Civil Liberties

Civil Liberties individual legal and constitutional protections against the government.

Civil Rights protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals.

Incorporation Doctrine case-by-case process by which liberties listen in the Bill of Rights have been applies to the states using the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment

affirmative action programs intended to make up for past discrimination by helping minority groups in employment, promotion, or admission for member of groups who have suffered the effects of past discrimination .

Equal Protection Clause
14th amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination

Free Exercise Clause prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion or worship

Equal Protection Clause
14th amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination

Due process of law everyone has the right to a trial, with a jury, with a lawyer, and cant be forced to speak against them selves, All the procedures for fair treatment that must be carried out whenever a citizen is accused of a crime

Establishment Clause
Clause in the First Amendment that says the government may not establish an official religion. Also separates church and state.

Prior Restraint
Censorship imposed on a speech before it published in a newspaper; usually unconstitutional

Libel
Written statement of a public official that contains false statements that are malicious and in reckless disregard of the truth, damaging their reputation

Slander
Spoken statement that refers to spoken Defamation (insult) that is malicious and is in reckless disregard of the truth
Probable cause reasonable cause for issuing a search warrant or making an arrest; more than mere suspicion

exclusionary rule
Supreme Court guideline that prohibits evidence obtained by illegal searches or seizures from being admitted in court

self-incrimination the situation occurring when an individual accused of a crime is compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in court. YThis is forbid against the 5th amendment

Plea-bargaining a legal negotiation in which a prosecutor reduces a charge in exchange for a defendant's guilty plea

suffrage the right to vote

Symbolic Speech nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband. The Supreme Court has accorded some symbolic speech protection under the first amendment.

Commercial speech
Advertisements and commercials for products and services; they receive less First Amendment protection, primarily to discourage false and misleading ads.

de jure segregation
Segregation imposed by law.

de facto segregation
Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions or personal choice.

Reflection Questions.

1. Civil rights are legal actions that the government takes to create equal conditions for all people. For example, the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees citizenship rights and equal protection under law. Therefore, all U.S. citizens who qualify to vote have the right to do so and that right is enforceable by government intervention. Other examples of civil rights include the right to be free from employment discrimination based on race, gender, age, or disability, or equal access to health care and social services.
Civil liberties, on the other hand, refer to protections against government actions. For example, the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights guarantees U.S. citizens the freedom of religion. Law prohibits the government prohibited from interfering in our individual choice of religion and worship. We have "liberty" from government action or restraint.
2. The 1925 supreme court decision holding that freedoms of press and speech are "fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the due process clause of the 14th amendment from impairment by the states" as well as by the federal government.

3.
Amendment Thirteen
Abolition of slavery Outlawed
Amendment Fourteen
Right to be free from discrimination in states to have due process of law, to have equal protection of the law
Amendment Fifteen
Black Suffrage

4.

5. The letter, addressed to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut, is notable as an eloquent statement of the principle of separation of church and state.
At the time the letter was written, the notion of separating the church from the state was considered by many as radical. church and state were still unified in Great Britain and most British colonies. Even today, some Americans believe religious symbols, prayers, and songs should be included in civic life.
In his letter, Jefferson referenced and interpreted the U.S. Constitutions First Amendment language concerning religion with these now famous words: I contemplate with sovereign reverence the act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state.

6. Free Exercise Clause the First Amendment guarantee that citizens may freely engage in the religious activities of their choice

The Establishment Clause prohibits government from creating a state-sponsored religion.
7.

8.

9. n determining whether speech is obscene, the basic guidelines for the trier of fact must be: (a) whether “the average person, applying contemporary community standards” would find the material, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest of sex, (b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law, and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literacy, artistic, political, or scientific value.

10. The Commission has become aware of significant uncertainty and controversy concerning various aspects of Commission and statutory policy relating to commercial underwriting on noncommercial stations. As a consequence, we have reviewed the existing policies, focusing on ... : (1) the broadcast of announcements relating to goods and services for which consideration is received by the station; (2) enhanced underwriting and donor announcements; (3) the offering of program-related materials; .... [Public Notice continues after the Table of Contents] 11. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. - See more at: http://constitution.laws.com/4th-amendment#sthash.awa4bZJZ.dpuf

12. Gideon v Wainwright
1963; defendants in all state and federal criminal trials have the right to a lawyer regardless of ability to pay
Miranda v Arizona
1966; people having in-custody interrogation had to be informed of their rights to have an attorney and to remain silent

