Chapter 14
Equal Justice Under the Law
Perhaps there is no better way of introducing this chapter than to ask an historic question:
What is justice? In Plato's Republic, justice was defined by some of Socrates’ associates
as “giving to each man what is proper to him ... that justice is the art which gives good to
friends when they are good and evil to enemies when they are evil.”
In all civilizations a form of “just” retaliation has entered into the concept of justice. But
our country has sought to abolish “cruel and unusual punishment,” and it has aimed
instead at the restoration of individual harmony through the rights of citizenship, life,
liberty, and property. Surely, the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments forbidding either
national or state governments to deny any person his life, liberty or property without due
process of law represents the Platonic maxim of justice. The two kinds of due process —
procedural and substantive — aim at protecting the individual against unfair and vague
punitive laws and against any presupposition of guilt “where there is no rational
connection between the facts proved and the facts presumed.” Whereas substantive due
process makes sure that the content of a law is reasonable and fair, procedural due
process is the ultimate method of justice which confronts those who would blindly punish
the accused. Procedural due process as Daniel Webster said is “a procedure that hears
before it condemns, proceeds upon inquiry, and renders judgment only after a trial.”
We also have protection against punishment during or immediately after an alleged crime
has occurred. These include protection against unreasonable seizure and searches. Also,
the accused has the right to remain silent; to have an attorney present during questioning;
to be permitted at any stage of police interrogation to terminate it. Our system has come a
long way from the torture, detention and sustained interrogation of police states whose
common practice has been full use of punishment. Furthermore, the Writ of Habeas
Corpus insures a person held in custody from being unlawfully detained.
Persons accused of crime have a great many protective rights which guard against
punishment: the right to the assistance of counsel; the right to be informed of the nature
and cause of the accusation; the right to a speedy and public trial; the right to be
confronted with the witnesses against them; protection against the levying of excessive
fines; and, protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
Also, property is protected against arbitrary government seizure, and the government
furnishes protection for property of the weak against the strong. And, as the text opening
points out, the terrorist attacks of September 2001 have forced us "to rethink the balance
between liberty and security."
Just as the many protections afforded us under the constitution are important, so too is the
assurance under that same constitution that those protections apply to all of us, equally.
The fundamental meaning of equal rights has shifted since the Bill of Rights was drafted
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over 200 years ago. Then there was general agreement that the phrase was restricted to
white males over 21 years of age. Reasoned more closely, it was probably applied only to
property owners.
Our entire history is an expansion of that original definition. At the close of the Civil War
the vote was granted to African-American males, although as a practical matter full
voting rights were not won until the Civil Rights Act of 1965, nearly one hundred years
later. After over a century of protest, suffrage was granted to women in 1919. Young
people, aged 18 to 21, gained the right to vote over forty years later. Meanwhile, Native
Indians were given the ballot, somewhat grudgingly in several states that had originally
barred them. On the voting front, then, we seem to have opened the doors wide, except
for prison inmates.
Meanwhile, the very definition of equality has been expanded, with an emphasis on
opportunity. All Americans do not begin life's race at an even starting line. Some have
educational, social and economic advantages not shared by their fellows. Although the
“American Dream” asserts there are no ceilings on success, a hard look at results suggests
that certain factors do give some persons an advantage on an uneven playing field. This
fact holds true, despite many stories of success despite great handicaps. The black child,
born in a ghetto to an unwed mother, starts with several strikes against it. Similar
handicaps are faced by Women, Hispanics, a wide span of Asiatics, and Native
Americans. Discrimination takes many forms. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 attempts to
deal with discrimination in a variety of situations. The greatest success has been in
breaking down barriers in public accommodations. Jobs have been opened by affirmative
action programs, although affirmative action itself has come under attack in recent years.
Schools no longer experience legal segregation, but housing largely remains separated by
race. Although a small minority of Americans believe in equality of result (equal
incomes), the great majority accept only equality of opportunity.
PART I--GUIDEPOSTS
1.
Introduction/Citizenship Rights
a. How does our government compare to others?
b. What is due process?
c. How did the 2001 terrorist attacks create the liberty-security issue?
d. How are the rights/liberties of individuals affected during wartime?
2.
Equality and Equal Rights/The Quest for Equal Justice
a. What are the different concepts of equality? What are natural rights?
What do the terms "civil rights" and "civil liberties" mean?
b. Trace the struggle of women/blacks to secure the suffrage and equal rights.
c. Why did the Civil War amendments fail to give blacks equality?
d. Why did the federal government become involved in African-American protests
in the 1960s? Also, why were affirmative action programs started?
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e. What forms of pressure did African Americans use in their struggle for equality?
