4. Civil liberties issues dominate headlines
Civil liberties issues part of national policy
Protecting civil liberties is national job
through Court rulings and interest groups
(e.g. American Civil Liberties Union or ACLU)
Has Bill of Rights really helped to secure
individual freedoms of Americans?
5.
6. Individual freedoms that place limitations on
the power of government
Fundamental rights that are outside the
authority and regulation and government
Constitutional and legal protections from
government inference with personal rights
and freedoms
Freedoms of Assembly, Speech, and Religion
17. By the end of WWI, “free speech” was a dream for
many people
Many state governments had passed sedition acts
aimed at pacifists, socialists, and communists
Goal was to limit ideas that were anti-war or
influence of anyone who supported radical
governmental change
22. Court overturned conviction of Paul Cohen,
who was accused of wearing jacket with
message of “F*** the Draft”
Message not directed to anyone in particular
No evidence that Cohen was actively
promoting disturbance
23.
24.
25.
26.
27. First Amendment does not automatically protect
against obscene speech
Supreme Court has had issues saying what constitutes
obscenity, with informal test being norm for a while
Miller Test
Whether the work offensively depicts or describes sexual
conduct
Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary,
artistic, political, or scientific” value (SLAPS Test)
31. Restrictions on the press before its message
is actually published
Seen as dangerous form of censorship,
because controversial ideas would not have a
chance to enter the “marketplace of ideas”
and be debated by the public
32.
33. Libel is the publishing of false and damaging
statements about another person
Supreme Court has established that the
injured person must show:
The statements were either false or damaging
The publisher must have actually acted
maliciously
34.
35. “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”
37. The federal government may not pass any
laws that provide for “an establishment” of
religion
Laws can be passed that affect all religions, such
as tax breaks for organized churches
▪ A law cannot directly benefit or hurt only one church,
denomination, etc.
39. SEPARATIONISTS
Adhere to philosophy of
Jefferson and Madison
Believe in clear division
between church and state
ACCOMODATIONISTS
Contend that the state
should not be separate
from religion
Should accommodate
religion, without
specifically showing
preference for one religion
over another
40. ENGEL V. VITALE (1962)
Ruled that it was
unconstitutional for state
officials to compose an
official school prayer and
encourage it to be recited in
public schools
LEMON V. KURTZMAN (1973)
Established Lemon Test to judge
if laws relating to religious
activity are constitutional:
The law must have a secular
(nonreligious) purpose
The law must neither advance
nor inhibit any religion
The law must avoid excessive
entanglement between
church and state
41. Guarantees individuals that they may freely
practice their religion without interference
from the government
When a religion has a practice that conflicts
with an existing law, the law will prevail and
the religion must cease the practice or face
the consequences of the law
42.
43.
44. Warrants
Probable Cause
Expectation of Privacy
Exclusionary Rule
If police search found to violate Fourth Amendment,
the exclusionary rule holds that any evidence
resulting from that search cannot be used at trial
Certain Exceptions: “Good Faith,” “Plain View”
