Civil Liberties and the Bill of Rights

Study Notes

Civil Liberties and the Bill of Rights

Civil Liberties: Protections of citizens from government overreach.
- Substantive Liberties: Limits on government actions.
- Procedural Liberties: Rules governing how the government must act.
Debate over Bill of Rights:
- Alexander Hamilton argued against a Bill of Rights in Federalist 84, stating that the Constitution already protected rights.
- James Madison argued in Federalist 51 that federalism provided "double security" for citizens' rights.
  - States would protect citizens from the national government.
  - The national government would protect citizens from the states.

Incorporation and Barron v. Baltimore

Barron v. Baltimore (1833): Ruled the Bill of Rights did not apply to state governments, establishing the concept of "dual citizenship."

Fourteenth Amendment and Incorporation

Fourteenth Amendment:
- Section 1: Grants citizenship to all born or naturalized in the U.S., and states cannot abridge privileges or immunities of citizens, nor deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny equal protection of the laws.
Selective Incorporation: Supreme Court gradually incorporated elements of the Bill of Rights into the Fourteenth Amendment, applying them to the states.
- First Wave:
  - Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad Company v. Chicago (1897): Eminent Domain
  - Gitlow v. New York (1925): Freedom of Speech
  - Near v. Minnesota (1931): Freedom of the Press
  - Hague v. CIO (1939): Freedom of Assembly
- Palko v. Connecticut (1937): Established the principle of "ordered liberty" for selective incorporation.
- Wolf v. Colorado (1949): Incorporated the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches.
- 1960s:
  - Mapp v. Ohio (1961): Exclusionary Rule, prohibiting illegally obtained evidence in state court.
  - Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): Right to counsel in criminal trials.
  - Malloy v. Hogan and Escobedo v. Illinois (1964): Right against self-incrimination and forced confessions.
  - Benton v. Maryland (1969): Protection against double jeopardy.

Right to Privacy

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965): Used the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments to establish a right to privacy.
Loving v. Virginia (1967): Upheld the right to marry as a fundamental right of privacy.
Roe v. Wade (1973): Extended the right to privacy to include abortion.
Bowers v Hardwick (1996): Ruled that the right to privacy did not apply to homosexual activity.
Lawrence v Texas (2003): Overturned Bowers, establishing a right to privacy in adult consensual sexual activity.
Obergefell v Hodges (2015): Guaranteed the right to same-sex marriage.

Description

Explore the complexities of civil liberties and the Bill of Rights in this quiz. Delve into the arguments of Federalist leaders, the implications of Barron v. Baltimore, and the impact of the Fourteenth Amendment on citizen rights. Test your understanding of these foundational concepts in American governance.