Chapter 4 student(1).docx - Chapter 4 Civil Liberties The...

Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
 The crown vs. Zenger : 1735, legal case in the colony of New York that is
considered a precursor to Free Press Provisions in the Constitution. the case
did not set legal precedents as but did reflect a difference between Britain's
Authority and colonies press freedoms
 Civil Liberties : personal guarantees and freedoms that govt cannot abridge,
by law, const, or judicial interpretation; (As guarantees of “freedom to”
action, they place limitations on the power of the govt to restrain or dictate to
an individual’s actions
 Civil Rights : govt-protected rights of individuals against arbitrary or
discriminatory treatment by govts or individuals; (provide “freedom from”)
I. Roots of Civil Liberties: Bill of Rights (4.1)
 Federalists: argued that a Bill of Rights was NOT necessary for 3
main reasons
1. B of R not necessary in a const’l republic, plus state const’s
contained their own B of R
2. B of R could be dangerous
3. A national B of R would be impractical to enforce-validity
depend on public opinion
 Some Framers disagreed (anti-Federalists)
o James Madison and Thomas Jefferson had lively
correspondence about the need for a B of R
 Bill of Rights : first 10 amendments, largely guarantee specific
rights and liberties
 9 th amend : make it clear t hat listing rights does not mean that
other rights do not exist
 10 th amend : powers reserved to the states
A. Incorporation Doctrine
 14 th amend : 1 of 3 major amends enacted after the Civil War,
extending “equal protection of the law” to all citizens
 Due process clause : clause contained in the 5 th and 14 th
amendments; over the years, it has been construed to
guarantee a variety of rights to individuals
 Substantive due process : judicial interpretation of the 5 th and
14
th
amendments’ due process clauses that protects citizens
from arbitrary or unjust state or federal laws
o Interference with state pwr was rare and states passed
sedition laws: laws that make it illegal to speak or write
any political criticism that threaten to diminish respect for
the govt, its laws, or public officials. (were overturned as a
result of the Gitlow decision)
o Gitlow v New York (1925): Supreme Ct case that
extended the 1
st
Amend’s protections of freedom of
speech and of the press to the state govts
 Incorporation Doctrine : an interpretation of the Const holding
that the due process clause of the 14
th
amend requires state and
local govts guarantee the rights stated in the B of R
B. Selective Incorporation and Fundamental Freedoms
 Not all rights in the B of R guaranteed/applicable to states
 Selective Incorporation: judicial doctrine whereby most, but
not all, protections found in the B of R are made applicable to
the states via the 14 th amend

 Fundamental freedoms: those rights defined by the Court as
essential to order, liberty, and justice and therefore entitled to
the highest standard review (ex: speech, press, assembly are
essential; housing soldiers and jury trials are not)
 Warren Court: