Civil Liberties Analysis

Civil liberties encompass areas of social life where people believe that the government power should rarely interfere on the peoples’ free choice. Throughout history, there have been numerous cases involving the denial of civil liberties or reevaluation of the constitutional amendments that involve civil liberties. Over the years, the Supreme Court has analyzed cases to redefine what the peoples’ liberties actually consist of. This commentary will summarize and analyze the right to exercise freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the lack thereof, as well as what liberties criminal defendants have, if there are any. Freedom of expression is fundamental to the idea of popular government; open debates and majority ruling all depend on freedom of expression. During the early Twentieth Century, …show more content…
There were three different ways to separate it: strict separation (no religious attachment to the government’s actions), the government not favoring one religion over another but providing support to all, and proactively promoting religion as morally beneficial to the nation. These separations do not provide a definitive answer to exactly what freedom of religion means. The Supreme Court solves this problem by interpreting the First Amendment clauses like the establishment clause. In the late 1970s the Lemon test was born, a three-pronged test to determine the constitutionality of state aid to religious events, groups, and even schools. In schools, a forced public prayer is unconstitutional, however, privately praying is not and allowable during school hours and functions. Furthermore, the free exercise clause protects the countless religious observances and practices from interference; however, this does not protect actions that are otherwise illegal in states (or at the federal