Civil Liberties Flashcards
What are Civil Liberties?
Are individual freedoms guaranteed to the people primarily by the Bill of Rights. Place limitations on the power of the government. Protect our rights to think and act without the gov interference.
What are Natural Rights?
Human possess certain rights as human beings. Stem from human dignity or god. They are transcendent, universal, prior to any particular government.
State of Nature and Inalienable
What are Positive Rights?
Conditions that all persons need to flourish and lead a reasonably happy and secure life. Often must be provided by the state.
What are Negative Rights?
Checks the power of the state. For example, freedom of press, assembly and religion.
What are Ex post facto laws?
Laws that criminalize an action after it occurs. Cannot be passed.
What is the Bills of attainder?
Laws under which specific persons or groups are detained and sentenced without trial.
Could be a single person.
What is Habeas Corpus?
The right of an accused person to be brought before a judge and informed of the charge and evidence against them. To protect people from being imprisoned for political reasons.
What is Selective Incorporation?
Was when the Bill of Rights initially did not apply to state governments. The Supreme Court gradually starts to incorporate it after the case of Gitlow vs New York.
There are rights that are so fundamental that need to be protected by the states and federal government.
What is the Establishment Clause?
Government may not favor one religion over the other.
Nor can it favor religion over religion
And cannot stablished an state religion
“Wall of separation”
The government must avoid “excessive entanglement” with religion.
What is the Free Exercise Clause?
Prohibits the government from interfering with the practice of religion.
What is the case of Lemon v. Kurtzman?
Pennsylvania law authorized state superintendent of schools (Kurtzman) to reimburse private (religious) schools for:
-Teachers salaries
-Textbooks
-Instructional material
This was by the state tax levied on cigarettes.
The state funded secular expenses only.
The Court strikes down the Pennsylvania law.
What is the Lemon Test?
A ruling to avoid violating the First Amendment:
1- Must have a secular purpose
2- Primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion (neutrality)
3- Must not foster “an excessive entanglement with religion”
What is the Zelma v. Simmons-Harris case?
The school voucher program violates the First Amendment?
The city of Cleveland provides students with 2500 voucher to attend private religious or non religious school.
Allows poor kids opportunity to get out of lousy public schools.
Private schools can do more with less, and market forces will reward goods schools and punish bad.
What is Zelma v. Simmons-Harris (2)?
High court upholds the program, ruling that it is acceptable because:
- Program had a valid secular purpose
- Provided aid directly to a broad class of individuals who direct the aid to religious schools or institutions.
-Program is entirely neutral with respect to religion
What is the Schenck v. United States case?
Charles Schenck is arrested for distributing pamphlets urging resistance to the draft
-A capitalist/imperialist conspiracy contrary to interests of working people
-One of many cases stemming from conflicts with socialist and communist agitators from the early to mid 1900s.
-Said draft violated the 13th Amendment
-Violated the 1st Amendment’s free exercise clause
