Michelle PalaroCJUS 2360Fall 2015

A Foundation for Understanding Constitutional Law

Chapter 4Equal Protection Under

the Law: Balancing Individual, State and

Federal Rights

13th Amendment The framers of the Constitution wanted to

prevent excessive federal authority They wanted to give states more

authority, but resulted in problems the national government could not overlook

There were several issues:o State bank and money versus national

banks and currencyo Federal aid versus state aid to improve

roadways and railway o Freedom versus slavery

13th Amendment, cont’d President Lincoln was elected in 1960.

o Soon after many states passed a resolution to withdraw from the Union

President Lincoln was faced with trying to keep the Union together

He promised to abolish slavery in the territories, but under the Constitution, slavery was legal in the states where it had been established

Dred Scott

Brief overview of the case:

Dred Scott, cont’d Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

o Supreme Court ruled that even free blacks could not be citizens of the United States and that they “had no rights which a white man was bound to respect”

The southern states were not convinced and the Civil War ensued

It pitted American against American and sometimes brother against brother

Hundreds of thousands wounded and killed Caused a divide that still affects the country

to this day

13th Amendment, cont’d April 1862, slavery was abolished in the

District of Columbia and 2 months later in all the territories

January 1, 1863, President Lincoln declared all the slaves free in all districts of the United States in his Emancipation Proclamationo Set a national tone toward abolishing

slavery, but those states who had slaves maintained them

13th Amendment was ratified in 1865 and abolished slavery

14th Amendment Even though slavery was now abolished with

the 13th Amendment, states continued to discriminateo Many Southern states passed “Black Codes”

Congress passed the 14th Amendment in 1868 which gave blacks citizenship, and granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States

The 14th Amendment also forbids the states to deny their citizens due process of law or equal protection of the lawo Certain provisions of the Bill of Rights were

made applicable to the states as well

14th Amendment, cont’d Section 1 of the 14th Amendment states

that “all people born or naturalized in the United States” are citizens of the United States and of the state in which they reside, effectively overriding the Dred Scott decision

It also prevents federal and state governments from abridging the privileges of citizens or to deny any citizen equal protection of the law or deprive them of life, liberty, or property without due process of the law

Procedural Due Process Due process provides rules and

procedures to ensure fairness and prevent arbitrary government actions

2 types of due process:1. Procedural due process refers to how laws

are applied2. Substantive due process requires that the

laws themselves be fair, not just how the laws are enforced (see Lochner v. New York slide)

Selective Incorporation Prevents state or local governments

from infringing on people’s rights when federal government would not be allowed to

It holds that only the provisions of the Bill of Rights fundamental to the American scheme of justice are applied to the states through the due process clause of the 14th Amendment

Duncan v. Louisiana , 391 U.S. 145 (1968)

Facts: Duncan requested a jury trial and was denied, then found guilty of battery with a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment

Issues: Is the denial of the jury trial in a state criminal prosecution, where a sentence of up to two years imprisonment is possible, a violation of the 6th and 14th Amendments?

Holding: Yes Rationale: The right to a jury trial is

fundamental to the American scheme of justice http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duncan_v._Louisiana

Enumerated Rights Rights explicitly listed in the Bill of Rights

(enumerated) are applied to the states through incorporation and are almost always evaluated with the strict scrutiny test

Nonenumerated rights are those that are implied in the concept of ordered liberty, using the due process section of the 14th Amendment covering proceedings involving life, liberty and property

If state interference in these nonenumerated rights involves a fundamental right (generally those involving civil rights), strict scrutiny is applied. If not fundamental, the courts apply the rational basis test instead

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Brief overview of case:

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), cont’d

The Supreme Court found that the Connecticut law making contraceptives illegal violated a “right to privacy” in regard to marriage within the 14th amendment

The Court asserted that certain rights and liberties, even though not specifically stated in the Constitution, exist because specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights have penumbras or peripheral rights implied along with them

Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905)

Brief overview of case:

Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905), cont’d

Issue: Does a state law forbidding a baker to work more than 10 hours in a day or 60 hours a week violate the liberty protected by the 14th Amendment?

