CIVIL LIBERTIES
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
FALL 2015
First Amendment Freedoms
The Unalienable Rights
Freedom of Religion
Freedom of Speech and Press
Freedom of Assembly and Petition
http://www.google.com/search?q=civil+liberties&safe=active&client=firefoxa&hs=VqB&rls=org.mozilla=civil+liberties+pictures&facrc=_&imgdii=_&
THE UNALIENABLE
RIGHTS
http://www.teresaherrin.com/vi-civil-rights-civil-liber/
QUESTIONS?
• Are we all born with certain
rights? (For example)
•
In your opinion, does the
United States recognize the
individual rights of all its
inhabitants?
• Are all men created equal, with
certain unalienable rights
including: Life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness?
http://www.solution-thinking.com/
A COMMITMENT TO FREEDOM
THE NATIONAL CONSTITUTION
GUARANTEES BOTH RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES
TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
• Civil Rights
• Civil Liberties
• Can be observed as positive act
of government to make
constitutional guarantees a
reality.
• Can be observed as
protections against
government.
• Example:
• Civil Rights Act of 1964 The prohibition of
discrimination on the basis
of race, sex, religion beliefs,
and national origin.
• Example:
• Freedom of religion,
speech, press, and the
guarantee of a fair trial.
LIMITED GOVERNMENT
• The United States has a limited form of government.
• All governments exercise authority over individuals,
but to what extent that authority is put to use is what
distinguishes governments from one another.
• Question, What are differences between democratic
and dictatorial governments?
RIGHTS ARE RELATIVE, NOT ABSOLUTE
• Simply, all persons have the right to do as they please as long as they
do not infringe on the rights of others (each person’s rights are
relative to the rights of every other person).
Examples for discussion:
• We all have the right to freedom of speech, but can we yell FIRE! In a
crowded theater or scream obscenities in a public setting?
• Should people be allowed to smoke in a restaurant or be made to go
outside?
• Do I have the right to throw a rock in the air if I am in the middle of a
crowded area?
WHEN RIGHTS CONFLICT
• When guaranteed rights come into conflict with one
another.
• The freedom of the press vs. the right to a fair trial.
Example:
• You commit a terrible crime, it is all over the TV news and
papers. Will your right to a fair trial be jeopardized?
TO WHOM ARE RIGHTS
GUARANTEED?
•
Most Constitutional rights are
guaranteed to all persons regardless of
citizenship.
•
However, not all rights are given to noncitizens (Aliens-person not a citizen of
the country they are living in).
Example:
•
The Right to travel freely throughout our
country is a guarantee to all citizens, but aliens
have restricted travel.
•
Lets discuss the Japanese situation during
WWII and compare it to today’s concerns over
Muslim people and those of middle eastern
descendant.
•
https://www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights/know-your-rights-sb1070-supreme-court-rulingand-alabamas-anti-immigrant-law
FREEDOM OF RELIGION
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/03/10/freedom_of_religion
_and_freedom_of_speech_often_in_tension.html
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
TWO GUARANTEES OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM:
Establishment Clause
Free Exercise Clause
• Guards against establishing
a mandated religion.
• Guards against the
government interfering in
the exercise of any religion.
• In effect, freedom from
religion
• In effect, freedom for
religion.
A SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND
STATE
WALL OF SEPARATION?
• Church and
government are
constitutionally
separated from one
another.
• However, the
government supports
churches and religion
in a variety of ways,
including tax
exemption.
RELIGION AND EDUCATION
• The Supreme Court has had to consider many Establishment Clause
cases that involve religion and education.
Released Time—students can be released during school hours to attend
religious classes, as long as the classes do not take place in a public facility
Prayers and the Bible—the use of prayer and the Bible in a religious way is
not allowed in school or at school functions
Student Religious Groups—are allowed to meet in the school on the same
basis as other student organizations
Evolution—a doctrine can not be preferred or prohibited according to its
relation to a religious theory
Aid to Parochial Schools—the Supreme Court uses the Lemon test to
determine what public funding of church-related schools is acceptable
THE LEMON TEST
• The Lemon Test is based on Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971
• The purpose of the aid must be nonreligious.
• The aid can neither advance nor inhibit religion.
• Aid must not excessively entangle the government with religion.
THE FREE EXERCISE CLAUSE
Limits
Free Exercise Upheld
• Actions that violate social duties
or disrupt social order are not
covered under the Free Exercise
Clause.
• The Court has found many
government actions to be counter
to the Free Exercise Clause.
•Examples:
•Bigamy
•Examples:
•Amish children cannot be forced
to go to school after grade 8
•Using poisonous snakes during
religious ceremonies
•Ministers are allowed to hold
elective office
•School children who have not
been vaccinated
•Unemployment benefits cannot be
denied to someone who quit their
job because of religious beliefs
Freedom of speech and
Press
http://www.truthliesdeceptioncoverups.info/2014/03/the-importance-of-free-press-and.html
SOMETHING TO CONSIDER
In the United States:
• The freedom of speech is
fundamental to our form of
democracy.