13. A judgment of death must be executed within the walls of one of the State Prisons designated by the Court by whom judgment is rendered. In this statute, the warden replaced the sheriff as the person who must be present at the execution and invitation to the attorney general, rather than to the district attorney, was required. Executions were conducted at both of the California state prisons then existing – San Quentin and Folsom. There apparently was no official rule by which judges ordered men hanged at Folsom rather than San Quentin or vice versa. However, it was customary to send recidivists to Folsom.The first state-conducted execution was held March 3, 1893 at San Quentin. The first execution at Folsom was December 13, 1895.
14. The 7-2 decision in Roe v. Wade, 410 US 13 (1973) challenged a Texas anti-abortion law, and overturned statutes that prohibited abortion in 46 states (the procedure was legal in four). The ruling was based on the right to privacy, which was extrapolated from language in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The "privacy" precedent was set earlier in Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 US 479 (1965), which nullified laws restricting married couples' right to be counseled about the use of contraceptives.
15. Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law that justified and permitted racial segregation, as not being in breach of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which guaranteed equal protection under the law to all citizens, and other federal civil rights laws.

16. Under the administration of President Andrew Johnson in 1865 and 1866, new southern state legislatures passed restrictive “black codes” to control the labor and behavior of former slaves and other African Americans. Outrage in the North over these codes eroded support for the approach known as Presidential Reconstruction and led to the triumph of the more radical wing of the Republican Party. During Radical Reconstruction, which began in 1867, newly enfranchised blacks gained a voice in government for the first time in American history, winning election to southern state legislatures and even to the U.S. Congress. In less than a decade, however, reactionary forces–including the Ku Klux Klan–would reverse the changes wrought by Radical Reconstruction in a violent backlash that restored white supremacy in the South.

17. Suffrage has come a long way. At first, only white men who owned property could vote. Today, anyone who is an American citizen at least 18 years of age, a resident of the State in which they want to vote, and registered to vote may take part in an election. It was not easy getting to where we are today. There were many things that contributed to the expansion of suffrage, including the passing of three very important amendments: the 15th, the 19th, and the 26th Amendment.

18. Civil Rights Act (1964)
Passed after the 1963 "March on Washington"<-- where "I have a dream" took place. Banned Discrimination in any area open to the public. Empowered justice dept. to file suit against offenders.

Voting Rights Act (1965) authorized federal gov. to oversee voting procedures if: less than 50% of pop. registered to vote, or literacy tests were used to discourage voting. Federal agents could register voters. This was a state function under the constitution.

24th amendment declared poll taxes illegal and unconstitutional.

19. Title IX - Higher Education Act
1972. Schools must offer equal opportunities for women and men, if that school recieves federal funds. Applies: medical programs, doctoral programs and sports

20. Comparable Worth
A worker is to be paid by the worth of his or her work, not by what the employer is willing to pay.

21.
Yes
No
1. Affirmative action leads to reverse discrimination.
2. Affirmative action lowers standards of accountability needed to push students or employees to perform better.
3. Students admitted on this basis are often ill-equipped to handle the schools to which they've been admitted.
4. It would help lead a truly color-blind society.
5. It is condescending to minorities to say they need affirmative action to succeed.
6. It demeans true minority achievement; i.e. success is labeled as result of affirmative action rather than hard work and ability.
7. Once enacted, affirmative actions are tough to remove, even after the underlying discrimination has been eliminated.
1. Diversity is desirable and won't always occur if left to chance.
2. Students starting at a disadvantage need a boost.
3. Affirmative action draws people to areas of study and work they may never consider otherwise.
4. Some stereotypes may never be broken without affirmative action.
5. Affirmative action is needed to compensate minorities for centuries of slavery or oppression.

22. The University of California, Davis Medical School reserved 16 spots out of the 100 in any given class for “disadvantaged minorities.” The Respondent, when compared to students admitted under the special admissions program, had more favorable objective indicia of performance, while his race was the only distinguishing characteristic. The Respondent sued, alleging that the special admissions program denied him equal protection of laws under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

23. * Employers with 15 or more employees may not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities. For the first two years after July 26, 1992, the date when the employment provisions of the ADA go into effect, only employers with 25 or more employees are covered.
* Employers must reasonably accommodate the disabilities of qualified applicants or employees, unless an undue hardship would result.
* Employers may reject applicants or fire employees who pose a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals in the workplace.
* Applicants and employees are not protected from personnel actions based on their current illegal use of drugs. Drug testing is not affected.