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Kriti Gautam Professor Sherry Sharifian Federal Government 2305-71433 7 October 2017 Civil Liberties and Civil Rights-Fundamentals to the US Constitution Civil liberties are “The fundamental individual rights of a free society, such as freedom of speech and the right to a jury trial, which in the United States are protected by the Bill of Rights” (Patterson 126). 1 Civil rights are rights for freedom and equality. The main difference between civil liberties and civil rights is that civil rights pertain to how people treat others, and civil liberties pertain to the actual freedom that individuals enjoy. They are similar in that they both promote the protection of freedom in the constitution. Civil rights have had more influence on my life, because, as a minority, life would have been so different without civil rights. Also, if not everyone can enjoy civil liberties through civil rights, then there might as well be no Bill of Rights to protect the fundamental human rights.
The courts weigh in any time there is a dispute regarding civil rights or liberties; for example, the civil liberties court case, Byrd v. United States, deals with the Third Amendment, which is in the Bill of Rights. 2 This court case raises the question about whether a driver should expect privacy in a rental car that he/she has permission to drive, but is not an authorized driver on the rental agreement (“Byrd v. United States” 1). The court ruled that a person who has permission to drive a rental
Civil rights and civil liberties have great similarities. Both civil rights and civil liberties include policies that protect the equality and freedom of people from government officials. However, the two terms have great differences. Two main differences between civil rights and liberties exist. One difference includes the origin of the policies. They also protect from different things. Although they have differences, civil rights and liberties have great importance to the citizens of the United States.
Civil rights and civil liberties are similar. They each want to protect something or someone. They go off the Bill of rights and the constitution since the Bill only goes up to the first ten amendments. Within the civil rights movement there were court cases that were passed.
2 The courts deal with cases of civil rights and civil liberties all the time. A prime example of a civil rights case is “Trump. v. International Refugee Assistance Project” found from the supreme court 's website. In this case President Trump had sent an order the affected the immigration of foreigners. This is civil rights because America has equality for all people so no one should be discriminated against for their ethnicity. A court case that represents a civil liberties issue is “Florida v. Jardines” found from the Supreme Court 's website. In this court case the civil liberty that was in question was the right to avoid unreasonable search or seizure. This is because the police entered a home without true probable cause, therefore, violating Jardines’ rights.
Webster defines civil liberty as a freedom from arbitrary governmental interference specifically by denial of governmental power, and in the United States especially as guaranteed by the bill of rights. Civil liberties are the basic rights, and freedoms that are due to every American citizen. More than often, civil liberties and civil rights are often used synonymously, but those terms are very distinct. A civil rights violation happens during designated situations where a person is discriminated against based on physical characteristics. However, civil liberties deal with basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed within the Bill of Rights and U.S constitution, inferred over the years by courts, and legislatures. Although, there are many liberties outlined within the United States constitution freedom of speech will be expounded upon.
There is a difference between civil liberties and civil rights in relation to the government. Civil liberties refer to an individual’s unalienable freedoms that cannot be taken away by political intervention. On the other hand, civil rights are provided by the government in order to promote equality. This ideology was introduced to the founders of the nation by John Locke, who believed in natural rights. Locke stated that these natural rights are to be protected and secured by the government. The question that should be raised now is whether the government truly does protect our civil rights and have the citizens’ best interest in mind.
