landmark supreme court cases n text chapter 16. civil rights and civil liberties n the 14th...

Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Text Chapter 16

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties The 14th Amendment takes the Bill of

Rights, which originally bound only the federal government, and expands those guarantees to state and local governments as well. Though the amendment passed in 1867, this protection was first described by the Supreme Court in Gitlow v. New York, 1925.

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

Stare decisis has further explained and expanded Americans’ rights and liberties, for example in the Gitlow decision, in Roe v. Wade, in Texas v. Johnson, 1989 (defending a citizen’s right to burn a flag as freedom of expression), etc.

Freedom of Religion

Two protections exist in the Constitution for a citizen’s right to worship (or not to worship) as he or she chooses.

The “establishment clause” of Amendment I, Bill of Rights.

The “free exercise clause” of Amendment I.

Freedom of Religion

Amendment I states that Congress may not establish any one religion as the official religion of the United States. Thomas Jefferson referred to this in private correspondence as a “wall of separation between Church and State,” and that language has been adopted in Supreme Court decisions.

Freedom of Religion

Amendment I also forbids the government to stop any citizen from the “free exercise” of observing his/her chosen religion

Because the language of the amendment is not precise, many Court decisions have refined the parameters of the amendment.

Freedom of Religion

Everson v. Board of Education, 1947, The Court ruled that New Jersey could legally reimburse parents of Catholic school students for the cost of busing students to Catholic School. The Court did not require states to do this, and OK’d it only if the funds went to parents directly, not to the Catholic school.

Freedom of Religion

Engle v. Vitale, 1962, The court ruled that school-ordered prayer in public school was an unconstitutional violation of a family’s right to choose the religious practices of their children. Later Courts ruled that student-organized prayer was to be permitted, as long as school officials did not require participation.

Freedom of Religion

Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971, stated that states could not be required to subsidize text books or teacher salaries for parochial schools. It established the so-called “Lemon test:” state funds spent in private schools could not teach or promote religion, and must be for secular subjects only.

Freedom of Religion

Lynch v. Donnelly, 1984: The Court ruled that government bodies could celebrate the Christmas holiday with Christian religious Christmas displays only if secular displays and holiday displays from non-Christian faiths were equally included.

Freedom of Religion

Wallace v. Jaffree, 1985, overturned a state law that mandated a time for “voluntary prayer” in public schools, stating that such a time mandate was tantamount to ordering a prayer.

Freedom of Religion

Edwards v. Aguillard, 1987, ordered that Louisiana could not force public schools that taught evolution to also teach creationism.

Freedom of Religion

Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens (1990) ordered public school systems that allowed non-religious groups to use school facilities after hours, to allow religious groups equal access to the facilities after-hours.

Freedom of Religion

Lee v. Wesiman (1992) ruled that a public school could not ask a clergyman to lead the audience in prayer at a public school event.

Freedom of Religion

Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2002) overturned a Texas law that allowed high school students to lead the audience in prayer at organized public athletic events.

In all of the above cases, the Court cited the “establishment clause” as its governing legal base.

Freedom of Religion

The Court has also commented on practices that would interfere with a person’s right to exercise religion freely:

Reynolds v. United States, 1879, upheld a federal law that banned polygamy, even though Reynolds, a Mormon from Utah, claimed it violated his religious freedom.

Freedom of Religion

Wisconsin v. Yoder, 1972, ruled that the state of Wisconsin could not require Amish parents to send their children to public school past 8th grade, because it violated their religious beliefs.

Freedom of Religion

Employment Division of Oregon v. Smith, 1990, stated that Oregon could not deny unemployment benefits to a worker who had been fired from his job for using peyote as part of an Indian religious ceremony.

Freedom of Religion In 1993, Congress passed the Religious

Freedom Restoration Act, giving people the right to religious practices, even those prohibited by local law, IF they could prove the law was written only to discriminate against one religion and that the government had no other compelling interest in writing the law.

Freedom of Religion

In 1997, the Supreme Court struck down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, in its decision in the case of City of Boerne, TX, v. Flores.

