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Law Day 2017: The 14th Amendment The Informed Voters Project

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1 Law Day 2017: The 14th Amendment The Informed Voters Project
Introduce self and purpose of IVP. Highlight Law Day and Law Week. Theme this year is the 14th Amendment. Handout copies of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment The informed voters project of the national association of women judges ivp.nawj.org

2 Name that clause! Warm Up Exercise
Working with one or two other persons sitting next to you, read the 14th Amendment and circle the sections/clauses that address specific components. Name that clause! Then, name each section with an appropriate title or subtitle to designate the main idea or theme. As a warm up exercise ask the audience if they had to identify clauses or sections in the 14th Amendment, what would they be and how would you name or characterize each section.. Circle and name. (Note: Audience may highlight citizen definition and privileges and immunities clause; due process clause; and equal protection clause.) See next slides. Ask participants to work together in pairs or small groups to identify general content in 14th Amendment and to label with subtitles. See overview for specific instructions.

3 The 14th Amendment Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Library of Congress Ask a few groups what they identified and how they named the sections. Next slides will highlight. The 14th Amendment told the states they, too, must observe due process and afford all people equal protection under the law. It also defined citizen for the first time. Did you know? The Fourteenth Amendment is cited in more cases than any other amendment.

4 1. Citizenship Clause/Privileges and Immunities
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States…” Following the Civil War, there was much debate about the citizenship status of former slaves (Amendment 13). This was remedied with the Fourteenth Amendment, providing a definition of a citizen of the United States. Provided for a definition of citizenship Granted citizenship to former slaves Prohibited states from infringing on the rights

5 2. Due Process Clause “…nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” Highlight that the 14th Amendment clarifies “nor shall any state deprive any person...” Impact: Requires state and local governments to administer fair and just legal proceedings Due process can be classified as substantive due process (is the substance of the law fair?) or procedural due process (are the processes and procedures being applied fairly?)

6 3. Equal Protection Clause
“…nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” (read quote) The Equal Protection clause requires states to treat every person within their territory equal before the law Enforces the civil rights act of 1866: granting “civil rights and immunities”

7 Purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment
To define citizen Granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed To extend the Bill of Rights to the states To grant equal protection and due process to all persons Various other topics Emphasize the year 1868; Granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed It extended the Bill of Rights to apply to the states, and not just the federal government. (Applied to state and local governments) It granted equal protection and due process to all ‘persons’ .

8 Is it fair? Applying the 14th Amendment
Are separate educational facilities for different races a violation of the 14th Amendment equal protection clause? How about segregation in prisons? What if a state law or code gave preference to a male relative serving as administrator of an estate over a female relative? Can students be expelled from school without a hearing or notification? Ask the audience who the Constitution protects you from? Using examples provided in these scenarios, ask the audience to apply the 14th Amendment to these scenarios. You can add others as well or have audience provide scenarios (present day or historical) that may be 14th Amendment challenges. See overview. Case examples from Brown v Board of Education, Lee v. Washington, Johnson v California, Reed v Reed, and Goss v Lopez. See overview. Ask participants if they can think of any other issues, historically or present day that may relate to the 14th Amendment clauses…..May mention racial segregation of schools, same sex marriage,

9 How can we ensure equal protection under the law
How can we ensure equal protection under the law? If you think a laws is unfair or unconstitutional what can you do? If you think a governmental process is unfair what can you do?

10 The Role of the Judicial Branch
Resolve disputes through a legal process; Interpret and apply the law; Determine if a law is unconstitutional; Protect the rights of the people. The Role of the Judicial Branch How do the courts protect your rights?

11 How Do Judges Make Decisions?
Judges should be fair and impartial in applying and interpreting the law. Judges must follow the law: U.S. and State Constitutions Case law/Precedent Statutory Law* Sentencing guidelines* Court Procedures/Rules Code of Judicial Conduct So how do judges make decisions? Not based on the pressure of public opinion, political influence, or media scrutiny, but based on the law.

12 The Judicial Branch So what does the judicial branch do…..There are distinct differences between the judicial branch and the other two. What distinguishes judicial decision making from the other branches of government is that judges make decisions based on the law, past precedent, the Florida Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution. The judicial branch was created to be insulated (protected) from pressures that exist on the other branches of government – media, public opinion, influence of interest groups and politics, etc. It was not structured to be a political or representative branch. Fair and impartial courts should not be influenced by public opinion, political pressures, or special interests. Decisions should be based on the law.

13 How are judges different from other elected officials?
Legislators make decisions based on the needs/desires of their constituents or voters, their own beliefs, or their political party’s agenda. Judges must follow the law and should not be influenced by politics, special interest groups, money, public opinion or their own personal beliefs. What distinguishes judges from other elected officials is that judges make decisions based on the law, past precedent, the State Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution. The judicial branch was created to be insulated (protected) from pressures that exist on the other branches of government – media, public opinion, influence of interest groups and politics, etc. The system was created this way intentionally. Elected members of the legislative and executive branches of government are intended to serve as a representative function in our representative democracy

14 So what do you look for in judges?
If you were responsible for selecting a judge in your state, what characteristics or considerations would be most important to you? What would you look for?

15 What are important characteristics of judges?
Legal/Judicial Experience Educational Background Character/ Ethics Temperament Disciplinary Record Service to the Community Impartiality Respect of Colleagues These are traditionally the top responses when asked to identify characteristics or considerations the public wants in judicial candidates. What would you add?

16 What would happen if…? Judges have to make difficult decisions in accordance with the constitution that may not be popular. What may happen if judges decided cases based solely on what the public, special interest groups, or politicians wanted? These are examples of what could have been if the courts were beholden to public opinion or the will of the majority. What are some cases you can think of that might have been controversial when decided based on popular opinion at the time?

