Constitutional Rights
Chapters 13,14, &15
GPS Standards

SSCG6: The student will demonstrate knowledge
of Civil Liberties and Civil Rights.
A.Examine the Bill of Rights with emphasis on the First
Amendment freedoms.
B.Analyze due process of law expressed in the 5th and
14th Amendments.
C.Explain selective incorporation of the Bill of Rights.
D.Explain how government seeks to maintain the balance
between individual liberties and the public interest.
E. Explain every citizen’s right to be treated equally under
the law.
GPS Standards

SSCG21: The student will demonstrate
knowledge of criminal activity.
A. Examine the nature and causes of crimes
B. Explain the effects criminal acts have on their
victims.
C. Categorize different types of crimes.
D. Explain the different types of defenses used
by perpetrators of crime.
GPS Standards

SSCG22: The student will demonstrate
knowledge of the criminal justice system.
A. Analyze the steps in the criminal justice
process.
B. Explain an individual’s due process.
C. Describe the steps in a criminal trial or a civil
suit.
D. Examine the different types of sentences a
convicted person can receive.
Constitutional Rights

The fundamental freedoms that all
Americans have are called human rights.
 These rights are guaranteed to all
Americans in the Constitution and cannot
be taken away by anyone.
Constitutional Rights

Incorporation extended the Bill of Rights to
state and local government.
 The 14th Amendment, 1868, expanded
individual rights with the due process
clause, which Supreme Court rulings have
interpreted as applying to all levels of
government.
Did You Know?

The Supreme Court in 1962 ruled 6 to 1
against allowing prayers in public schools.
The specific case dealing with this issue
was Engle v. Vitale, for which Justice Hugo
Black wrote the Court’s opinion, finding
that school prayers violated the
establishment clause of the First
Amendment.
Freedom of Religion

The Establishment Clause forbids Congress
from passing legislation to establish a single
religion for the United States.
 The Free Exercise Clause guarantees the
free exercise of religion, forbids Congress
from passing laws limiting the practice of
religion.
The Establishment Clause

Public school cannot do anything to
promote or hinder religion.
 Parochial schools are religious private
schools.
 The Court has ruled state aid to parochial
schools constitutional:
– 1. if the aid has a clear nonreligious purpose;
– 2. if its main effect is to neither advance nor
inhibit religion;
– 3. if it avoids excessive government
entanglement with religion.
The Free Exercise Clause

The Supreme Court makes an important
distinction between religious belief and
practice.
 Religious freedom cannot justify behavior
or practices that violate laws protecting the
health, safety, or morals of the community.
Did You Know?

More than 2,000 years ago, a Greek philosopher
named Diogenes said, “The most beautiful thing in
the world is free speech.” Just as ancient Greece
valued freedom of speech, United States citizens
also regard it as one of their most fundamental
rights. In fact, the nation’s founders included this
freedom as a basic part of the first amendment
they added to the Constitution.
Freedom of Speech

Free speech includes:
– Pure Speech - verbal expression of thought and
opinion.
– symbolic speech - using actions and symbols.

Because symbolic speech involves action, it
may be limited by government restrictions
that do not apply to pure speech.
Freedom of Speech
Should this type
of Symbolic
Speech be
allowed?
Freedom of Speech

The First Amendment does not protect false
speech called defamatory speech. It
includes slander, or spoken words, and libel,
or written words.
 Fighting words, or speech intended to
provoke violence, are not protected.
 School authorities can regulate students’
free speech at school events and during
activities.
Freedom of Speech

What three tests does the Supreme Court
use to set limits on free speech?
– clear and present danger — speech presenting
immediate danger is not protected
– bad tendency — speech can be restricted even
if it only tends to lead to illegal action
– preferred position — speech should not be
limited unless absolutely necessary
Freedom of the Press

Prior restraint, or censorship in advance, is
permissible only in cases directly related to
national security.
 Gag orders barring the press from
publishing certain types of information are
illegal and are allowed only in unusual
circumstances.
 Shield laws protect the media from being
forced to disclose confidential information
in state courts.
Freedom of the Press

The Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) regulates radio and television. That
agency cannot censor broadcasts but may
set standards.
 Movies and Internet are protected by free
press.
 Communities may regulate obscenity within
limits acceptable to the courts.
 Advertising is commercial speech and
receives less protection than purely political
speech.
Did You Know?

