Download 14 th Amendment - Northern Highlands

The Big ONE
The First Amendment
“Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or
the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of
grievances.”
14th Amendment
Many scholars observers have argued that the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment to the
Constitution has become the single most important act in all of United States politics.
(a) Identify which provision of the Fourteenth Amendment was applied in TWO of the
following cases. For each case you select, explain the judicial philosophy and the significance of
the decision in United States politics.
 Baker v. Carr (1962)
 Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg (1971)
 Regents of University of California v. Bakke (1978)
(b) Identify which provision of the Fourteenth Amendment was applied in TWO of the
following cases. For each case you select, explain the judicial philosophy and the significance of
the decision in United States politics.
 Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
 Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
 Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
Dual Federalism (Barron) to
Cooperative Federalism (14th)
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1.
2.
Barron v. Baltimore (1833) – Bill of
Rights did not apply to the states.
Barron decision remains unchallenged until
the Civil War: The 14th Amendment
Two Key Clauses: “No State shall
deprive. . .”
Life liberty or property without DUE
PROCESS - Civil Liberties
Equal Protection - Civil Rights
Incorporation Doctrine
changes the Equation
14th Amendment and the Bill of Rights
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No State shall deprive you of life, liberty or
property without due process. . .
Liberty can not exist without fundamental
rights.
Free Speech is a fundamental right- liberty
can not exist if it is denied.
Therefore no state shall deny freedom of
speech, because they would be denying
liberty- contrary to the 14th Amendment.
14th Amendment
Incorporation Doctrine
College Board Cases
(1st Amendment)
Schenck and Abrams (1919) – “Clear and Present Danger”
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) - Free Speech
New York Times v. US (1971) – Pentagon Papers
Everson v. Board of Education (1947) - Wall of Separation
Engel v. Vitale (1962) - No School Prayer
Lemon v. Kurtzman - (1971) Lemon Test
Incorporation Doctrine (14th and. . .)
Mapp v. Ohio (1961) 4th Amendment
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) 6th Amendment
Miranda v. Arizona (1965) 5th Amendment
Furman v. Georgia (1972) 8th Amendment
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)– Privacy (Informal Amendment
– Penumbras Theory)
Roe v. Wade (1973) – Privacy and Abortion
Establishment Clause
(Religion)
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The clause against establishment of religion by
law was intended to erect "a wall of separation
between Church and State.“ Everson v. Board
of Education (1947).
School Prayer: Engel v. Vitale (1962) - The
case involved a prayer written by the New York
Board of Regents. Though the prayer was nondenominational, Justice Black wrote, "it is no
part of the official business of government to
compose official prayers for any group of
American people to recite as part of a religious
program carried out by the Government."
The Lemon Test
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In Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), the Supreme Court
ruled that government may not "excessively entangle"
with religion. Example: funding religion.
The case involved two state laws: one permitting the
state to "purchase" services in secular fields from
religious schools, and the other permitting the state to
pay a percentage of the salaries of private school
teachers, including teachers in religious institutions.
The Supreme Court found that the government was
"excessively entangled" with religion, and thereby
invalidated the statutes in question. The excessive
entanglement test, together with the secular
purpose and primary effect tests, form the Lemon
Test.
Free Exercise Clause
(Religion)
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Reynolds v. United States (1879) – no polygamy; "Laws
are made for the government of actions, and while they
cannot interfere with mere religious beliefs and opinions,
they may with practices."
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) "One's right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a
free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other
fundamental rights may not be submitted to a vote."
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) - the Court ruled that a law that
"unduly burdens the practice of religion" without a
compelling interest, even though it might be "neutral on its
face," would be unconstitutional.
Other Decisions: people could become conscientious
objectors to war on religious grounds; the Air Force can tell
a cadet no yarmulkes; Indians- no peyote
st
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To Summarize the
Amendment and Religion
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Free Exercise Clause – you can believe
whatever you want to believe, but you
often can not do whatever you want to
do, to exercise your religious freedom.
Establishment Clause – there must be a
“wall of separation” dividing church and
state. The government may not establish
an official religion of the state.
Review
Freedom of Religion
FreeResp07Scoring.pdf
NY Times Co. v. United States (1971)
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Richard Nixon had claimed executive privilege to
force The Times to suspend publication of
classified information in its possession.
The question before the court was whether
freedom of the press under the First
Amendment was subordinate to a claimed
Executive need to maintain the secrecy of
information.
The Supreme Court ruled that First Amendment
did protect The New York Times' right to print
the Pentagon Papers because it would NOT
cause a “direct and immediate harm” to
national security.
Symbolic Speech
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Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) - wearing
armbands to protest Vietnam did not
cause disruption; the students’ activity
represented constitutionally protected
symbolic speech.
 Texas v. Johnson (1989) - flag burning
is protected as symbolic speech.
Again, one must view Supreme Court
decisions as an informal way of amending
the Constitution.