Civil Liberties: First
Amendment Freedoms
Chapter 19
Section 1
The Unalienable Rights
“I disagree
profoundly with what you
say, but I would defend
with my life your right to
say it.”
Voltaire
Vocabulary
• Civil Liberties – protection against
the government
• Civil Rights – positive acts of the
government
• Alien – a person who is not a
citizen of the country where they
live
Vocabulary
• Due Process Clause – no state can
deprive a person of basic
liberties
• Process of incorporation – the
14th Amendment merged with the
Bill of Rights
Major Court Cases
• Some of the major court cases
are known by name recognition
• Miranda v. Arizona
• Marbury v. Madison
• But there are hundreds of other
decisions which have resulted in
additional rights for all of us
Goal of the Constitution
• The framers outlined a formal
government plan in the Constitution
• Their goal was to guarantee
personal freedoms
• The power of the government is
limited
• Personal freedoms are also limited
Ratification of the
Constitution
• After the Constitution was sent
to the states for ratification,
several states would not approve
it without a Bill of Rights
• These rights were the first to
ensure basic liberties.
Ratification of the
Constitution
• About 200 suggestions were
given to James Madison.
• After discussion, revisions, and
consolidations, the Bill of Rights
were written and approved.
Civil Liberties
• The rights people have as human
beings.
• They include freedom of religion,
speech, press and fair trials
against government.
• Remember that England tried to
infringe on each of these
during colonial times.
Civil Rights
• The rights people have to
further their individual growth
• They include assistance by the
government prohibiting bias
based on race, sex, religious
beliefs or national origin.
Limited Government
• Our Constitution restricts the
power of our government
• Our government only has the
powers that we, the citizens,
give to it.
Individual Rights
• Individuals have the right to do
anything they want, as long as
they do not infringe on the rights
of others
• People may not pollute, instigate a
riot, or create a dangerous
atmosphere
Your Rights
• No one has complete freedom to
do what ever they wish
• You may not
– Yell “fire” in a theater
– Speed down a highway
– Hit another person
Your Rights
• Your rights end where another
person’s rights begin.
• You may not use obscene
language in public or incite
others to commit a crime
Schenck v. US, 1919
• Charles Schenck was charged
with encouraging men to avoid
enlistment during WWI.
• The USSC found Schenck a
“clear and present danger” under
the Espionage Act
Sam Sheppard Trial
• Sheppard was accused of killing
his wife (like in The Fugitive)
• The national newspapers
covered the story
• Sheppard received a new trial
where he was found
not guilty
Individual Rights
• The USSC has used the 14th
Amendment to ensure the rights of
individuals
• It has stated that no state can
deprive freedoms from an
individual
14th Amendment
• The Due Process Amendment,
makes sure that everyone is
treated fairly under the law
• Not everyone agrees with the
decisions that afford these
protections.
Individual Rights
• ApolloMedia Corporation v. United
States 1999
– The USSC upheld a federal law
that makes it illegal for anyone
to send obscene and intentionally
annoying e-mail via the internet
Should people be allowed to…
• Have a parade for Nazis?
• Promote Communism?
• Suspend students without a
hearing?
• Deny interracial dating and
marriage to students in college?
9th Amendment
• Americans have additional rights
other than those provided for in
the Bill of Rights.
• The 9th amendment gives people
more rights than those written.
• Ex. – right to marry who you
choose, career choices, etc.
Civil Liberties: First
Amendment Freedoms
Chapter 19
Section 2
Freedom of Religion
Vocabulary
• Establishment Clause – the
government is not permitted to
establish a religion
• Parochial – church-related
• Free Exercise Clause – the
guarantee that everyone can
believe as they choose
Separation of Church and State
• One of the frequently argued
aspects of the Constitution
• Should cities display a cross,
menorah, or nativity scene?
• Should kids pray in school?
• Should tax dollars be given to
private, parochial schools?
Separation of Church and State
• Should “under God” be part of
the pledge or on our money?
• Should church property be tax
exempt?
• Should the 10 Commandments be
displayed in courthouses?
Establishment Clause
• The government is prohibited
from
– Establishing a religion
– Interfering with religion
Separation of Church and State
• The government does not avoid
religion –
• They swear oaths
• They pray at meetings
• The Pledge and currency use the
word God
Separation of Church and State
• The courts have been asked to
hear cases regarding religion
• Pierce v. Society of Sisters,
1925 – gives parents/students
the choice to attend parochial
schools rather than mandatory
public school.