• However, The Supreme court
recognizes some limitations to
our freedom of expression,
including:
• Certain kinds of speech like
sedition and obscenity
http://www.google.com/search?q=the+freedom+of+spee
ch&safe=active&client=firefoxq=the+freedom
FREE SPEECH AND PRESS
• Two (2) important
purposes are served
within the 1st and 14th
amendments’ guarantee
of free speech and
press:
•
The right of free expression in the
spoken or written word, or by other
means of communication.
•
•
(Intended to protect the expression of
unpopular views)
The right to full, wide-ranging
discussion of public affairs
•
(i.e., all people have the right to have their
say and to hear what others have to say)
Keep this in mind:
•
The guarantee of free speech and press are
intended to protect the expression of unpopular
views.
•
Some forms of expression are not protected by
the Constitution. Many reasonable restrictions
can be placed on your rights of free
speech/press.
•
http://watchdog.org/152251/nm-a-freedom-of-expression-policy-at-nm-college-comes-under-fire/
Remember: The Constitution does not protect your
freedom of speech should you shout “FIRE!” in a
crowded theater.
FORMS OF EXPRESSION NOT
PROTECTED BY THE CONSTITUTION
• No person has an unbridled( unrestrained/ uncontrolled) right of
free speech or free press.
• Libel: False and malicious use of printed words.
•
Example: Should you publish a piece that falsely represents another individual or
business and this may/or may not lead to potentially harming their reputation and/or
impact the way they earn a living.
• Slander: False and malicious use of spoken words.
•
Example:
Should you say something that falsely represents another individual or
business and this may/or may not lead to potentially harming their reputation and/or
impact the way they earn a living.
Remember: For the above two situations to be actionable, statements must
be presented as fact to be consistent with defamation.
Question: Why is commentary made by the Onion and the Daily Show not
consistent with defamation?
FREE SPEECH OR SEDITION?
•
Sedition is the crime of attempting to
overthrow the government by force or to
disrupt its lawful activities via violent acts.
•
Seditious speech: Advocating or urging
previously mentioned conduct (Not
protected by 1 st Amendment)
•
What are some acts, conduct, and/or
speech that may be considered
seditious?
•
Is questioning or telling people not to
believe or follow the President considered
sedition?
•
Is stating in public that you wish to create
a new and better government than the one
we have presently considered seditious?
FREE SPEECH OR SEDITION?
HOW THE U.S. HAS CONFRONTED THESE ISSUES
IN THE PAST
• The Alien and Sedition Acts
of 1798:
•
•
•
•
• The Sedition Act of 1917
•
enacted during World War I as part of the
Espionage Act of 1917.
•
This Act made it a crime to encourage
disloyalty, interfere with the draft , and incite
insubordination within the armed forces.
Made false , malicious, and scandalous criticism
of the government a crime. ( these acts were
meant to suppress opponents of president John
Adams)
•
Additionally, this act made it criminal to utter,
print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane,
and abusive language about the U.S. form of
government.
Unconstitutional, these acts led to the arrest of 25
people (10 of whom were convicted)
•
Over 2,000 people were convicted as a result of
the Espionage Act
•
Note: The Espionage Act was last made use of in
a significant way when the U.S. sought to
prosecute members of WikiLeaks.
Enacted to give the president the power to deport
undesirable aliens
After becoming President, Thomas Jefferson
pardoned those who had been convicted under
these acts.
FREE SPEECH OR SEDITION?
HOW THE U.S. HAS CONFRONTED THESE ISSUES IN
THE PAST (CONT.)
• The Smith Act of 1940,
• Legally know as the Alien Registration Act of 1940, 18 U.S. Code § 2385 (2000)
• Still present today, this act was passed one year prior to U.S.
involvement in World War II
• The Smith Act makes it a crime for anyone to advocate the violent
overthrow of the government of the United States, to belong to a group
with such aims, and to distributes materials that teaches or advises
violent overthrow.
•
Dennis v. United States (1951). The Supreme Court upheld the Smith
Act regarding 11 Communist Party leaders who advocated the overthrow
of the Federal Government.
FREE SPEECH OR OBSCENITY
•
The 1st and 14th Amendments do not protect obscenity, however, our
courts had had to deal with strong questions that arise as a result of the
appearance of censorship.
•
Miller v. California (1973) Vacated and Remanded by SCOTUS
The lead case in this debate has seen the Court administer a three part
test to determine what material is obscene and which is not:
A book, film, recording, or other pieces of material is considered legally
obscene if:
1.
The average person, applying local community standards, finds that the
work, as a whole, tends to excite lust.
2.
The work depicts or describes in a patently offensive way
3.
The work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or
scientific value
PRIOR RESTRAINT
• Prior Restraint: The government cannot curb ideas before they are
expressed.
•
Legally Expressed: judicial suppression of material that would be published or broadcast,
on the grounds that it is libelous or harmful. In US law, the First Amendment severely
limits the ability of the government to do this.
The rule against prior restraint does not apply to the publication of student-operated school
newspapers.
In Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260, 108 S. Ct. 562, 98 L. Ed. 2d 592 (1988), the
Supreme Court upheld a public school principal's decision to remove certain controversial
material from the school newspaper. The principal based his decision on fears that the articles
on teen pregnancy and divorce would allow students to identify classmates who had
encountered such difficulties. Justice BYRON R. WHITE ruled that educators did not "offend the
First Amendment by exercising editorial control … so long as their actions are reasonably
related to legitimate pedagogical concerns."
THE MEDIA
•
To what extent can the media (print or electronic)
be regulated by the government?
•
Can news reporters be forced to testify before a
grand jury or a legislative committee?
•
Can the government require journalist to name
sources and/ or reveal other confidential
information?
•
Back in 1972, (Branzberg v. Hayes) the
Supreme Court ruled that a journalist had no
right to refuse testimony where he or she had
witnessed criminal activity. The Court also
held that a journalist who fails to comply
with a subpoena can be held in contempt of
court and fined or even sent to jail.
•
The court held that any special exemptions
extended to the media would have to come
from Congress and/or State legislatures.
•
No action has come from Congress,
however, a number of States have passed
shield laws meant to protect reporters from
disclosing sources or confidential
information in the court proceedings held in
those states.
SYMBOLIC SPEECH
•
Symbolic speech is expression by
conduct.
•
Picketing, the patrolling of a
business site by workers on strike, is
a prevalent form of symbolic
speech.
•
Supreme Court rulings show that
the blanket of symbolic speech
covers only so much. It does not
cover destroying draft cards (United
States v. O’Brien, 1968), but it does
encompass flag burning (Texas v.
Johnson, 1989, and United States v.
Eichman, 1990).
•
Tinker v. Des Moines, 1969. 393 U.S. 503
COMMERCIAL SPEECH
•
Commercial Speech is speech
for business purposes, usually
advertising.
•
For many years, it was believed that the 1st
and 14th amendment guarantees did not
protect advertising.
•
In a handful of decisions in the 1970s, the
Court held that advertising was protected,
but not without exceptions.
•
Exceptions include: barring false and
misleading advertisement, advertising
illegal goods or services, and the
promotion of tobacco products on the radio
or television.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND
PETITION
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND PETITION
•
How does the Constitution guarantee the
freedoms of assembly and petition?
•
How can the government limit the time,
place, and manner of assembly?
•
How do public and private property affect
freedom-of-assembly issues?
•
How has the Supreme Court interpreted
freedom of association?
•
http://www.glancingweb.com/2212/freedom-of-speech-blue-dream
THE CONSTITUTION’S GUARANTEES
The Constitution guarantees “…the right
of the people peaceably to assemble, and
to petition the Government for a redress
of grievances.”
•
The right to assemble, or gather
with one another to express views.
•
The right to bring views to the
attention of public officials.
http://wlcentral.org/category/content-topics/freedom-assembly
TIME-PLACE-MANNER REGULATIONS
• The government can make and
enforce rules regarding the time,
place, and manner of assemblies.
•
An example of such a rule is that public
areas near schools and courthouses are
restricted.
•
The government’s rules must be content
neutral. They can place restrictions on
the basis of the time, place, and manner
of the assembly, but not on what the
assembly is trying to say.
http://www.motherjones.com/road-trip-blog?page=8
PUBLIC PROPERTY
Restrictions on the right to demonstrate:
Cox v. New Hampshire, 1941: the Supreme Court approved a State
law requiring a license to hold a parade on a public street.
Gregory v. Chicago, 1969: so long as demonstrators act peacefully,
they cannot be held accountable for disturbances that arise because
of their demonstration.
Madsen v. Women’s Health Services, Inc., 1994, and Hill v.
Colorado, 2000: the Supreme Court approved laws creating buffer
zones around abortion clinics and people going in and out of them.
PRIVATE PROPERTY
The rights of assembly and petition
do not give people a right to trespass
on private property.
States can interpret their
constitutions to require owners of
private property, such as shopping
centers, to allow people to petition on
their property.
•
http://dailytheology.org/2013/04/29/a-theological-history-of-private-property/
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
• The guarantees of freedom of
assembly and petition include
a right of association—the
right to associate with others
to promote causes.
• The freedom of association
also means that a State cannot
force an organization to
accept members when that
association would contradict
what the organization believes
in.
•
http://www.ztopics.com/Freedom%20of%20association/
CIVIL LIBERTIES
•
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety,
deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
-Benjamin Franklin
REFERENCES
"Alien and Sedition Acts: 1798." Great American Trials. (2002). Retrieved from
Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3498200036.html
Alien Registration Act of 1940 (Smith Act) 18 U.S.C. § 2385 (1940)
Branzberg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665 (1972)
Civil Rights Act of 1964 § 7, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq (1964).
Cox v. New Hamphire, 312 U.S. 569 (1941)
Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951)
Gregory v. Chicago, 394 U.S. 111 (1969)
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier et al., 484 U.S. 260 (1988)
Hill v. Colorado, 530 U.S. 703 (2000)
Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990)
United States v. Obrien, 391 U.S. 367(1968)