Freedom of Speech

The Supreme Court and lower courts have defined several classifications of speech:

Pure Speech Symbolic Speech “Speech Plus”

Freedom of Speech

PURE SPEECH is verbal, common speech. It is given the highest level of protection in courts.

Freedom of Speech

SYMBOLIC SPEECH is any expression using actions or symbols (such as wearing an armband while marching.) Courts have upheld that symbolic speech can be restricted if it threatens public safety (for example, a march that threatens to break into a riot.)

Freedom of Speech

“SPEECH PLUS” is a combination of pure speech and symbolic speech, such as a rally followed by a march. It may also be limited if it threatens public safety.

Freedom of Speech

Amendment I forbids Congress to make any law abridging freedom of speech. However, most governmental attempts to limit free speech have purported to do so in the name of preserving the safety of the public, going back as early as the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1799 (which were never challenged in court.)

Freedom of Speech

Congress also passed laws against sedition (spoken words against the government) during World War I. These, and later laws abridging free speech, were challenged in the courts.

Freedom of Speech Schenck v. United States, 1919,

concerned a draft resister (Schenck) who mailed out fliers encouraging protest against the draft during WWI. The Court opinion of Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes ruled that such talk constituted a “clear and present danger” in wartime, and should not be allowed.

Freedom of Speech

Holmes’ “clear and present danger” qualification became the standard for future limits on free speech; it became known as the CPD doctrine.

Freedom of Speech

Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 1942, stated that free speech did not extend to “fighting words” meant solely to incite disorder. Such words were ruled to have a “bad tendency” toward creating illegal and/or violent action among listeners, and were not protected.

Freedom of Speech

Tinker v. Des Moines, 1969, ruled that state employers could not prohibit employees from wearing black armbands to work to protest the Viet Nam War. This was the first use of the phrase “symbolic speech,” which was ruled allowable and protected under the First Amendment.

Freedom of Speech Miller v. California, 1973, set guidelines

for determining if printed matter is obscene and can be outlawed (the “Miller test:”)

it appeals to indecent sexual desires it shows sexual behavior that is against local

laws; it has no literary, artistic, or scientific value

Freedom of Speech

Reno v. ACLU (1997) overruled the Communications Decency Act as being too broad and vague; the Act was set up to regulate Internet speech. Since the CDA was overruled in 1997 there has been no legally satisfactory regulation adopted for regulating Internet content.

Freedom of the Press

Amendment I joins freedom of the press with freedom of speech, and forbids Congress to abridge it.

Today, “the press” includes not only newspapers and magazines but also radio, television, and the Internet.


Near v. Minnesota, 1931, used the 14th Amendment to require states to grant a free press, and forbade the states to make any attempt to pre-judge or pre-censor any newspaper content (no “prior restraint” or printed content.)


New York Times v. Sullivan, 1964 - specifically protected editorial statements about public officials.

Freedom of the Press New York Times v. United States (1971)

forbade the United States (specifically, President Richard Nixon as Chief Executive) to stop the Times from publishing The Pentagon Papers, transcripts of secret White House discussions about Viet Nam war bombings of which the Congress was not previously informed.


Hazlewood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988) upheld the right of school districts to censor student newspapers as long as the censorship was related to legitimate concerns. Stated that newspapers run by and for legal minors do not have the same level of protection as newspapers run by and for adults.

Freedom of Assembly and Petition

Are also guaranteed by Amendment I. Apply to public and private places Allow citizens to express opinions to

government officials by letter, petition, pickets, demonstrations, parades, marches, etc.


Dejonge v. Oregon (1937) established that citizens have to right to associate with people who share their beliefs, without interference from either state or federal government.


Courts have upheld the right of state or local governments to demand prior application for parade or meeting permits, in keeping with state and local governments’ obligation to protect the public order (numerous decisions.)


State, local, and federal government may refuse to let some places (e.g., airports, jails, hospitals) be used for community meetings, but only if all community requests are treated equally.

Restrictions on the right to assemble apply to public property only.

