Unit 3: Civil Liberties

• The Bill of Rights includes the first 10 amendments to the Constitution designed to protect civil liberties
• Civil Liberties

  • Constitutionally established guarantees and freedoms that protect citizens against arbitrary government interference
• Origins: Bill of Rights

  • The anti-federalists feared the strong central government, and they wouldn't sign/ratify the Constitution without a Bill of Rights
• George Mason (Anti-federalist)

  • Delegate from Virginia
  • Wanted a Bill of Rights
  • James Madison, a federalist, created the first ten using Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights, which borrowed from the English Bill of Rights
  • James wrote more than 10, but only 10 were ratified
• 1st Amendment

  • Protects the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition
• 2nd Amendment

  • Protects the right to keep and bear arms
• 3rd Amendment

  • Protects citizens from having soldiers quartered in their homes
• 4th Amendment

  • Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures of personal property and effects
• 5th Amendment

  • Deals with the rights of citizens when they're accused of crimes
• 6th Amendment

  • Explains how the process will go when a person is accused of a crime and explains the protections to which they're entitled to
• 7th Amendment

  • Guarantees the right to a trial by jury
• 8th Amendment

  • Protects against cruel and unusal punishment and excessive bail
• 9th Amendment

  • Acknowlegdes that if there are other rights not mentioned in the first ten amendments, their exclusion from the list doesn't mean such rights are not protected
• 10th Amendment

  • States that any powers not explicitly granted by the Constitution to the federal government belong exclusively to the states
• • The liberties in the Bill of Rights protect citizens from intrusion by the federal government
  • Later applied to the states by the 14th amendment, but it wasn't like that originally
• Religious Freedom

  • Balance is always between the religious practice of the majority and the free exercise of minority religious practice
  • "Congress shall make no law respecting and establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
• Establishment Clause

  • Prohibits Congress from establishing a national religion
• Free Exercise Clause

  • Protects people's rights to pratice their religion without government interference
• Wall of Separation

  • There must be a complete separation between Church and State
• Who coined "Wall of Separation" ?

  Thomas Jefferson
• Johnson Amendmnet

  • If a church receives tax-exmpt status, then the pastors of that church cannot support/endorse political candidates from their pulpit
  • They CAN endorse a political candidate if they're willing to pay a tax, but most don't
• Conservatives like Trump want to overturn the Johnson Amendment and allow pastors to support candidates in the Church
• Religious Freedom: SCOTUS Interpretations

  • The Supreme Court has interpreted the freedom in two cases
  • Engel V. Vitale (1962)
  • Wisconsin V. Yoder (1972)
• • The New York State Board if Regents authorized a non-sectarian, voluntary prayer at the beginning of each school day
  • Supreme Court deemed it a violation of the Establishment clause of the 1st Amendment

  Engel V. Vitale (1962)
• • A Wisconsin education law conflicted with Amish practice of removing their children from school after 8th grade
  • Court ruled that Wisconsin's law was a violation of their right to Free Exercise

  Wisconsin V. Yoder (1972)
• Employment Division V. Smith (1990, not required)

  • Ruled against Free Exercise of 2 men who had used hallucinogenic drugs as part of a ritual
  • Limited religious freedom, no freedom is unlimited
• What clause from the First Amendment upheld the rights of the parents in Engel v. Vitale?

  Establishment Clause
• What clause from the First Amendment Upheld the rights of the Amish parents in Wisconsin v. Yoder?

  Free Exercise Clause
• Name the Case

  • State Board of Regent composed a non-demoninational (no specific religion), voluntary prayer
  • SCOTUS ruled that New York had approved religion, violating the First Amendment, which prohibits government interference with religion
  • Established precedent for many subsequent cases regarding schools and religious activities

  Engel V. Vitale (1962)
• Did the Board of Regent's voluntary, non-denominational prayer violate the Establishment clause of the First Amendment?

  Engel v. Vitale (1962)
• Name the Case

  • Wisconsin Law stipulated that all children had to attend school until age 16, but many Amish families believed further education would damage their religious beliefs
  • In a unanimous decision, the SCOTUS ruled that the state's interest in education of children shouldn't trump the ability of Amish families to exercise their religion

  Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
• Did Wisconsin's law requiring that all students attend school until the age of 16 violate the Free Exercise clause by criminalizing the actions of parents who refused to send their children to school for religious reasons?

  Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
• Symbolic Speech

  • Nonverbal forms of expressions; signs, banners, shirts
• Speech Freedom

  • The SCOTUS tries to balance between individual freedom and social order
  • Tinker v. Moins (1969)
  • Morse v. Frederick (2007)
  • West V.A Board of Education v. Barnette
• Tinker v. Des Moins (1969)

  • Students planned to wear black armbans in protest of the Vietnam War
  • A school in Iowa prohibited their plans
  • SCOTUS agreed with the students that their First Amendment rights had been violated
  • Court acknowledged schools must keep peace in their schools; there wasn't a disruption, however; only the fear of disruption
• Morse v. Frederick (2007)

  • A student wrote a banner saying "Bongs 4 Jesus Hits"at a school game

  Decision

  • Court ruled that the suspension was justified since his sign promoted illegal drug use and really had no other redeeming values of any kind
• West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette

  • School made it compulsary for teachers and students to salute the American flag
  • Violated the right of speech of some students and their beliefs
  • Court agreed with the Jenovah's witnesses in this case and said compulsory symbolic acts cannot be compelled by the Gov. because it would crush any possibility of dissent in a free society
• Time, Place, and Manner Regulations: Speech

  • Content-neutral regulations
  • Don't restrict actual words being said, only when and where and how
• Defamatory, Offensive, and Obscene Speech Regulations

  • Defamation is almost NEVER protected speech (harming someone)
  • Offensive and obscene language is difficult to decide on, but the government sets a high bar not to
• Preferred Position Doctrine

  • Court's preference to rule in favor of speech whenever possible; any limits must be as narrow as possible