1 Civil Rights Vs. Civil Liberties As a citizen of the United States, one is granted many protections under law. 2 These protections consist of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Varying based on the person, these rights are very valuable and ensure that an individual free of harm for certain situations. Civil Rights and Civil Liberties have evolved over the years as our country continues to further its development. They allow for the diminishing of injustice and a sense of security when it comes to the law system. The importance of Civil Rights and Liberties may not be very well known to all, but continue to play a role in every citizen’s
The first case I analyzed was the Weaver v. Massachusetts case. It involved a petitioner who was convicted of murder. He was tried in a Massachusetts court, in which the courtroom could not accommodate all the jurors. All non- eligible jurors were asked to leave including the petitioner 's mother and her minister. The case included “a Sixth Amendment violation” (Weaver, 2017). The sixth amendment states “all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial” (Staff, 2010). A public trail states that “friends and relatives of a defendant must be initially permitted to attend trial” (Public, 2008). Since the court did not allow the defendant 's mother to stay due to space, they therefore broke the sixth amendment. This misjustice classifies as a violation of the civil liberties due to the fact that it violates a constitutional amendment that places a limitation strictly on our government. 5 The second case that I analyzed was the Advocate Health Care Network vs. Stapleton case. 6 The case involved the “Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974” (Advocate, 2017). This act was set up to help private employers; it offered them pension plans. They were told if they followed the rules and guidelines of the plan it would “plan solvency and protect plan participants.” (Advocate, 2017) There was an exception to this
Civil rights and civil liberties have been constantly changing and growing as our country moves forward with its ever-changing society. Civil liberties are about
Civil liberties are our natural rights, such as freedom, equality and pursuit of happiness, which the government cannot modify by making new laws or by judicial interpretation. Civil liberties are important because it helps restrain the power of the government to dictate how we behave. This ensures that our daily life is not interrupted by authoritative figures that may just try to intentionally cause harm. Civil liberties contribute to the protection of our personal choices, such as the right to abortions. The bill of rights is important to civil liberties because it does not allow the government to govern our personal lives. Unfortunately, with this war against terrorism, we have given those authoritative figures the ability to mandate
Civil rights and civil of liberties have regularly been the discussion of different locales throughout the years. In the achievement of social liberties and freedoms, laws and statutory arrangements have must be drafted. In extraordinary cases, activists have needed to go past the standard to ensure that these rights and freedoms are accomplished. Civil freedoms are certifiable or positive arrangements that are ensured by
When our founding fathers sat down to illustrate and create the foundation of the United States, they had many goals and ideals they set out to uphold. One of those is equality. It states clearly in our constitution that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” It can sometimes be a blurry line to if these ideals are still upheld in a rapidly changing and disunified country. This is where our civil sequences: Liberties and Rights, keep our country intact. 1 Both Civil Liberties and Rights are granted and defined in the Constitution. We must continue enforcing our civil sequences to maintain order for ourselves, our states,
According to Patterson, “The Constitution’s failure to enumerate individual freedoms led to demands for the Bill of Rights. These first 10 amendments to the Constitution list a set of rights that the federal government is obliged to protect” (Patterson, 94). In the Bill of Rights, civil liberties specify the individual’s rights like freedom of speech, the right to a fair court trial, and other rights, which is protected by the government. 3 Patterson says, “Civil rights are a question of whether individual members of differing groups, such as racial, gender, and ethnic groups, are treated
One might ask the importance of civil liberties after so many years. The answer is that we are all touched by these liberties every day. Even though civil liberties were embedded into the Bill of Rights in the late 1800’s, we today, as Americans, still have the right to be protected against any abusive power used by the government (Bianco & Canon, 2015, p. 106). Although Americans are protected fully today, it took over a century for all civil liberties to be implemented. With several civil liberties in place, which is most important? Which liberty protects us as Americans, most significantly? I believe all of our civil liberties are equally as beneficial and lead to the safety of every citizen in the United
Civil rights refer to the constructive activities that the government must conduct to establish equality for all the citizens in the country. In most cases, the term is normally linked with the shielding of minority persons including women, Hispanics, and African Americans (Patterson, 2014). The civil rights are used to counterbalances the rule of the majority in a democracy, which normally disregards the minorities. Therefore, it ensures that all persons are treated equally regardless of their marital status, gender, or races in areas such as housing, education, and employment (Patterson, 2014).
Civil liberties in general can be understood as those rights which are mentioned in the bills of