the protection of civil liberties and rights in the US 4.4 Flashcards
key rights protected by the original Constitution
- the role of states in the electoral college
- congress can make laws
- independent judiciary and all the conditions that apply with the role
- checks and balances
what 5 key rights is protected by the bill of rights
- 1st = freedom and religion
- 2nd = bearing arms
- 4th = privacy
- 5th = self-incrimination
- 8th = cruel and unusual punishment
summarise Zelman v Simmons-Harris (2002)
1st ammendent = religion
- programme in Ohio giving financial aid to parents to allow them to send their children to religious or private schools.
- most involved in this programme were poor black americans
- vouchers were $2,250
- of the 3,700 who did the programme, 96% of those continued their education with the religious schools
summarise Town of Greece v Galloway (2014)
1st ammendment = religion
- the Supreme Court ruled (5–4) that legislative bodies
such as town and city councils could begin their meetings with prayer, even if those prayers clearly favoured one particular religion.
summarise Morse vs Frederick 2007
1st ammendment = freedom of speech
- ‘BONG HiTS 4 JESUS’
- happened outside of school whilst tv crews were showing passing of the winter olympic torch 2002
- principal believed it promoted illegal usage of drugs
summarise District of Columbia v Heller (2008)
2nd ammendment = bearing arms
the Court declared unconstitutional banning the ownership of handguns and requirment that shotguns and rifles be kept unloaded and either disassembled or with the trigger locked.
summarise what the ‘Miranda Right’s’ are
5th ammendment = self-incrimination
advising alleged perpetrator their right to remain silent.
summarise Miranda v Arizona (1966)
5th ammendment = self-incrimination
- Ernesto Miranda confessed to a rape unaware that he had the constitutional right to remain silent and to engage with an attorney before he spoke to the police.
- Miranda was nevertheless found guilty.
summarise Salinas vs Texas 2013
5th ammendment = self incrimination
- The Salinas v. Texas ruling weakened the protections established by Miranda.
- Salinas was questioned voluntarily, so Miranda warnings were not required or given.
- Salinas’ silence when asked about his shotgun was presented as an admission of guilt at trial.
- The Court upheld that using silence as evidence in voluntary questioning does not violate the Fifth Amendment.
summarise Roper v Simmons (2005)
8th ammendment = death penalty
In Roper v Simmons, the Court decided (5–4) that it is unconstitutional to sentence anyone to death for a crime he or she committed when younger than 18.
summarise Baze v Rees (2008)
8th ammendment = death penalty
- the Court decided that lethal injection did not constitutea ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ and therefore did not violate the Eighth Amendment.
- in Bucklew v Precythe (2019), bucklew argued that in his case he would undergo ‘excrutiating pain’ due to his condition
- Eighth Amendment ‘forbids “cruel and
unusual” methods of capital punishment’, it ‘does not guarantee a prisoner a painless death’. = Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote
Civil liberties protected by subsequent constitutional amendments
- 13th Amendment = slavery
- 14th Amendment = citizenship and equal protection
- 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th Amendments = voting rights
Civil liberties protected by Supreme Court rulings
- individuals having the right to possess firearms
- women having the right to access a safe and legal abortion in every state
- corporations being able to make substantial political donations
- groups having the right of free speech even when their opinions might be widely viewed as hurtful or extreme
- LGBTQ+ Americans having the right to marry and not face workplace discrimination
