Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420 (1984)
An individual is in custody, for purposes of Miranda v. Arizona, when a reasonable person in the suspect’s position would have believed himself in custody.
Read the full storyBethel School District v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986)
Does the First Amendment prevent a school district from disciplining a high school student for giving a lewd speech at a school assembly?
Read the full storyBetts v. Brady, 316 U.S. 455 (1942)
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides, among other things, that ‘‘in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.’’
Read the full storyBible in American Law
To speak with precision of the Bible’s influence on American civil liberties is impossible because of its pervasive general presence in American culture during important formative periods of its history and jurisprudence.
Read the full storyBible Reading in Public Schools, History of before and after Abington School District v. Schempp
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in America, there was homogeneity among Americans in that the majority were Protestant Christians, albeit of varied denominations.
Read the full storyFrancis Beverly Biddle (1886–1968)
Francis Biddle, the scion of a family that emigrated to America in the early seventeenth century, attended private schools, including Harvard College, from which he graduated cum laude, and the Harvard Law School, where he received an LL.B. in 1911.
Read the full storyBill of Attainder
A bill of attainder imposes punishment on specific individuals or members of a group through an act taken by the legislature rather than a judicial trial.
Read the full storyBills of Rights in Early State Constitutions
State constitution making began during the Revolution. By 1787, when delegates from twelve of the original thirteen states (Rhode Island never sent any delegates) met in Philadelphia to write the national constitution, eleven of the first thirteen states had written constitutions.
Read the full storyAdoption of Bill of Rights
The Constitution of 1787 did not contain a bill of rights, although it did have some protections for some civil liberties. The original Constitution prohibited ex post facto laws and bills of attainder, preserved the right of a jury trial in criminal cases, and banned religious tests for officeholding.
Read the full storyStructure Bill of Rights
The structure of the American Bill of Rights reflects its eighteenth-century origins. The framers of the Constitution did not include a bill of rights because they honestly believed that one was unnecessary.
Read the full storyJohn Armor Bingham (1815–1900)
John Armor Bingham, an Ohio lawyer, was a prominent figure in American politics and government in the latter half of the nineteenth century. He participated in many of the key events surrounding and shortly after the Civil War.
Read the full storyBirth Control
Birth control is the generic term to describe methods used to limit the number of children. These methods fall into two main categories: those that try to prevent conception, and those that terminate an embryo or fetus.
Read the full storyBivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
Bivens held, for the first time, that a federal court may hold individual government agents liable for money damages for violating a person’s Fourth Amendment rights.
Read the full storyBlackledge v. Perry, 417 U.S. 21 (1974)
Perry was tried and found guilty of the misdemeanor assault of a fellow inmate. When he exercised his statutory right to a new trial under North Carolina law, the prosecutor charged him with felony assault for the same conduct that had been previously charged as a less serious offense.
Read the full storyBlacklisting
Blacklisting is similar to blackballing. As the latter is associated with the placement of a black marble among the white ones in a bag, signifying that the applicant to a club has been denied membership by a single member, a blacklist is a powerful tool wielded by employers that denies the possibility of work to anyone whose name has been placed on a specific list.
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