Why was the Civil Rights of 1964 so important? Who were Martin Luther King
and Rosa Parks and why were they important to the struggle?
f. What was the conclusion of the Kerner Commission?
g. Why was the demand by Native Americans for equal rights so long delayed?
h. Why is the political power of Hispanics growing?
i. Characterize the political, social, and economic status of Native Americans.
3.
What Does Equal Protection of the Laws Mean?
a. What are the rational basis, suspect classifications, and strict scrutiny tests?
b. Differentiate between suspect and quasi-suspect classifications of groups.
c. List fundamental rights of Americans. What rights are not fundamental?
d. What essential criteria prove that a law is discriminatory?
4.
Voting Rights
a. What devices were used by Southern states to circumvent the 14th and 15th
amendments?
b. How were these devices curbed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
c. What changes in political life did the 1965 law bring?
d. What constitutes diluting of minority voting power? What are "majorityminority" congressional districts?
5.
Education Rights
a. Why was the Court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson so significant?
b. In what fundamental way was the Plessy decision reversed by Brown v. Board of
Education? What are de jure and de facto segregation?
c. How does affirmative action affect school programs and activities?
d. What conflicting forces have been involved in school busing?
6.
Rights of Association, Accommodations, Jobs and Homes
a. Upon what constitutional basis did Congress justify laws against discrimination?
b. What national impact did the 1964 Civil Rights Act have on employment? (Title
VII and EEOC) and Public Accommodations (Title II)?
c. Why has housing legislation against discrimination been less successful?
What were restrictive covenants?
7.
Affirmative Action: Is it Constitutional?/Equal Rights Today
a. Is affirmative action constitutional? What was Proposition 209?
b. What was the significance of the Bakke case? What is reverse discrimination?
c. What fundamental conflict lies at the base of the affirmative action issue?
Review the Shaw-Jones text debate on the pros/cons of affirmative action.
d. Why is the plight of the "underclass" still an important issue?
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8.
Property Rights/Due Process Rights/Privacy Rights
a. How is private property protected by the contract clause?
b. What is eminent domain?
c. What is the difference between procedural due process and substantive due
process?
d. How do you explain the fact that substantive due process is no longer a serious
check on legislative regulation of economic matters?
e. What are the legal tender and contract clauses”?
f. What constitutional basis is used today to expand the right to privacy?
g. What rights to abortion were given to women by Roe v. Wade?
h. How does the Supreme Court view sexual orientation rights?
i. What are the key provisions of the USA Patriot Act of 2001?
9.
Rights of Persons Accused of Crime
a. Under what restrictions do the police operate in making searches, arrests, and
using deadly force?
b. What controversy surrounds the exclusionary rule?
c. What is the source of these rights: 1) to remain silent; 2) third-degree
confessions?
What is the significance of a grant of immunity?
d. What protection is provided to a person accused of a crime by the Fourth, Fifth,
Sixth and Eighth amendments?
e. What are the procedures involved in gaining a fair trial, indictments, and
sentencing/punishment?
f. What restrictions on capital punishment have been imposed by the Court?
g. Which criticisms are directed at the “three strikes and you’re out” principle?
h. What is meant by double jeopardy?
i. What controversies surround terrorists and the use of military tribunals?
10. How Just Is Our System of Justice?/The Supreme Court and Civil Liberties
a. What arguments are advanced to prove that our system is just? Unjust?
b. Why do some people believe that our justice system discriminates against ethnic
and racial minorities? Also, why is there controversy surrounding the jury
system?
c. Ultimately, on what is our guarantee of freedom and liberty based?
d. How does community policing work?
e. Why are there objections to “racial profiling”?
f. What is the relationship between the Supreme Court and civil liberties?
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PART II — GLOSSARY
NATURALIZATION - The process of conferring upon an alien the rights and privileges
of citizenship.
DUAL CITIZENSHIP- Citizenship in two or more nations.
RIGHT OF EXPATRIATION - Right of an individual to choose his or her own
nationality.
PROPERTY RIGHTS – The right of an individual to own, use, rent, invest in, buy, and
sell property.
CONTRACT CLAUSE – Clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 10) originally
intended to prohibit state governments from modifying contracts made between
individuals; for a while interpreted as prohibiting state governments from taking
actions that adversely affect property rights; no longer interpreted so broadly and
no longer constrains state governments from exercising their police powers.
POLICE POWERS – Inherent powers of state governments to pass laws to protect the
public health, safety, and welfare; the national government has no directly granted
police powers but accomplishes the same goals through other delegated powers.
PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS - One aspect of due process, which stresses procedures
based upon legal, accepted, and fair concepts of law.
SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS - Another aspect of due process, which emphasizes
the substance or content of the law.
EMINENT DOMAIN - The right of the state to take private property for public purposes
with just compensation.
REGULATORY TAKING – Government regulation of property so extensive that
government is deemed to have taken the property by the power of eminent
domain, for which it must compensate the property owners.
