Civil LibertiesWilson 5A

Key QuestionsWho Governs To What Ends

• Why do the courts play so large a role in deciding what our civil liberties should be?

• How do the institutions created under the Patriot Act reduce American civil liberties?

• Why not display religious symbols on government property?

• If a person confesses committing a crime, why is that confession sometimes not used in court?

Creating a Limited GovernmentFramers Ratifying Conventions

• Whatever was not specifically allowed was assumed to be not allowed

• System built in checks and balances of federal powers

• Bill of Rights to place specific restrictions on federal government action

• Bill of Rights did not originally apply to state government actions

Balancing FreedomsCivil Liberties Civil Rights

• Protections the Constitution provides against the abuse of government power

• Set of principles• Freedom for all• Competing rights and

duties• War

• Protecting certain groups against discrimination

• Due process• Equal protection of the

laws• Selective incorporation• Interest groups• Courts

Restricted Civil Liberties in War•Sedition Act of 1798•Espionage and Sedition Act (WWI)•Smith Act (1940)•Internal Security Act of 1950•Communist Control Act of 1954•Patriot Act

▫Courts have upheld during war▫Courts have relaxed for political speech

Cultural Conflicts•Americanism

▫Equated with European Protestant values•Immigration

▫Conflicts over protected freedoms▫New ethnic, cultural, religious groups

•Differences within groups Religious displays Bilingual education Gay rights

Extending the Bill of Rights•14th Amendment

▫“no state shall deprive/deny…” Due process clause Equal protection of the law

•Supreme Court•Incorporation

▫Selectively to most of Bill of Rights•New rights – privacy, marriage, etc.

Not Incorporated•2 – right to bear arms•3 – quartering of troops•5 – right to be indicted by a grand jury•7 – right to a jury trial in civil cases•8 – ban on excessive bail and fine

Speech and Security

•Blackstone (English Jurist)▫Free press necessary to a free society▫No prior restraint – censorship▫Accept consequences of print

•Sedition Act (US, 1798)▫Decision of juries not judges▫Acquitted if proved true reporting▫Jefferson pardoned federal prosecutions

Restriction of Speech•Preferred position – expression is highest

right•Prior restraint – government censorship•Clear and present danger – only treason,

insurrection, or forcible resistance; safety, war

•Imminent danger – only restricts if it calls for illegal action or listeners take direct action

•Neutrality – may not favor one group•Clarity – laws and standards of a permit•Least-restrictive means - alternatives

Speech and Liberty•Not fully protected

▫Libel/slander – falsely injures another person Must prove malice

▫Obscenity – no redeeming social value No comprehensive definition Balance freedom v. decency Local, regulatory (zoning ordinances) Internet unregulated

▫Symbolic speech – illegal acts for political message Statutes cannot make actions illegal

▫False advertising – truth, regulatory

Who is a Person?•Corporations and interest groups have

First Amendment Rights▫Restriction can be placed on commercial

advertising Narrowly tailored Must serve a public interest

▫McCain-Feingold changed campaign financing Limited electioneering and referring to

candidates•Students have limited First Amendment

Rights▫Control activities fro pedagogical reasons