynolds vs us (1878)
The Morrill anti-bigamy act (1862) banned bigamy in the United States; targeted the Mormons practice of plural marriage
Not allowed to practice polygamy
Oregon vs smith (1990)
Employment division vs smith
Could deny unemployment benefit for violating states prohibition of use peyote even though drug was used for religious purpose
Pure speech
Relies only on the power of words to convey message/meaning
Symbolic speech “expressive conduct”
Using actions and symbols in addition to or instead of spoken words to express opinion
May be restricted by government
Tinker v Des Moines (1969)
The first amendment protects the right to wear black armbands in high school to protest the Vietnam war
Texas v Johnson (1989)
Flag burning is protected as symbolic speech
Seditious speech
Urges resistance to lawful authority/ advocates overthrow of the government
Clear and present danger test
Speech that presents an danger it is unprotected
Bad tendency doctrine
Speech could be restricted even if it had only a tendency to legal action
Preferred position doctrine
Gitlow vs New york
1st amendment freedoms are more fundamental than other freedoms because they provide the basis for all other liberties thus, any law limiting these freedoms are unconstitutional unless govt can prove other wise- strict scrutiny
Slander
Spoken defamation
Libel
Written defamation
Bethel SD v Fraiser (1986)
Student may be suspended for lewd or indecent speech at school events, through this would be protected outside the school setting
Hazel wood SD v kuhlmeier (1998)
School officials have sweeping authority to regulate student speech in school sponsored newspaper theater production etc.
Prior restraint
Censorship of information before it is published
Has repeatedly been limited by SCOTUS, not allowed by courts
Miller v California (1973)
When is material obscene (LAPS test) Violates community standards Appeals to arouse people Shows sexual conduct Lacks serious serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific
Griswold v Connecticut (1965)
Struck down state law forbidding use of contraceptives
Various portions of bill of rights don’t protect rights to privacy
Roe v wade (1973)
Divided a pregnancy into 3 trimesters based upon the viability of the embryo/fetus at each state, as do medical personnel
4th amendment
Unreasonable searches and seizures
Te exclusionary rule
Prevents police from using illegal attained evidence against you
Mapp v Ohio (1961)
Incorporated the exclusionary rule against the states