DUE PROCESS – Established rules and regulations that restrain people in government
who exercise power.
SEARCH WARRANT - A legal warrant issued for the purpose of examining a specific
premise for evidence under specified conditions.
IMMUNITY - Protection granted by prosecutors to witnesses in exchange for giving up
their constitutional right not to testify against themselves.
GRAND JURY – A jury of 12 to 23 persons who, in private, hear evidence presented by
the government to determine whether persons shall be required to stand trial. If
the jury believes there is sufficient evidence that a crime was committed, it issues
an indictment.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY - Trial or punishment for the same crime by the same
government; forbidden by the Constitution.
INDICTMENT - A formal charge issued by a grand jury against an individual for a
specified crime; also called a true bill.
EXCLUSIONARY RULE - Evidence obtained unconstitutionally cannot be used in a
criminal trial.
PLEA BARGAINING - The possibility of pleading guilty to a reduced charge rather than
face trial on a more serious charge.
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PETIT JURY – A jury of 6 to 12 persons that determines the guilt or innocence in a civil
or criminal action.
COMMUNITY POLICING - Recent programs to move police from patrol cars into
neighborhoods, where they can walk the beat and work with community groups.
RACIAL PROFILING – Police target racial minorities as potential suspects of criminal
activities.
NATURAL RIGHTS - Rights of all citizens to dignity and self-worth.
EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE - Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that forbids
any state to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws.
DUE PROCESS CLAUSE - Clause in the Fifth Amendment limiting the power of the
national government to deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due
process of law.
JIM CROW LAWS - General name for all segregation laws.
DE JURE SEGREGATION - Segregation by law--now virtually a thing of the past.
DE FACTO SEGREGATION - Segregation that exists in fact, in reality, by virtue of
residential patterns and other factors, even though it is legally banned.
POLL TAX - A head tax that was used as a prerequisite for voting. The Twenty-fourth
Amendment abolished the poll tax as a prerequisite for voting in federal elections.
WHITE PRIMARY - Restrictive racial primary in South ruled unconstitutional by Smith
v. Allwright in 1944.
RACIAL GERRYMANDERING - The drawing of election districts so as to ensure that
members of a certain race are a minority in the district.
LITERACY TEST - A now illegal literacy requirement imposed by some states as a
condition of voting, generally used to disqualify blacks from voting in the South.
MAJORITY-MINORITY DISTRICT - A congressional district created to include a
substantial number of minority votes; ruled constitutional so long as race is not
the sole factor.
COMMERCE CLAUSE - The clause of the Constitution that gives Congress the power
to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state
or other nations.
CLASS ACTION SUIT - Judicial ruling that applied to a large group of plaintiffs (a
class).
RESTRICTIVE COVENANT - A provision in a deed to real property prohibiting its sale
to a person or a particular race or religion. Judicial enforcement of such deeds is
unconstitutional.
WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE - The right of women to vote.
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PART III — PRETEST
1. Rules and regulations that restrain those in government exercise power is referred to
as
a. police powers.
c. immunity rights.
b. expatriation rights.
d. due process.
2. All of the following are exceptions to the general rule against warrantless
searches/seizures EXCEPT:
a. the plain-view exception.
c. the “automobile” exception.
b. exigent circumstances.
d. the “residence” exception.
3. Persons who are arrested by Federal officers at the scene of a crime are presumed to
be
a. guilty.
c. accomplices.
b. innocent.
d. suspect.
4. Federally guaranteed rights include all of the following except
a. no double jeopardy.
b. right to counsel.
c. excessive fines and unusual punishments.
d. parole and/or probation.
5. The concept that private property cannot be taken for public use without just
compensation is
a. eminent domain.
c. ex post facto law.
b. habeas corpus.
d. martial law.
6. Protection against self-incrimination should prevent
a. double jeopardy.
c. eminent domain.
b. habeas corpus.
d. police brutality.
7. A true bill or indictment is associated with
a. a petit jury.
b. plea bargaining.
c. eminent domain.
d. a grand jury.
8. Substantive due process today is primarily concerned with
a. property rights.
c. civil liberties.
b. social policy.
d. economic regulation.
9. The “boat people” refugees applied to which minority group?
a. Chicanos
c. Asian Americans
b. Puerto Ricans
d. African Americans
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10. The civil rights gains of the 1960s chiefly benefited
a. young black males.
c. the black middle class.
b. black welfare mothers.
d. poverty stricken blacks.
11. Half of all Hispanic Americans live in the two U.S. states of
a. California and Texas.
c. New York and Louisiana.
b. Florida and New Mexico.
d. Michigan and Arizona.