Separation of Church and State
• Everson v. Bd of Education,
1947 decided that it was
permissible for taxpayers to
support bus transportation to
parochial schools. (based on
safety for children)
Can students be released for
religious instruction during school
time?
• McCollum v. Bd of Education,
1948 – religious instruction may
not be held in a school facility
• Zorach v. Clauson, 1952 –
allowed release time for religious
instruction
What about Prayers in school
• Through the 1960s and 1970s, it
was common to hear Christian
prayers being recited in schools
and see religious symbols
frequently displayed.
What about Prayers in school
• The USSC has consistently ruled
against any visible forms of
religion in school.
• This now includes moments of
silence and student led prayers
at sporting events.
What about religious classes?
• Almost any organization which has
a sponsor may use school
facilities to hold meetings,
religious groups may as well
• Churches may rent facilities
during non-school times.
Evolution or Creationism?
• Should schools teach the
theory of evolution, that God
created earth or both?
• Epperson v. AR, 1968 – USSC
struck down a law outlawing
teaching the scientific theory
of evolution.
Aid for Parochial Schools?
• Should private schools get tax
dollars for books, tests,
equipment and supplies?
• Yes, students must have them.
Tax dollars cannot pay for
teacher salaries
Lemon v. Kurtzman – Lemon Law
• 1. Aid must be clearly secular,
not religious
• 2. Aid must not advance or
inhibit religion
• 3. Aid must avoid ‘excessive
entanglements’ between
government and religion
Manger or Menorah?
• Nativity scenes may not be
displayed on public land
• Menorahs may because of
the limited number of
symbols representing
Chanukah
Prayers at State Meetings?
• Can a chaplain begin a
government meeting with a
prayer?
• Yes, they volunteer and adults
are not easily indoctrinated.
Can I have 2 Wives?
• The Mormons challenged Utah
law over their practice of
polygamy.
• They lost.
Other Decisions
• Schools can require vaccination
of students
• States can prohibit the use of
poisonous snakes in rituals
• Businesses can disregard ‘Blue
Laws’ and open on Sunday
Other Decisions
• States cannot discriminate on
marchers but can require
parade permits.
• The Air Force can deny an
Orthodox Jew from wearing a
yarmulke on duty
Other Decisions
• Businesses can deny
employment based on prior
drug use.
• The military can draft people
who have religious objections
Other Decisions
• Wisconsin v. Yoder, 1972 –
Amish children do not have to
attend school after 8th grade
• McDaniel v. Paty, 1978 –
unemployment benefits not
available to someone who quits
over religious beliefs
Other Decisions
• Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of
Hialeah, FL, 1993 – outlawed
animal sacrifices as part of
church services.
Other Decisions
• Minersville School District v.
Gobitis, 1940 – students are
required to recite the Pledge.
• WV Bd. Of Education v.
Barnette, 1943 – compulsory flag
salute is unconstitutional
Freedom of
Speech and Press
Chapter 19
Section 3
Vocabulary
• Libel – false and malicious use of the
printed word
• Slander – false and malicious use of
the oral word
• Sedition – an attempt to overthrow the
government by violent acts
• Seditious Speech – advocating/urging
sedition behavior
Vocabulary
• Prior restraint – the courts cannot
restrain speech BEFORE it occurs
• Shield law – laws that give reporters
some protection against revealing the
sources of their information
• Symbolic speech – transfer of ideas
through some means besides speech
• Picketing – walking in front of a
business to encourage others
not to work or patronize the
establishment
Can you say anything?
• No, words can be dangerous so
people do not have complete
freedom to say anything they like
• They cannot yell “fire” in a theater
or joke that they have a bomb in
their luggage at the airport
• Freedom of speech ends where
other people’s rights begin
14th Amendment
• People are guaranteed the right to
free expression, written, spoken and
any other means
• People are guaranteed the right to a
full, wide-ranging discussion of
public affairs
• You have the right to have their say
and hear other people
14th Amendment
• Some forms of expression are not
protected under the Constitution
• You may not jeopardize another
persons health or safety
• You may not libel or slander another
• You may not use obscene words,
print obscene material or use false
advertising
1ST Amendment
• Seditious speech is not protected
• The Sedition Acts under John
Adams were unconstitutional
• Anyone convicted of violating the
Alien or Sedition Acts were
pardoned by Thomas Jefferson
Sedition Act of 1917
• During WWI, the Espionage Act
made it a crime to interfere with
the military draft, obstruction of
recruiting, hinder the sale of
government bonds or speak/write
anything bad about the US
• More than 2,000 people were
convicted of violating the Espionage
Act
Schenck v. United States, 1919
• Charles Schenck, with the Socialist
Party, attempted to disrupt the
military draft by passing out leaflets
encouraging men to resist the draft.
