Bellwork:
Take out Spiral Notebook
 You’re on the TV show Who Wants to Be A Millionaire
and you’re asked a tough questions.
 Will you phone a friend or ask the audience? Explain
The Bill of Rights and
The Supreme Court
Bill of Rights
 $ Originally the Bill of Rights was intended to limit the
powers of the National Government.
A Commitment to Freedom
 The listing of the general rights of the people can be found in
the first ten amendments in the Constitution, also known as
the Bill of Rights.
 The 13th and 14th amendments have also added to the
Constitution’s guarantees of personal freedom.
In general, civil liberties are
protections against
government.
The term civil rights is
sometimes reserved for
those positive acts of
government that seek to
They are guarantees of the
make constitutional
safety of persons, opinions,
guarantees a reality for all
and property from arbitrary
people.
acts of government.
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Chapter 19, Section 1
Freedom of Expression:
Amendment
st
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Two guarantees of religious freedom:
Free Exercise Clause
Establishment Clause
 Guards against establishing
 $Guards against the
a mandated religion.
 In effect, freedom from
religion
government interfering in
the exercise of any religion.
 $ In effect, Religious
Liberty or freedom for
religion.
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Chapter 19, Section 2
Separation of Church and State
A wall of separation?
Church and
government are
constitutionally
separated from
one another.
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However, the
government supports
churches and religion
in a variety of ways,
including tax
exemption.
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Chapter 19, Section 2
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
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Chapter 19, Section 2
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.
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Chapter 19, Section 2
Other Establishment Clause
Cases
Seasonal Displays
Chaplains
 Lynch v. Donnelly, 1984—
allowed the display of a nativity
scene along with other
nonreligious objects on public
land
 County of Allegheny v. ACLU,
1989—prohibited an
exclusively Christian holiday
display
 Pittsburgh v. ACLU, 1989—
allowed a multi-faith holiday
display
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 The Supreme Court ruled in
Marsh v. Chamber, 1983 that
it was permissible for
chaplains to open daily
sessions of Congress and
State legislatures
Chapter 19, Section 2
The Free Exercise Clause
Limits
Free Exercise Upheld
 Actions that violate social duties
 The Court has found many
or disrupt social order are not
covered under the Free Exercise
Clause.
government actions to be
counter to the Free Exercise
Clause.
Examples:
Examples:
Bigamy
Amish children cannot be forced
Using poisonous snakes during
to go to school after grade 8
Ministers are allowed to hold
elective office
Unemployment benefits cannot
be denied to someone who quit
their job because of religious
beliefs
religious ceremonies
Schoolchildren who have not
been vaccinated
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Chapter 19, Section 2
The Free Exchange of Ideas
Freedom of Speech and
Freedom of Press
guarantees are meant to:
 Protect each person’s right of
free expression, whether
spoken, written, or
communicated in any other
way.
 Protect all persons’ right to a
complete discussion of public
affairs.
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Freedom of Speech and
Press do not protect:
 Libel, the false and malicious
use of written words
 Slander, the false and
malicious use spoken words
 Obscenity
 Words that incite others to
commit crimes
Chapter 19, Section 3
Seditious Speech
Sedition is the crime of attempting to overthrow the government by
force, or to disrupt its lawful activities by violent acts. Seditious
speech is speech that urges such conduct.
Congress has enacted three major laws to prevent sedition and
seditious speech:
 The Alien and Sedition Acts—made scandalous or false criticism of the government
illegal. Expired before Thomas Jefferson took office in 1801.
 The Sedition Act of 1917—made it a crime to encourage disloyalty or spread antigovernment ideas during a time of crisis. Upheld by the Supreme Court in instances
of “clear and present danger.”
 The Smith Act of 1940—forbade advocating violent overthrow of the government,
and belonging knowingly to any group that does. The Supreme Court still upholds the
constitutionality of the law, but over time has modified it so that it is difficult to enforce.
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Chapter 19, Section 3
Obscenity
Obscenity Test laid out in Miller v. California, 1973
Obscenity laws are enforced under the postal
power (Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the
Constitution).
1) The average person finds that the work appeals to
“prurient interests” judging from contemporary
standards.
2) The work describes offensive sexual conduct that
is specifically outlawed as obscene.
3) The work lacks serious value of any variety.
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Chapter 19, Section 3
The Media
The Relationship between the Freedom of Speech and Press
Amendments and the Media:
 Confidentiality: Since the Supreme Court found that the Constitution
does not allow members of the news media to keep their sources
confidential in a court of law, 30 states have passed shield laws to give
reporters some protection against having to reveal their sources.
 Motion Pictures: In Mutual Film Corporation v. Ohio, 1915, the
Supreme Court held that motion pictures were a business, not a form of
expression, and so were not protected under the freedom of expression
guarantees. The Court reversed this decision in Burstyn v. Wilson, 1952.
 Both Radio and Television Media are subject to more government
regulation than other forms of expression because they are transmitted
by “public airwaves.”
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Chapter 19, Section 3
Symbolic Speech
 Supreme Court rulings
 Symbolic speech is
expression by conduct.
