Chapter 15

1. as it was originally written, the Bill of Rights imposed limits on the natl govt but not on the state govts. The Sup. Court affirmed this in Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

2. The Const. guarantees Americans numerous liberties and rights.

--civil liberties- freedoms guaranteed to individuals

....1. declare hat govtcan't do

....2. "neative rights"

--civil rights- powers and privileges guarateed to individuals protected against arbitrary removal

....1. what the govt must to

....2. "positive rights"

-protection of civil liberties in the B.o.R. has been the center of conflict between the basic values of freedom and order.

Rights mentioned in the Const.

-Writ of habeas corpus: court order requiring govt to present a prisoner to the court and explain why they are being held

-no bills of attainer: law that would punish a person without judicial trial.

-no ex post facto laws- retroactive criminal law that affects the accused negatively

-trial by jury in federal criminal cases

-protection when people move from state to state

-no titles of nobility

-limits on punishment of treason

-no religious oath required for holding federal office

-guarantee of republican govt for all states

the 1st amendment prevents govt from interfering with freedom of religion in 2 ways.

1.the Sup Court ad affirmed the establishment clause which requires govt to maintain religious neutality, but does not bar all assistance to religious institutions

A. Sup Court has accepted only incidental govt support of religion

1. in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), the Sup Court using a three pronged test rejected a state program authorizingpurchases of secular services for church schools.

3 prongs:

-statute must have a secular purpose

-the primary effect of the statute should ot be to advance or inhibit religion

-the statute must not excessively entangle govt and religion

2. in 1997, Agostini v. Felton, the court loosened its application of the Lemon test: teachers could teach remedial education to disadvantaged students at taxpayers expense

--the Sup Court had upheld the constitutionality of state funded nativity scenes with some limits.

Sup. Court has consistently viewed prayer in public schools as govt encouraged religion. Engle v. Vitale(1962)

wallace . Jaffree- moment of silence was struck down in Al

In 1990, the Court upheld constitutionality of the Equal Access Act which declares that no public school receiving federal fuds may ban after school meetings on school property by student religious or political groups if same privilege is provided to other groups.

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