Chapter 4

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman



Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Public Policy

• The Bill of Rights• Freedom of Religion• Freedom of Expression• Freedom of Assembly• Right to Bear Arms• Defendants’ Rights• The Right to Privacy• Understanding Civil Liberties• Summary


Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives

• The Bill of Rights• LO 4.1: Trace the process by which the Bill

of Rights has been applied to the states.

• Freedom of Religion• LO 4.2: Distinguish the two types of

religious rights protected by the First Amendment and determine the boundaries of those rights.



• Freedom of Expression• LO 4.3: Differentiate the rights of free

expression protected by the First Amendment and determine the boundaries of those rights.

• Freedom of Assembly• LO 4.4: Describe the rights to assemble and

associate protected by the First Amendment and their limitations.



• Right to Bear Arms• LO 4.5: Describe the right to bear arms

protected by the Second Amendment and its limitations.

• Defendants’ Rights• LO 4.6: Characterize defendants’ rights and

identify issues that arise in their implementation.



• The Right to Privacy• LO 4.7: Outline the evolution of a right to

privacy and its application to the issue of abortion.

• Understanding Civil Liberties• LO 4.8: Assess how civil liberties affect

democratic government and how they both limit and expand the scope of government.

The Bill of RightsLO 4.1: Trace the process by which the Bill of Rights has been applied to the states.

• The Bill of Rights—Then and Now• The Bill of Rights and the States

To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman


The Bill of Rights

• The Bill of Rights—Then and Now• Civil Liberties – The legal constitutional

protections against the government.• The Bill of Rights – The first 10

amendments, which protect basic liberties, such as religion and speech.

To Learning Objectives

LO 4.1


LO 4.1



The Bill of Rights

• The Bill of Rights and the States• Barron v. Baltimore (1833) – The Bill of

Rights restricts only the national government.

• Gitlow v. New York (1925) – 1st Amendment protection of speech first incorporated to states.

• Most now incorporated using the 14th Amendment and restrict state and local governments.


LO 4.1

Freedom of ReligionLO 4.2: Distinguish the two types of religious rights protected by the First Amendment and determine the boundaries of those rights.

• The Establishment Clause• The Free Exercise Clause



Freedom of Religion

• The Establishment Clause• No laws shall be made respecting the

establishment of religion.• Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) – Aid to

church related schools must (1) have a secular legislative purpose, (2) neither advance nor inhibit religion, and (3) not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion.


LO 4.2


Freedom of Religion

• The Establishment Clause (cont.)• Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002) ruling

that school vouchers are constitutional.• Engel v. Vitale (1962) ruling that prayer in

public schools violates Establishment Clause.


LO 4.2


Freedom of Religion

• The Free Exercise Clause• Prohibits government from interfering with

the practice of religion.• Some religious practices may conflict with

other rights, and then be denied or punished.

• Employment Division v. Smith (1988) upheld prosecution of persons using the drug peyote as part of their religious rituals.


LO 4.2


LO 4.2


Freedom of ExpressionLO 4.3: Differentiate the rights of free expression protected by the First Amendment and determine the boundaries of those rights.

• Prior Restraint• Free Speech and Public Order• Obscenity• Libel and Slander• Symbolic Speech• Free Press and Fair Trials• Commercial Speech• Regulation of the Public Airwaves



Freedom of Expression

• Prior Restraint• Prior restraint – A government preventing

material from being published.• Near v. Minnesota (1931) ruling that the

1st Amendment protects newspapers from prior restraint.

• May be permissible during wartime.• One may be punished after something is

published.


LO 4.3



• Free Speech and Public Order• Schenck v. US (1919) – Speech is limited

if it presents a “clear and present danger.”• Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) – It is

permissible to advocate the violent overthrow of government in abstract, but not to incite anyone to imminent lawless action.


LO 4.3


LO 4.3




• Obscenity• Roth v. United States (1957) ruling that

obscenity is not constitutionally protected.• Miller v. California (1973) – A

community’s standards can be used to determine obscenity in terms of appealing to a “prurient interest” and being “patently offensive” and lacking in value.


LO 4.3



• Libel and Slander• Libel (printed) and slander (spoken) are

false statements that damage one’s reputation.