17 Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
At the time of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, over one-third of states segregated their schools by law. 17 southern and border states, along with the District of Columbia, required their public schools to be racially segregated. From the unanimous opinion: We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and other similarly situated are deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Image: Review briefly Brown I (1954) (racial segregation in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of Fourteenth Amendment) and Brown II (states required to integrate with all deliberate speed). Ask the audience to consider what the popular opinion at the time would have been. Was the decision in Brown popular? What if the Justices made their decision based on public opinion, the legislative branches’ wishes, or personal opinion?  Following the Court’s ruling in 1896 of Plessy v. Ferguson, segregation of public schools based solely on race was allowed by states if the facilities were “equal.” Brown overturned that decision. Regardless of the “equality” of facilities, the Court ruled that separate is inherently unequal. Thus public school segregation based on race was found in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. Article Details: 10 Things You Should Know About Brown v. Board of Education Author Jesse Greenspan Website Name History.com Year Published 2014 Title URL Access Date December 08, 2016 Publisher A+E Networks

18 Although there are some who might have advocated for removal of a federal judge if there was a disagreement with a decision, in fact the Federal Constitution provides for impeachment only for “treason, bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Photo credit:

19 Loving v. Virginia (1967) In 1958, two residents of Virginia, Mildred Jeter, a black woman, and Richard Loving, a white man, were married in the District of Columbia. They returned to Virginia shortly thereafter. The couple was then charged with violating the state's antimiscegenation statute, which banned inter-racial marriages. They were found guilty and sentenced to a year in jail (the trial judge agreed to suspend the sentence if they would leave Virginia and not return for 25 years). The US Supreme Court applied the 14th Amendment to determine that “Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State.” Image: Video clip describing case: By 1967, 16 states had still not repealed their laws forbidding interracial marriages. Mildred and Richard Loving were residents of one such state, Virginia, who had fallen in love and wanted to get married. Under Virginia’s laws, however, Richard, a white man, could not marry Mildred, a woman of African-American and Native American descent. The two travelled to Washington D.C. where they could be married, but they were arrested state law which prohibited inter-racial marriage. Because their offense was a criminal conviction, after being found guilty, they were given a prison sentence of one year. The trial judge suspended the sentence for 25 years on the condition that the couple leave Virginia. On Appeal, the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia ruled that the state had an interest in preserving the “racial integrity” of its constituents and that because the punishment applied equally to both races, the statute did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The United States Supreme Court in a unanimous decision reversed the Virginia Court’s ruling and held that the Equal Protection Clause required strict scrutiny to apply to all race based classifications. Furthermore, the Court concluded that the law was rooted in invidious racial discrimination, making it impossible to satisfy a compelling government interest. The Loving decision still stands as a milestone in the Civil Rights Movement.

20 2010 Iowa Merit Retention Campaign
In a contemporary example: 2010 Iowa Merit Retention Campaign where three Iowa Supreme Court Justices faced a removal campaign after a controversial and unpopular same-sex marriage ruling. The Justices that were up for retention in 2010 were all removed. Almost five years later, the United States Supreme Court ruled that states must allow same sex marriage. Iowa Press City article for background reading for presenter: [Editor's note: This article was first published on April 3, 2014, five years after the Varnum v. Brien decision that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa.] The unanimous Iowa Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in April 2009 had a profound effect on the ongoing movement for equality for gays and lesbians and on three of the justices who decided the case — and lost their jobs because of it. When Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices Michael Streit and David Baker faced a retention election in November 2010, they met a backlash-fueled campaign, funded in part by out-of-state interest groups. A combined three decades of experience on the Iowa Supreme Court ended in a single day. They continued to stand up for judicial independence, as they did in 2012, when they received the prestigious John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. "We knew that our decision would be unpopular with many people, and we even knew in the back of our minds that we could lose our jobs because of our votes in that case," Ternus said in her acceptance speech. "But we took an oath of office in which we promised to uphold the Iowa Constitution without fear, favor or hope of reward, and that is what we did."

21 Potential for a Constitutional Battleground
“If every constitutional question were to be decided by public political bargaining, Madison argued, the Constitution would be reduced to a battleground of competing factions, political passion and partisan spirit.”

22 On Judicial Decision Making
“If you’re going to be a good and faithful judge, you have to resign yourself to the fact that you’re not always going to like the conclusions you reach. If you like them all the time, you’re probably doing something wrong.” - Justice Antonin Scalia

23 Challenges: Civic Illiteracy Labeling judges
Politicization of judicial decisions Dark money campaign spending in judicial elections “The founders realized that there has to be some place where being right is more important than being popular or powerful, and where fairness trumps strength. And in our country that place is supposed to be the courtroom.” -Sandra Day O’Connor, Supreme Court Justice

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25 The Informed Voters Project:
Of the National Association of Women Judges Resource of accurate, nonpartisan judicial information Support system for those seeking to protect fair and impartial courts Platform for the discussion on the importance of judicial independence The Informed Voters Project serves is a nonpartisan civic education campaign led to inform voters on the judicial branch and raise awareness on the importance of fair and impartial courts We serve as a reliable resource of accurate nonpartisan judicial information, a support system for judges seeking to protect fair and impartial courts and a platform for the discussion on the importance of judicial independence. ivp.nawj.org

26 Follow us! Informed Voters, Fair Judges Project
National Association of Women Judges @ivpfairfree Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! Helping build a constant flow of communication between us and our partners and the community of voters. We regularly post relevant content like articles on state judiciary, educational presentatons, upcoming events, partner accomplishments, etc.

27 Be Informed Highlight organizations in your state for resources about the judicial branch: State Bar Association, Law Related Education committees, voluntary bar associations


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