12/19/08

We didn't do much today.
We talked about current events.

HAVE AN AWESOME HOLIDAY!

oh and remember your winter break assignment!

Wednesday, December 17th 2008

Today we took the Chapter 13-16 test. All period. Good luck everyone!

12/16 notes

The movement for equal rights for women has had to confront the traditional view between men and women
1) Protectionism: the belief that women should be spared from life’s cruelties, served as the basis for many laws that discriminated against women
a) in 1973 the SC upheld an Illinois statute prohibiting women from practicing law
b) in 1908 the SC upheld an Oregon law limiting the number of hours that women can work
c) in 1991 the SC struck down a company’s fetal protection policy in strong terms, stating that women should not be forced to choose between having a child or a job
2) in most states women were denied the right to vote until the movement for women’s suffrage culminated in the adoption of the 19th amendment in 1920
3) The prohibition of sex based discrimination has advanced through legislation
a) EPA, 1963 REQUIRED EQUAL PAY FOR MEN AND WOMEN DOIING SIMILAR WORK but did not account for stratification of work by gender
b) Title VII of CRA of 1964 covered discrimination on the basis of sex
c) Congress passed additional legislation prohibiting discrimination in federally aided education programs. Title IX of education amendment of 1972, which prohibited sex discrimination in education (and fostered many sports programs for girls)
4) Since 1970 the SC has consistently struck down laws that discriminate on bases of sex
a) The court determined Craig V. boren(1976) that gender distinction could be justified only if they served some important government purpose
b) the intention of gender related court decisions is to end sexual stereotyping while acknowledging relevant difference between men and women
c) in the US V. Virginia (1996) the court ruled that qualified women must be allowed admissions to the Virginia military institutions (a state supported military college in Virginia) it developed a test called skeptical scrutiny that requires parties who seek to defend gender based action to demonstrated all “exceedingly persuasive justification” for that action
5) the ERA was designed to ensure that no one could be denied ER under law on account of sex
a) after ERA passed the proposal stage in 1972, its proponents failed to obtain ratification by 1982 deadline
b) the ERA met with staunch opposition from some states and from Women who wanted to maintain their traditional roles
c) Some argue ERA is unnecessary because many goals are realized by actions of SC
d) Others have argues however that because the court could reverse those decisions an ERA is still necessary
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS were designed to eliminate effects of past discrimination against women and members of other minority groups
1) Programs include recruitment preferential treatment, quotas for women, minorities and people with disabilities in education employment and awarding government contracts
2) in reverse discrimination cases, plaintiffs have argued that affirmative action programs designed to protect minorities discriminate against white Americans
a) Regents of university of California VS. Bakke: the SC agreed with Alan Bakke. He had been discriminated against, but it reaffirmed the use of AAP while outlawing racial quotas set aside.
b) Johnson v. Transportation agency: Santa Clara County (1987). The SC upheld the use of affirmative AP but with significant dissension form several justices
c) the SC tried to strike balance between traditional employment practices and affirmative AP
D) The SC decided that AAP do not overrule traditional seniority rules unless actual discrimination can be demonstrated
3) the legitimacy of some form of AA came into question in the 1990s
a) Aderand constructors V. Rena: the Court declared that programs that award benefits on the basis of race would be subject to strict scrutiny and must be “narrowly improved to meet a compelling government interest”
b) the court sent the case back to the trial court for education under strict scrutiny test, the matter is still in litigation
c) Legislation in several states seek to curtail or eliminate racial preferences in education admissions and financial aid. This is likely to have a substantial impact on the number of minority students pursuing higher education
1) HOPWOOD V. TEXAS: SC ruled that race of ethnicity cannot be the determining factor admissions to their university of Texas law
2) GRATZ V. BOLLINGER: SC upheld the admission procedure of the university of Michigan graduate school which used the race as a factor and shot down the Uni. Of Mich. Undergrad. Adm. Procedure.of applying a point scale giving more points to a racial minority
d) California voter affirmed proposed state constitutionally amendment would ban use of race, color, gender, ethnicity or national origin in public employment , education or contracting.

Tuesday, DEC 16th

-relationship men and women

1)protectionism-the belief that women should be spared from lifes cruelties---served as basis for discrim.

