● The Bill of Rights
○ First 10 amendments to the Constitution
○ Limits the power of the government to protect individual freedoms and liberties
● Civil Liberties
○ Freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights
○ Protects us against abuse from the government
● Civil Rights
○ Rights that guarantee freedom of equality for any race, gender, or other demographic group
● Individual Rights
○ Constitutional rights protected by the law
● Engel v. Vitale (1962)
○ Group of Jewish families sued a NY school district for having a prayer in the morning
○ Supreme Court ruled that prayer violated the establishment clause
● Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
○ An Amish family sued Wisconsin for requiring them to pay a fine for not sending their children to school after the eighth grade
○ Supreme Court ruled in favor of the family saying that they were protected under the First Amendment free exercise clause
● First Amendment Freedom of Religion
○ Prevents the government from establishing a religion
○ Government cannot prevent an individual from practicing their faith/religion
● Establishment Clause
○ Government cannot support an official religion
○ Government cannot force an individual to follow a religion
○ Promotes separation of church and state
● Free Exercise Clause
○ Government cannot interfere w/ an individual’s religion or its practices
■ Limitations include polygamy, drug use, etc.
● Lemon Test
○ A test to determine if a law violates the establishment clause
○ Law violates the establishment clause unless it:
■ Has a legitimate secular purpose
■ Does not advance or inhibit religion
■ Does not have “excessive entanglement” with religion
● Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)
○ Students were suspended for wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War
○ Supreme Court ruled that armbands were a form of symbolic speech
■ Protected under the first amendment
● Schenck v. United States (1919)
○ During WWI, a man was arrested for handing out a flier that urged men to resist the draft and not enlist
○ Arrested under the Espionage Act of 1917
■ Schenck argued that his arrest violated his freedom of Speech
○ Supreme Court ruled against Schenck, stating that speech inciting “clear and present danger” was not protected by the first amendment
● First Amendment Freedom of Expression
○ Freedom to speech and nonverbal symbolic speech
● Clear & Present Danger
○ Government can only restrict/ punish speech that incites lawless action
■ Ie. screaming fire in a movie theatre to cause panic
● Symbolic Speech v. Hate Speech
○ Symbolic Speech = Nonverbal forms of speech (ie. signs, symbolic protest (burning the American flag)
○ Hate Speech = Written or spoken speech that degrades a group based on its characteristics
● Obscenity
○ Lewd o/ sexual publication that lack literary or artistic merit
● Defamation
○ Damaging one’s reputation by making false statements
● Espionage Act (1917)
○ Banned opposition to US operation or supporting US enemies during wartime
● New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
○ Government attempted to prevent the New York Times from publishing the Pentagon Papers
○ Supreme Court ruled that the New York Times were protected by the First Amendment - Freedom of the Press
● First Amendment Freedom of the Press
○ Right to publish/ disperse information or opinions without government censorship
● Libel
○ Damaging an individual’s reputation by printing false statements
● Pentagon Papers
○ Top-secret document leaked to the New York Times
○ Discussed US military involvement in Vietnam
■ Proved President Lyndon B. Johnson lied to Congress and the people about the extent of the Vietnam War
● Prior Restraint
○ Government’s attempt suppress harmful information before publication
■ Typically, courts will declare government attempts as unconstitutional
● District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)
○ Granted individuals the right to own handguns in their homes in D.C.
● McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
○ McDonald wanted to purchase a handgun but was barred by Chicago’s handgun regulation
○ McDonald argued that restrictions violated the due process clause
○ Supreme Court ruled in favor of McDonald
■ Stopped gun control laws in Chicago
● Second Amendment
○ Right to bear arms (own weapons)
● Selective Incorporation
○ Based on the due process clause
○ Process of applying the protections from the Bill of Rights into state law
○ States cannot pass law that violate constitutional rights
● Fourth Amendment
○ Protects against unreasonable search and seizures
■ Requires probable cause
● Eighth Amendment
○ Protects against cruel and unusual punishment, as well as excessive bail and fines
● Rule of Law
○ No one individual is above the law, including the government
○ Every citizen follows the same law
● Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
○ Supreme Court incorporated the sixth amendment (right to legal counsel) to the state level
○ States must provide counsel to defendant’s that cannot afford one
● Roe v. Wade (1973)
○ Roe wanted to obtain an abortion in Texas but could not do so legally or safely
○ Supreme Court ruled that a woman's choice to terminate pregnancy during the first trimester was her right under the right to privacy
■ Incorporated to all states
■ Made it unconstitutional for a state to criminalize abortion
● Selective Incorporation
○ Ensures that states cannot pass legislation that violates our constitutional rights and liberties
● Fourteenth Amendment
○ All people born or naturalized in the US are citizens of the US and the state they reside in
○ Explicitly guaranteed selective incorporation
■ Before this amendment protections were only explicitly guaranteed on a federal level
● Due Process
○ Government (state or federal) must respect all legal rights of an individual
■ Protected federally by the Fifth Amendment and at the state level by the Fourteenth Amendment
● Fundamental Rights
○ Rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and interpretations by the Supreme Court
○ Respected by both federal and state government
● Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
○ Ernesto Miranda confessed to kidnapping and rape
○ Under the fourteenth amendment Miranda was deprived of his right to due process by not informing him of his right to remain silent
○ Established the Miranda rights
● Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
○ Supreme Court incorporated the sixth amendment (right to legal counsel) to the state level
○ States must provide counsel to defendant’s that cannot afford one
● Due Process Clause
○ Prevents federal and state government from denying one’s right to “life, liberty, and justice” without respecting an individual’s legal rights or following proper procedures
● Miranda Rights
○ Requirement that law enforcement must inform an individual subject to interrogation their right to remain silent
■ Protects against self-incrimination
○ Public Safety Exception
■ An exception to the Miranda Rights is if the information provided during an unwarned interrogation relates to public safety
● Rights of the Accused under the Sixth Amendment
○ Right to an attorney
○ Right to a speedy and public trial
○ Right to an impartial jury
● Exclusionary Rule
○ Evidence found illegally during an illegal search and seizure cannot be used against a defendant during their trial
● Roe v. Wade (1973)
○ Roe wanted to obtain an abortion in Texas but could not do so legally or safely
○ Supreme Court ruled that a woman's choice to terminate pregnancy during the first trimester was her right under the right to privacy
■ Incorporated to all states
■ Made it unconstitutional for a state to criminalize abortion
● Griswold v Connecticut (1965)
○ Guarantees married couples the right to purchase contraceptives without government interference
■ Right to privacy
○ First, third, fourth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth amendment implicitly guarantee the right to privacy
● Right to Privacy
○ Right to be free of government scrutiny against an individual’s behaviors or beliefs
● “Penumbra” of Privacy
○ “Partial Shadow”
○ First, third, fourth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth amendment implicitly guarantee the right to privacy
○ Right to privacy is never explicitly stated in the Constitution
● Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963)
○ Written by Martin Luther King Jr.
○ MLK was held in Birmingham, AL for protesting segregation
○ The letter discussed his hope to incorporate nonviolent protest to combat segregation in the South
○ “one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”
● Equal Protection Clause
○ Clause of the fourteenth amendment
○ No state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law”
● Examples of Social Movements
○ Civil Rights
○ Women’s Rights
○ LGBTQ Rights
● Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
○ A group of African-American sent their children to a segregated elementary school
○ With the help of Thurgood Marshall they argued that segregated schools violated the fourteenth amendment’s equal protection clause
○ Ruled that separate was NOT equal
■ Reversed “separate but equal” ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson
● Civil Rights Act of 1964
○ Legislation preventing discrimination due to:
■ Race
■ Skin color
■ National origin
■ Religion
■ Sex
● Title IX
○ Prevents schools and educational institutions from receiving federal funding from discriminating against females
● Voting Rights Act of 1965
○ Legislation that made it easier for African-Americans to vote
○ Prevented discrimination in voting
○ Broke down barriers such as the poll tax
● Shaw v. Reno (1993)
○ North Carolina’s reapportionment plan created only one-black majority district
■ A second proposal included two-black majority districts
○ North Carolina residents argued the constitutionality of the districts
○ Supreme Court ruled that redistricting must be race-conscious and comply w/ the Voting Rights Act (1965)
■ Redistricting must be under “strict scrutiny” to comply with the equal protection clause
● “Separate but Equal” Doctrine
○ During Plessy v. Ferguson the Supreme Court ruled that segregated facilities did not violate the fourteenth amendment’s equal protection clause
● Majority-Minority Districts
○ District with boundaries that allow for a majority of the voters come from one minority group
○ Ensures minority groups representation
● Voting Rights Act of 1965
○ Legislation that made it easier for African-Americans to vote
○ Prevented discrimination in voting
○ Broke down barriers such as the poll tax
● Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
○ Supreme Court ruled that quotas could not be used to increase minority enrollment
○ Opponents of affirmative action consider it “reverse racism”
■ Believe that affirmative action takes opportunities away from white individuals
● Affirmative Action
○ Programs and attempts to provide minority and underrepresented groups opportunities
■ Typically, educational or employment opportunities
● “Colorblind” Constitution
○ Belief that Constitution protects all races equally
● Equal Protection Clause
○ Clause of the fourteenth amendment
○ No state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law”