LAW, BUSINESS, &

SOCIETY
11th
Edition

McGraw-Hill

2015 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
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Learning Objectives

Recognize the purposes of the U.S.

Constitution
Describe the separation of powers
under the U.S. Constitution
Identify the freedoms protected under
the First Amendment
Describe the powerful role the Bill of
Rights plays in protecting personal
freedoms
5-2

Learning Objectives

Discuss the differences between First

Amendment protections of commercial
speech versus political speech
Explain the exclusionary rule
Describe some of the issues arising
under the Fourth Amendment search
and seizure rules

5-3

Learning Objectives

Describe the law of the Fifth

Amendment Takings Clause and the
property rights controversy associated
with it
Compare and contrast substantive due
process and procedural due process
Identify some examples of the impact
of the Equal Protection Clause on
business and society
5-4

Creating a Constitution - The

United States

Developed from the 1778 Articles of

Confederation
Interstate disputes prevailed and the

federal union had little authority

Constitutional Convention was called in

1787 to strengthen the Articles
Delegates decided that a stronger central

government was needed

Great document was signed and the
Constitution was ratified
5-5

Structure and Purpose

Preamble identifies goals for society

Article I
Creates Congress and enumerates powers
Section 8, Clause 3 gives Congress the

power to regulate commerce

Article II
Creates the executive branch

Article III
Establishes the court system
5-6

Structure and Purpose

Articles IV, VI and, 14th Amendment

Address the relationship between the

federal government and the states

Article VI
Clause 2 offers supremacy of federal law

over state law

Article V
Provides for amendments to the Constitution

Bill of Rights - First 10 amendments

5-7

Structure and Purpose

Roles served by the Constitution

Establishes a national government
Controls relationship between national and

state governments
Defines and preserves personal liberty
Contains provisions to enable government
to perpetuate itself

5-8

Government Power and

Constitutional Restraints

Constitution was designed to protect

the citizenry from the government
Divides governmental power between the

federal and state governments

Congressional authority is limited to
enumerated powers

10th Amendment
Power not expressly accorded to federal

government resides in the states or people

5-9

Federal Branches

Congress
Sole power to legislate at the federal level

President
Executes laws, makes treaties, and

commands the armed forces

Power to veto acts of Congress

Supreme Court and the inferior courts

Judicial authority at the federal level

5-10

Federalism

U.S. government is built on federalism

principles
Provides for shared power among national,

state, and local governments

New federalism
Expressed in a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court

decision, Shelby County v. Holder

5-11

Constitution, Bill of Rights,

and Business

Commerce Clause
Shapes the practice of American business

Bill of Rights
Serves to limit the powers of the federal

government and the states

Protects personal freedoms from
encroachment by the federal government

5-12

Freedom of Religion

First Amendment forbids:

Establishment of an official state religion
Undue state interference with religious

practice

God, pledge, and currency

Under God and In God We Trust do not

violate the separation of church and state

principles

5-13

Freedom of Speech

Primary guarantor of the American

approach to life
Americans believe free expression of
ideas is the path to the best ideas
Not absolute
States cannot regulate the content of
speech
Extends to messages not
communicated with words
5-14

Freedom of Speech

Free speech analysis

Balancing test - Judges weigh the interests

of state against expressive rights of

individual

Content - Vile words

Government cannot restrict speech based

on its content

Context
Panhandling in the street at stop signs is

permissible
5-15

Freedom of Speech

Balancing interests - Speech at school

Joseph Frederick was suspended from school

for raising a banner reading Bong Hits 4 Jesus

Public sector workers off and on the job

First Amendment shield public-sector

workers off-the-job expressions

Employer restrictions to effective operation is
permissible
Government employees free speech rights
are limited on the job
5-16

Politically Correct Speech

Many universities have speech codes

Blueprint for colleges
Issued by Federal Departments of Justice

and Education
Redefines sexual harassment to include
unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature

Criticism
Restraints are unconstitutional

5-17

Freedom of Speech

Right to provoke, offend, and shock is

protected by the First Amendment
Workplace harassment is prohibited
Commercial speech
First Amendment rights is extended by

court

Corporate speech
Corporations are associations of citizens

deserving free speech rights

5-18

Case: University Speech

Codes

Case
IOTA XI Chapter v. George Mason University
993 F.2d 386 (4th Cir. 1993)
District court

