Civil liberties are protections FROM government — freedom of speech, freedom from unreasonable searches. Civil rights are protections AGAINST discrimination — the right to be treated equally regardless of race, gender, or religion. Students consistently confuse these. Civil liberties = what the government cannot do to you. Civil rights = the right to be treated the same as everyone else.

The Bill of Rights originally only applied to the federal government — states could do whatever they wanted. The 14th Amendment (1868) changed this by making states follow due process and equal protection. Through selective incorporation, the Supreme Court has applied most of the Bill of Rights to the states one case at a time. Mapp v. Ohio, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Miranda v. Arizona are all examples of this process at work.

Congress cannot establish an official religion (Establishment Clause), cannot prevent you from practicing your religion (Free Exercise Clause), cannot restrict speech or press, and cannot stop peaceful assembly or petitioning. But none of these are absolute. The Court has carved out categories of unprotected speech (true threats, incitement, obscenity) and created tests — like the "clear and present danger" test from Schenck — to decide when restrictions are constitutional.

The 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments protect people accused of crimes. The 4th requires warrants and prohibits unreasonable searches (Mapp v. Ohio applied this to states). The 5th protects against self-incrimination (Miranda). The 6th guarantees the right to counsel (Gideon). These rights reflect the Founders' deep distrust of government power — especially the power to imprison and punish citizens.

The 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause says no state can deny any person equal protection of the laws. Courts use different levels of scrutiny: strict scrutiny (race, national origin) requires a compelling government interest; intermediate scrutiny (gender) requires an important interest; rational basis requires just a legitimate reason. Brown v. Board demolished the "separate but equal" doctrine that had allowed racial segregation for 58 years after Plessy v. Ferguson.

Privacy is never mentioned in the Constitution — but the Court has found it implied in the "penumbras and emanations" of the Bill of Rights and in the 14th Amendment's liberty clause. Roe v. Wade (1973) built on this foundation to find a right to abortion. Though Roe was overturned in Dobbs v. Jackson (2022), the underlying privacy doctrine remains important for understanding how the Court interprets unenumerated rights — rights not explicitly listed in the Constitution.