Civil Liberties - State College Area School District



Civil Liberties

• Personal rights and freedoms that the government cannot abridge, either by law, constitution, or judicial interpretation

• Limits power of government over the individual

Incorporation Doctrine

• The protections of the 14th Amendment extend also to the citizens within the state

Barron v. Baltimore 1833 – National power limited

14th Amendment 1868

• Gitlow v. NY 1925 – Free speech extends to citizens within the state

• Near v. Minnesota 1931 - Free press and Due Process extends to states

1st Amendment

• Freedom of Religion

Establishment and Free Exercise

Engel v. Vitale 1962 – No school prayer

• Lemon Test

1. Secular purpose

2. Neither advances nor prohibits religion

3. can not foster excessive government entanglement with religion

• 10 Commandments – Unconstitutional in school – no secular purpose

• Voluntary bible study and religious education OK as along as other non religious options are available

Free Exercise

• When secular law conflicts with religious practice – Free exercise is often denied

Free Speech

• Obscenity, libel, lewdness, and fighting words are NOT protected

• Alien and Sedition sunset prior to Constitutional ruling

• War times – Extraordinary circumstances

Civil War – Lincoln arrests newspaper editors

Sedition prosecutions common through 1910s

Schenk v. US 1919 – Clear and Present Danger – NOT protected

• 1969 – Direct incitement – Government prove a likelihood of imminent harm to be limited

• NYT v. Sullivan 1964 – public figures must prove “actual malice” to prove libel andslander

New Problems for SC – Internet speech and pornography

Symbolic speech – Tinker v. Des Moines 1969

Prior Restraint – NYT v. US 1971 – NYT couldnot be stopped from printing secret documents

2nd Amendment

• US v. Miller 1939 – limitations placed on Automatic weapons and sawed off shotguns

• Last time SC directly ruled on 2nd Amendment

• Recently ruled provisions of Brady Bill waiting periods and background checks as unconstitutional

• Violates State Sovereignty

Rights of criminal defendants 4th, 5th , 6th , and 8th

• 4th Search and seizure

Unreasonable search and seizure

• Warrantless Searches

1. Plain view

2. areas of immediate control

3. airports

4. hot pursuit

5. exigent circumstance

6. open fields

7. consent

8. stop and frisk – Terry law

Weeks v. US 1914 – Exclusionary rule “Fruit of the forbidden tree” illegally obtained evidence is inadmissible

• Good Faith exceptions

Mapp v. Ohio – Incorporation Doctrine for illegal searches

5th amendment – Miranda v. Arizona 1966

6th Amendment – Gideon v. Wainwright 1963 Lawyer necessity not luxury - Incorp Doc

8th Amendment – Furman v. Georgia 1972 – DP uncon if arbitrary and capricious

Gregg v. Georgia 1976 – Georgia DP is Constitutional

• Court reluctant to overrule state decisions

• Exceptions

1. Age

2. Mental ability

Privacy rights

• Abortion Roe v. Wade 1973 States cannot outlaw, can limit and restrict

• Right to Die

• Homosexuality – Bowers v. Hardwick and Lawrence/Gardner v. Texas

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download