Rights, Liberty, and Privacy
Claudia Patterson In Class Assignment
Chapter 15- 1st Amendment Rights
Core Vocabulary in Chapter 15
Ex Post Facto Law- Retroactive law that changes the punishment for a crime or makes a law illegal. It is wrong to try someone for a crime that was made illegal after someone committed it.
Example: Prohibition
Bill of Attainer- Legislative acts inflicting punishment or deprivation of property without a trial.
Court Cases that Involve First Amendment Rights
Clauses
Due Process
The legal requirement that a state must respect the legal rights that are owed to a person.
Establishment
"Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion." The Establishment Clause protects religion and makes sure that there isn't any government interference with religion. This establishes a separation of church and state.
Free Exercise
"Congress should make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This clause allows for Americans to accept any religious belief and participate in any religious ritual.
Freedom of Speech
How do people test freedom of speech?
Bad Tendency Test
Speech is not protected if the speech corrupts society and leads to crime.
Clear and Present Danger Test
Government can only interfere if words uttered create a "clear and present danger." This speech has to lead to riots, destruction of property, and corruption of elections.
Schenck v. USA- https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/249us47
Preferred Position Doctrine
In 1940, the Supreme Court applied 1st amendment guarantees to the states. This doctrine states that actions should be punished, but not words and pictures.
What type of speech is NOT protected?
- written defamation or false statements
- must be able to prove malice in the press
- must be depicted in a offensive way
- must lack literary, artistic, political or scientific value
- cannot involve a minor
- could inflict injury or incite violence
- protects people against false advertisement
Prior Restraint
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier- https://www.oyez.org/cases/1987/86-836
Freedom of the Press
In the Court System
Criminal Trials
When the press reports on crimes, it makes it hard to find an impartial jury. The court system can order a "gag order" that makes the trial closed to the press.
Different Types of Media
What forms of Media are constitutional?
- Handbills
- Sound Trucks
- Billboards
- Motion Pictures
- Play
- Broadcast
- Cable Communications
What about the Internet?
Freedom of Assembly
Privacy
Do we have a right to privacy?
Supreme Court Cases Dealing with Privacy
The 4 States of Privacy
- Solitude- free from observation
- Intimacy- choose friend/partner
- Anonymity- free from supervision
- Reserve- free to hold back info, don't have to disclose information
Chapter 16
How does a person gain or lose citizenship?
A person that wants to become a United States citizen would have to go through a naturalization process. Any person that has been living in the United States for 5 years is eligible to apply for naturalization. The naturalization process involves a background check, a civics/US history test, and an oath of allegiance. Many people are citizens of both the United States and another country, or dual citizens.
A person can lose their citizenship in a couple of ways. First, someone can voluntarily give up their citizenship if they so desire. This includes applying for and obtaining naturalization in a foreign country, making an oath of allegiance to another country, serving in the military of another country, serving in a foreign government position that requires an oath of allegiance, making a formal renunciation of U.S. citizen to a consular officer outside of the United States, making a formal renunciation of citizenship while in the US and during time that the United States is involved in war, and conviction of treason or attempting by force to overthrow the United States government through forms such as conspiracy convictions.
Right To Private Property in the Constitution
Due Process of the rights of the accused
As an accused person, the person is given freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. The individual is granted the Exclusionary Rule by the Mapp vs. Ohio court case. This states that police cannot use evidence that was taken illegally in court trials. Accused individuals are also allowed the right to remain silent to protect themselves from self-incrimination. The accused person is guaranteed the right to a fair trial, which includes the right to counsel, right to an indictment, and the right to a trial.
Chapter 17
Suffrage
Voting Rights have always been fiercely fought for. In 1960, the Supreme Court held that racial gerrymandering was unconstitutional and went against the 15th amendment. Southern states attempted to disallow African Americans from voting by forcing them to pass tough literacy tests to gain their right to vote. In order to protect people's right to vote, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Proposed originally by President Lyndon Johnson in a speech, the Act was made so that no person would be deprived the right to vote in any election for any office because of color or race.
There are still some discrepancies when it comes to voting rights. In some states, present and past felons are not allowed to vote. There is also some controversy over whether or not voter identification laws are discriminatory toward minority and poor voters.