UNIT 4: SECTION 2 JUDICIAL BRANCH:

SUPREME COURT CASES

Essential Questions: How do precedent cases redefine the

nature of the constitution, its treaties and laws?

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The Unalienable Rights

• The process of incorporation– Most of the Bill of Rights

protections have been incorporated but the court chooses to do so on a case-by-case basis (see the chart on p. 536 for specifics)• Key Incorporation Cases (look them up in

the Supreme Court Glossary pp. 799-806)• Gitlow v. New York• Mapp v. Ohio• Gideon v. Wainwright

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Freedom of Speech and Press– Symbolic Speech: the ability

to express oneself through the use of symbols, uniforms, signs, etc.• The government tries to

protect symbolic speech so that citizens are free to express themselves and speak out against the government

– The burning of the American flag is protected as free speech• Texas v. Johnson

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Freedom of Religion

• Supreme Court and the Freedom of Religion– The SC has reviewed

many cases in an attempt to define the separation of church and state• Key Cases to Review

– Engle v. Vitale– Good News Club v.

Milford Central High School

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Freedom of Religion• The Lemon Test

– The SC created a test to decide cases involving the Establishment Clause and federal money being used for religious programs• Based on the case Lemon v.

Kurtzman– Three Part Test

1. The purpose of the aid must be clearly secular, not religious

2. Its primary effect must neither advance nor inhibit religion

3. It must avoid “excessive” entanglement of government with religion

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The Rights of the Accused– Right to Adequate Defense

• 6th Amendment guarantees– defendant must be informed of the

nature and cause of the accusation– Be confronted with the witnesses

against him– May call upon favorable witness to

argue on his behalf– The right to counsel– Key Supreme Court Cases

Gideon v. Wainwright Escobedo v. Illinois

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The Rights of the Accused– Protection against self-

incrimination• 5th Amendment protection• When prosecuting a person, the

burden of proof rests on the prosecution

• Persons cannot be forced to confess under duress (torture or threats)

• Key Supreme Court Cases Miranda v. Arizona Ashcraft v. Tennessee Escobedo v. Illinois

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Freedom and Security of the Person

– Exclusionary Rule• Evidence collected in an

unlawful manner is deemed inadmissible and cannot be used at the trial

• Key Exclusionary Rule Cases– Weeks v. United

States– Mapp v. Ohio

• Further clarifications of the Exclusionary Rule– “Inevitable Discovery

Exception”• Tainted evidence may be

used if it would eventually been discovered using lawful means

– “Good Faith Exception”• If an officer is acting on good

faith (attempting to follow the law) but makes a reasonable mistake, the evidence my still be used

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Due Process of Law

• The Right to Privacy– The thanks to SC

interpretations, the right to due process also provides the right to privacy• The most controversial

case of this interpretation is Roe v. Wade

Equality Before the Law• Segregation in America

– The US has a long history of segregation (dividing people based on race)

– Jim Crow Laws: laws that separate people by race (specifically targeted AA’s)

• Separate-but-Equal Doctrine– Plessy v. Ferguson

• the Supreme Court initially said that segregation was legal as long as each group was given equal facilities

• This was later struck down by Brown v. Board of Education which determined that schools could no longer be segregated

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