Think of an Answer and be ready to speak

Warm Up

If you were researching the constitution and peoples right to privacy which of the following topics would be best to look up?
a) b) c) d)

Executive Orders made by the Presidents of the United States that have violated peoples rights Supreme Court concurring and dissenting opinions on Privacy Political scandals involving the private lives of politicians Constitutional violations of the 18th Amendment

Answer

If you were researching the constitution and peoples right to privacy which of the following topics would be best to look up?
a)

Executive Orders made by the Presidents of the United States that have violated peoples rights

b) Supreme

Court concurring and dissenting opinions on Privacy

Political scandals involving the private lives of politicians

Not all presidents or exective orders violate peoples rights. This search would only give you a limited amount of answers. All of which would point back to the supreme court for a more thorough answer.

RIGHT ANSWER!! The supreme court rules whether a law is constitutional or not. Concurring opinions are those that agree with the decision made and dissenting opinion are those who disagree with the decision made Rarely do these events even violate the privacy of politicians, since being famous usually means you lose many of your rights to privacy. Also this topic would give you a very limited if any amount of information about the constitutionality of a topic. 18th Amendment is about Income Tax

c)

d)

Constitutional violations of the 18th Amendment

Challenges for Civil Liberties

Unit 6 Notes

Last lecture before Test

Affirmative Action

All state and national institutions abide by Affirmative Action Any organization receiving federal money has to abide by affirmative action VERY CONFUSING legislation supreme court has ruled on both sides of Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

Bakke, a white student, sued California because he was denied admissions to medical school, when 16 minorities were admitted who had lower test scores

16 out of 100 spots are reserved every year for minorities However the court also ruled that a strict quota system was unconstitutional and ordered Bake to be admitted into Med school

Court ruled 5 to 4 upholding affirmative action

Affirmative Action

Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara County, California

Court upheld the use of Affirmative Action to determine promotions

Paul Johnson and Diane Joyce were competing for the same job Paul scored 2 points higher on his qualifying interview Diane got the promotion

Affirmative Action

Richmond v. JA Croson Co.

Court said that a plan setting 30% of the city contracts for minorities was not constitutional Federal programs classifying people by race was unconstitutional

Adarand Constructors inc. v. Pea

Affirmative Action

Ongoing Debate
1.

2.

Minorities have been handicapped by past discrimination that they suffer disadvantages today that whites do no contend with and therefore the government should actively try to promote equality for minorities Reverse Discrimination any discrimination based upon race or gender is wrong - merit should be the only basis for job selection

Discrimination Against Women

19th Amendment (1920)

Reed v. Reed

Women received the right to vote Ruled a law unconstitutional that said a father is automatically executor of a sons will Established the Reasonable Standard test for discriminating against gender

If you discriminate it must be reasonable and not arbitrary and must rest on some ground of difference The difference must serve an Important government objective Discrimination is subject to intermediate scrutiny Treating women differently based upon old notions or stereotypes is unconstitutional

Critical Thinking Question

In which circumstances should the country allow for discrimination between men and women?

Decisions Under Substantial Interest Standard What the State CANNOT Do

States cannot set different ages for men and women to become adults States cannot set different ages for men and women to purchase alcohol States cannot prevent women from serving on juries Employers cannot require women to take pregnancy leave Girls cannot be kept off of little league team Private clubs and community service groups cannot exclude women Employers must pay women retirement benefits equal to men States cannot ban women from attending government supported military colleges

Decisions Under Substantial Interest Standard What the State CAN do

All-boy and All-girl public schools are allowed, as long as enrollment is voluntary and the schools are equal States can give widows a property tax exemption not given to widowers States can prevent women from working in all male prisons Hospitals are allowed to ban fathers (male-nonemployees) from delivery room.

Congressional Action

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972

Banned job discrimination based upon gender

Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974

Banned discrimination in the areas of hiring, firing, promotions, pay, and working conditions Banned discrimination in getting credit or financing Requires schools to give boys and girls equal chance in sports programs

Omnibus Education Act of 1972

Equal number of sports played Equal number of scholarships Still allowed for boys and girls only teams

Critical Thinking Question

Should the government be allowed to make decisions based upon information that is undisclosed to the public?

Citizens Right to Know

Freedom of Information Act of 1966

Citizens have access to public records upon request

Exemptions:

National defense Confidential personal and financial data Law enforcement files

Sunshine Act

Government groups started holding meetings in private to avoid disclosure Sunshine Act required public meetings and a one weeks prior notice before the meeting Private meetings are allowed, but a transcript or recording must be made of the meeting

Citizens Right to Privacy

Constitution

The Right to privacy does not exist in the constitution Instead it has been ruled on positively by the Supreme Court

Right to personal privacy in the areas of . . .

Pierce v. Society of Sisters Roe v. Wade Reno v. Condon

Child rearing Abortion Personal information

Privacy is limited when the state has a compelling need.

Citizens Right to Privacy

Confidentiality

Jaffee v. Redmond

Health professionals cannot be required to disclose information they recovery during therapy or the treatment of a patient

Critical Thinking Question

How much freedom should a child (someone under the age of 18) have when it comes to making educational decisions for themselves.

Legislation on Privacy

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

Allows people to inspect information about themselves so they can challenge or correct it if need be. Allows school files to be accessible to parents of students and students once they become 18.

Sharing Credit Information

Agencies are allowed to collect and share credit reporting information about individuals Companies have to keep strict records on who has access to credit information Credit checks cannot be done without a persons consent

Internet Issues

Is there privacy on the internet? How can the government regulate it? Analogy . . .

Privacy will be to the information age what consumer product safety was to the industrial age.

Final Assignment

Of all the Civil Liberties discussed in class, which one is handled the worse in government? In other words, which should be handled differently that it already is. Explain why Message Board 1 paragraph