THE JUDICIAL BRANCH
AP Gov’t UNIT VII
“Mile-a-Minute Mini Lecture”
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties & Public Policy
I. The Bill of Rights and the States - Then and Now pg. 100
• Barron v. Baltimore = States aren’t restricted by B of R
• 14th Amendment added
• Gitlow v. NY = States must abide by some of the B of R
• Incorporation Doctrine (a.k.a. Selective Incorporation)
II. Freedom of Religion pg. 102
 A. The Establishment Clause
 Lemon v. Kurtzman
 Engel v. Vitale
 B. The Free Exercise Clause: “Compelling Interest” Test
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties & Public Policy
III. Freedom of Expression pg. 109
 A. Prior Restraint – Near v. MN
 B. Free Speech and Public Order – Schenck v. US
 C. Free Press and Fair Trials – Zucher v. Stanford Daily
 D. Obscenity – Roth v. US & Miller v. CA
 E. Libel and Slander – NY Times v. Sullivan
 F. Symbolic Speech – Texas v. Johnson
 G. Commercial Speech – FTC
 H. Regulation of the Public Airwaves - FCC
IV. Freedom of Assembly pg. 120
• Time, place & manner restrictions
• Right to associate – NAACP v. AL
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties & Public Policy
V. Defendants’ Rights pg. 122
“WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DEFENDANTS’
RIGHTS” = you need this handout!
 A. Interpreting Defendants’ Rights – protections at every
stage
 B. Searches and Seizures – 4th Amendment & Mapp v. OH
 C. Self-incrimination – 5th Amendment & Miranda v. AZ
 D. The Right to Counsel – 6th Amendment & Gideon v.
Wainwright
 E. Trial by Jury – usually settled by plea bargaining
 F. Cruel and Unusual Punishment – 8th Amendment & Gregg
v. Georgia / McCleskey v. Kemp
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties & Public Policy
VI. The Right to Privacy pg. 130
 A. Is There a Right to Privacy?
 Griswold v. CT
 9th Amendment
 B. Controversy over Abortion - Roe v. Wade
 1st Trimester: No state restrictions
 2nd Trimester: States can regulate (Planned Parenthood v. Casey)
 3rd Trimester: States can ban
 C. A Time to Live and a Time to Die
VII. Understanding Civil Liberties pg. 135
• Protections against government
Chapter 5: Civil Rights & Public Policy
I. Two Centuries of Struggle pg. 142
 A. Conceptions of Equality
 Equal opportunity v. equal results
 B. Early American Views of Equality
 C. The Constitution and Inequality – 14th Amendment
II. Race, the Constitution, and Public Policy pg. 145
 A. The Era of Slavery
 Dred Scott v. Sanford & 13th Amendment
 B. The Era of Reconstruction and Resegregation
 Plessy v. Ferguson
 C. The Era of Civil Rights
 Brown v. Board, Civil Rights Act 1964 & Voting Rights Act 1965
Chapter 5: Civil Rights & Public Policy
 D. Getting and Using the Right to Vote
 15th Amendment
 Southern States used various barriers…
 Poll Taxes
 White Primary
 Voter Literacy Tests – aka Voter Registration Tests
 Grandfather Clause
 17th Amendment
 19th Amendment
 23rd Amendment
 24th Amendment
 26th Amendment
Now, any law that treats different categories of
people differently, must meet certain standards…
The 3 Levels of Judicial Scrutiny:
1. Race = Inherently suspect
(Red Light)
Example: Affirmative Action
2. Gender = Intermediate standard
(Yellow Light)
Example: Male-only draft
3. Other = Reasonableness
(Green Light)