• Supreme Court Justice Oliver
Wendell Holmes wrote the majority
opinion
Schenck v. United States, 1919
• Holmes established the “clear and
present danger” rule
• No one may communicate ideas which
generate a criminal act.
Smith Act, 1940
• During WWII Congress passed the
Smith Act, making it a crime to
advocate the overthrow of the govt
• In 1951, the Supreme Court heard
Dennis v. United States
• It was decided that it was also
illegal to communicate ideas to
overthrow the government
Yates v. United States, 1957
• Overturned the Smith Act
• It is not illegal to belong to the
Communist Party or urge others to
join
• It is still illegal to urge someone to
do something criminal
Obscenity
• “I don’t know how to define
obscenity, but I know it when I
see it.” US Supreme Court Justice
Potter Stewart
• The 1st and 14th Amendments do
not protect obscenity, but people
cannot agree what obscenity is.
Obscenity
• Congress passed an obscenity law
prohibiting obscenity from being
distributed by mail.
• In 1957, Roth v. US upheld the
law but could not provide an
accurate determination of what
was obscene.
Miller Test
• Miller v. CA, 1973 decided that
material is obscene if it fulfills
each of the following criteria
– 1. The average person, applying
contemporary community
standards, and taken as a whole
finds the work obscene
Miller Test
– 2. The work depicts/describes,
in a patently offensive way,
sexual conduct
– 3. The work, taken as a whole,
lacks serious literary, artistic,
political or scientific value
Community Standards
• The clause regarding community
standards is to recognize that
something that is found obscene
in Oklahoma City may not be
considered obscene in San
Francisco.
Porn at the Library
• Can public libraries restrict
access to ‘adult’ sites?
• Yes, if they receive federal funds
they must use a filter
• Most libraries have fought for full
access, as censorship conflicts
with open access laws.
Prior Restraint
• If you know the Sun Sentinel is
going to print something
derogatory about JPT, can you
prevent them before it is printed?
• No, if it is deemed to be libelous
they can be sued after the fact.
NY Times v. US, 1971
• The Times planned to print what
they knew about the Vietnam War
• The Pentagon sued to prevent the
Times from printing the article
• The USSC refused to back the
Pentagon because the information
was embarrassing, not seditious or
under the “clear and
present danger” clause
Censorship
• The USSC has backed school
districts, giving them wide
latitude when censoring materials
and student speech
Hazelwood School District v.
Kuhlmeier, 1988
• Kathy Kuhlmeier, editor of her
school’s newspaper, sued because
the principal deleted articles about
pregnant students and birth control
• The USSC sided with the principal,
that they have the duty to oversee
materials written for students.
The Media
• Can the government restrict what
you see in print, on television, or in
the movie theater?
• Yes and No
The Media
• Can the government insist that a
journalist tell who their sources
were?
• Yes, although they usually do not
• In an on-going case, Judith Miller, a
journalist for the NY Times, spent
87 days in jail for refusing
to name her source
The Media
• Journalists insist that shield laws
are necessary to get stories,
especially from whistleblowers.
• If the identity of people cannot be
protected, people are reluctant to
come forward with what they may
know.
The Movies
• The USSC decided that
communities can decide whether a
motion picture can be seen
• The rating system has assisted
individuals when deciding if they
would choose to see a particular
movie.
Radio and Television
• Radio and TV use public purchased
wires and equipment, therefore, fall
under the guidelines and
restrictions of the government
• The Federal Communication Comm.
(FCC) fines individuals, such as
Howard Stern, for inappropriate
content.
Radio and Television
• Appropriateness of content changes
over time and place.
• Lucy (I Love Lucy) was not allowed to:
– Say the word ‘pregnant’, (and she was)
– Show her and her husband in the same
bed unless one foot was on the floor
– Show a toilet bowl, even on cleaning ads
Radio and Television
• TV got permission from the FCC to
show films like Saving Private Ryan
and Shindler’s List
• Restrictions are becoming more
severe after the Janet Jackson,
1/5th of a second, “wardrobe
malfunction”
Radio and Television
• Most ‘live’ radio and TV shows
today are on a 7 second delay to
make sure no other mistakes
occur.
• Live conversations, or unedited
text, are subject to fines if they
contain objectionable material.