Interpreting the Constitution
Civil Rights & Civil Liberties
US Government. US Government. US Government. US Government.
US Government. US Government. US Government. US Government.
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US Government. US Government. US Government. US Government.
Civil Liberties
Know Your Rights!
the freedoms we have to think and act without
government interference or fear of unfair
treatment
Civil Liberties
First Amendment
45 words
Speech
Religion
Press
Assembly
Petition the government
Only 17% of
Americans can
name all 5
1st Amendment
Freedom of Speech
•Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
government for a redress of grievances.
1st Amendment
Freedom of Speech
•Protects…
•Written words
•Spoken words
•Expressive conduct (actions that do not
involve written or spoken words but do contain
a message)
1st Amendment
Freedom of Speech
•Protected vs. Unprotected Speech
•Schenck v. US (1919) to Brandenburg v. Ohio
(1969)
•1940s court: judges have a special duty to protect
freedoms
Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397
(1989)….
invalidated prohibitions on
desecrating of the American flag
1st Amendment
Freedom of Speech
•All speech is protected unless it falls into one of
four categories:
•Libel
•Obscenity
•Fighting Words
•Commercial Speech
1st Amendment
Freedom of Speech
•Libel
•Published defamation or false statements—
can be prosecuted by government or
individuals
•Seditious Libel: defaming criticizing or
advocating the overthrow of gov’t
•Comes from Sedition Act of 1798
•Modern example: New York Times v. Sullivan
(1964)
1st Amendment
Freedom of Speech
•Obscenity
•Evolving definition
•Latest definition determined by Miller v. US
(1973); must meet all three:
• Average person/community deems it to
promote sex mostly
• Portrays patently offensive sexual
conduct
• Work lacks serious literary, artistic,
political or scientific value
1st Amendment
Freedom of Speech
•Fighting Words: Abusive, Offensive, Insulting,
Angering—words that will start, quite literally, a
fight
1st Amendment
Freedom of Speech
Commercial Speech used to be unprotected
because wasn’t as valuable as political speech,
recently however, more protection—false or
misleading advertising, or advertising something
illegal = unprotected
1st Amendment
Freedom of Speech
Other violations: (Area 51 example – all)
•Copyright
•Clear & Present Danger
•Disruptive to school activities
•Incitement to commit crimes
1st Amendment
Freedom of Religion
Establishment Clause:
Forbids state sponsored religion
Government financial support
Prohibits Gov’t involvement in religious matters
Can Accommodate Religious Needs
1st Amendment
Freedom of Religion
Lemon Test
•Established in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
•Laws must…
•have secular purpose
•neither advance or inhibit religion
•Avoid excessive government “entanglement”
1st Amendment
Freedom of Religion
Endorsement Test
•Sandra Day O’Connor’s test
•Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)
•a gov’t action is invalid if it creates a perception in
the mind of a reasonable observer that the gov’t is
either endorsing or disapproving of religion.
1st Amendment
Freedom of Religion
Free Exercise Clause
•No government has authority to compel a citizen to
accept any creed, or to deny a citizen any right due
to religious beliefs
1st Amendment
Freedom of Religion
The Sherbert Test
•government must demonstrate a compelling
government interest before denying unemployment
compensation to someone who was fired because
her job conflicted with her religion
•Sherbert v. Verner (1963)
•Later, limited to federal laws only
1st Amendment
Freedom of Religion
Student rights
•You are free to pray alone or in groups as long as
your activity is not disruptive and does not infringe
upon the rights of others
•As long as it is not disruptive or disrespectful, or
does not pressure others, you ca exercise your
faith
•Schools cannot exercise religious activities,
including making students pray
1st Amendment
Freedom of the Press
We have the right access, that is the right to go where
we need to get information. (schools, markets, child
care centers, mental health institutions, etc.)
1st Amendment
Freedom of the Press
Often called the “fourth branch of government”
Checks the other branches
Cannot have democracy without it
1st Amendment
Freedom of the Press
The press has the right to be at all public trials.
Sunshine Laws: government agencies must open
meetings to the public and press.
1st Amendment
Freedom to Assemble
Protects our right to gather in groups for any reason,
so long as the assemblies are peaceful.
Gov’t can make rules about when and where (Occupy
Wall St), but cannot ban them.
1st Amendment
Freedom to Petition the Government
The right to express one’s idea to the government
Petition = formal document
“In a free country we punish men for crimes they
commit, but never for opinions they have.” (Harry
Truman, 1950)
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitions (go to!)