Trebla unit 3: 3.6: Amendments: Balancing Individual Freedom (15) with Public Order and Safety

"This Court has had little occasion to give precise content to the Eighth Amendment, and, in an enlightened democracy such as ours, this is not surprising. But when the Court was confronted with a punishment of 12 years in irons at hard and painful labor imposed for the crime of falsifying public records, it did not hesitate to declare that the penalty was cruel in its excessiveness and unusual in its character. Weems v. United States, 217 U. S. 349. The Court recognized in that case that the words of the Amendment are not precise, and that their scope is not static. The Amendment must draw its meaning from the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society." Opinion of the Court, Trop v. Dulles (1958) Which of the following best describes what the Court says about the Eighth Amendment in the excerpt from Trop v. Dulles?

"This Court has had little occasion to give precise content to the Eighth Amendment, and, in an enlightened democracy such as ours, this is not surprising. But when the Court was confronted with a punishment of 12 years in irons at hard and painful labor imposed for the crime of falsifying public records, it did not hesitate to declare that the penalty was cruel in its excessiveness and unusual in its character. Weems v. United States, 217 U. S. 349. The Court recognized in that case that the words of the Amendment are not precise, and that their scope is not static. The Amendment must draw its meaning from the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society." Opinion of the Court, Trop v. Dulles (1958) Which of the following best explains why the Court mentions "the crime of falsifying public records" in the excerpt above?

Which of the following represents an example of a situation in which in an individual's civil liberties might be threatened by the government?

Individual liberty has most often been restricted by the Supreme Court under which context below?

Which of the following actions by Congress would most likely be protected by the precedent of a “clear and present danger” established by Schenck v. United States (1919)?

"This Court has had little occasion to give precise content to the Eighth Amendment, and, in an enlightened democracy such as ours, this is not surprising. But when the Court was confronted with a punishment of 12 years in irons at hard and painful labor imposed for the crime of falsifying public records, it did not hesitate to declare that the penalty was cruel in its excessiveness and unusual in its character. Weems v. United States, 217 U. S. 349. The Court recognized in that case that the words of the Amendment are not precise, and that their scope is not static. The Amendment must draw its meaning from the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society." Opinion of the Court, Trop v. Dulles (1958) Based on the excerpt from Trop v. Dulles above, with which of the following statements would the author of the opinion be most likely to agree?

Following mass shootings, the debate over whether there should be increased limits on access to guns intensifies. This is most representative of which of the following?

Which of the following has been a continuing consequence of attempts to prevent terrorism through the PATRIOT Act and the US Freedoms Act?

A political cartoonist criticizes the government's approach to protecting privacy in time of war by drawing a weary graveyard called "War on Terror" where three gravestones memorialize the U.S. Constitution, Habeas Corpus, and the Geneva Convention. Which of the following best describes the message of that political cartoon?

A political cartoonist criticizes the government's approach to protecting privacy in time of war by drawing a weary graveyard called "War on Terror" where three gravestones memorialize the U.S. Constitution, Habeas Corpus, and the Geneva Convention. Which of the following best describes the policy debate reflected in the cartoon?

"We admit that, in many places and in ordinary times, the defendants, in saying all that was said in the circular, would have been within their constitutional rights. But the character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done. Aikens v. Wisconsin, 195 U. S. 194, 195 U. S. 205, 195 U. S. 206. The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic. It does not even protect a man from an injunction against uttering words that may have all the effect of force. Gompers v. Bucks Stove & Range Co., 221 U. S. 418, 221 U. S. 439. The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. It is a question of proximity and degree. When a nation is at war, many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight, and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right. " Opinion of the Court, Schenck v. United States (1919) Which of the following statements is most consistent with the excerpt above?

"We admit that, in many places and in ordinary times, the defendants, in saying all that was said in the circular, would have been within their constitutional rights. But the character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done. Aikens v. Wisconsin, 195 U. S. 194, 195 U. S. 205, 195 U. S. 206. The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic. It does not even protect a man from an injunction against uttering words that may have all the effect of force. Gompers v. Bucks Stove & Range Co., 221 U. S. 418, 221 U. S. 439. The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. It is a question of proximity and degree. When a nation is at war, many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight, and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right. " Opinion of the Court, Schenck v. United States (1919) Based on the excerpt, which of the following most accurately describes the danger presented by the speech at issue in the Schenck case?

"We admit that, in many places and in ordinary times, the defendants, in saying all that was said in the circular, would have been within their constitutional rights. But the character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done. Aikens v. Wisconsin, 195 U. S. 194, 195 U. S. 205, 195 U. S. 206. The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic. It does not even protect a man from an injunction against uttering words that may have all the effect of force. Gompers v. Bucks Stove & Range Co., 221 U. S. 418, 221 U. S. 439. The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. It is a question of proximity and degree. When a nation is at war, many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight, and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right. " Opinion of the Court, Schenck v. United States (1919) Which of the following best explains why the Court upheld the convictions of the defendants despite their claim of free speech protections?

As part the U. S. government's war on terror, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 prevented those who were classified as "enemy combatants" from availing themselves of petitions for habeas corpus to challenge their detentions. The Supreme Court struck down this provision in 2008. Which of the following best illustrates this scenario?

In the weeks following the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act which increased the ability of law enforcement to search personal telephone, email and financial records without a court order. Which of the following best explains this scenario?