The protection of civil liberties and rights in the US today Flashcards
what are liberties
liberties are freedoms guaranteed to us by the Constitution to protect us from the gov eg freedom of speech
what are rights
rights are the legal rights that protect individuals from discrimination eg employment discrimination
DC V HELLER 2008
what amendment is it protecting
2nd amendment - the right to bear arms
debated whether the provisions of the Firearms control Regulations Act 1975 violated the second amendment. FCRA said that firearms should be kept unloaded and dissembled. The amendment said that anyone part of the ‘militia’ could bear arms, but people wanted to keep firearms on for private use in their homes. The sc supported the individual right to bear arms as seen in the second amendment despite not being part of the militia and can use them for self defence
citizens united v FEC 2010
1st amendment - freedom of speech
this is where a non-profit organisation wanted to air a film criticising Hilary Clinton and to advertise that on tv. Columbia said that this was a violation of the McCain Feingold act. This said that corporate companies cannot broadcast advertisements that mention a federal candidate within 60 days of the general election. The supreme court reversed the decision in favour of citizens united and found that McCain Feingold act 2002 violated the first amendment of free speech
how does judicial review help uphold rights pos and neg
by interpreting the amendment it can be applied to modern times eg freedom of speech in the age of social media eg Citizens united v FEC
however has also helped to legalise segregation for 100 years eg Plessy v. Ferguson and over turn roe v wade which takes away a women’s right to have an abortion
although it also only hears about 1% of the cases brought to it every year and has no power to enforce its rulings and relies on congress, president and the states for that.
Plessy v. Ferguson
the sc ruled that racial segregation didnt violate the constitution as long as the facilities are equal
shelby county v holder 2013
involved the voting rights act 1965 which aimed to prevent discrimination against minority voters. the sc struck down a bit of that act saying that states will no longer need to get approval by the gov if they want to make changes to their voting laws
the sc protected the states rights but potentially violated minority individuals rights
carpenter v US 2018
the sc held that the seizure and search of a phone location violated the forth amendments protection against unreasonable searches. The defendant had been convicted of robbery based on the fact he was located by data obtained WITHOUT a warrant.
barron v baltimore 1833
ruled the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution was not binding on state governments
bucklew v precythe 2019
bucklew had been convicted of murder and claimed that if he had the lethal injection then he would suffer a longer and painful death because of a rare physical condition he had. the sc said ‘while the 8th amendment ‘forbids cruel and unusual methods of capitol punishment’ it ‘does not guarantee a prisoner a painless death’
Bucklew was executed and suffered no complications
13th and 14th amendments
13th- protected all americans from slavery.
14th extended the 13th by granting full citizenship to all those born in the USA. it also offered equal protection of the laws to all citizens. it made it illegal to deprive a person of ‘life, liberty and property.’ also known as THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE
an example of the 14th amdenment
obergfell v hodges - extended the right to marriage to same sex couples across states. the sc found that the equal protection clause guaranteed the right to same sex marriage because if you denied it, you are denying same sex couples equal protection under the law
who has benefitted from extensions to civil rights via the supreme court
- indiv having the right to posses firearms
- LGBTQ having the right to marry and not face work place discrimination
- groups having the right to free speech
the limits to sc power to enforce their rulings protecting rights
- no power to enforce their decisions - Brown v Board case, their landmark ruling was ignored, with states failing to desegregate until Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964
- They are bound by precedent
- They have limited resources and can hear very few cases, and can only hear cases that come to them
strengths to sc power protecting rights
- entrenched constitution
- judicial review
- vaguness of the const
