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1 Chapter 1 : American Civil Liberties Union :: Law The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a national organization that works daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. He is noted for his civil rights and anti-trust decisions. And yet, as former Justice Frankfurter explained in the quote above, the people who test liberties and rights in our courts are not always ideal citizens. Consider some of these examples: A pick ax murderer on death row who found God and asked for clemency A publisher of magazines, books, and photos convicted for sending obscene materials through the United States mail A convict whose electrocution was botched when 2, volts of electricity rushed into his body, causing flames to leap from his head A university student criminally charged for writing and publishing on the internet about torturing and murdering women Each of these people made sensational headline news as the center of one of many national civil liberties disputes in the late 20th century. They became involved in the legal process because of behavior that violated a law, and almost certainly, none of them intended to become famous. More important than the headlines they made, however, is the role they played in establishing important principles that define the many civil liberties and civil rights that Americans enjoy today. What is the difference between a liberty and a right? Both words appear in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. The distinction between the two has always been blurred, and today the concepts are often used interchangeably. However, they do refer to different kinds of guaranteed protections. Civil liberties are protections against government actions. For example, the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights guarantees citizens the right to practice whatever religion they please. Amendment I gives the individual "liberty" from the actions of the government. Civil rights, in contrast, refer to positive actions of government should take to create equal conditions for all Americans. The term "civil rights" is often associated with the protection of minority groups, such as African Americans, Hispanics, and women. The government counterbalances the "majority rule" tendency in a democracy that often finds minorities outvoted. Right The Chicago Defender, an African-American newspaper, trumpets the desegregation of the military. The right to participate in public institutions is a key component of civil rights. Most Americans think of civil rights and liberties as principles that protect freedoms all the time. However, the truth is that rights listed in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are usually competing rights. For example, in, the New York Times published the "Pentagon Papers" that revealed some negative actions of the government during the Vietnam War. The government sued the newspaper, claiming that the reports endangered national security. The New York Times countered with the argument that the public had the right to know and that its freedom of the press should be upheld. So, the situation was national security v. A tough call, but the Court chose to uphold the rights of the press. The Bill of Rights and 14th Amendment The overwhelming majority of court decisions that define American civil liberties are based on the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments added to the Constitution in Civil liberties protected in the Bill of Rights may be divided into two broad areas: Civil rights are also protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects violation of rights and liberties by the state governments. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age [Changed by the 26th Amendment], and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state. No person shall be a Page 1

2 Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Protection of civil liberties and civil rights is basic to American political values, but the process is far from easy. How far should the government go to take "positive action" to protect minorities? The answers often come from individuals who brush most closely with the law, whose cases help to continually redefine American civil liberties and rights. Page 2

3 Chapter 2 : American Civil Liberties Union - Wikipedia The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.". The ACLU believes that everyone should have affordable access to the full range of contraceptive options. The ACLU supports full transparency to identify donors. However, the ACLU opposes attempts to control political spending. FEC, which allowed corporations and unions more political speech rights. The way to deal with this issue is to prosecute the makers of child pornography for exploiting minors. Heller that the Second Amendment is an individual right. However, the ACLU opposes any effort to create a registry of gun owners and has worked with the National Rifle Association to prevent a registry from being created, and it has favored protecting the right to carry guns under the 4th Amendment. In this context, the ACLU has condemned government use of spying, indefinite detention without charge or trial, and government-sponsored torture. The ACLU works to ensure that prisons treat prisoners in accordance with the Constitution and domestic law. The ACLU believes the government should neither prefer religion over non-religion, nor favor particular faiths over others. It believes that single-sex education contributes to gender stereotyping and compares single-sex education to racial segregation. The ACLU believes that misdemeanor convictions should not lead to a loss of voting rights. The ACLU encourages government to be proactive in stopping violence against women. There were over 1,, members in, and the ACLU annually receives thousands of grants from hundreds of charitable foundations. The ACLU has been criticized by liberals, such as when it excluded Communists from its leadership ranks, when it defended Neo-Nazis, when it declined to defend Paul Robeson, or when it opposed the passage of the National Labor Relations Act. But the defense of freedom of speech is most critical when the message is one most people find repulsive. In, the Court upheld the conviction of Socialist Party leader Charles Schenck for publishing anti-war literature. United States, the court upheld the conviction of Eugene Debs. While the Court upheld a conviction a third time in Abrams v. United States, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote an important dissent which has gradually been absorbed as an American principle: He wanted to change its focus from litigation to direct action and public education. His charisma and energy attracted many supporters to the ACLU board and leadership ranks. Magazines were routinely confiscated under the anti-obscenity Comstock laws ; permits for labor rallies were often denied; and virtually all anti-war or anti-government literature was outlawed. One faction, including Baldwin, Arthur Garfield Hays and Norman Thomas, believed that direct, militant action was the best path. The prosecution, led by William Jennings Bryan, contended that the Bible should be interpreted literally in teaching creationism in school. The Tennessee Supreme Court later upheld the law but overturned the conviction on a technicality. Arkansas and the case Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. New York, in which Benjamin Gitlow was arrested for violating a state law against inciting anarchy and violence, when he distributed literature promoting communism. Society of Sisters[ edit ] See also: Political activity of the Knights of Columbus After the First World War, many native-born Americans had a revival of concerns about assimilation of immigrants and worries about "foreign" values; they wanted public schools to teach children to be American. Numerous states drafted laws designed to use schools to promote a common American culture, and in, the voters of Oregon passed the Oregon Compulsory Education Act. The law was primarily aimed at eliminating parochial schools, including Catholic schools. Hart, the thenâ Supreme Advocate and future Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, offered to join forces with the Knights to challenge the law. In a unanimous decision, the court held that the act was unconstitutional and that parents, not the state, had the authority to educate children as they thought best. First victories[ edit ] Leaders of the ACLU were divided on the best tactics to use to promote civil liberties. Felix Frankfurter felt that legislation was the best long-term solution, because the Supreme Court could not and â in his opinion â should not mandate liberal interpretations of the Bill of Rights. But Walter Pollack, Morris Ernst, and other leaders felt that Supreme Court decisions were the best path to guarantee civil liberties. Mencken when he was arrested for distributing banned literature Censorship Page 3