12. A state legislature may classify people only if the classification meets a _____ test.
a. suspect
c. fundamental rights
b. almost suspect
d. rational basis
13. The 1896 Supreme Court ruling that approved of “separate but equal” was
a. Brown v. Board of Education.
b. Roe v. Wade.
c. Plessy v. Ferguson.
d. Dred Scott.
14. One of the following is unconstitutional as an age classification.
a. Driver licenses may not be issued to those under 16.
b. Alcohol may not be sold to those persons under 21.
c. A state policeman is retired at age 55.
d. An applicant for a teaching position (age 57) is rejected on the basis of age.
15. Slavery was abolished and African Americans equal rights were granted by the
_____ Amendments.
a. Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth
b. Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth
c. Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth
d. Twelfth and Sixteenth
16. In the 1930s, African Americans resorted to which of these strategies to secure their
rights?
a. violence
c. litigation
b. political power
d. persuasion
17. The civil rights movement produced its first charismatic leader during the
Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott of 1955.
a. James Baldwin
c. Martin Luther King
b. Dick Gregory
d. Jesse Jackson
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PART IV — PROGRAMMED REVIEW
Knowledge Objective: To review our Constitutional Rights to life, liberty and property
1. _______ _____ is the established rules and regulations that restrain those in
government who exercise power.
2. ________ is the legal action conferring citizenship upon an alien.
3. An applicant for naturalization must be _____ years of age.
Knowledge Objective: To analyze how the Constitution protects citizenship
4. Citizenship was given constitutional protection in 1868 with the adoption of the
_____ Amendment.
5. Dual citizenshiip for Americans grows by _______ per year.
6. The right of individuals to renounce their citizenship is the _______ of _______.
Knowledge Objective: To examine the role of government in providing equal rights
7. The focus of the modern women's rights movement has been to secure adoption
of the _____ _____ Amendment.
8. A major handicap of the Hispanics has been their _____ which is not
mainstream America.
9. Hispanics were courted by both presidential candidates in the year _________.
10. Native Americans are a separate people with power to regulate their own internal
affairs, subject to _____ supervision.
11. After the Civil War, three “civil rights” amendments were added to the
Constitution, the _____, _____ and _____ Amendments.
12. The first branch of the national government to become sensitized to the
aspirations of African Americans was the _____.
13. In the 1930s, blacks resorted to _____ to secure their rights.
14. In the 1960s, the use of litigation by blacks was supplemented by a widespread
_____, _____ and _____ movement.
15. The immediate origin of the black revolt occurred in 1955 when a _____ boycott
was organized in Montgomery, Alabama.
16. A U.S. Civil Rights commission found that Asian-Americans (do, do not) _____
face widespread discrimination.
Knowledge Objective: To examine equal protection under the laws
17. The equal protection of the laws clause is part of the _____ Amendment and is
implied in the due process clause of the _____ Amendment.
18. The Constitution forbids only _____ classification.
19. The traditional test of whether a law complies with the equal protection
requirement is the _____ basis test.
20. Race and national origins are obviously _____ classifications.
21. The quasi-suspect classification includes _____ and _____.
22. More than a generation after the Kerner report, life for inner-city minorities is
______.
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Knowledge Objective: To describe the life and death of Jim Crow in Education
23. In the 1954 case of _____ v. _____ the Supreme Court reversed its 1896 decision
in Plessy v. Ferguson.
24. Segregation required by law is called _____ _____ segregation.
25. When segregation occurs without sanction of law, it is called _____ _____
segregation.
26. Busing across school district lines (is, is not) _____ required if the school district
lines have been drawn to maintain segregation.
Knowledge Objective: To review barriers to voting
27. Most suffrage requirements, inside the U.S. constitutional framework, are fixed
by the _____.
28. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been (effective, ineffective) _____.
29. The poll tax was abolished in federal elections by the _____ Amendment.
30. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 as amended set aside _____ tests throughout the
country.
31. In attempting to give minorities a majority district, the result will probably be
more minority districts and more safe _____ districts.
32. In _____ v.______ the Supreme Court ruled that race cannot be the sole reason
for drawing voting district lines.
Knowledge Objective: To examine racial and sexual barriers to public
accommodations, jobs, and homes
33. The Fourteenth Amendment applies only to _____ action and not to private
groups serving only their own members.
34. Segregation in places of _____ accommodation is unconstitutional.
35. A training program that gives preference to minorities or women (is, is not)
_____ constitutional.
36. The Court (upheld/struck down) _____ the Richmond, Virginia plan to require
nonminority contractors to subcontract work to minority business.
37. Attempts through legislation to end housing discrimination (have, have not)
_____ been a great success.
38. In the Bakke case the Supreme Court held that a special admissions category
from which whites were excluded was (constitutional, unconstitutional) _____.