 Picketing, the patrolling of
a business site by workers on
strike, is a prevalent form of
symbolic speech.
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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).
Chapter 19, Section 3
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.
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Chapter 19, Section 3
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.
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Chapter 19, Section 4
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 of the basis of the time,
place and manner of the assembly, but not on what
the assembly is trying to say.
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Chapter 19, Section 4
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.
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Chapter 19, Section 4
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.
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Chapter 19, Section 4
Freedom of Association
 The guarantees of
 The freedom of
freedom of assembly and
petition include a right
of association—the
right to associate with
others to promote
causes.
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association also means
that a State cannot force
an organization to accept
members when that
association would
contradict what the
organization believes in.
Chapter 19, Section 4
The Right to Keep and Bear
Arms
 The 2nd Amendment protects the right of each State to form and keep a
militia.
 Many believe that the 2nd Amendment also sets out an individual right to
keep and bear arms.
 The Supreme Court has only tried one important 2nd Amendment Case,
United States v. Miller, 1939. The case involved a section of the National
Firearms Act of 1934 that forbid shipping sawed-off shotguns, silencers,
and machine guns across State lines without informing the Treasury
Department and paying a tax. The Court upheld the provision.
 The 2nd Amendment has as yet not been extended to each State under the
14th Amendment. Therefore, the individual States have the right to
regulate arms in their own ways.
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Chapter 20, Section 2
Security of Home and Person
The 3rd and 4th Amendments protect
the security of home and person.
The 4th Amendment protects against
writs of assistance (blanket search
warrants) and “unreasonable searches
and seizures.” It is extended to the
States through the 14th Amendment.
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Chapter 20, Section 2
Aspects of the 4th Amendment
Probable Cause—to search a
premise, in most cases, a warrant
must be obtained based on a
reasonable suspicion of crime
Arrests—to arrest a person, a police
officer needs only probable cause
Automobiles—police officers do
not always need search warrants to
search an automobile
The Exclusionary Rule—Evidence
gained as a result of an illegal search
cannot be used in court
Wiretapping—unless police officers Drug Testing—drug testing can be
have a warrant, tapping phone calls conducted without a warrant or
is not legal
probable cause
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Chapter 20, Section 2
The Meaning of Due Process
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Chapter 20, Section 1
The 5th and 14th Amendments
 The 5th Amendment
 Due process means that
provides that “no person
… shall be deprived of
life, liberty, or property
without due process of
law…”.
 The 14th Amendment
extends that restriction
to State and local
governments.
the government must act
fairly and in accord with
established rules at all
times.
 Due process is broken
down into two branches:
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Substantive due process—the
fairness of the laws themselves
Procedural due process—the
fairness of the procedures used to
enforce the laws
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Chapter 20, Section 1
The Right to Privacy
The constitutional guarantees of due process create a
right of privacy.
 Established in Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965, which held
that a law outlawing birth-control was unconstitutional.
 In Stanley v. Georgia, 1969, the right of privacy was defined
as “the right to be free, except in very limited
circumstances, from unwanted governmental intrusion into
one’s privacy.”
The right of privacy provoked controversy when it was
applied to a woman’s right to an abortion, beginning with
Roe v.Wade in 1973.
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Chapter 20, Section 1
Right to an Adequate Defense
Some rights of the accused:
1. to be informed of the
content and form of the
accusation
3. to be able to subpoena
witnesses to testify on
his/her behalf
2. to be confronted with the
witnesses against her/him
4. to have a lawyer speak in
his/her defense
th
$ The 5 Amendment of the Constitution forbids Double
Jeopardy. This means that a person may not be tried twice for
the same crime in either state or federal court
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Chapter 20, Section 3
Self-Incrimination
The Fifth Amendment declares that no person can be “compelled in
any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” This protection
extends to the States, and sometimes to civil trials if the selfincrimination could lead to a criminal charge.
 A person cannot be forced to confess to a crime under extreme
circumstances.
 A husband or wife cannot be forced to testify against their
spouse, although they can testify voluntarily.
 $ The Fifth Amendment insures a person’s right to not to testify
against one’s self
In Miranda v. Arizona, 1966, the Supreme Court set an historic precedent when it
would no longer uphold convictions in cases in which the defendant had not
been informed of his or her rights before questioning. This requirement is
known as the Miranda Rule.
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Chapter 20, Section 3
Speedy and Public Trial
The right to a speedy and public trial was extended
as part of the 14th Amendment’s Due Process
Clause by Klopfer v. North Carolina, 1967.
The Speedy Trial Act of
1974 requires that the
beginning of a person’s
federal criminal trial must
take place no more than
100 days after the arrest.
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A judge can limit who
can watch a trial if the
defendant’s rights are
in jeopardy.
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Chapter 20, Section 3
Trial by Jury
 Americans in criminal trials are guaranteed an impartial
jury chosen from the district where the crime was
committed.
 If a defendant waives the right to a jury trial, a bench
trial is held where the judge alone hears the case.
 Most juries have to be unanimous to convict.
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Chapter 20, Section 3
Cruel and Unusual Punishment
The 8th Amendment also forbids “cruel and unusual
punishment.” The Supreme Court extended the provision to
the States in Robinson v. California, 1962.
