Civil Liberties

1
Civil Liberties
PSCI 110120 Sept 2007

• Contemporary concerns
• Civil liberties vs. civil rights
• Personal rights and the First
• Amendment

2
Civil Liberties vs. Civil Rights

• Civil liberties Freedom from. The freedoms
  enjoyed by individuals. Civil liberties define
  what government cannot do to people negative
  rights.
• Civil rights Freedom to. Clarifies that civil
  liberties apply to all. Civil rights specify
  what government should do to avoid discriminatory
  application of civil liberties positive rights.

3
Theoretical Concepts UnderlyingCivil Rights and
Liberties

• 1. Equality
• Individual dignity
• Freedom Maximize individual choice
• Freedoms are in conflict
• Limit freedom to protect the rights of others

4
Personal Rightsand the First Amendment

• Congress shall make no law respecting an
  establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
  free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom
  of speech, or of the press or the right of the
  people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
  Government for a redress of grievances.

5
Freedom of Speech

• The First Amendment states Congress shall make
  no law abridging the freedom of speech
• But, rights are relative.

6
Freedom of Speech

• The First Amendment states Congress shall make
  no law abridging the freedom of speech
• But, rights are relative.
• The courts have addressed free speech issues by
  making a distinction between
• pure speech
• conduct

7

Pure Speech
Conduct
Where do you draw the line??

• Pure speech is Constitutionally protected.
  Conduct, however, is not necessarily protected.

8
DeJonge v. Oregon (1937)The Supreme Court
declared that DeJonge should be set free because
he was entitled to peaceably discuss the issues
of the day.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes (1929)
If there is any principle of the Constitution
that more imperatively calls for attachment than
any other it is the principle of free thought
not free thought for those who agree with us but
freedom for the thought that we hate.
1st Amendment, Free Speech Case
9
Testing the Limits to the First Amendments
Guarantee of Free Speech

• Tests devised by the Supreme Court
• Clear and present danger test
• Balancing of the interest test (including
  application of the preferred position doctrine)
• Gravity of the evil test
• Incitation test, distinguishing between
• advocacy in the abstract and
• advocacy designed to incite immediate illegal
  action