39. To redress the discrimination suffered by minorities, governments have adopted
_____ _____ programs.
40. Affirmative action programs may temporarily set _____ but not _____.
Knowledge Objective: To examine constitutional protections of property
41. The USA Patriot Act authorizes _______ wiretaps, or wiretaps on any telephone
used by a person suspected of terrorism.
42. The due process of law clause is contained in both the _____ and _____
Amendments.
43. There are two kinds of due process, _____ and _____.
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44. Procedural due process (does, does not) _____ apply to many methods of law
enforcement.
45. The unrestricted right of women to have an abortion during the first trimester of
pregnancy is an example of _____ due process.
46. The Supreme Court (has, has not) _____ ruled that state employees are entitled
to due process hearings before being fired.
47. A stop and frisk exception to searches (was, was not) _______ upheld by the
Supreme Court in 1968.
48. State laws that prohibit homosexual acts in private homes have been (upheld,
struck down) _____ by the Supreme Court.
49. _____ due process places limits on how governmental power may be exercised.
50. _____ due process places limits on why governmental power may be exercised.
51. Substantive due process deals with the _____ of the law.
Knowledge Objective: To inquire into arbitrary arrest, questioning, and imprisonment
52. Officers (may, may not) _____ stop and search suspects if they have reason to
believe they are armed and dangerous.
53. A search warrant must describe what places are to be _____ and the things that
are to be _____.
54. In Mapp v. Ohio, the Supreme Court ruled that evidence obtained
unconstitutionally (can, cannot) _____ be used in a criminal trial.
55. Witnesses before a Congressional committee may not refuse to testify if they
have been granted _____.
56. Critics of the exclusionary rule argue that the solution is to punish the (police,
suspect) _____.
57. In Miranda v. Arizona, the Supreme Court held that a conviction (could, could
not) _____ stand if evidence introduced at the trial was a result of “custodial
interrogation.”
58. President Bush declared that foreign terrorists were to classified as enemy
________.
59. Double jeopardy prevents two criminal trials by the _____ government for the
same _____ offense.
Knowledge Objective: To evaluate our system of justice
60. Critics who claim our justice system is unreliable often point to trial by _____ as
the chief source of trouble.
61. The targeting of racial minorities as potential suspects is called ______ _______.
62. Many members of minorities (do, do not)_______ think that they have equal
protection under the law.
63. In the United States, our emphasis on judicial protection of civil liberties focuses
attention on the _____ _____.
64. In the 1990s states have chosen to re-write jury system laws to counter the
effects of _____.
65. Programs to move police from patrol cars into neighborhoods and to work with
groups in society is called _________ ________.
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PART V — POST-TEST
1. Naturalized citizens are not required to demonstrate that they
a. are of good moral character.
b. are able to speak and write English.
c. know the principles of U.S. government.
d. have a sponsoring family.
2. Under Roe v. Wade the Court held that a woman in her first three months of
pregnancy had a(n) _____ right to abortion.
a. no
c. court approved
b. limited
d. unrestricted
3. In 2002, which state passed a bill giving homosexual couples the same rights and
benefits
as married heterosexuals?
a. Oregon
c. California
b. Massachusetts
d. Pennsylvania
4. A criminal who pleads guilty to an offense that is lesser than the one with which he
had been charged is said to have engaged in
a. the exclusionary process.
c. plea bargaining.
b. self-incrimination.
d. double jeopardy.
5. The “exclusionary rule” provides that certain evidence cannot be used to convict a
person in a criminal trial.
a. employees against employers
b. children against parents
c. illegal police searches
d. testimony given in exchange for immunity
6. As a result of the Miranda decision, all persons accused of a crime have the
following rights except
a. to remain silent.
b. have a lawyer represent them.
c. freedom on bail.
d. halt their interrogation any point.
7. In the 1990s, the Rehnquist Court made it easier to do all of the following except
a. cut back on appeals.
c. carry out executions.
b. impose death sentences.
d. appeal a plea bargain.
8. In the last decade, the number of death row inmates have
a. increased slightly.
c. increased dramatically.
b. decreased slightly.
d. decreased dramatically.
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9. Upon passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, women
a. received equal pay.
c. put an end to legal discrimination.
b. received equal rights.
d. got the right to vote.
10. The Kerner Report declared that
a. violence is as American as apple pie.
b. our nation was moving toward two societies, separate and unequal.
c. affirmative action is un-American.
d. black children should have neighborhood schools.
11. The minority with the greatest voting potential is
a. Indians.
c. Hispanics.
b. Vietnamese.
d. African Americans.
12. A reasonable government classification would be based on
a. age.
c. sex.
b. religion.
d. race.
13. Since 1960 the national government's role in the issue of equal rights has been to
a. support discrimination.
c. take affirmative action.
b. remain neutral.
d. defer to the states.
