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Chapter 20: Civil Liberties: Protecting Individual Rights�Section 1

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Objectives

Explain the meaning of due process of law as set out in the 5^th and 14^th amendments.
Define police power and understand its relationship to civil rights.
Describe the right of privacy and its origins in constitutional law.

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Key Terms

due process: the guarantee that the government will act fairly and according to the law
procedural due process: how the government acts in terms of its methods and procedures
substantive due process: why the government acts in terms of its policies and the reasons for them

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Key Terms, cont.

police power: the authority of each state to protect and promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare
search warrant: a court order authorizing a search

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Introduction

Why is the concept of due process important to a free society?

Due process forces the government to act in a just and fair way toward all citizens, enforcing all laws in an equal fashion.
Due process also requires the nation’s laws to be fair, without unjust prejudice toward any group.

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Due Process

The Constitution has two due process clauses.

The 5^th Amendment prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
The 14^th Amendment extends this prohibition to all state and local governments and extends most of the protections of the Bill of Rights to the states.

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Types of Due Process

Why are both procedural and substantive due process necessary?

Both procedures �and laws must be �fair for due process �to be effective.

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What is Due Process?

There is no exact definition of due process. The meaning of due process has been defined by the Supreme Court on a case-by-case basis.

In the cartoon at right, is it possible that the prisoner’s complaint is justified? Explain.

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Examples of Due Process

In one procedural case, police officers broke into a suspect’s room and later pumped his stomach to recover evidence of drugs. The Court threw out this case as a violation of due process.

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Examples of Due Process, cont.

In a substantive due process case, the Court ruled that an Oregon law requiring children to attend only public schools violated due process because it was unfair to prevent children from attending private schools.

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Examples, cont.

Standards for due process apply to the collection of evidence, including forensic evidence.

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The Police Power

States have a reserved police power to safeguard the well-being of their people.

States must balance individual rights versus the needs of society when using this power.

To protect public safety, states are allowed to test people to determine if they are drunk while driving, even without a search warrant or an individual’s consent

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Police Power, cont.

States have broad authority to use their police powers in the public interest.

To promote health, states can require child vaccinations, make laws to reduce pollution, and limit the sale of alcohol and tobacco.
To promote general welfare, states can aid the medically needy and require young people to attend school.

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Police Power, cont.

To promote morals, states can regulate gambling and outlaw prostitution.

To promote safety, states can require the use of seat belts, ban the use of cell phones while driving, and punish drunk drivers.

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Right to Privacy

The Constitution does not specifically mention the right to privacy.

The Supreme Court has ruled that under the 14^th Amendment’s Due Process Clause, individuals have a broad right to be free from unwanted government intrusions into their personal privacy.

Cases involving state attempts to limit access to abortion have tested this right.

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Roe v. Wade

In the 1973 case Roe v. Wade, the Court struck down a Texas law that made abortion illegal unless needed to save the mother’s life.

The Court ruled that:

In the first trimester of pregnancy, a state must recognize a woman’s right to an abortion.
The state can regulate abortions in the second trimester of pregnancy.
The state can ban abortions in the third trimester unless they are medically necessary.

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Changes to Roe v. Wade

Checkpoint: How has the Supreme Court modified its Roe v. Wade ruling in later decisions?

The Court has allowed states to ban abortions in publicly operated hospitals or clinics.
The Court has upheld state laws requiring minors to notify a parent before obtaining an abortion.
The Court has allowed state laws that place “reasonable limits” on a woman’s right to an abortion if no undue burden is caused.

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Recent Cases

Changes in the membership of the Supreme Court can alter how the Court interprets a case.

In 2000, the Court struck down a state ban on partial-birth abortions as representing an “undue burden” on women.
In 2007, the Court upheld a federal law banning the same procedure, arguing that it did not place an undue burden on women.

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Review

Now that you have learned about why the concept of due process is important to a free society, go back and answer the Chapter Essential Question.

To what extent has the judiciary protected the rights of privacy, security, and personal freedom?

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