Issue
George Mason University appeals the

judgment granted by the district court to

nullify sanctions imposed on it because it
conducted an ugly woman contest with
racist and sexist overtones
5-19

Animal Cruelty

First Amendment protects the rights of

a business selling videos depicting
animal cruelty
Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act
Prohibits the creation and distribution of

obscene animal torture videos

5-20

Case: Animal Cruelty

Case
Bad Frog Brewery v. New York State Liquor

Authority
134 F.3d 87 (2d Cir. 1998)
Court of Appeals

Issue
NYSLAs statewide ban on the use of Bad

Frogs labels lacks a reasonable fit and the

labels constitute commercial speech
5-21

Fourth Amendment

Right of the people to be secure in

their persons, houses, papers, and
effects, against:
Unreasonable searches and seizures, shall

not be violated, and no Warrants shall

issue, but upon probable cause

Protects people from the power of an

unfair, overreaching government

5-22

Fourth Amendment

Exclusionary rule
Evidence secured in violation of the Fourth

Amendment may not be used against a

defendant at trial
Supreme Court held that government need
not forfeit evidence collected in
constitutionally improper searches

Search warrant - Issued by a judge

Necessary to comply with the Constitution

in making a narcotics search

5-23

Types of Searches

Vehicle - Permissible when:

Individual being arrested is close enough

to vehicle to reach in for a weapon

Officer reasonably believes that the vehicle
contains evidence relevant to crime of
arrest

5-24

Types of Searches
Cell phones
Cannot be searched without a warrant
Testing students
Addressing drug problems in schools outweigh
students privacy rights
Voyeurism and surveillance society
Video Voyeurism Prevention Act - Protects
against photographic voyeurism
5-25

Types of Searches
DNA samples
DNA collection - Minimal intrusion on
privacy
DNA testing - Valuable tool in prosecuting
criminals and exonerating the innocent
Business searches
Warrant Clause of the Fourth Amendment
protects commercial buildings and private
homes
5-26

Fifth Amendment

Takings - Eminent domain

Prohibits taking of private property for

public use without just compensation for

the owner

Regulatory takings
Do not require government compensation

as it would impair states ability to govern

in an orderly manner

5-27

Case: Eminent Domain

Case
Kelo v. City of New London, Connecticut
Supreme Court of the United States 545

U.S. 469 (2005)

Issue
Is New London development plans

proposed disposition of property qualifies

as a public use within the meaning of the
Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment?
5-28

Types of Regulatory Takings

Total takings
Taking the economic value of a property

requires just compensation unless:

Government is preventing a nuisance
Regulation was permissible under property
law at the time of the purchase

Exaction/mitigation
Government allows land development if

owner dedicates some property interest or

money to the government
5-29

Types of Regulatory Takings

Partial takings
Government takes a part of property

considering the:
Importance of the governments goals
Extent of the burden on the property owner

5-30

Fourteenth Amendment

Due process
Clauses forbid the government to deprive

citizens of life, liberty, or property without

due process of law
Substantive
Laws that arbitrarily and unfairly infringe on
fundamental personal rights can be
challenged on due process grounds

5-31

Fourteenth Amendment
Procedural
Government must provide a fair procedure
before taking an action affecting a citizens
life, liberty, or property
Void for vagueness
Statute violates due process rights if it is
vaguely written that the ordinary person
cannot understand it

5-32

Case: Due Process

Case
Skilling v. United States
130 S.Ct. 2896 (2010)
Supreme Court

Issue
Skilling argued that the language of the

honest services federal statute used to

convict him was so vague that he was
deprived of his due process rights
5-33

Equal Protection

14th Amendment provides that no

state shall deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection of
the laws
Forbids the government from treating
one person differently from another
without a rational basis

5-34

Same-sex Marriage

Section 3 of the 1996 DOMA

Forbids federal government from

recognizing same-sex marriage

Unconstitutional as a denial of equal
protection and due process

Federal marriage benefits

Available to same-sex couples legally

married in states recognizing same-sex

marriage
5-35