Civil Liberties

• civil liberties involve restraining the government’s action against individuals
• civil rights are rights all individuals share as provided for in the 14 th amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law

Table 4-1: Incorporating the Bill of Rights into the
Fourteenth Amendment
1949
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1969
1925
1931
1932
1937
1940
1947
1948
Year Issue
Freedom of speech
Freedom of the press
Right to a lawyer in capital punishment cases
Freedom of assembly and right to petition
Freedom of religion
Separation of church and state
Right to a public trial
No unreasonable searches and seizures
Exclusionary rule
No cruel and unusual punishment
Right to a lawyer in all criminal felony cases
No compulsory self-incrimination
Right to privacy
Right to an impartial jury
Right to a speedy trial
No double jeopardy
Amendment
Involved
I
I
I
VI
I
I
VI
IV
IV
VIII
VI
V
I, III, IV, V, IX
VI
VI
V
Court Case
Gitlow v. New York , 268 U.S. 652.
Near v. Minnesota , 283 U.S. 697.
Powell v. Alabama , 287 U.S. 45.
De Jonge v. Oregon , 299 U.S. 353.
Cantwell v. Connecticut , 310 U.S. 296.
Everson v. Board of Education , 330 U.S. 1.
In re Oliver , 333 U.S. 257.
Wolf v. Colorado , 338 U.S. 25.
Mapp v. Ohio , 367 U.S. 643.
Robinson v. California , 370 U.S. 660.
Gideon v. Wainwright , 372 U.S. 335.
Malloy v. Hogan , 378 U.S. 1.
Griswold v. Connecticut , 381 U.S. 479.
Parker v. Gladden , 385 U.S. 363.
Klopfer v. North Carolina , 386 U.S. 213.
Benton v. Maryland , 395 U.S. 784.

• Separation of Church and State
– comes from the 1 st amendment
• establishment clause
• state aid to church-related schools
• Issues concerning separation of church and state include:
– school vouchers
– prayer in schools
– teaching evolution
– religious speech

• Free Exercise
– comes from the 1 st amendment
– means that no type of religious practice can be prohibited and restricted by the government

• No prior restraint – the Supreme Court has been critical of government efforts to censor expression (prior restraint)
• The Supreme Court has protected some forms of speech:
– symbolic speech
– commercial speech (though in
Nike v. Kasky
(2003), the court did not protect commerical speech

Permitted restrictions:
– speech that presents a “clear and present danger”
– speech speech that might lead to some “evil
“(the bad tendency rule)

Unprotected speech
• obscenity
• hate speech
• slander

• press has some protection from libel charges
• libel must be accompanied by actual malice
• the press is now protected from gag orders during trials, except in unusual circumstances
• radio and t.v. have much more limited 1 st amendment protections
• they are subject to the equal time rule

The Right to Assemble and Petition the Government
• can be limited by municipalities right to offer permits for marches
• protected by the 1 st amendment

• no explicit right to privacy in Constitution, but in Roe v. Wade (1973) court rules that privacy rights include abortion rights
• since then, the Court has taken on a more restrictive view of the rights outlined in Roe

Rights of the Accused versus the
Rights of Society
• Limits on Conduct of Police Officers and
Prosecutors
• Defendant’s Pre-Trial Rights
• Trial Rights
• Miranda Rights
• Videotaped Interrogations
• Exclusionary Rule

Hot Links to Selected Internet
Resources:
• Book’s Companion Site: http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com/schmidtbrie f2004
• Wadsworth’s Political Science Site: http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com
• American Civil Liberties Union: http://www.aclu.org
• Project Vote Smart: http://www.votesmart.org/issues
• EPIC Archive – Privacy: http://www.epic.org/privacy