After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
Review the Patriot Act and why civil libertarians have concerns about it.
Discuss the historical origins of the Bill of Rights including the role it played during the ratification of the Constitution.
Define the meaning of selective incorporation and examine how this process impacted upon the relationship of the Bill of Rights to state governments.
Explain why freedom of speech, press, and assembly are "paramount" in the Bill of Rights as well as noting the historical origins of those freedoms.
Define those key doctrines relating to freedom of speech: prior restraint, clear and present danger, fighting words, balancing, and fundamental freedom.
Delineate the various limitations on three types of speech: commercial speech, libel, and obscenity.
Summarize the meaning of the establishment of religion and free exercise of religion clauses as well as the doctrine of church-state separation.
Specify the various rights of the accused, noting the impact of key Supreme Court rulings upon those rights such as Mapp v. Ohio and Miranda v. Arizona.
Review the types of efforts taken to ensure an "impartial jury."
Discuss the implications of plea bargaining.
Summarize how the right to privacy relates to the abortion issue, the continuing controversy over Roe v. Wade, and the "information age."
Explain the dilemma of balancing security with
liberties, drawing on examples from World
War II and the post-9/11 era.