Example: Age limits on police
officers
Chapter 5: Civil Rights & Public Policy
III. Women, the Constitution, and Public Policy pg. 157
 A. The Battle for the Vote – 19th Amendment
 B. The “Doldrums”: 1920-1960: ERA Round 1
 C. The Second Feminist Wave:
 Reed v. Reed & Craig v. Boren
 ERA Round 2
 D. Women in the Workplace: Civil Rights Act of 1964
 E. Wage Discrimination and Comparable Worth
 F. Women in the Military
 G. Sexual Harassment
Chapter 5: Civil Rights & Public Policy
IV. Other Minority Groups – moving toward a minority
majority
• Native Americans
• Hispanic Americans – largest minority & issue of illegal
immigration
• Asian Americans – Korematsu v. US
Chapter 5: Civil Rights & Public Policy
V. Newly Active Groups Under the Civil Rights Umbrella pg.
164
 A. Civil Rights and the Graying of America
 B. Are the Young a Disadvantaged Group Too?
 C. Civil Rights and the People with Disabilities – Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990
 D. Gay and Lesbian Rights
V. Affirmative Action pg. 169
• Regents of UC CA v. Bakke
VI. Understanding Civil Rights and Public Policy pg. 172
• Rights = gov’t must be hands on
14th Amendment Review
Due Process Clause: “…nor
shall any state deprive any person
of life, liberty or property
without due process of law”
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Mapp v. Ohio
Miranda v. Arizona
Gideon v. Wainwright
Equal Protection Clause: “… nor
deny to any person within its
jurisdiction the equal protection
of the laws.”
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Brown v. Board of
Education
Reed v. Reed
Craig v. Boren
Baker v. Carr
Regents of University of
California v. Bakke
Roe v. Wade
Chapter 16: The Federal Courts
I. The Nature of the Judicial System pg. 504
 A. Introduction – civil law v. criminal law
 B. Participants in the Judicial System
 Litigation & litigants
 Plaintiff & defendant
 Class action lawsuits & amicus curiae briefs
 Justiciable disputes & real cases
II. The Structure of the Federal Judicial System pg. 507
“WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GETTING YOUR
CASE TO THE SUPREME COURT” = you need this
handout!
 A. Introduction – Article III & Judiciary Act of 1789
Chapter 16: The Federal Courts
 B. District Courts – 91
 Trial courts = original jurisdiction
 Federal magistrates, US attorneys, US Marshals
 C. Courts of Appeal – 12
 Circuit Courts = appellate jurisdiction
 Determine errors in due process
 Usually hear cases in front of panels of 3 judges
 D. The Supreme Court – 1
 Have rare original jurisdiction & appellate jurisdiction
 All 9 justices hear cases & decide with a majority vote
Chapter 16: The Federal Courts
III. The Politics of Judicial Selection pg. 511
 A. Introduction
 President’s chance to leave his mark & patronage
 B. The Lower Courts – senatorial courtesy
 C. The Supreme Court – Senate Judiciary Committee
IV. The Backgrounds of Judges and Justices pg. 516
 Lawyers with judicial experience
 Geography? Religion?
 Race? Gender?
 Same party as appointing president
V. The Courts as Policymakers pg. 520
• Solicitor General / writs of certiorari / doctrine of political
questions
A. Accepting Cases
B. Making Decisions
Chapter 16: The Federal Courts
• C. Implementing Court Decisions
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Interpreting Population
Implementing Population
Consumer Population
VI. The Courts and the Policy Agenda pg. 527
 A. Introduction
 Era 1: Legitimacy of the Federal Gov’t
 Era 2: Role of the gov’t in the economy
 Era 3: Civil rights & personal liberty
Chapter 16: The Federal Courts
 B. An Historical Review
 Marbury v. Madison
 FDR & Court packing
 Warren Court & judicial activism
VII. Understanding the Courts pg. 532
 A. The Courts and Democracy
 Elite group
 Not elected & salaries can’t be reduced
 Serve for life & are difficult to remove
 B. What Courts Should Do: The Scope of Judicial Power
 Judicial activism v. judicial restraint
 Strict constructionism v. living document
 Note: “WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RANDOM
MATH & BONUS LATIN” = you need this handout!