-1873-S.C upheld Ilnois statue prohibiting women from law
-1908- S.C upheld Oregon work law limiting number of hours women could work
2) in most states women were denied right to vote until the movemnet for womens suffrage culminated into 19th amendment

3) the prohibiton of sex-based discrimination advocated through legislation
A.equal pay act-1963 required equal pay for men and women doing similar work.
B. title9- of civil rights act covered discrimination for gender

4) since 1970 the S.C has consistently sturnck down laws that discrimnate on basis of sex.
A. Craig v. Boren 1978: that gender distinctions could be justified only if they served some important purpose
B.intention is to end sexual steretyping
C. US v. VA 1996: court ruled that qualified women must be allowed in to VMI
-developed skeptical scrunitny- thatt requires parites who seek to defend gender-absed action to demostrate an "exceeding justification" for that action

Affirmative Action programs designed to eliminate effects of past discrimination agaisnt women and other minorities.

1)programs like recruitment, preference treatemen, quotas for women minorities and people with disablities

2) in reverse discrimination cases, protective programs discriminate agaisnt whites
-Univeristiy of CA v. Ballke (1978) the S.C agreed that he had been discriminated agaisnt bur reaffirmed use of affirmative action programs...while outlawing racial quotas

-In johnson v. transportation agency (1978) S.C upheld the use of programs but with lots of dissention
-tried to balance traditional employment practices and affirmative programs
-S.C decided that affirm. action programs do not oveerride traditonal rules unless actual discirmination can be demostrated.

3) the legitmacy of some forms came into question in 1990s
A. adarand constructions v. Pena- court declared that programs that award benefits based on race (set-asides for minority contractors) subject to "strict scruntiny" and must be narrowly tailored to mee a compelling govt interest
B. court sent case backc to the trial court for evaluation under strict scrutiny
C. CA voters affirmed a proposed state constituional amendment that would ban use of race sex color ehtinicity in public employment


TEST TOMORROWWWW!!

NOTES FOR 12-15-08

Congress acted to restore civil rights enforcement in 1988 with the Civil Rights Restoration Act which made clear that if any part of an institution gets federal money, no part can discriminate.

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 reversed or altered twelve court decisions that had narrowed civil rights protections

During the 1960s, the level of violence related to desegregation increased:
Black muslims, Malcolm X, before his assassination in 1965 called for separation from whites. Black Panther Party called for increased "black power" in the struggle for civil rights.
One of the consequences of the black nationalist movement was to instill pride in black history and culture and to bring black elected officials to office in America's major cities.

1987, The Supreme Court ruled that the civil rights act of 1866 offers broad protection to minorities.

***federal government policies toward Native Americans changed.
1924- Native Americans were granted citizenship.
Poverty and unemployment have led to Native Americans to resort to militant action. Since the 1970s, some Native Americans have been able to extract compensation for loss of their lands.

**Hispanic Americans have been exploited in the Southwest as farm laborers in 1965 Cesar Chavez led a strike against farmers in California.
The difficulties faced by Hispanics were similar to those faced by other non-whites, but were complicated by language barriers. Language barriers have resulted in low voting turn-outs.

The creation of nine majority Hispanic Congressional districts have facilitated some representation, but these districts are now in jeopardy.

Americans with disability act

• covers mental and physical disabilites including people with AIDS, recovering alcoholics, and drug abusers.
• The deliberately vague way that disability is defined in the statute has forced the courts to make the law more specifically defined.

Gay Liberation Movement

• Stonewall Riots (1964)
• Supreme Court first addressed these rights in 1986 when it ruled in Hardwick vs Georgia that Georgia's law forbidding homosexual relations were constitutional.
• Romer vs. Evans (1996) the Court provided some support to homosexuals when it struck down a Colorado amendment to the state constitution that banned laws protecting homosexuals. The Court reversed Hardwick vs Georgia in 2003 with Lawrence v. Texas when it held that laws against sodomy violate the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.
• The gay community now maintains a significant presence in national politics.
• Gay and Lesbian communities are still denied protection under laws that protect other minority groups.
• Gay men and women cannot serve openly in the US military; cannot sign each others health plans; or take advantage of estate planning laws.

