Civil Liberties (Rights to Life, Liberty and Property)
Chapter 16
Citizenship Rights
The right of citizenship was not given constitutional protection until 1868, when the 14th Amendment was
adopted.
14th Amendment
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein
they reside
Property Rights
What happens when the government takes our
property?
Eminent Domain
The power of the government to take private property for
public use
(5th Amendment)
Due Process Rights
Procedural Due Process
Constitutional requirement that
governments proceed by the proper methods; places limits on how governmental power
may be exercised
Substantive Due Process
Constitutional requirement that government act
reasonably and that the substance of the laws
themselves be fair and reasonable; places limits on what a government
may do
The Right to Privacy
The word “privacy” does not appear
in the Constitution
However, in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), Supreme Court determined that the right to privacy existed as an “unstated element” in several rights in
the Bill of Rights
Laid the groundwork for Roe v. Wade
Privacy Rights: Abortion
Roe v. Wade (1973)
• A woman in Texas claimed she was raped and not legally allowed by state law to have an abortion
• Brought the case to the Supreme Court
• The Court ruled 7 to 2 that the Texas law violated her constitutional right to personal privacy
Privacy Rights: Abortion
Recent changes in the Court’s composition have opened up the possibility to the Roe ruling eventually being overturned
Privacy Rights
• Lawrence v. Texas (2003)
– Bowers v. Hardwick, a 1986 case that upheld a Texas sodomy law, was overturned
• Gay Marriage– Supreme court has not ruled on any
cases
– “Full Faith and Credit” constitutional provision
– 1996 Defense of Marriage Act
Rights of Persons Accused of Crimes
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized.
The Fourth Amendment
Rights of Persons Accused of Crimes
• Police must obtain a search warrant, which they obtain after proving to a judge that they have sufficient probable cause
Search and Seizures
Search and Seizure
• What can the police search, incident to a lawful arrest?– The individual being arrested– Things in plain view– Things or places under the immediate control
of the individual
Rights of Persons Accused of Crimes
Exclusionary Rule
Under this rule, evidence that is obtained improperly by the police cannot be used to prosecute someone
accused of a crime
• At first applied only to federal law enforcement
• After Mapp v. Ohio (1961), rule was applied to all police officers
Miranda Rights
Rights of Persons Accused of Crimes:Fair Trial Procedures
In all criminal proceedings, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to
have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
The Sixth Amendment
Rights of Persons Accused of Crimes:Sentencing and Punishment
Double jeopardy
Protection against being tried twice for the same
crime
“Three strikes and you’re out” laws
Laws enacted in a number of states that require a lifetime
sentence without the possibility of parole for
anyone convicted of a third felony, even if it is a minor
offense
The Death Penalty
• Can it be considered “cruel and unusual” punishment?
• If administered unfairly, does it violate the 14th Amendment right to due process?
Persons Executed, 1930-2003
Number of Death Row Inmates, 1953-2003
How Just is our System of Justice?
Too many loopholes?
• Do the rights of people accused of crimes place an undue burden on the criminal justice system?
• Does it allow guilty people to go unpunished?
Too unreliable?
• People are critical of the reliability of a trial by jury
• Sometimes jurors vote for an acquittal to express their displeasure with the law or the actions of prosecutors or police
How Just is our System of Justice?
Too discriminatory?
Over the past several decades, the Supreme court has worked hard to make the justice system more fair
• Government must furnish attorneys to those who can’t afford them•The poor cannot be put in jail if they can’t afford to pay a fine
Unfair to minorities?
Many minorities feel unfairly targeted by the police
• Racial profiling• Does Community policing help?
Terrorism and Civil Liberties
• U.S. Patriot Act meant to increase federal government’s powers to combat terrorism
• An executive order then proclaimed a national emergency; non-citizens believed to be terrorists, or to have harbored a terrorist, will be tried by a military court
Rights of the Accused
Are persons captured on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq entitled to the protections of the U.S. Constitution?