Miranda v. Arizona

Issue: Rights of Suspected Criminals

Court Ruling: SUSPECTS MUST BE READ THEIR RIGHTS UPON ARREST

•5th Amendment

•“Miranda Rights”

Miranda v ArizonaWhat was the Miranda accused of?

Evidence?

Why was the self incrimination in the Bill of

Rights?

What is the burden of proof? How does it

work?

Did the local police follow the Bill of

Rights? How did they abuse peoples

rights?

What was the verdict in the Miranda case?

What did the supreme court decide in

DiscussionWhy be concerned if a confession is given

voluntarily or not? Isn’t the goal to get the truth?

When it comes to catching a criminal, does the

end justify the means?

Are there any situations that should give more

power back to the government in the

interrogation room? Explain.

In re Gault

Issue: Rights of Juveniles

Court Ruling: JUVENILES HAVE THE SAME FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AS ADULTS

•Must notify parents and keep names/details private

Tinker v. Des Moines Schools

Issue: Students and Free Speech

Court Ruling: STUDENTS DO HAVE LIMITED FREE SPEECH AT SCHOOL

•1st Amendment, Freedom of Expression

Roe v. Wade

Issue: Right to have an abortion

Court Ruling: RIGHT TO A LIMITED ABORTION PERIOD

•Legalized abortion within the first trimester

•9th Amendment, right to privacy

Furman v. Georgia

Issue: Legality of the Death Penalty

Court Ruling: DEATH PENALTY DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONALBASED UPON DISCRIMINATORY APPLICATION

•8th Amendment

New Jersey v. TLO

Issue: Students and Searches

Court Ruling: RIGHT OF SCHOOLS TO SEARCH STUDENTS WITHOUT WARRANTS

•4th Amendment limited

". . . The warrant requirement, in particular,

is unsuited to the school environment . . .

[T]he legality of a search of a student

should depend simply on the

reasonableness, under all the

circumstances, of the search . . . and not

excessively intrusive in light of the age and

sex of the student and the nature of the

infraction. "—Justice Byron White, speaking

for the majority

A New Jersey high school student was

accused of violating school rules by

smoking in the bathroom, leading an

assistant principal to search her purse for

cigarettes. The vice principal discovered

marijuana and other items that implicated

the student in dealing marijuana. The

student tried to have the evidence from her

purse suppressed, contending that mere

possession of cigarettes was not a violation

of school rules; therefore, a desire for

evidence of smoking in the restroom did not

justify the search. The Supreme Court

decided that the search did not violate the

Constitution

Texas v. Johnson

Issue: Free Speech and Flag Burning

Court Ruling: FLAG BURNING HELD AS A FORM OF CONSTITUTIONAL FREE SPEECH

•1st Amendment

•Freedom of Expression

Engel v. Vitale

Issue: School Prayer: Establishment Clause

Court Ruling: Public schools cannot sponsor any religion

•1st Amendment

•Establishment of Religion

Engel v. Vitale,

New York state’s Board of Regents wrote

and authorized a voluntary

nondenominational prayer that could be

recited by students at the beginning of

each school day. In 1958–59 a group of

parents objected to the prayer, which

read, “Almighty God, we acknowledge

our dependence upon Thee, and we beg

Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our

teachers, and our country,” and sued the

school board president, William Vitale.

The prayer, which proponents argued

was constitutional because it was

voluntary and promoted the free exercise

of religion (also protected in the First

Amendment), was upheld by New York’s

courts, prompting the petitioners to file a

successful appeal to the U.S. Supreme

Court. The U.S. Supreme Court

overturned the state court and said it

violated the Establishment clause in the

1st Amendment.

Gregg v. Georgia

Issue: Death Penalty and Cruel and Unusual Punishment 8th

Court Ruling: States can Execute Prisoners if they follow two trial system one of guilt the other aggrivating circumstances: sentencing.

Amendment 8th

Gregg V. Georgia 1962

Gregg v. Georgia: Troy Leon Gregg. was

imprisoned within the state of Georgia after

he was found guilty of murdering two

people in 1973. Following his trial,

the jury found Troy Leon Gregg guilty and

originally sentenced him to death. Troy

Leon Gregg was the first person in the

history of the United States whose death

sentence was accepted by the United

States Supreme

During his prison sentence, Troy Leon

Gregg and other inmates who were on

death row claimed that a death sentence

was a direct violation of the 8th and

14th amendments.

Gregg v. Georgia: The Verdict

TheUnited StatesSupreme Court stated that

the execution of Troy Leon Gregg was

Constitutional due to the fact that Mr. Gregg

was tried, heard and sentenced through a

formal judicial system.

US v. Nixon

Issue: Powers of the President and Executive Privilege

Court Ruling: EVEN PRESIDENTS CANNOT WITHHOLD EVIDENCEOF A CRIME AS EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE

Wallace v. Jaffree

Issue: Religion in schools

Court Ruling: MANDATORY DAILY MOMENT OF SILENCE HELD AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

•No forced religion in schools

•1st Amendment, Establishment Clause

California v. Bakke

Issue: Legality of Affirmative Action

Court Ruling: USE OF RACIAL QUOTAS IS HELD TO BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL

•Cannot set aside a number of spots for different races

Hazelwood Schools v. Kuhlmeier

Issue: Free Speech of Students

Court Ruling: RIGHT OF SCHOOLS TO LIMIT FREE SPEECH WITHIN A SCHOOL PAPER

•1st Amendment Freedom of the Press does not extend to schools

Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg

Issue: Forced Busing of Students

Court Ruling: FORCED BUSING OF STUDENTS TO DESEGREGATE SCHOOLS HELD AS CONSTITUTIONAL