POLS 1101 Week 4 Jan 28 Feb 1 Bill of Rights GA said they would not ratify the Constitution unless there was a Bill of Rights The founder believed a government of the people would not just abuse or take away peoples rights But some people didn t completely trust politicians to guarantee their rights So they wanted a physical written Bill of Rights There was a proposal of 12 amendments to the Constitution o 10 were quickly ratified o 2 did not make it though one of these was ratified recently almost 200 years later The Bill of Rights is where we find the list of all of our inalienable rights o We now call these our civil liberties such as freedom of speech religion etc There is a differentiation between civil liberties and civil rights though o Civil Liberties we are guaranteed these rights we know the government will not do specific things to harm us and there are specific things they will do for us Ex We cannot be put in jail without a fair trial o Civil Rights this is basically the ideal of equality we are all equal citizens with equal opportunity Ex we all have the right to vote rights to citizenship etc The states can guarantee MORE rights than the Constitution if they feel necessary but they cannot take away any rights o GA does this we have more detailed information about the rights of a person that the Constitution does unusual punishment o The Constitution says we all have the right to due process and protection from cruel and GA goes into detail what cruel and unusual punishment is such as whipping etc GA allows the death penalty for specific crimes GA is the first state to recognize the right to privacy 1904 o This is now one of the central rights people enjoy all over the U S There are 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights 1 st Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abiding the freedom of speech or the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances Freedom of Religion o The founders who knew about their old government knew that that the two most powerful institutions were government and religion Church and State o When these two institutions worked together no one could withstand a power so strong Many came to the U S to flee religious persecution because in Europe during POLS 1101 Week 4 Jan 28 Feb 1 that time a person was subject to persecution if they did not believe in the correct religion o Because of this they wanted a wall between government and religion No national religion but they still wanted religious freedom o Wall of Separation there are 2 components of freedom of religion Free Exercise Clause government cannot interfere with religious beliefs and practices Establishment Clause government cannot force a person to believe or practice a specific religion o In 1947 the Supreme Court interpreted Freedom of Religion as follows neither state nor federal government can set up a church aid a religion force a person to go or stay away from church profess a belief etc o We have almost absolute freedom religiously The government cannot technically be involved with setting up promoting or favoring specific ones but there are some grey areas o In 1940 the U S Supreme Court said the 1st amendment included Freedom to Belief absolute Freedom to Act conduct remains subject to regulation of society So you can believe anything you want and you can act on that belief to a certain extent You can attend church etc but you cannot act on it if it is illegal o Ex You cannot murder because God says so o Establishing Religion Engel vs Viatel 1962 Are public schools funded by the government allowed to require students to pray during a school day They say that an official prayer violates the clause It forces people to pray which encourages specific religions over others or no religion Teacher cannot read a bible in class o In 1985 Laws say there will be a moment of silence for prayer or meditation The U S Supreme Court says NO The purpose is clearly religious and unconstitutional So GA set up a moment of silence for quiet reflection on the days activities This has no mention of religion so it was okay They wanted the silence for people to able to pray if they wanted to but it was not forced POLS 1101 Week 4 Jan 28 Feb 1 Freedom of Speech o 1919 Shank vs U S Freedom of Press almost absolute After WWI Shank opposed the war and handed out pamphlets urging men not to join the draft Were certain words not allowed They decided that if words presented a clear and present danger then Congress has the right to prevent You are not allowed to create speech that causes danger So Freedom of Speech is limited only under certain circumstances o In 1969 Supreme Court revised this slightly saying the speech must be advocating to cause violence o Texas vs Johnson 1989 Ex You are allowed to say the governor is stupid someone should shoot him But you cannot say come on everyone let s shoot the governor In 1988 the Republican National Convention was held in Texas Johnson was outside protesting and he burned an American Flag Supreme Court said this was a symbolic form of speech saying I reject American values and polices This was like when the colonists burned British tax stamps But symbolic speech is protected by the 1st amendment o Prior restraint stopping something from being published o NY Times vs U S 1971 aka the Pentagon Papers Case o There was an employee who had access to secret government material during the Vietnam war o Ellisburg discovered pages of information about what the U S had actually done during the war not what they were telling people had happened o Some of the things that had occurred were possibly illegal so he copied the papers and gave them to the NY Times and Washington Post This was illegal for him to do Nixon found out about this and forbid the information from being published o Supreme Court said he could not forbid this They said if the papers said something that would hurt national security or defense it would be different o If a newspaper writes untrue things about you they are intentionally hurting you with false information They are technically liable to this o But Supreme Court says there is a higher standard for public figures politicians movie stars etc than private figures us You can say things about government officials if you want POLS 1101 Week 4 Jan 28 Feb 1 Papers will only be liable if it causes actual harm or