4 was commonplace in the early 20th century. State laws and city ordinances routinely outlawed speech deemed to be obscene or offensive, and prohibited meetings or literature that promoted unions or labor organization. Mencken deliberately broke Boston law by distributing copies of his banned American Mercury magazine; the ACLU defended him and won an acquittal. United States and Memoirs v. California, decided in, the Supreme Court sided with the ACLU and affirmed the right of a communist party member to salute a communist flag. The result was the first time the Supreme Court used the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment to subject states to the requirements of the First Amendment. Minnesota, also decided in, the Supreme Court ruled that states may not exercise prior restraint and prevent a newspaper from publishing, simply because the newspaper had a reputation for being scandalous. Committee for Industrial Organization affirmed the right of communists to promote their cause. By, the ACLU had achieved many of the goals it set in the s, and many of its policies were the law of the land. Roosevelt administration proposed the New Deal to combat the depression. ACLU leaders were of mixed opinions about the New Deal, since many felt that it represented an increase in government intervention into personal affairs, and because the National Recovery Administration suspended anti-trust legislation. The ACLU fought these bans, but did not prevail. Oregon, in which a communist labor organizer was arrested for calling a meeting to discuss unionization. Douglas, and Frank Murphy established a body of civil liberties law. Stone wrote the famous "footnote four" in United States v. Chapter 3 : American Civil Liberties Union American organization Civil liberties in the United States are certain unalienable rights retained by (as opposed to privileges granted to) citizens of the United States under the Constitution of the United States, as interpreted and clarified by the Supreme Court of the United States and lower federal courts. Chapter 4 : American Civil Liberties Union - Ballotpedia Civil liberties in the United States refer to all privileges and immunities held by all American citizens; civil liberties are held separate from political rights, which refer to the ability to participate in elections as either voters or candidates. Chapter 5 : Civil Liberties and Civil Rights [ The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a group of nonprofit organizations that, according to the group website, work together to protect and promote civil liberties and constitutional rights through litigation, lobbying, communication, and public education. Chapter 6 : Civil Liberties - Civil American Civil Liberties Union. Since, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has fought energetically for the rights of individuals. This private, nonprofit organization is a multipurpose legal group with, members committed to the freedoms in the Bill of Rights. Chapter 7 : American Center for Law and Justice For almost years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Chapter 8 : Civil liberties in the United States - Wikipedia Founded in, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is one of the oldest interest groups in the United States. The mission of this non-partisan, not-for-profit organization is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties Page 4

5 guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.". Chapter 9 : ACLU of Washington Protection of civil liberties and civil rights is perhaps the most fundamental political value in American society. And yet, as former Justice Frankfurter explained in the quote above, the people who test liberties and rights in our courts are not always ideal citizens. Page 5

1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within

1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within Amendments 11-27 Amendment 11 - Judicial Limits. Ratified 2/7/1795. The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against