Term Paper on "Civil Liberties Are Protections From the Power"

Term Paper 12 pages (3231 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Civil liberties are protections from the power of governments, such as freedom of speech, which may be guaranteed to a people through a constitution. Political rights are those rights that a person is granted because of a constitution, such as the right to vote or the right to due process of law. Legal privileges are permissive activities granted by a government, which can sometimes be revoked.

Ex post facto laws and bills of attainder are prohibited in the Constitution because they deny people due process of law. Ex post facto laws permit people to be punished for behavior without notice that the behavior is illegal; and bills of attainder permit people to be punished without a trial.

Selective incorporation refers to the fact that the 14th Amendment makes some parts of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states. Citlow v. New York was significant because it marked the selective incorporation of the freedom of speech.

The establishment clause prohibits the U.S. Government from establishing a state-sponsored religion. The free exercise clause prohibits the U.S. Government from interfering with a citizen's exercise of their individual religion.

5. The forms of speech that are not protected by the U.S. Constitution include: libel, obscenity, fighting words, and commercial speech.

6. Freedom of the press is important because subjecting publications to prior restraints, was to make the licenser, who was subject to his own personal prejudices, the judge of all controverted issues that might be published.

7. The restrictions that the government can impose on freedom of assembly include reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.

Chapter 17

8. The most significant right that citizens have that non-citizens do not have is the right to vote. Non-citizens can also be detained and deported for offenses that would not lead to similar treatment of citizens.

9. Procedural due process is the Constitutional requirement that government proceed by proper methods; it places limits on how governmental power may be exercised. Substantive due process is the Constitutional requirement that government act reasonably and the substance of the laws themselves be fair and realistic; it places limits on what a government may do.

10. The rights of persons accused of crimes can be found in U.S. Const. Amend. IV, V, and VI. Those rights include freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, the right to a fair trial, and a prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

11. Fifth Amendment rights include: (1) no person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; (2) freedom from double jeopardy; (3) right to remain silent; (4) right to due process of law; and (5) a prohibition against taking private property without just compensation.

12. The exclusionary rule prohibits the introduction of evidence that was obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment, and acts to encourage compliance with the Fourth Amendment by police officers.

Chapter 18

13. Civil rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. Civil rights include the right to vote, the right to assemble, and the right to an education.

14. A suspect classification is a class of people deliberately subjected to such unequal treatment in the past or relegated by society to a position of such political powerlessness as to require extraordinary judicial protection. Strict scrutiny of a law means that the law must be justified by a compelling government interest and be the least restrictive means of accomplishing that interest.

15. Jim Crow laws are post-Reconstruction laws that were passed to enforce racial segregation. Jim Crow laws oppressed persons of color because they prohibited persons of color from engaging in the same activities or exercising the same rights as whites.

16. Plessy v. Ferguson was the case in which the Supreme Court approved segregation by declaring that separate but equal facilities did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Brown v. Board of Education overruled Plessy by declaring that separate facilities were inherently unequal.

17. The major provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibit the discrimination in employment or public accommodations on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, or national origin.

18. The main provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibit the enactment of voting qualifications or standards that result in a denial of the right of any citizen to vote on account of race and color.

Chapter 4

1. The values shared by most Americans include: liberty, equality, individualism, democracy, justice, the rule of law, nationalism, optimism, and idealism.

2. Liberalism is a belief in the positive uses of government to bring about justice and equality of opportunity. Conservativism is a belief that limited government ensures order, competitive markets, and personal opportunity.

3. Classical liberalism is a belief that government is a tool for equality.

4. The Libertarian Party stands for individual liberty, a sharply limited government, a free market economy, a noninterventionist foreign police, and an absence of moral and social regulation.

Chapter 6

1. The most prevalent type of interest group is economic or occupational. The influence tactics used by interest groups include lobbying and taking their message directly to the public.

2. Lobbying is any activity aimed at influencing public officials, especially legislators, and the policies they enact. One becomes a lobbyist by being employed by an association that tries to influence policy decisions in all three branches of government.

3. The relationship between interest groups and political action committees is that the interest groups provide funding for political action committees and the political action committees raise money and spend it on candidates' elections.

4. Some of the rules of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 include: requiring organizations or firms to register their employees as lobbyists with the Office of Public records, which makes those registrations available for public inspection. An organization is required to register its employs as lobbyists if it contributes more than $10,000 annually to lobbying activities.

Chapter 7

1. Political party realignment is signified by elections that are turning points that define the agenda of politics and the alignment of voters within parties during times of societal and economic change. The major realignment change of 1824 occurred when Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren created a winning combination of regions, interest groups, and political doctrines. The change of 1860 occurred when Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won the election, shifting support to the Republican party. The change of 1896 occurred when William Jennings Bryan instigated the agrarian movement, forcing the Republican party to become pro-capital, which helped the Republican party dominate politics. The change of 1932 occurred when FDR led the Democratic party to dominance because the people favored his economic policies over Hoover's.

2. Minor or third political parties do not seem to win presidential elections in the United

States because of the dominance of the major parties in the primary system. Furthermore, multiparty systems tend to make government unstable and more fractious.

3. The Republican party today is more closely aligned with groups considered socially conservative, for example groups that are pro-life, pro-death penalty, and against gay rights. The Democratic Party today is more closely aligned with groups considered socially liberal, for example groups that are pro-choice, against the death penalty, and in favor of gay rights. The parties also differ in their economic stances: the Republican Party is in favor of reduced government spending on social programs, while the Democratic Party is in favor of maintaining social programs and concerned about the effect of tax cuts.

4. Hard money is money contributed to a party or candidate that has a firm limit on its amount. Soft money is money used to advance a particular political campaign in such a manner as to skirt the legal limits, such as advertising that does not name a candidate or party, but focuses on a particular issue tied to a particular campaign.

Chapter 8

1. Voting rates among Americans appear to be low because the American public has a low level of interest and knowledge in politics and government. Elections occur on weekdays and are often complicated, with multiple candidates and multiple issues. Furthermore, voter registration requirements discourage voting.

If people who do not currently vote begin voting in large numbers it is likely that there will be another realignment towards the Democrats because more people identify themselves as Democrats than Republicans and political party alignment is a major predictor of election choices.

An effective and valid public opinion poll requires a large, representative sample and a neutral pollster asking neutral questions.

Intensity refers to the magnitude of an opinion, latency refers to opinions that are present, but not being acted opion, and salience refers to an opinion that is present and is acted upon.

Chapter 9

1. The disadvantage of primary elections, caucuses, and conventions is that… READ MORE

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