Class Notes: January 12, 2010

USA Patriot Act: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism

- This act gave government the ability to conduct searches for terrorist involvement, including the right to subpoena phone and Internet search records.

- ACLU v. Ashcroft (2004): In this federal appeals court case, Section 2709 (the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which allowed government to subpoena records from… Continue

Class Notes: January 8, 2010

Civil Rights (Racial Discrimination)

- Plessy v. Ferguson: This established the “separate but equal” doctrine.

- The NAACP was founded at the start of the 20th century, focusing largely on education.

- Cummings v. Richmond Board of Education (~1900): Georgia closed its black high schools but not its white schools; the Supreme Court upheld this, since private schools existed. (The state need not provide separate facilities if they already… Continue

Class Notes: January 6, 2010

Supreme Court Decisions and Civil Liberties

Privacy

- Lawrence v. Texas (2003): The Homosexual Conduct Act does not violate the Equal Protection clause, but convictions under it violate privacy rights.



Affirmative Action

- UC Regents v. Bakke (1978): Racial diversity is an appropriate end and remedy for past discriminations, but racial quotas are not an appropriate means for this goal.

- Grutter v. Bollinger (2003): Using race as… Continue

Class Notes: January 4, 2010

Supreme Court Decisions and Civil Liberties

8th Amendment

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

- The death penalty has been upheld as constitutional; only the methods are in question.

- Furman v. Georgia (1972): Every state’s death penalty laws were struck down, because the methods for determining those to be executed were discriminatory (disproportionately black).

- States came up with two solutions: (1) mandatory death penalties for certain… Continue

Class Notes: December 15, 2009

Supreme Court Decisions and Civil Liberties

Fifth Amendment

Protection Against Self-Incrimination

- This gives rise to the “innocent until proven guilty” idea and the placing on the prosecutor of burden of proof.

- Escobedo v. Illinois (1964): The case established the right to have an attorney present during interrogation.

- Miranda v. Arizona (1966): Police must read accused their Miranda rights before interrogations.

- Oregon… Continue