Professional Documents
Culture Documents
AP US Government
September 19, 2015
I.
II.
i.
III.
Freedom
A. The
B. The
IV.
Freedom
A. The
V.
VI.
VII.
constitutionally protected
United States v. Leon (1984): Created the good faith doctrine
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992): Upheld Pennsylvania law
requiring minors to wait 24 hours after receiving parental
approval before getting an abortion as constitutional
Rights of Persons Accused of Crimes
The procedural due process refers to procedures that
authorities must follow before a person can lawfully be punished
for an offense
i.
While its not foolproof, it increases the likelihood of a
fair trial
ii.
The fifth and fourteenth Amendments provide people
the protection against government depriving them of
their life, liberty, or property without due process
A. Suspicion Phase: Unreasonable Search and Seizure
A person caught committing a crime can be arrested on the spot
and searched for weapons, however, if someone is simply
suspected of a crime, the police cannot act until they can
convince a judge that they have sufficient evidence to be
granted a search warrant
The Supreme Court have lowered the standard police must meet
to lawfully search a person
Whren v. United States determined that as long as a plice
stopped someone for a reasonable suspicion and found
evidence against the person through the plain view doctrine, the
evidence would be admissible
Warrantless searches are allowed under certain circumstances
such as police roadblocks to check for intoxication under the
condition that theyre systematic and consistent (not only
checking young drivers, but checking all)
However, roadblocks cannot be used to check for drugs as in
Indianapolis v. Edmund, the Court held that roadblocks serve a
general law enforcement purpose rather than one specific to
highway safety and therefore violates the fourth amendment
that requires police to have suspicion of wrongdoing before they
can search an individuals auto
In Ferguson v. Charleston, the Court ruled that patients in public
hospitals cannot be forced to take a test for illegal drugs if the
purpose is to report to police those patients who test positive
In public school, however, there is more leeway as the Court
held that random drug testing of high school students involved
in extracurricular activities does not violate the ban on
unreasonable searches because the school administrators are
responsible for student safety, including dangers from drugs
In Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Supreme Court
ruled law enforcement officials can strip search anyone arrested
of a crime, even if its a minor infraction and even if they do not
have a reason to believe the individual is hiding a weapons or
contraband
VIII.
IX.
X.
threatened
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004): Enemy combatants in US have due
process rights
Rights and the War On Terrorism
After Pearl Harbor was bombed, in Korematsu v. United States,
the Supreme Court allowed the government decision to relocate
tens of thousands of Japanese Americans in the West Coast to
go to detention centres
A. Detention of Enemy Combatants
Guantanamo Bay has been subject to much criticism because of
the horrible treatment and indignifying activities
In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that the detainees in
Guantanamo were protected by the US Uniform Code of Military
Justice and by the Geneva Convention, and thus, Bush could not
use his secret military tribunals to try
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld cleared this case by ruling the tribunals
unlawful because they did not provide even minimal protections
of detainees rights
B. Surveillance of Suspected Terrorists
Surveillance has increased largely after the September 11
terrorist attacks with which the Congress passed the USA Patriot
Act, lowering the standard for judicial approval of wiretapping
when terrorist activity was at issue
Bush allowed the NSA to wiretap international phone calls and
email messages originating in the United States
Other Notable Court Cases:
A. Freedom of Assembly Key Court Case:
DeJonge v. Oregon (1937): Ruled the 14th Amendments due
process clause applies ot freedom of assembly and found
DeJonge had right to organize a Communist Party and speak at
its meetings even thought party advocated revolution
B. Eight Amendment Key Court Cases:
Gregg v. Georgia (1976): Punishment of death does not
invariably violate the Constitution
C. Undefined Rights Key Court Cases:
United States v. Lopez (1995): Supreme Court ruled Congress
misused its authority in enacting the Gun-Free School Zone
Safety Act, making the possession of a gun within 1,000 yards of
a school a federal crime (great job with that in Sandy Hook
geniuses)
Gonzales v. Oregon (2006): Federal government could not block
Oregons Assisted Suicide Law by moving against physicians
who assisted terminally ill patients by giving them medicine that
would enable them to commit suicide
The Courts and a Free Society
Judges inevitably must balance societys need for security and
public order against the rights of individuals