14. One of the following situations is outside government jurisdiction.
a. a restaurant bars men without jacket and tie
b. a hotel refuses to register a rock-and-roll star
c. a realtor refuses to sell property to an extended Vietnamese family
d. a theater refuses to seat a group with long hair and blue jeans
15. _____ is a fundamental right.
a. Travel
b. Housing
c. Welfare
d. Education
16. Which of these cases marked the end of the separate but equal interpretation of the
Constitution?
a. Plessy v. Ferguson
c. Bakke v. California Regents
b. Weber v. Kaiser
d. Brown v. Board of Education
17. After the 2000 election, which group complained that they were discouraged from
voting or their votes were not counted in Florida?
a. Asian-Americans
c. Hispanics
b. African-Americans
d. all of the above
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PART VI — POLITICAL DIALOGUE:
THE CLASH OF ISSUES AND IDEAS
1. In our concern for privacy we are destroying a practice that supplemented laws for
hundreds of years--local traditions and customs. Discuss.
2. Is it true that “one thousand guilty should go free rather than one innocent be
convicted”?
3. “The law in its magnificent equality forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep
under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.” Anatole France.
4. “If the crime rate continues to go up, would you favor giving the police any of the
following powers?” (Past national responses indicated.)
a. Require all adults to be fingerprinted. (Approve—73%)
b. Stop and search anybody on suspicion. (Approve—50%)
c. Wiretap telephone lines of anyone they suspect. (Approve—44%)
d. Hold someone on suspicion 24 hours without bail. (Approve—42%)
e. Search a house without a warrant. (Approve—27%)
f. None of them. (Approve—20%)
5. Comment on the following statements:
a. “Anyone who takes the ‘Fifth’ must be guilty”
b. “If you have nothing to hide, why not submit to a lie detector test?”
6. A prominent attorney in many civil rights cases states that telephone tapping and
electronic eavesdropping by police should be outlawed. It might be easier, he admits,
to catch spies and hoodlums, but in doing so “we would be trying to protect
democracy with the tools of totalitarianism.”
Another constitutional scholar regrets the loss of privacy in court-supervised
telephone taps by police officers but views it as a result of advancing technology and
the problems of a complex society. He goes on to say, “If we wish the government to
protect us against quacks, frauds, swindlers, maniacs, and criminals, we must give it
powers of prosecution, punishment, and licensing.”
Which position do you favor? Why? Is physical entry with a search warrant less of a
threat to privacy than a wire tap under a court order?
7. Frustrated by the inability of the Border Patrol to stop illegal Mexican immigration,
one commentator has suggested that we build a twelve foot wall along the entire
length of the U.S.--Mexican border and man it with sharp shooters. In front of this
we would create a barren stretch of two miles.
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Does this defensive barrier differ from the Berlin Wall? How? What would be the
impact of an alternate proposal in which we would negotiate a treaty with Mexico
that would raise wages in Mexico twenty percent annually for five years?
8. What has been the impact of the USA Patriot Act upon the status of civil liberties in
the U.S.?
9. What are reasonable objectives for those interested in women's rights? What
discrimination do women face today in employment and salary? Is affirmative action
working? Do present divorce laws discriminate against women? Why is sexual
harassment such a vital issue?
10. The Kerner Report of 1968 declared that existing discrimination had led some
African Americans to the conviction that there was no alternative to violence and
that America was rapidly becoming two societies: one white, one black, separate and
unequal. What has been the end result of the intervening years? Has Kerner been
confirmed? Or was it a false alarm?
11. How have the goals of minority groups been thwarted by internal dissensions?
PART VII — POLITICAL SCIENCE TODAY
1. Imagine that an interstate highway is being built as a joint project between the
federal government and a state. Assume also that a considerable number of historic
homes have now become earmarked for destruction because they are located in the
area where the highway will be constructed. To move the homes or redesign the
highway would add several million dollars to the overall cost of highway
construction.
Will the state government's right of eminent domain force the homeowners to sell
their property for a fair market value to the state? Or, under what conditions might
the court rule in favor of the homeowners and either require that the homes be
moved or the road redesigned?
As a citizen, would you support the expenditure of additional public funds to save
the historic homes? Why/why not?
2. Over the last several years, various state governors have argued that the federal
government should reimburse the states for the annual cost of providing services to
illegal aliens. In 1994, California voters authorized Proposition 187 to limit the
educational, social and non-emergency medical services rendered to illegal aliens.
The law also mandated reporting requirements for medical and educational
professionals who come in contact with illegal aliens.
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Review national newspapers to determine what has happened to Prop 187 since its
adoption.
Describe your findings in a short essay.
3. Communities throughout the U.S. are instituting curfews as a way to curb crimes
committed by youth. What pro and con arguments can be made for curfews?
