POL 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Jury Trial, Fourteenth Amendment To The United States Constitution, Excessive Bail Clause

• School: Stony Brook University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POL 102
• Professor: ryancotter

Document Summary

Fu(cid:374)da(cid:373)e(cid:374)tal a(cid:374)d outside of go(cid:448)e(cid:396)(cid:374)(cid:373)e(cid:374)t do(cid:373)ai(cid:374) to (cid:396)egulate; thi(cid:374)k (cid:862)(cid:374)atu(cid:396)al (cid:396)ights(cid:863) Powers or privileges guaranteed to individuals and protected from arbitrary removal. Ci(cid:448)il li(cid:271)e(cid:396)ties a(cid:396)e outside of the go(cid:448)e(cid:396)(cid:374)(cid:373)e(cid:374)t"s authority (natural unalienable rights) whereas civil rights are rights that the government is obliged to protect. Negative freedom - oblige inaction, freedom from interference. Positive freedom - oblige action, e. g. health care, social security. The problem is that a lot of issues both fall under the category of civil liberties and civil rights, e. g. the issue of abortion. Pro-choice advocates say that the government cannot keep a woman from having an abortion - in this case it is a civil liberties issue. Pro-life advocates say that the government must protect the right to life of the unborn child - a civil rights issue. Civil liberties provide a gate or barrier that protects people against interference by the government in fundamental liberties, such as freedom of speech or religion.