The Bill of Rights

Description: This series of classes will explore the protections in the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The first class will focus on the First Amendment's protection for freedom of speech, the second class will consider the First Amendment Religion Clauses, both the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses. After that subsequent classes will discuss the remaining 9 amendments.

Text of the Bill of Rights: http://www.ushistory.org/documents/amendments.htm

General Material

U.S. Constitution Annotated - https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan

8 things you should know about the Bill of Rights - https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-should-know-about-the-bill-of-rights

Can You Pass a Bill of Rights Quiz? - https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/can-you-pass-this-bill-of-rights-quiz/


Material Related to Specific Amendments

First Class (December 30) - The First Amendment Free Speech Clause:

Text of the First Amendment

Quotations from Free Speech Cases

Photo of Phillips With Some of His Cakes

Unprotected Categories of Expression

Standards of Review

Free Speech Values

List of United States Supreme Court First Amendment Cases - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Supreme_Court_cases_involving_the_First_Amendment

The First Amendment Encyclopedia - https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/encyclopedia

U.S. Constitution Annotated: First Amendment - https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1

The Flag Burning Page


Second Class (January 27) - The First Amendment Religion Clauses:

Text of the First Amendment Religion Clauses

The Lemon Test

Time Line of Parochial School Funding Cases

Time Line of Parochial School Funding Cases Updated

Religious Symbols on Public Land (pictures of actual displays)

Holiday Displays (pick which ones would be constitutional)

Excerpt From Justice Scalia's Concurring Opinion in Lamb's Chapel

Excerpt from Justice O'Connor's Concurring Opinion in McCreary County v. ACLU

Peace Cross - http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=959765d6-7101-4251-9a43-4d243a5a5f07&gid=3 and https://www.washingtontimes.com/multimedia/image/peace-crossjpg/

Third Class (February 24) - The Second and Third Amendments:

U.S. Constitution Annotated: Second Amendment

U.S. Constitution: Article I, Section 8, Clauses 12-16: Armies and Militias

U.S. Constitution: Article, I, Section 8, Clause 17: District of Columbia

New York State Pistol & Rifle Association v. City of New York - https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/new-york-state-rifle-pistol-association-inc-v-city-of-new-york-new-york/

U.S. Constitution Annotated: Third Amendment - https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-3

The Third Amendment by Gordon S. Wood (National Constitution Center) - https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-iii

Fourth Class (March 9) - The Fourth Amendment:

Text of the Fourth Amendment


Probable Cause

Phone Booth - https://www.flickr.com/photos/10707024@N04/2529300908/lightbox/

Katz v. United States (1967): Under the Katz test, no search occurs unless “the individual manifested a subjective expectation of privacy in the object of the challenged search,” and “society [is] willing to recognize that expectation as reasonable.”

Terry v. Ohio (1968): “[I]n determining whether the seizure and search were "unreasonable" our inquiry is a dual one—whether the officer's action was justified at its inception, and whether it was reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place.”