• New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) ruling that statements about public figures are libelous only if made with reckless disregard for truth.


LO 4.3



• Symbolic Speech• Nonverbal communication, such as burning

a flag or wearing an armband.• Texas v. Johnson (1989) – The burning of

the American flag was symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment.


LO 4.3



• Free Press and Fair Trials• Branzburg v. Hayes (1972) – If no shield

laws, the right of a fair trial preempts reporter’s right to protect sources.

• Zurcher v. Stanford Daily (1978) ruling that a proper search warrant could be applied to a newspaper without necessarily violating the 1st Amendment rights to freedom of the press.


LO 4.3



• Commercial Speech• Communication in the form of advertising.• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

decides what kinds of goods may be advertised on radio and television and regulates the content of such advertising.


LO 4.3



• Regulation of the Public Airwaves• Broadcast stations must follow Federal

Communication Commission rules and regulations.

• United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group (2000) – The regulation must be narrowly tailored to promote a compelling governmental interest.


LO 4.3


LO 4.3


Freedom of AssemblyLO 4.4: Describe the rights to assemble and associate protected by the First Amendment and their limitations.

• Right to Assemble• Right to Associate



Freedom of Assembly

• Right to Assemble• Within reasonable limits, called time, place,

and manner restrictions, freedom of assembly includes the rights to parade, picket, and protest.

• Usually, a group must apply to the local city government for a permit and post a bond of a few hundred dollars.


LO 4.4


LO 4.4



Freedom of Assembly

• Right to Associate• Freedom to join groups or associations

without government interference.• NAACP v. Alabama (1958) ruling that the

NAACP did not have to reveal its membership list and thus subject its members to harassment.


LO 4.4

Right to Bear ArmsLO 4.5: Describe the right to bear arms protected by the Second Amendment and its limitations.

• Restrictions On Owning And Carrying Handguns• Laws have mandated background checks

for gun buyers and limited the sale of certain types of weapons altogether.

• Laws have required that guns be stored in a fashion to prevent their theft or children from accessing and firing them.



Right to Bear Arms

• District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)• Right to possess a firearm for self-defense

within the home.• Requiring a firearm in a home to be

disassembled or bound by trigger lock is unconstitutional.

• McDonald v. Chicago (2010)• Extended 2nd Amendment’s limits on

restricting right to bear arms to state and local laws.


LO 4.5

Defendants’ RightsLO 4.6: Characterize defendants’ rights and identify issues that arise in their implementation.

• Interpreting Defendants’ Rights• Searches and Seizures• Self-Incrimination• The Right to Counsel• Trials• Cruel and Unusual Punishment



LO 4.6



Defendants’ Rights

• Interpreting Defendants’ Rights• Criminal justice personnel are limited by

the Bill of Rights and failure to follow constitutional protections may invalidate a conviction.

• Courts continually rule on what is constitutional and what is not.


LO 4.6



• Searches and Seizures• Probable Cause – When the police have reason to

believe that a person should be arrested.• Unreasonable searches and seizures – Evidence

is obtained in a haphazard or random manner, prohibited by 4th Amendment.

• Exclusionary rule – Evidence obtained unconstitutionally can not be introduced into a trial.


LO 4.6



• Searches and Seizures (cont.)• Mapp v. Ohio (1961) – Protection of 4th

Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures extended to the states.

• The War on Terrorism – Patriot Act (2001) allows wiretapping, surveillance, and investigation and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (2008) allows warrants to eavesdrop on groups.


LO 4.6



• Self-Incrimination• When an individual accused of a crime is

compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in court.

• Miranda v. Arizona (1966) ruling that sets guidelines for police questioning of accused persons to protect them against self-incrimination and to protect their right to counsel.


LO 4.6


LO 4.6




• The Right to Counsel• Sixth Amendment – The right to counsel,

the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a speedy and public trial.

• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) – A person accused of a felony where imprisonment may be imposed, however poor he or she might be, has a right to a lawyer.


LO 4.6



• Trials• Plea bargaining – A bargain between the

prosecution and defense for a defendant to plead guilty to a lesser crime; 90 percent of cases end here and do not go to trial

• Juries generally consist of 12 people, but unanimity is not always needed to convict.


