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CIVIL RIGHTS
 “Fair and Equal” status and treatment from the
government
 Right to participate in the government
 Basic right to be free from unequal treatment
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CIVIL LIBERTIES
 Basic rights/freedoms that are guaranteed
 Usually protected in the Bill of Rights or the
Constitution
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Originally intended to limit the actions of the
national government
According to Barron v. Baltimore (1833), the
BOR only applied to national government
Chanced in 1925 in Gitlow v. New York
(1925).
The FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT through
the process of INCORPORATION guarantees
that the protections of the Constitution are
also applied through the state governments
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Find the following cases:
 Near v. Minnesota (1931)
 DeJonge v. Oregon (1937)
 Everson v. Board of Education of Ewing Township
(1947)
Write out a one sentence “question” regarding
the case
 Tell me the answer of the Supreme Court
 What part of the First Amendment was
“incorporated” through this case?
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From this point forward, we are going to
discuss different court cases and how they
are applied.
In some cases, there will be contradictory
rulings.
 EXAMPLE – Find the decisions and synopsis for:
▪ McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky (2005)
▪ Van Orden v. Perry (2005)
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Please look up:
 Minersville school District v. Gobitis (1940)
 West Virginia State Board of Ed. V. Barnette (1943)
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The Constitution forbids the government from
making a law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
How do the above cases fit into this? Which case
do you agree with?
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Key case in incorporation of freedom of
religion
Case struck down public funding of teaching
of non-religious subjects in private schools
Set up “Lemon Test”
 Law must have a secular (non-religious) purpose
 Major effects of law must not enhance nor inhibit
religion
 Must not encourage excessive government
entanglement with religion
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Find the following cases:
 Edwards v. Aguilard (1987)
 Wallace v. Jaffree (1985)
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Write out a one sentence “question”
regarding the case
Tell me the answer of the Supreme Court
How did this violate the freedom of religion?
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Are they inviolate?
What types of speech are restricted, if any?
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Incitement (Brandenburg v. Ohio)
False Speech (Gertz v. Robert Welch Inc.)
Obscenity (Miller v. California)
Child Pornography
Fighting Words ( Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire)
Treason
Sedition
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Libel – written
Slander – spoken
Prior restraint (New York Times Co. v. USA)
Symbolic speech (Texas v. Johnson)
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Assembly – the right to join groups of your
choosing
Petition – the right to speak against the
government
Cases to consider:
 DeJonge v. Oregon (1937)
 Edwards v. South Carolina (1963)
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Calling for violence
Reasonable restrictions on:
 Time
 Place
 Method
 Permit
 Excessive Noise
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Not expressly written in Constitution
Still protected
NAACP v. Alabama