Property Rights

Both the 5th and 14th amendments state that a citizen cannot be deprived of property without “due process” (fair actions in keeping with established legal rules.)

Property Rights

The legal right of a government to exercise “eminent domain” means that the government can command the surrender of private property for public use. The 5th and 14th don’t forbid this, as long as due process is followed and the citizen is paid the fair value of the property.

Right to Privacy

. . . Is not specifically mentioned anywhere in the Constitution. However, it has come up in several important Supreme Court Cases, and is in keeping with the 9th Amendment guarantee that rights not specifically listed must not be assumed to be nonexistent.

Right to Privacy Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) was the

first mention of a guaranteed right to privacy. The Court ruled that the state could not dictate whether a couple could have or receive birth control information from their doctor in their home; this was an private matter between the three people, and the government had no right to intervene.

Right to Privacy

Roe v. Wade, 1973 extended the right to a woman’s privacy in making a decision with her physician about termination of pregnancy. Using Griswold, the Court ruled that a decision regarding abortion was a private matter in which the state had no compelling interest.

Rights of Accused Persons

Several amendments address the rights of people accused of crimes; the 14th extends those protections and makes states observe them as well as the federal government.


4th Amendment: protection against unreasonable search and seizure

5th Amendment: protection against double jeopardy, and forced self-incrimination

6th Amendment: right to an attorney 8th Amendment: protection from cruel and

inhuman punishment

Rights of Accused Persons 4th Amendment cases: Mapp v. Ohio, 1961: illegally obtained evidence

may not be used in court Terry v. Ohio, 1968: allows police to search

suspects, as well as arrested persons Nix v. Williams (1984) allows illegal evidence to

be used IF it would have been discovered anyway

U.S. v. Leon (1984) allows illegal evidence IF officers believed it to be legal at the time


Fifth Amendment case law: Miranda v. Arizona, 1966: suspects in

police custody must not be assumed to know their rights, but must be informed of those rights at the time of arrest

Rights of Accused Persons 6th Amendment case law: Powell v. Alabama (1932) granted free legal

representation to a poor defendant in a capital case (one with possible death penalty)

Betts v. Brady (1942) specified that poor defendants in non-capital cases were NOT entitled to free legal representation

Gideon v. Wainwright (1961) overturned Betts, and extended government-paid representation to non-capital cases as well


8th Amendment case law: Furman v. Georgia 1972, ruled the

death penalty unconstitutional because it was not imposed fairly in the states

Gregg v. Georgia 1976, re-instituted the death penalty IF it was imposed according to the circumstances of the case and not according to race or class

Items not specifically listed in the Constitution . . . Rights not specifically listed must not be

assumed to be non-existent, according to the 9th Amendment.

Powers of the federal government not specifically listed must be presumed to belong to the individual States, or to the People of the United States, according to the 10th Amendment.

The “Civil Rights” Movement

The Congress has written several Civil Rights Acts designed to prevent discrimination and to provide equality of all citizens before the law. The Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment was one of the first of these, but individual states often ignored it.


Some state actions to restrict freedoms are not subject to 14th Amendment guidelines, for example, state laws forbidding minors to drive before age 16, or to drink in public before age 21. These were held to be reasonable restrictions on civil rights.


The Court has developed what it calls a “strict scrutiny” to determine if restrictions on civil rights are based on illegitimate prejudice. Any state law failing this “strict scrutiny” test is automatically judged suspicious by the Court, which will demand that the state justify the law or give it up altogether.


The first “civil rights” amendments were passed after the Civil War to define the legal status of former slaves:

13th Amendment - ended slavery 14th Amendment - defined slaves and all

others born in the US as citizens 15th Amendment - eliminated race or prior

slavery as reasons to deny voting rights.


But these amendments still allowed states to deny black citizens their due rights.

Most states instituted “black codes” making voter registration difficult, and segregating the races in most public places and for schooling purposes.


Congress passed a Civil Rights Act in 1874 outlawing segregation in public places, but the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.