Burning an American flag during a
demonstration protesting some action or
policy of the government may be unpopular,
but it is not illegal. Why? The Supreme
Court has ruled that flag burning is
protected by the First Amendment because
it is symbolic speech.
Freedom of Assembly
 Freedom
of assembly, the right to meet as a
group.
 You can meet with any group as long as that
group does not break the law.
 Includes the right to parade and hold
demonstrations in public places, but those
who organize the events must get a permit.
 Demonstrations are not allowed on private
property.
Freedom of Assembly

When people assemble to advocate
unpopular causes, police may have
difficulty protecting them from violence and
disorder.
 Police may disperse a demonstration in
order to keep the peace.
Ch 14
Civil Rights
Search and Seizure

The Fourth Amendment offers protection
from unreasonable searches and seizures,
but the courts have dealt with this issue on a
case-by-case basis.
 Police must have a warrant or probable
cause.
Guarantee of Council

The Sixth Amendment guarantees a
defendant the right to an attorney. Courts
provide an attorney for defendants who
cannot afford one.
Self Incrimination

The Fifth Amendment protects witnesses
from testifying in their own trial.
 The Fifth Amendment also protects
defendants against forced confessions.
 The Fifth Amendment protects accused
persons from double jeopardy, or being tried
twice for the same crime.
Cruel and Unusual Punishment

The Eighth Amendment forbids cruel and
unusual punishment.
 Use of the death penalty is an ongoing
controversy under this amendment. It
currently does not constitute cruel and
unusual punishment.
Capital Punishment
Equal Protection

Both the Fourteenth Amendment and the
Fifth Amendment require that all people are
entitled to equal rights and equal protection
of the law.
Equal Protection

According to the rational basis test, the
Court will uphold state laws that distinguish
among different groups of people if the state
shows good reason for those classifications
 Classifications in state laws based on race
or national origin are a suspect
classification; the state must show some
compelling public interest to justify them.
Intent to Discriminate

Discriminatory laws classify people solely
because of their race, gender, ethnic group,
age, physical disability, or religion.
 To prove a state or local government guilty
of discrimination, one must prove the state’s
intent to discriminate.
Struggle for Equal Rights

In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme
Court used the “separate but equal” doctrine
to justify segregation in the United States.
 In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the
Court overruled the “separate but equal”
doctrine and touched off a long struggle to
desegregate public schools.
Struggle for Equal Rights

Civil Disobedience - Civil rights workers
peacefully broke laws supporting racial
segregation; protesters who were arrested and
convicted then appealed, challenging the
constitutionality of these laws in the courts. Cases
argued by Thurgood Marshall.
 Influenced by the civil rights movement led by
Martin Luther King, Jr., Congress passed major
civil rights legislation to ensure voting rights and
equal job opportunities such as the Civil Rights
Act of 1964.
Struggle for Equal Rights
Did You Know?

In 1996 a majority of voters in California
approved a proposition to end the state’s
affirmative action program. When
supporters of affirmative action asked the
Supreme Court to prevent California from
ending its program, the Court declined to
hear the case.
Affirmative Action

In the 1960s the government began programs that
gave a preference to minorities, women, or the
physically challenged in hiring and promotions,
government contracts, admission to schools and
training programs, and other areas.
 This was intended to counter balance years of
discrimination.
 Most affirmative action programs are required by
federal government regulations or court decisions;
others are voluntary efforts.
Citizen’s Right to Privacy

The Constitution does not specifically
mention privacy, but the Court has ruled
that personal privacy is one of the rights
protected by the Constitution.
 The right to privacy is sometimes restricted
in the interest of national security.
Law in America
Chapter 15
U.S. Legal Heritage

