Lesson 38 of 1524
Civil Liberties
A civil liberty is a limit on what government may do to you.
Practice this chapterThe establishment clause keeps government from setting up a religion or favoring one. The free exercise clause protects religious practice, though the protection is not a pass to break every law.
For a person in custody and being questioned, Miranda warnings are the practical form of the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The exclusionary rule generally keeps illegally obtained evidence out of the prosecution’s case.
Incorporation
Fourteenth Amendment due process applies most of the Bill of Rights to the states
A right that binds Congress does not automatically bind a state until it has been incorporated.
Worked example
Police question a suspect who is in custody. They never say that the suspect may remain silent or may have a lawyer. The suspect confesses. What rule did the police skip, and what is that rule for?
- 1The suspect is in custody and is being interrogated. Those are the two conditions that trigger Miranda warnings.
- 2The warnings tell the person about the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer. Neither warning was given.
- 3The warnings are the Court’s way of protecting the Fifth Amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination during custodial questioning.
- 4A confession taken without those warnings is generally not usable as evidence for the prosecution.
Result: The police skipped the Miranda warnings, which protect the privilege against self-incrimination.
Why. Miranda is not a separate right floating beside the Constitution. It is the procedure the Court requires so that a person in custody knows the Fifth Amendment protection before questioning begins.
Civil liberties limit government. Civil rights, in the next chapter, are about equal treatment. Do not swap the two words.
Practice margin
This chapter
A fresh set from this chapter only. Choose 10 or 20. Multiple choice and fill-in, with no repeat inside the set.