GOVT 2302
Fall 2002
E
SSAY
Q
UESTIONS
. Answer the following questions in a thorough essay
(separate essay for each question). Organize your essay(s) around a thesis statement. Include an introduction, separate paragraphs developing your supporting arguments, and a conclusion. A complete answer is one that addresses all parts of the question. Write complete sentences and pay attention to spelling, grammar, and word choice. Do
NOT
assume that “the instructor will know what you mean.”
1. Identify and discuss the constitutional provisions relating to the right of privacy.
Explain the significance of G RISWOLD V C ONNECTICUT [1965] in the area of privacy.
What are the “penumbras of the Bill of Rights?”
2. Discuss the significance of R OE V W ADE [1973]. What were the “compelling state interests” asserted by the State of Texas? How did the USSC respond to these arguments?
3. Outline and discuss the Supreme Court’s positions on issues related to abortion rights since the 1973 R OE V W ADE decision.
4. Discuss Jelen’s typology of views towards church-state relations (i.e., the
Establishment Clause  accommodationist versus separationist and the Free
Exercise Clause  communalist versus libertarian). Include in your discussion descriptions of the resulting categories: Christian preferentialist, religious minimalist, religious nonpreferentialist, religious free-marketeer.
5. Discuss the arguments for and against laws regulating and punishing “hate speech.” What is the USSC’s position regarding such laws? Is important to distinguish between “hate speech” and other forms of speech? Why or why not?
Is it important to distinguish between “hate speech” and “hate crimes?” Why or why not?
6. Discuss the role of Congress in developing policy with respect to the freedom of religion, abortion, and gay rights issues.
7. Discuss the role of the president in developing policy with respect to the freedom of religion, abortion, and gay rights issues.
8. Discuss the role of federalism (state and local governments) in developing policy with respect to the freedom of religion, abortion, and gay rights issues.
9. Outline and discuss the main features of public opinion with respect to the freedom of religion, abortion, and gay rights issues.
10. Identify the major interest groups that have been active in the policy debates over the freedom of religion, abortion, and gay rights issues. Discuss the positions that these groups take on each issue.

S HORT A NSWER Q UESTIONS . Answer the following questions in a paragraph (a separate paragraph for each question). Do NOT answer specific parts as separate items. Integrate your responses into a well-organized, wellconstructed paragraph. A complete answer is one that addresses all parts of the question. Write complete sentences and pay attention to spelling, grammar, and word choice. Do
NOT
assume that “the instructor will know what you mean.”
1. Distinguish between the contemporary meanings of civil liberties and civil rights under the U.S. Constitution.
2. Explain the doctrine of selective incorporation. Be sure to indicate which constitutional provision(s) is (are) relevant to the doctrine.
3. What is the USSC’s position relating to the issue of sexual orientation? Does the
USSC interpret the constitutional right to privacy to include sexual orientation?
Briefly summarize Bowers v Hardwick, Hurley v Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group, and Romer v Evans.
4. Does the Constitution protect the “right-to-die?” What is the USSC’s position on issues such as assisted suicide, euthanasia, and living wills? Are there other legal protections for the perceived “right-to-die?”
5. Distinguish between the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause.
6. What is the “valid secular test?” How consistent has the USSC been in applying the test? Use examples of USSC decisions to illustrate.
7. Identify and discuss three “tests” developed by the USSC with respect to freedom of speech.
8. Identify and explain three categories of “unprotected speech.”
9. Discuss the Supreme Court’s definitions of obscenity, comparing the R OTH and
M ILLER standards.
10. Briefly explain these “unacceptable restrictions” on speech: overbreadth, least drastic means, content neutral, prior restraint
11. What is “symbolic speech?” Does the USSC recognize symbolic speech as being protected by the 1st Amendment? Discuss.

I DENTIFICATION I TEMS . Define and identify the importance of the following items.
These items can generally be answered in two or three sentences. Students should go beyond simple definitions of the terms or concepts to say why each is important.
It is possible that two terms may be paired in identification items. Your answer should be written to demonstrate your familiarity with and understanding of both terms or concepts in each pair. In this case, you should explain why the two are juxtaposed. Here is an example:
[example] Article I, sec. 8:18 v 10 th Amendment – Article I, sec 8:18 implies that the national government has powers beyond those that are expressly delegated in the Constitution while the 10 th Amendment reserves for the states any powers not delegated by the Constitution to the national government.
These provisions reflect the competing political philosophies of the
Federalists and the Anti-Federalists respectively; consequently, the question of the balance of constitutional powers between the two levels of government must be resolved by judicial interpretation.
-civil liberties -civil rights
-3 rd -1 st Amendment
-4 th Amendment
-9 th Amendment
-B OWERS V H ARDWICK
-“umbrella of privacy”
-Lemon test
-accommodationist
-communalist
-prior restraint
-bad tendency test
-symbolic speech
-“hate” speech
-slander
-R.A.V.
V S T .
P AUL
-selective incorporation
-G RISWOLD V C ONNECTICUT
-W EBSTER V R EPRODUCTIVE H EALTH S ERVICES
-C ITY OF B OERNE V F LORES , THE A RCHBISHOP OF S AN A NTONIO
Amendment
-5 th Amendment
-14 th Amendment
-penumbras of the Bill of Rights
-R OE V W ADE
-P
-gag rule
-valid secular test
-W ALLACE V
-separationist
-libertarian
-preferred freedoms test
-clear and present danger test
-fighting words doctrine
-libel
-T EXAS V
-W
J
LANNED
J AFFREE
OHNSON
ISCONSIN V Y
P ARENTHOOD V
ODER
-W EST V IRGINIA S TATE B OARD OF E DUCATION V B ARNETTE
-E NGEL V V ITALE , S CHOOL D ISTRICT OF A BINGTON T OWNHIP V S CHEMPP , M URRAY V C URTLETT
C ASEY