1.
The U.S. legal system is based on 4 sources:
Constitutional Law:
1. is the fundamental source of U.S. law; is the
supreme law of the land; applies to everyone.
2. decides the limits of government’s power and the
rights of the individual.
2.
Statutory Law:
1. is written by a legislative branch of government;
2. limits people’s behavior but also grants rights
and benefits;
U.S. Legal Heritage (Cont.)
3.
Administrative Law:
1. spells out the authority and procedures to be
followed by federal agencies;
4.
The Common Law:
1. is the most important basis of the legal system; is
made by judges in the process of settling
individual cases.
2. is the basis for state constitutions and the U.S.
Constitution.
Principles of the U.S. Legal System
 Equal
justice under the law.
 Due process of law.
 The adversary system in court allows
lawyers for opposing sides to present
their strongest cases.
 Presumption of innocence means
innocent until proven guilty.
Types of Civil Law

Civil law concerns disputes between two or
more individuals or between individuals and
government.
 Four of the most important types of civil
law deal with 1) contracts, 2) property, 3)
family relations, and 4) civil wrongs
causing physical injury or injury to property
(tort).
Steps in a Civil Case

In a civil case, called a lawsuit, a plaintiff
seeks damages, usually an award of money,
from the defendant.
 Most lawsuits go to state courts; the
plaintiff sets forth the charges against the
defendant in a complaint.
 About 90 percent of civil lawsuits are
settled before trial.
 Civil lawsuits are tried by a jury or a judge,
who decides the verdict.
Small Claims Court

Small claims courts hear civil cases dealing
with collecting small debts, property
damage, small business problems, and the
like.
 TV court shows are usually small claims
court.
Types of Crime

Most crimes committed in the United States break
state laws; each state has its own penal code, or
written laws that spell out crimes and
punishments.
 Petty offenses are minor, like illegal parking
 Misdemeanors are more serious crimes like
vandalism
 Felonies are serious criminal acts like murder,
robbery, or kidnapping.
Steps in a Criminal Case

The prosecutor, or government lawyer responsible
for bringing a criminal charge, must prove beyond
a reasonable doubt to a judge or jury that the
defendant violated the law.
 Criminal cases begin when police gather enough
evidence to convince a judge to issue an arrest
warrant.
 The arrested person is taken to a police station, the
charges are recorded, and the suspect may be
fingerprinted and photographed.
Steps in a Criminal Case (Cont.)

The arrested person is brought before a judge as
quickly as possible to be formally charged with a
crime; if the case is a misdemeanor, the person
may plead guilty or not guilty.
 Cases may then go to a grand jury, which
determines whether there is enough evidence to
put the accused person on trial, or to a preliminary
hearing before a judge for the same purpose. They
issue and indictment.
Steps in a Criminal Case (Cont.)

After a grand jury indictment or a preliminary
hearing, a judge reads the formal charge at an
arraignment held in an open courtroom; the
defendant may plead not guilty, not guilty by
reason of insanity, guilty, or no contest.
 About 90% of criminal cases end in a guilty plea
in which the accused pleads guilty to a lesser
crime in return for the government’s not
prosecuting the more serious original crime (plea
bargain).
Steps in a Criminal Case (Cont.)

In felony cases, the defendant may choose
between a jury trial and a bench trial heard by a
judge.
 In jury trials, the presiding judge instructs the jury
on proper legal procedures and explains the law.
To reach a guilty verdict, the jury must
unanimously find the evidence convincing beyond
a reasonable doubt.
Steps in a Criminal Case

If the jury’s verdict is “not guilty,” the defendant is
released immediately. If the jury’s verdict is
“guilty,” the judge usually determines the sentence.
Criminal Case terms not
already listed.

If after thorough discussion the jury cannot reach a
unanimous decision, you have a hung jury.
 A plea of no contest means that you admit that you
broke the law, but that it was morally the right
thing to do at the time.
 Parole – Releasing a prisoner early from jail and
then requiring the prisoner to complete a guided
program, including regular check-ins.
 Affidavit – A written and sworn statement that has
been signed by a person under oath.