AP US Gov Unit 3

• 1st Amendment - Establishment Clause

• New York short, voluntary prayer before the start of school

• Supreme Court outlaws prayer in school

• Affirms a wall of separation

• 1st Amendment - Free Exercise Clause

• Free exercise of Amish parents outweighs Wisconsin law

• 3 part test:

  • Are religious beliefs sincerely held?

  • Is the law seriously seriously burdening these beliefs?

  • If yes, courts must balance the state’s interests with the free exercise

• 1st Amendment - Speech

• Handing out brochures to convince people not to comply with the Army draft

• Court rules freedom of speech is not absolute

• “Clear and present danger” test, “fire in a theater” example

• 1st Amendment - Speech

• Students wore black armbands to school to protest for peace in the Vietnam War

• The school punished them for potential disruption, even though there was no disruption created

• The court ruled that there was no notifiable disruption, so the speech was protected

• 1st Amendment - Speech

• Campaign Finance case

• Independently spend as much money as they want, as long as it isn’t coordinated

• The First Amendment does not allow limits to be put on corporations

  • Corporations are now given these same rights

• Political speech is indispensable to a democracy

• Disclosure requirements are appropriate

• 1st Amendment - Press

• Two newspapers get the Pentagon Papers (Department of Defense classified documents showing the U.S. involvement in Vietnam)

• The government tells them not to publish them, and if they publish them, they will be punished (prior restraint)

• Are they allowed to publish them?

• Did not jeopardize national security, so they can publish them (cannot use prior restraint)

• 2nd Amendment

• Incorporation Case

• D.C. v. Heller (2008)- said D.C. handgun ban violates 2nd Amendment… applies to federal area

• Does 2nd Amendment apply to the states?

• The right to self-defense is a “fundamental…to ordered liberty” and “deeply rooted…in history and tradition” and thus a right that is applicable to the states

• 6th Amendment - Right to Counsel (counsel = lawyer)

• Federal defendants must be provided with an attorney at the expense of the state if the defendant cannot afford it

• Goes to jail, reads the law, sends a letter/petition to the Supreme Court

• Since poor, the Court pays to hear his case by paying for a lawyer

• Basically, everyone, at any level of prosecution, has the right to counseling, and if they cannot afford it, the government will provide it

• Public defenders

• Incorporation case

• 9th Amendment - Unenumerated Rights

• 14th Amendment - Due Process Clause

• Court extends the “Right to Privacy” in the Constitution to abortion

• Establishes a woman’s right to an abortion

• Not an absolute right

• Impacts laws in 46 states

• Established the principle of Judicial Review

• Supreme Court may declare an act of Congress or the President unconstitutional

• Impact: makes the Supreme Court an “equal” player with Congress and the President

• Necessary and Proper Clause

• Can Maryland tax a national bank?

• Affirms Elastic Clause; stretches power of Congress beyond the Expressed Powers of Article I

• Affirms Supremacy Clause (Art VI)  NG>SGs

• Affirms Congress can gain Implied Powers

• Federalism and Commcerce Clause (Article I Section 8 Clause 3)

• Issue: Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1990

• Struck down as the Supreme Court said, gun possession, in this context, is not an economic activity, therefore, it cannot be regulated by the Feds

• In this sense, it is a function of state or local governments to regulate

• “Separate but Equal” is inherently unequal (segregation a violate of Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment)

• separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional

• Overturns Plessy

• Works to change Dejure Segregation (segregation that occurs from the law)

• Warren Court (activist court)

• 14th Amendment - Equal Protection Clause

• Does the Court have jurisdiction over questions of legislative apportionment (redistricting)?

• Tennesse used the same districts for around 50 years

• These issues merit judicial evaluation. Voters can challenge apportionment schemes in Federal courts

• This case began the process of establishing the principle of “one man, one vote” starting what has been called “the reapportionment revolution”

• 14th Amendment - Equal Protection Clause

• Strict scrutiny to redistrict by race under EPC

• North Carolina was using racial gerrymandering (purposely grouping majority-minority districts)

• Race is under strict scrutiny, will look at it

government is prohibited in the First Amendment from creating a national religion.

government is prohibited in the First Amendment from interfering in the practice of religion.

14th Amendment clause stating that no state may deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

prohibits states from interfering with the federal government's exercise of its constitutional powers

to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among states, and with the Indian tribes.

14th Amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination.

nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

legal concept under which the Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights by making most of its provisions applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

a risk or threat to safety or other public interests that is serious and imminent.

government instrument to prevent material from being published.

the ability of the federal government to prevent states from enacting laws that violate some of the basic constitutional rights of American citizens.

establishes freedom of religion, press, speech, and assembly.

the right to bear arms

protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government

prohibits the government from forcing individuals to testify against themselves (self-incrimination)

designed to protect individuals accused of crimes; includes the right to counsel, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a speedy and public trial.

the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

abolished slavery and involuntary servitude.

prohibits states from denying equal protection of the laws and declares anyone born in the US is a citizen.

the right to vote cannot be denied on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

the right to vote cannot be denied on the basis of gender.

prohibited poll taxes in federal elections.

strengthened protections of individuals with disabilities by requiring employers and public facilities to make "reasonable accommodations" and prohibiting employment discrimination against people with disabilities.

a policy designed to reduce the barriers to voting for those suffering discrimination.

aw that banned discrimination in public accommodations; outlawed discrimination in hiring based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; cut off federal funding for discriminating organizations; and empowered the U.S. Department of Justice to initiate suits against non-compliant programs.

Makes it unlawful to refuse to sell, rent to, or negotiate with any person because of that person's inclusion in a protected class.

Legislation passed shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, that granted broad surveillance and detention authority to the government.

constitutionally established guarantees and freedoms that protect citizens, opinions, and property against arbitrary government interference (need due process to remove)

protect individuals from discrimination based on characteristics such as race, national origin, gender, etc.

written mistrusts to stain one’s reputation and get them in trouble

verbal mistrusts to stain one’s reputation and get them in trouble

when expression can take place; place restrictions regulate where expression can take place; and manner restrictions regulate how expression can take place.