civil rights court cases Flashcards
(25 cards)
Barron v Baltimore
5th Amendment.
Barron’s property was taken without compensation.
Denied selective incorporation.
Gitlow v New York
1st and 14th Amendments.
Gitlow advocated against WW1. Gitlow was not protected as it is war time, but selective incorporation was established.
Engel v. Vitale
1st Amendment: Establishment Clause.
New York public schools required daily prayers. This had too much entanglement of the church and state. Extended 1st Amendment religious aspects to states.
Wisconsin v. Yoder
1st: Free Exercise Clause. Yoder was a member of an Amish group, so didn’t want children to go to school outside the community. Parents can restrict education on the basis of religion.
Lemon v. Kurtzman
1st Amendment, Establishment Clause.
Taxpayer money funded secular aspects of religious schools.
Lemon Test: test for permissible government involvement.
-Must be for a secular purpose.
-Can’t endorse or prohibit a faith
-Not foster excessive entanglement of government and religion.
Schenck v. US
1st Amendment: free speech.
Schenck was a socialist spreading anti-WW1 draft pamphlets.
Free speech can be regulated if it is a “clear and present danger.”
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire
1st Amendment
freedom of speech
Chaplinsky said threatening words when arrested.
“Fighting words” are not protected under free speech.
Brandenburg v. Ohio
1st Amendment
KKK members advocate for assembling and marching to the Capitol.
This established the “incitement test”. If what you are saying is inciting violent action, then free speech can be regulated. In this case, though, it was allowed, as no one would actually take him seriously and overthrow the federal government.
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
1st Amendment
freedom of speech
Students decided to wear black armbands to indicate beliefs of the Vietnam War. The school preemptively prohibited this, citing it would be a disruption to the school environment.
This showed that free speech applied to symbolic speech. It also established that students do not leave their constitutional rights at the school door.
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier
1st Amendment
Tried to print papers about pregnant teens. They sent the papers to the principal to check, and those articles were pulled out.
In this case, prior restraint by the principal is a valid action, as students have limited free speech.
DeJonge v. Oregon
1st Amendment
freedom to assemble
Communists assembled, policies were violent in nature.
This protected the right to assemble and influenced the decision of Brandenburg v. Ohio.
United States vs. Lopez (1995)
2nd Amendment + Commerce Clause
Lopez took a gun to school. The federal government took over the case, and charged him with the commerce clause, citing that selling the gun would have an impact on the economy.
Lopez won the case, as this application of the commerce clause was too broad.
McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
2nd Amendment
There was a law against having a handgun. This was after the DC v. Heller case.
Considering people were allowed to bear arms in DC, despite there previously being a law against it, it made sense to extend this right to the states.
D.C. v. Heller (2008)
2nd Amendment
There was a law against prohibiting handguns.
It was decided that this conflicted with the 2nd amendment right to protect oneself. Heller won the case, and handguns can now be kept by individuals in DC.
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
1st, 3rd, 4th, and 9th
Previous law banning contraceptives.
This protected the couple’s rights to privacy and the use of contraceptives.
Roe v. Wade (1973)
14th
due process
Texas laws criminalized abortion.
This protected abortion. It is a woman’s body, so it is her choice what she does.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022)
This repealed Roe v. Wade, making abortion longer protected by the federal government, but rather a choice of the states. constitution doesn’t protect abortion
New Jersey v. TLO (1985)
4th
Government must have a warrant to search your home. However, in school, while there is a protection against unreasonable search and seizure, students can be searched if there is reasonable suspicion.
Probable cause is just reason to search a student.
exclusionary rule
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
1st + 4th
Mapp was illegally searched. Obscene materials were found.
The materials wouldn’t hold up in court due to the illegal nature of the search.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
6th Amendment
Due Process
Right to legal representation (an attorney). incorporated the 6th amendment at the state level, using the 14th amendment as the reason.
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
5th Amendment
Miranda self-incriminated. It was argued that this information can’t be used in court.
This established the Miranda Rights, to protect individuals from self-incrimination.
Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
14th Amendment
The death penalty is constitutional. Cruel and unusual death depends on the killing method.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
14th Amendment
Equal protection
This desegregated schools.
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
14th Amendment
Equal protection
This protected affirmative action.