4. Does your town use the principle of community policing? Why or why not?
5. What is the difference between procedural and substantive due process? Which
branches of government do they involve?
6. Why are military tribunals considered the appropriate forum for foreign terrorists?
What criticisms of military tribunals can be offered?
7. The fundamental question as to whether African Americans had made economic,
social, and political progress since the civil rights legislation of the 1960s was
addressed by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences
and Engineering in a four year study published in 1989. The study revealed that
persistent discrimination and a lagging economy had kept blacks trailing whites in
key facets of American life. The conditions cited by the study were serious according
to the researchers, so serious that the real possibility of new urban riots was
mentioned. The report called on Congress to narrow the gap between blacks and
whites.
Some of the salient findings of the report are as follows:
(a) The poverty rate for blacks was two to three times as high as the poverty rate for
whites. In 1986, the median income for black families stood at $17,604 vs.
$30,809 for white families.
(b) In the area of education, black achievement scores had increased due to
assistance from various government programs. However, academic performance
standards for predominantly black schools vis-à-vis both teachers and students
were lower than the same standards recorded for schools with predominantly
white students. Also, high school drop-out rates for blacks were twice the level
of white rates, and black-Americans were less than half as likely to enter college
as whites within one year after high school graduation.
(c) Health statistics were depressing as well. Blacks had a shorter life expectancy
than whites and black babies were twice as likely to die in infancy as white
infants.
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(d) The murder rate for blacks was twice as great as the white homicide rate. Also,
blacks were twice as likely as whites to be victims of robbery, auto theft, or
aggravated assault.
(e) Regarding housing, blacks were more likely to live in segregated circumstances
than other minority groups. Finally, the report asserted that discrimination
against blacks seeking housing had been conclusively demonstrated.
If you were a staff researcher for a member of Congress reviewing this report, you
would probably be interested in knowing whether the findings are valid today. Use
the Internet and/or library statistical resources to determine whether the basic
conclusions from 1989 still hold today in the early 2000s. If you find data that
suggests conditions have changed for African Americans, think about why the
changes may have occurred. Put your findings into an essay.
8. Review national newspaper and periodical articles published in recent years
concerning the debate over bi-lingual communication in the United States. Is the
recognition and support for languages other than English merely a matter of
preserving the heritage of minority groups in various parts of the country? Or, with
the changing nature of the American population is bilingual communication
necessary to effectively provide educational and other governmental services as well
as conduct a successful private sector business in some areas of the U.S.?
9. Have you or any of your friends ever “bused” to achieve racial integration? If so,
what reactions did you and your friends have to this practice? Do you think busing
helped to foster equal educational opportunity for all students? Why/why not?
Compare your thoughts on the outcomes associated with busing to the conclusions
drawn by those who have studied the issue by reviewing current literature at the
library or via the Internet.
10. Consult current statistical resources to determine whether there have been changes in
the racial and gender composition of elected officials at the local, state and federal
levels over the last ten years. How do the elected officials in the state where you live
compare to the national averages in terms of racial and gender characteristics?
11. In 1994, civil rights scholars assessed the status of school integration forty years
after Brown v. Board of Education (1954). While a considerable amount of progress
was noted in ending racially segregated schools throughout the nation, it was also
true that racial divisions and disparities in education attainment had by no means
vanished. As a further irony, black and white children were most likely to go to
school together in the small towns and rural regions of the South, rather than in the
central core areas of larger cities, such as Atlanta. From the data available, it
appeared that the rural South, the area of greatest resistance to the original Brown
decision in the 1950s, had created the most integrated school systems in the nation.
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To test the validity of the above statement, review magazine or newspaper articles
from the May-June period of 1994 to see if available data is supportive or not. Then
find 2003 or later data that would compare with 1994. Have any of the basic
integration indicators changed substantially?
PART VIII — DATA ANALYSIS
1.
Suppose you are riding in your car when suddenly you see a highway patrol car in
your rear-view mirror. The officer motions for you to pull over to the side of the
road. You do so. The officer indicates that you were driving in a suspicious manner
(he does not specify what he means by “suspicious”), that the particular road you are
on has been frequently used by drug traffickers, and that your car resembles the make
and model year of one known as a carrier of drugs (from an all-points bulletin of the
previous day).
Consequently, the officer asks you to move away from the car. He intends to search
your automobile thoroughly for drugs, even though he does not have a search
warrant. Does the officer have the right to do so? Does his action not violate the
constitutional prohibition toward unreasonable searches and seizures? What do you
think? Before consulting the answer key, try to think about the issues involved in
this situation, write your thoughts down, and then see if you were correct or not.
2. The death penalty, or capital punishment, remains a controversial issue in American
politics. To its detractors, the death penalty represents cruel and unusual
punishment, a barbaric throwback to earlier, primitive societies. Furthermore,
opponents argue there is always the possibility of executing an innocent man or
woman. Proponents argue that the public supports the death penalty and it is a
proper instrument of justice and social retribution.