 The 8th Amendment is intended to prevent, in the Court’s opinion,
barbaric tortures such as drawing and quartering and other
excessively cruel punishments.
 The Supreme Court held that defining narcotics addiction as a
crime, rather than an illness, was cruel and unusual in Robinson v.
California, 1962. In Estelle v. Gamble, 1976, it ruled that a prison
inmate could not be denied medical care.
 However, generally the Court has not found many punishments to
be cruel and unusual.
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Chapter 20, Section 4
Bail and Preventative Detention
 Bail is a sum of money that the
accused may be required to
deposit with the court as a
guarantee that he or she will
appear in court.
 The Constitution does not
guarantee that all accused
persons are entitled to bail,
just that the amount of the bail
cannot be excessive.
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Preventive detention is a law
that allows federal judges to
order that accused felons be
held without bail if there is a
danger that the person will
commit another crime if
released.
Critics think preventive detention
amounts to presuming the
accused guilty. The Court
upheld the law in United
States v. Salerno, 1987.
Chapter 20, Section 4
Capital Punishment
Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is hotly debated
under the 8th Amendment.
 The Supreme Court voided
capital punishment laws in the
early 1970s because it felt that the
punishment was applied
“capriciously” to only a few
convicts, often African American
or poor or both.
 However, in 1976, the Court held for
the first time that a new law which
instituted the death penalty was NOT
unconstitutional. The new law
provided for a two-stage trial process.
One trial would determine guilt or
innocence, and a second hearing
would decide whether the death
penalty was warranted. The Court
later restricted the use of the death
penalty to cases where the victim died.
Despite these decisions, debate still surrounds
the issue.
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Chapter 20, Section 4
Bellwork:
Prepare your notebook!
BrainPop: Write out the seven scenarios
below and decide if they are criminal
cases or civil cases.
Assignment :
The US Court System
A Dual Court System
 There are two separate court systems in the US: state
and federal.
 Most cases are heard at state level
 We are mostly going to talk about the federal court
system
Types of Federal Courts
Q: Which
court is at
the top of the
US Federal
Court
System?
A:
Appealing a Case to the
Supreme Court
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Chapter 18, Section 3
How the Supreme Court
Operates
Oral Arguments
• Once the Supreme Court accepts a case, it sets a date on
which lawyers on both sides will present oral arguments.
Briefs
• Briefs are written documents filed with the Court before
oral arguments begin.
The Court in Conference
• The Chief Justice presides over a closed-door conference
in which justices present their views on the case at hand.
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Chapter 18, Section 3
Opinions of the Court
Once the Court finishes its conference, it reaches a decision and its opinion is
written.
Majority Opinion
The majority opinion, formally
called the Opinion of the Court,
announces the Court’s decision in a
case and its reasoning on which it is
based.
Precedents
The majority opinions stand as
precedents, or examples to be
followed in similar cases as they
arise in the lower courts or reach the
Supreme Court.
Concurring Opinions
Concurring opinions are
sometimes authored by justices to
add or emphasize a point that was
not made in the majority opinion.
Dissenting Opinions
Dissenting opinions are often
written by those justices who do not
agree with the Court's majority
opinion.
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Chapter 18, Section 3
The Supreme Court
 The Supreme Court is the highest
court in the United States.
 Their opinions matter! The decisions
they make set a precedent (or rule)
for the future.
 Sup. Ct is made up of 8 justices and 1
Chief Justice (9 total)
 They are appointed by the President
and approved by the Senate
Why Are They So Important?
 The decisions they make are incredibly
important.
 $ They are appointed to lifetime terms
(with good behavior), so they can’t be
influenced by voters opinions.
 $ Using the power of judicial review,
they can look at acts of Congress, the
Executive Branch, and the states and
declare them unconstitutional.
 $ The Supreme Court first used Judicial
Reviw(and thus confirmed) in
Marbury v. Madison.
When is Something
Unconstitutional?
 Something is unconstitutional when it
goes against the US Constitution.
 Supreme Court cannot reverse a law just
because
 It’s unpopular
 It’s bad for America
 The president or Congress tells them to
$ The Supreme Court can declare a
law unconstitutional when the
court believes the law is in conflict
with the Constitution
Examples
 $ In the case of Plessy v. Ferguson 1896, the Supreme
Court ruled that a business could have separate
facilities for blacks and whites as long as they were
equal. (“Separate but equal”)
Examples
 $ In 1954, the
Supreme Court
overturned Plessy v
Ferguson ruling in
Brown v. Board of
Education when
they ruled that
separate but equal
was
unconstitutional
because it violated
the 14th
Amendment.
Examples
 In Mapp v. Ohio (1966), police
entered Mapp’s home without a
proper warrant looking for a
suspect. Suspect wasn’t there,
but they found porn (illegal at
that time). Arrested her.
 $ In Mapp v. Ohio, the Supreme
Court ruled that you can’t use
improperly obtained evidence
against someone.
 $The 4th Amendment protects
you from unreasonable search
and seizure.
Moot Court
Finish Assignment 2