Exam 4: Civil Liberties

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The Lemon test, established by the Supreme Court in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), is used to determine whether a law or government action violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The test consists of three prongs:

1. The law or government action must have a secular purpose.
2. The primary effect of the law or government action must neither advance nor inhibit religion.
3. The law or government action must not result in excessive entanglement between government and religion.

An example of a Supreme Court case that applied the Lemon test is Lemon v. Kurtzman itself. In this case, the Court struck down a state law that provided financial aid to non-public schools, including parochial schools, because it was found to violate the Establishment Clause. The Court applied the three prongs of the Lemon test to determine that the law did not have a secular purpose, had the primary effect of advancing religion, and resulted in excessive entanglement between government and religion. As a result, the law was deemed unconstitutional.

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The Fourteenth Amendment extended the Bill of Rights to former slaves by granting them citizenship and equal protection under the law. This amendment, ratified in 1868, overturned the Dred Scott decision and ensured that all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves, were citizens of the country and entitled to the same rights and protections as all other citizens. This included the rights outlined in the Bill of Rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and assembly, as well as due process and equal protection under the law. The Fourteenth Amendment was a crucial step in ensuring that the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights were extended to all individuals, regardless of their race or former status as slaves.

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The Supreme Court has consistently recognized symbolic speech or expression as a form of protected speech under the First Amendment. Symbolic speech refers to nonverbal actions or symbols that convey a particular message or expression. This can include actions such as flag burning, wearing armbands, or displaying certain symbols.

In the landmark case of Texas v. Johnson (1989), the Supreme Court ruled that flag burning is a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment. The Court held that the government cannot prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.

Similarly, in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), the Court ruled that students' wearing of black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War was a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment, and that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."

Overall, the Supreme Court has consistently upheld the right to engage in symbolic speech as a form of protected expression under the First Amendment, recognizing that nonverbal actions and symbols can convey powerful messages and ideas that are deserving of constitutional protection.