Use Internet or library resources to determine whether the existence of the death
penalty deters or prevents capital crimes.
3. Using the Internet, research the issue of racial profiling. Why did the practice begin?
Why is it controversial?
4. In 1989, the Rehnquist Court delivered a number of rulings which alarmed pro civil
rights groups. These civil rights advocates saw those decisions as making it more
difficult to carry out programs to redress past discrimination against minorities, as
weakening the principle of affirmative action, and as generally curbing the rights of
blacks and women. What were some of these cases and what was the content of their
rulings?
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Look in the issues of The New York Times dated June 6, 13, and 30 (1989) to
uncover the necessary information. The cases involved were Richmond v. Croson,
Wards Cove v. Antonio, Martin v. Wilks, Lorance v. A.T.&T., and Richmond v. J.A.
Croson Co. After reviewing these cases, what conclusions can you reach regarding
the status of civil rights principles as interpreted by the Rehnquist Court?
For an update, research civil rights cases considered by the Supreme Court since
1990. What is the direction of the Supreme Court’s thinking today? In addition,
check national newspapers and periodicals to assess how the President, Justice
Department and Congress have addressed the affirmative action issue over the last
five years. Organize your findings into a short paper.
5. Ask a representative sampling of your classmates, both males and females, whether
they believe women are “second-class citizens” in America. Do you find any
differences between the sexes in terms of their fundamental underlying belief
systems? Conversely, is there general agreement? Whatever your findings, speculate
as to the reasons for the data you have uncovered.
6. On September 12, 1994, a federal judicial panel in Georgia ruled, by a 2 to 1 vote,
that Georgia's 11th Congressional District was unconstitutional because it had been
drawn in order to ensure a black congressional district had been “racially
gerrymandered.” This lower court judgement was consistent with the 1993 Supreme
Court ruling in the case of Shaw v. Reno. However, the dissenting judge argued that
oddly-shaped legislative districts drawn to enhance minority representation in
Congress should not automatically be condemned as constitutionally invalid.
Follow up this event by analyzing whether this district was ever redrawn. If so, how
did its revised “shape” differ? Also, do you believe that congressional districts
should be created to encourage African American representatives in the House of
Representatives—why or why not? Finally, how have subsequent Supreme Court
rulings affected the entire redistricting issue?
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PART IX — TEST ANSWERS
Pretest
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
d
d
b
c
a
d
d
c
c
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
d
a
d
c
d
b
c
c
Programmed Review
1. Due process
2. Naturalization
3. Over 18
4. Fourteenth
5. 50,000
6. right of expatriation
7. Equal Rights
8. Language
9. 2000
10. Congressional
11. 13th; 14th; 15th
12. executive
13. litigation
14. social; economic; political
15. bus
16. do
17. 14th; 5th
18. unreasonable
19. rational
20. suspect
21. sex; illegitimacy
22. worse
23. Brown v. Board of Education
24. de jure
25. de facto
26. is
27. states
28. effective
34. public
35. is
36. struck down
37. have not
38. unconstitutional
39. affirmative action
40. goals, quotas
41. roving
42. Fifth; Fourteenth
43. procedural; substantive
44. does
45. substantive
46. has
47. was
48. upheld
49. procedural
50. Substantive
51. content
52. may
53. searched; seized
54. cannot
55. immunity
56. police
57. could not
58. combatants
59. same; criminal
60. jury
61. racial profiling
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29. 24th
30. literacy
31. Republican
32. Shaw, Reno
33. government
62. do not
63. Supreme Court
64. nullification
65. community policing
Post-test
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
d
d
d
c
c
c
d
c
d
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
b
c
a
c
a
a
d
b
Data Analysis
1.
This case boils down to the principle of “probable cause,” i.e., did the officer have a
legitimate suspicion that you and your car were possibly involved in criminal
activity? Under the most recent Supreme Court ruling, a policeman can search an
automobile without a search warrant provided the criterion of probable cause is met.
2.
One obvious conclusion is that despite the many death row prisoners awaiting
execution, comparatively few are being actually executed. Consider the fact that 38
states do allow the death penalty and intend to implement it (note that more than 600
have been executed since 1976). Another conclusion might be that prisoners
belonging to racial/ethnic minorities seem to stand a better chance of execution,
especially in proportion to their numbers in the general population.
3.
The analysis of racial profiling will of course depend upon the specific Internet
sources used.
4.
As a way of helping you get started, note that the Wards Cove v. Antonio case, by a
vote of 5-4, reversed an 18-year civil rights precedent by ruling that the plaintiff, not
the employer, must prove that a job requirement is deliberate discrimination rather
than a “business necessity.”
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