Boy Scouts of America vs. Dale highlights the modern conflict between freedom and equality for gay citizens. Boy Scouts sought to revoke the membership of longtime scout.

notoes from 12/12/08

3rd period notes from Friday 12/12/08 Chapter 16
Americans want equality but they differ on the extent to which gov. should provide it.
1. Most americans support equality of opportunity which gives individuals the same opportunities to get ahead
2. American are less committed to equality of outcome, which entails uniformity of social, economic and political power for people
3. Civil rights movement in the U.S. has been based on the idea that social and economic equality should be attainable for all people. Individual discrimination shouldnt be sanctioned by gov. policies.
Civil war amendments (13,14, and 15) were adopted to provide black americans with civil and policital rights.The SC (Supreme Court) seemed to intend on weakening federal attempts to ensure the the civil rights of black American.
Court ruled in 1873 that state citizenship and national citizenship remained distinct despite the rights guarneted in the 14th amendment.The SC sturck down the section of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 dealing with equality of public accommodation on the grounds that the federal gov. couldnt prohibit discrimination by private citizens.Voting rights of black were weakened through several discriminatory mechanism like poll taxes.
2. With the nullificaton of Civil Rights Act of 1875 sate laws that formally protected racial segreagation
Jim Crow laws required that housing and all other public facilities for black and whites be seperated.Plessy vs Ferguson 1896 the SC upheld state imposed racial segregation based on seperate but equal faclilities. SC extended sperate but equal for school.Denied acces to the policital system black americans began to seek access to the courts in order to challenge racial segregation in education
The NAACP helped black Americans challegne in court state laws denying them access to white only universititesMissouri Ex Rel Gaines vs Canada 1938 the SC ruled that Gaines had to be admitted to the Univeristy of Missouri law School due that Missouri couldnt shift him to another state.
In 1984, the SC went further to reject the seperated but equal in its Brown vs Board of Education decison.
Prez. Truman ordered desegregation of armed forcesMany state resisted that desegregation be implemented "with all deliberate speed"The courts approved several remedies to achieve intergration.

Thursday 12/11/08 Third period

Sorry it's a little late:

C. The Supreme Court has recognized that prior restraint of the press may be necessary, but it has not specified under what circumstances restraint is appropriate. Generally, we follow a policy of no prio restraint.
D. The Courts have consistently held that freedom of the press does not override the requirements of law enforement.
5) The right to petition and to asemble peaceably have merged with the guarantees of freedom of the press and speech.

The Second Amendment - which acknowledges "the right of the people to keep and bear arms" - has been the focus of heated conmtroversy in recent years.
1) though restrictions on gun ownership have passed constitutional muster, prohibitions on gun ownership may infringe on the Second Amendment
2) Gun control advocates argue that the right to bear arms should apply only to state milities, not to individuals.

Because of the adoption of the Fourtenth Amendment, most of the individual protections found in the Bill of Rights now apply to the states (the incorporate doctrine). This incorporation took place over time and several court cases so we refer to "Selective incorporarion"
1) Even before its amendment, the Constitution set some limits on both the national and the state governments with regard to citizens' rights
A. Bill of attainder - laws that make an individual guilty of a crime without a trial - were barred
B. Ex post facto laws, which declared an action a crime after it had been performed, were not permitted.
C. Both the nation and the states were aksi barred from impairing the obligation of contrcts.
2) The Supreme Court's interpretation of the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment has allowed individuals to contest state violations of their liberties.
3) The Supreme Court has ruled, however, that extension of the Bill of Rights guarantees to the states via the due process clause applies onlt to "fundamental" rights.
A. In Palko v. Connecticut (1937), the Court determined that double jeopardy and trial by jury were not fundamental rights to protected by the states
B. In the thirty years after the Palko decision, the Court found that most of the guarantees found in the Bill of Rights were indeed fundamental.
4)The application of constitutional procedural safeguards in criminal proceedings to the system in the last thirty years.
A. Procedural safeguards have been applied to the states through a two-step process:
1) The judiciary decides whether the guarantee in question is applicable to the states
2) The judiciary gives specific meaning to the guarantee
B. The Supreme Court has recognized that there are a variety of ways to prosecute the accused while heeding their fundamental rights.
1) The right to a jury trial was made obligatory for the states, but nothing regulates jury size or whether jmudgements should be unanimous.
2) In Gideon vs. Wainwright (1963), the Supreme Court determined that the defendants in criminal proceedings were entiteld to a lawyer.
3) In Miranda vs. Arizona (1966), the Supreme Court instituted the Miranda warnings to ensure protection against self-incrimination.
4) In Mapp vs. Ohio (1961),the Supreme Court determined that the exclusionary rule - which protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures - applioed to all levels of government.
5) In United States vs. Leon (1984), the Supreme Court created a "good faith exception" to the exclusionary rule. The permitted evidence obtasined from a mistakenly issued search warrant to be presented in court.

The Ninth Amendment, which protects right not specifically enumerated in the Constitution, has been used by the Supreme Court to define the limits of government encroachment on personal autonomy.