In 1896, the Court (Plessy v. Ferguson) ruled all segregation legal IF equal facilities were simultaneously provided for minority citizens.


Until the 1940s, Congress and American presidents refused to challenge Plessy.

The need for manpower during WWII gave two presidents an opportunity to desegregate federal workplaces with little complaint.


FDR desegregated defense industry workplaces and government offices by Executive Order 8802 in 1941.

President Harry Truman desegregated the United States military (all branches) with Executive Order 9981 in 1948.


After Congress repeatedly failed to desegregate public schools and universities, the Supreme Court ordered it in 1954 (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas) It followed that decision the next year with an additional order for “all deliberate speed” in accomplishing desegregation.


The Civil Rights Act of 1957 created a Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice, and made it a federal crime to prevent a person from voting in federal elections because of race.

The “Civil Rights” Movement The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited

race discrimination in employment and all places of public accommodation (restaurants, trains, airplanes, hotels, etc.) It outlawed any racial bias in any program receiving any funds from the federal government, and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)


The 24th Amendment outlawed poll taxes anywhere in the United States.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed literacy tests.

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 made it easier for employees to file racial discrimination suits against employers.


As African Americans began to realize their civil rights more fully with assistance from the federal government, other minority groups in America began to seek the same protections.


The National Indian Youth Council and the American Indian Movement brought attention to their concerns; a 1985 Supreme Court ruling upheld treaty rights to Indian lands, and in 1988 Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allowing Native Americans to operate casinos on their land.


Also in 1988, Congress appropriated funds to compensate Japanese-Americans for their forced relocation into internment camps on the west coast during WWII.


American women have worked to achieve political and economic rights equal to those traditionally accorded to male citizens.


The 19th Amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote.

The Equal Pay Act (1963) helped women and black citizens by making it illegal to determine salary in federal workplaces just according to race, gender, religion, or national origin.


The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned job discrimination on the basis of race or gender in any company engaged in interstate commerce.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Act (1972) forbade any gender or race discrimination in hiring, firing, promotion, pay, and working conditions.


The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1974) forbade discrimination against women who sought credit from banks, finance companies, or the government. It became illegal for those institutions to ask questions about gender or marital status on loan applications.


The Women’s Equity in Employment Act (1991) required employers to justify gender discriminations in hiring, firing, and job performance evaluations.


Congress passed an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution in 1972 forbidding any discrimination because of gender. It failed to receive ratification by the necessary 3/4 of the states by 1983, and never became part of the Constitution.


Conservative opposition to the ERA was strong, and effective in defeating state ratification. But numerous laws such as those described earlier seemed to show many citizens that the states were already enacting equal rights laws for women, and that the ERA may well have been unnecessary.


Full civil rights protection for homosexual citizens became an issue in 1969, when rioting followed a police raid on a gay bar in the Stonewall section of New York City.

In Romer v. Evans,1996, the Supreme Court struck down an amendment to the Colorado state constitution that would have excluded gays from non-discrimination laws. The Court cited the 14th amendment.


Age discrimination has been an issue for older Americans, particularly for those seeking employment at or near retirement age. In 1967 Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, prohibiting any hiring discrimination against individuals over 40.


AFFIRMATIVE ACTION is any policy that attempts to correct the effects of past discrimination by such compensating actions as pro-actively hiring minorities, promoting minorities, or admitting minority students to previously segregated colleges.


Affirmative action programs have always been controversial, because by definition they are willing to prioritize on the basis of race, gender, or age; opponents have called this simply a variation of racial or gender or age discrimination.


In 1978, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, the Court ruled that in general, affirmative action practices in student admission to a university were constitutional as long as race was not the only factor considered in administering them.

The “Civil Rights” Movement In 1996, the Court ruled in Hopwood v.

Texas that race could not be used as a factor for or against a student’s admission to a university; state university applications were to be completely color-blind in order to comply fully with the Constitution.

Affirmative action seems to be on the decline.

landmark supreme court cases n text chapter 16. civil rights and civil liberties n the 14th...

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