LO 4.6



• Trials (cont.)• The War on Terrorism – Hamdi v.

Rumsfeld (2004) provided detainees the right to challenge their detention before a judge and Boumediene v. Bush (2008) provided foreign terrorism suspects the rights to challenge their detention in U.S. courts.


LO 4.6


LO 4.6



Defendants Rights

• Cruel and Unusual Punishment• The Eighth Amendment forbids cruel and

unusual punishment.• Gregg v. Georgia (1976) – The death

penalty is not cruel and unusual, but it is “an extreme sanction suitable to the most extreme crimes.”

• The death penalty’s use and application varies by state.


LO 4.6


LO 4.6


The Right to PrivacyLO 4.7: Outline the evolution of a right to privacy and its application to the issue of abortion.

• Is There a Right to Privacy?• Controversy over Abortion



The Right to Privacy

• Is There a Right to Privacy?• The right to a private personal live free

from the intrusion of government.• Griswold v. CT (1965) – Right to privacy is

not explicitly stated in the Constitution, but implied by the 4th and 9th Amendments.


LO 4.7


The Right to Privacy

• Controversy over Abortion• Roe v. Wade (1973) – Ruling that a state

ban on all abortions was unconstitutional.• Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) –

Ruling that permits considerably more regulation on abortions.


LO 4.7


LO 4.7



LO 4.7


Understanding Civil LibertiesLO 4.8: Assess how civil liberties affect democratic government and how they both limit and expand the scope of government.

• Civil Liberties and Democracy• Civil Liberties and the Scope of

Government



Understanding Civil Liberties

• Civil Liberties and Democracy• Rights ensured in the Bill of Rights are

essential to democracy.• Courts typically protect civil liberties from

excesses of majority rule.


LO 4.8


Understanding Civil Liberties

• Civil Liberties and the Scope of Government• In deciding between liberty and order, the

United States generally chooses liberty.• Civil liberties limit the scope of government

even though government efforts are needed to protect rights.


LO 4.8


LO 4.1Summary

• The Bill of Rights• Under the incorporation doctrine, most of the

freedoms outlined in the Bill of Rights limit the states as well as the national government.

• The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides the basis for this protection of rights.



The legal concept under which the Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights is the

A. incorporation doctrine

B. establishment doctrine

C. inclusion doctrine

D. Due process clause


LO 4.1


The legal concept under which the Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights is the

A. incorporation doctrine

B. establishment doctrine

C. inclusion doctrine

D. Due process clause


LO 4.1


LO 4.2Summary

• Freedom of Religion• The establishment clause of the 1st

Amendment prohibits government sponsorship of religion, religious exercises, or religious doctrine, but government may support religious-related activities that have a secular purpose if this does not foster excessive entanglement with religion.



LO 4.2Summary

• Freedom of Religion (cont.)• The free exercise clause guarantees that

people may hold any religious views they like, but government may at times limit practices related to those views.



The Supreme Court can prohibit religious practices

A. it considers inappropriate.

B. so long as it does not specifically target a religion.

C. but not religious beliefs.

D. and beliefs for only certain religions.


LO 4.2


The Supreme Court can prohibit religious practices

A. it considers inappropriate.

B. so long as it does not specifically target a religion.

C. but not religious beliefs.

D. and beliefs for only certain religions.


LO 4.2


LO 4.3Summary

• Freedom of Expression• Americans enjoy wide protections for

expression, both spoken and written (as in the press), including symbolic and commercial speech.

• Free expression is protected even when it conflicts with other rights, such as the right to a fair trial.



LO 4.3Summary

• Freedom of Expression (cont.)• However, the First Amendment does not

protect some expression, such as libel, fraud, obscenity, and incitement to violence, and government has more leeway to regulate expression on the public airwaves.



Court decisions concerning symbolic speech have

A. ruled that it is never protected.

B. extended protections to only some forms of symbolic speech.

C. ruled that symbolic speech is always protected.

D. not directly addressed the matter of symbolic speech.


LO 4.3


Court decisions concerning symbolic speech have

A. ruled that it is never protected.

B. extended protections to only some forms of symbolic speech.

C. ruled that symbolic speech is always protected.

D. not directly addressed the matter of symbolic speech.


LO 4.3


LO 4.4Summary

• Freedom of Assembly• The 1st Amendment protects the right of

Americans to assemble to make a statement, although time, place, and manner restrictions on parades, picketing and protests are permissible.

