Civil Rights
Relative NOT Absolute!
The Freedom of Expression:
Religion
 Congress shall make
no law respecting the
establishment of
religion, or abridging
the free exercise
thereof.
The Establishment Clause
 Creates a wall of
separation between
church and state.
– Both tend to corrupt
the other.
Examples of the Establishment
Clause
 Engel v. Vitale: No
organized prayer in
school.
 Lynch v. Donnelly:
Christmas displays on
public property. Okay
if PART OF a seasonal
display.
Examples of the Establishment
Clause:
 Chaplains in Congress and legislatures:
Marsh v. Chambers, 1983. Okay to use
public funds and have. Historic precedence.
 Evolution: Cannot favor one religious
belief above another.
 Aid to parochial schools: Aid must not be
religious based.
Free Exercise Clause:
 Guarantees the right to
believe. But does not
give an absolute right
to ACT on those
beliefs.
– Reynolds v. US:
Polygamy is
subversive to social
order.
Free Exercise Cases
 Wisconsin v. Yoder:
Amish children must
attend school until 8th
grade.
 Goldman v.
Weinberger:
Yarmulke cannot be
worn on active
military duty.
Free Exercise Cases:
 McGowan v.
Maryland: Blue laws
cannot be enforced.
 West Virginia Board of
Education v. Barnette:
Cannot force students
to salute flag if
religious objections.
NOT violations of free exercise
 Conscientious
Objectors: Supreme
Court has never ruled
that religious reasons
can be used to be
exempt from military
service.
NOT violations of Free Exercise
 Racial
Discrimination: The
government can deny
tax-exempt status to
private schools that
practice racial
discrimination based
on religious beliefs.
Bob Jones University
v. United States
NOT violations of the Free
Exercise Clause
 Westside Community
Schools v. Mergens:
Outside school time,
religious groups can
meet on school
property – as long as
not endorsed by the
school.
Freedom of Speech
 Freedom of expression is essential to
democratic government.
 Government may not prohibit the right of
free speech.
– SO:
• Does this include artistic speech or just political?
• Does this also include actions?
Flag Burning v. Burning Draft
Cards
 Texas v. Johnson (1989):
Flag burning is an act of
symbolic speech and
allowable.
 U.S. v. O’Brien (1968):
Burning draft cards to
protest Vietnam was not
symbolic speech. Draft
cards are necessary to
raise an army.
Public Forums and Free Speech
 If content-neutral
government can
restrict public speech
in consideration of
“time, place, manner.”
 Madsen v. Women’s
Health Center (1994)
The Right Not to Speak
 Wooley v. Maynard:
Maynard, a Jehovah’s
Witness objected to
the New Hampshire
motto ‘Live Free or
Die’ on his license
plate.
Can Government make value
choices?
 Rust v. Sullivan
(1991): Can
government pass laws
forbidding family
planning clinics who
receive federal funds
to give any
information on
abortion?
OBSCENITY
 Miller v. California:
Speech or conduct is
obscene if it has all the
following:
– The average person finds
the work as a whole is
obsessed with sex.
– The work depicts a type of
sexual conduct prohibited
by law.
– The work as a whole lacks
serious literary, artistic,
political or scientific value.
Apply the Miller Test:
 Can a person possess
obscene material for
private use in his/her
home?
 Sending obscene
materials in interstate
commerce or
importing them?
(Child porn)
 Nude dancing at an
adult only club?
Defamation
 Slander: Defamation
through the spoken
word.
 Libel: defamation by
written word.
– Words have to be made
knowing they were
false or with actual
malice in mind. OR
with RECKLESS
DISREGARD.
Movies, Radio and TV
 Has some First
Amendment
protections – but not
as much as written
material.
 Government CAN
regulate airwaves.
Freedom of Assembly and
Petition
 The right of the people
to peaceably assemble
and to petition the
government for a
redress of grievances.
– PEACEFULLY
assemble on PUBLIC
property – with time,
place and manner of
assemblies considered.
Freedom to Assemble on Private
Property?
 Aren’t malls like old-
time town squares?
 What about protesting
outside an official’s
residence? (Gregory
v. Chicago)
Freedom to Associate
 Political associations
are protected. NOT
social.
– Can a city ordinance
prohibit adults from
entering a teen dance?
– Can a state order a
Rotary Club to admit
women?
Fighting Words
 First Amendment does
NOT protect abusive
or insulting language
that is meant to create
violence.
– Hate Speech:
• RAV v. St. Paul:
Burning a cross on a
black family’s private
property.
• Wisconsin v. Mitchell:
Reaction to
“Mississippi Burning”
Speech in Schools:
 Also covers military
bases and prisons:
 Tinker v. Des Moinses
School District
(1969): Can student’s
actions be punished?
Freedom of Press
 Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart: “Gag
orders”
 Snepp v. United States: Prior restraints can
be used. CIA could prevent former
employees from writing without permission
about the agency.