Holding: Yes Rationale: The Supreme Court decided

the law is not reasonable and interferes with the right contract found in the liberty aspect of the Due Process Clause

Nebbia v. New York , 291 U.S. 502 (1934)

Issues: Does New York law that establishes a minimum milk price violate the Due Process Clause?

Holding: No Rationale: The Supreme Court in contrast

to the older Lochner case, decided that in the area of social and economic legislation, if the law is not arbitrary and has a reasonable relation to promoting public welfare, the courts are without authority to override it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebbia_v._New_York

Discrimination vs. Prejudice

Prejudice – An attitude, commonly known as a negative attitude regarding a person or thing

Discrimination – An action or behavior based on prejudice

In a democratic society, people are free to think what they want

When these thoughts become socially unacceptable behaviors, the government is justified in intervening

Laws exist to punish the actor and protect the victim

The Roots of Racial Discrimination

Racial discrimination existed well before colonization and the Constitution

The 13th Amendment did not outlaw unequal treatment or change racial attitudeso Dred Scott (1856) decision ruled that freed

slaves did not have the right to remain free in a territory where slavery was still legal

o Plessy v. Feguson (1896) showed the Court’s desire to avoid civil rights issues, declaring discrimination to be outside the realm of the Court

The Roots of Racial Discrimination, etc.

Racial tension mounted as states passed laws to ensure that Whites could maintain their privileged status

These laws were known as Jim Crow Lawso Strictly segregated Blacks from

Whites in schools, restaurants, streetcars, hospitals, and cemeteries

The Struggle for Equality Many laws were passed that prohibited

discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin in employment and education in public and private sectors at the federal, state and local levelso The Equal Pay Act of 1963o The Civil Rights Act of 1964o The 1972 Equal Opportunity Act o 1972 Equal Education Act

The Rise of Affirmative Action Programs

The Nixon Administration formed the affirmative action programs

They were created to spread equal opportunity throughout the diverse American population

They were designed to cure discrimination in hiring and eliminate past, present and future discrimination using race, sex, color, and age as deciding criteria

Equal Protection in the Criminal Justice System

Must distinguish between discrimination and disparityo Disparity - A difference, but one that does

not necessarily involve discriminationo Discrimination - The differential treatment

of groups without reference to an individual’s behavior or qualifications• The degree and prevalence of discriminatory

treatment within the criminal justice system exists along a continuum between the extremes of pure justice and systematic discrimination

Equal Protection in the Criminal Justice System, cont’d

Criminal justice system is characterized by contextual discriminationo Racial minorities are treated more

harshly at some points and in some places in the criminal justice system but no differently than Whites at other points and in other places

Norris v. Alabama , 294 U.S. 587 (1935)

Facts: Evidence established the systematic exclusion of African-Americans from jury service in 2 Alabama cities

Issues: Is this consistent with the 14th Amendment?

Holding: No Rationale: Court acknowledged that exclusion

of African Americans on juries constituted an equal protection violation

The ruling was ineffectual and African Americans remained underrepresented on juries

Batson v. Kentucky , 476 U.S. 79 (1986)

Facts: The defendant was African-American and the prosecutor used the state’s peremptory challenges to remove all four prospective black jurors, leaving an all white jury that ultimately convicted Batson

Issues: Can use of peremptory challenges be unconstitutional?

Holding: Yes Rationale: The Court ruled that the use of

peremptory challenges to deliberately produce a racially unbalanced jury was unconstitutional

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batson_v._Kentucky

Rights vs. Privileges Right - A legally protected claim. Privilege - A claim that is not legally

protected Cooper v. Pate (1964)

o Inmates could sue the warden for depriving them of their constitutional rights under Section 1983 of the U.S. Code

Discrimination in Corrections

Race discriminationo Segregating racial groups, assuming

they will be in conflict otherwise, violates the equal protection component of the 14th Amendment

Discrimination against the disabledo Correctional facilities were required to

provide special accommodations, programming and services to disabled inmates