• Citizens also have the right to associate with others who share a common interest.



Within reasonable limits, called time, place, and manner restrictions, freedom of assembly includes the rights to

A. parade.

B. picket.

C. Protest.

D. all of the above.


LO 4.4


Within reasonable limits, called time, place, and manner restrictions, freedom of assembly includes the rights to

A. parade.

B. picket.

C. Protest.

D. all of the above.


LO 4.4


LO 4.5Summary

• Right to Bear Arms• Most people have a right to possess firearms

and use them for traditionally lawful purposes.• However, government may limit this right to

certain classes of people, certain areas, and certain weapons, and may require qualifications for purchasing firearms.



In the case of District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court struck down a law that outlawed the possession of handguns in our nation’s .

A. public schools

B. forts

C. capital

D. colleges and universities


LO 4.5


In the case of District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court struck down a law that outlawed the possession of handguns in our nation’s .

A. public schools

B. forts

C. capital

D. colleges and universities


LO 4.5


LO 4.6Summary

• Defendants’ Rights• The Bill of Rights provides defendants with

many rights, including protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, self-incrimination, entrapment, and cruel and unusual punishment (although the death penalty is not inherently constitutionally unacceptable).



LO 4.6Summary

• Defendants’ Rights (cont.)• Defendants also have a right to be brought

before a judicial officer when arrested, to have the services of counsel, to receive a speedy and fair trial (including by an impartial jury), and to confront witnesses who testify against them.

• They also must be told of their rights.



Each of the following protections is found in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments except

A. the right to counsel.

B. the right to plea bargain.

C. the right to remain silent.

D. all of the above are rights protected in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.


LO 4.6


Each of the following protections is found in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments except

A. the right to counsel.

B. the right to plea bargain.

C. the right to remain silent.

D. all of the above are rights protected in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.


LO 4.6


LO 4.7Summary

• The Right to Privacy• Beginning in the 1960s, the Supreme Court

articulated a right to privacy as implied by the Bill of Rights.

• This right has been applied in various domains and is the basis for a woman’s right to an abortion under most, but not all, circumstances.



States may not place which of these requirements on the right to an abortion?

A. A 24-hour waiting period.

B. Require parental consent for a minor seeking an abortion.

C. Require married women to tell their husbands of their intent to have an abortion.

D. Require doctors to present women with information on the risks of the operation. To Learning Objectives

LO 4.7


States may not place which of these requirements on the right to an abortion?

A. A 24-hour waiting period.

B. Require parental consent for a minor seeking an abortion.

C. Require married women to tell their husbands of their intent to have an abortion.

D. Require doctors to present women with information on the risks of the operation. To Learning Objectives

LO 4.7


LO 4.8Summary

• Understanding Civil Liberties• When any of the Bill of Rights, including

defendants’ rights, conflict with majority rule, rights prevail.

• Civil liberties, by definition, limit the scope of government action, yet substantial government efforts may be necessary to protect the exercise of rights.



As have expanded, they have also expanded the scope of government.

A. civil liberties

B. the size of courts

C. public polices

D. governments


LO 4.8


As have expanded, they have also expanded the scope of government.

A. civil liberties

B. the size of courts

C. public polices

D. governments


LO 4.8


Text Credits

• Gallup Poll, July 17-19, 2009. Used with permission.


Photo Credits

• 98: Stefan Zakin/Corbis• 107: AP Photos• 112: AP Photos• 118: Getty Images• 119: Jean Yves Rabeuf/The Image Works• 128: By permission of John L. Hart FLP and Creators Syndicate• 127: Michael Newman/PhotoEdit• 131: AP Photos• 139: Mobile Press Register/Corbis

Chapter 4

Documents

pearson education

objectives copyright

arms defendants rights

rights of free expression

types of religious rights

longman chapter

bill of rightsthen

civil liberties summary