CIVIL LIBERTIES SCENARIOS
• Determine if each issue is valid or invalid
according to the Constitution and the Bill of
Rights.
• A Kentucky State law required that teachers post
a copy of the ten commandments in each
classroom.
• Valid or invalid?
• Invalid!
• Violation of the Establishment clause.
• Government prohibited from establishing a
religion.
• Stone v. Graham (1980)
• An employee is fired from his job for smoking
“peyote” during a Native American religious
ceremony.
• Valid or invalid?
• Valid!
• Free Exercise Clause does not excuse people
from breaking the law.
• Employment Division v. Smith (1990)
• A man is pulled over by the police in Nevada
after crossing the border from California.
During a search of his vehicle, it is discovered
that he is transporting highly illegal fully
automatic assault rifles. He is charged twice
for the same crime by both the state and
federal government for possessing these
weapons.
• Valid or invalid?
• Valid!
• Bartkus V. Illinios: Prosecutions in the both the
state and federal courts for the same crime is
not considered “double Jeopardy”.
• A state declares that special permits must be
obtained for religious solicitations while non
religious solicitations required no permits at
all.
• Valid or invalid?
• Invalid!
• Violation of the free Exercise Clause.
• People have the right to exercise any religion
they wish or none at all without repercussion.
• Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)
• A major white supremacist group has
obtained permits to hold a rally. During the
rally, group leaders call for fellow members to
“ defend the white race”.
• Valid or invalid?
• Valid
• People are guaranteed the right to peacefully
assemble with like minded associates as long
as they break no laws and do not advocate
violent action.
• A group opposing the war in Afghanistan
gathers and advocates general strikes to shut
down labor and the use of violence in order to
make their voices heard by the government.
• Valid or invalid?
• Invalid.
• Speech that advocates violence is not
protected.
• Abrams v. United States (1919)
A magazine publishes a story about an
actress saying that she was at a nightclub
using illegal drugs and cheating on her
husband. The magazine provides no
photos or proof and the actress swears
she was in a different city at the time.
Regardless of this fact, her husband files
for divorce and she loses her role in an
upcoming film.
Valid or invalid?
• Invalid
• Libel is not considered protected speech.
• Libel: Written speech that is intended to
damage a persons reputation without regard
for the truth.
• Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts and AP v.
Walker (1967)
• A state passes a law that requires all groups,
organizations, and associations to disclose
their membership rosters.
• Valid or invalid?
• Invalid.
• 1st Amendment: Right to associate with others
to promote social causes.
• NAACP v. Alabama (1958)
• A city has passed an ordinance that bans
those living in the city from owning
handguns.
• Valid or invalid?
• Invalid
• Violation of the 2nd Amendment: The right to
bear arms.
• D.C. v. Heller (2008
• ) McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
• Two foreign fighters are captures by U.S.
troops in Afghanistan, transported to
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, and locked
away in the prison there without any formal
charges and without being allowed to see a
lawyer.
• Valid or invalid?
• Invalid
• Violates Due Process Clause of the fourteenth
amendment.
• Rasul v. Bush
• A state imposes strict voting requirements on
a specific group of the population.
• Invalid
• Violation of the Fifteenth Amendment:
Prohibits government from denying a citizen
the right to vote based on race or color.