Our Basic Civil Rights

[Music] [Music] [Music] will you step forward please this kind of case I'm glad to say doesn't often come to my court an injunction has been asked against this man who was peacefully distributing handbills a great deal of authority a great deal of responsibility is placed on our policemen our judges this authority can be misused I'm glad but a system of civil rights has been established by our citizens to protect all individuals an injunction would be a clear infringement of this man's rights under law mr. clerk dismissed the complaint for injunction in his cause for want of equity e3d was on a row branch of the circuit court amount go McCauley is hereby ordered Your Honor these young people have been waiting to see you there from the high-speed well what can I do here your honor I'm Harry Andrews and this is Ellen Jackson this is nothing more hello yes we're to make a report on civil rights and well we'd like to talk to you about civil rights eh Oh get me my portfolio on civil rights with your friend here sit down sit down I saw you sitting in the water in this afternoon asking sir because it concerns civil rights well yes wait suppose you tell me just what are civil rights and freedom of speech freedom of the press and freedom of conscience we know there are fundamental to our way of life and most of them are found in the first ten amendments to the Constitution I sometimes refer to as the Bill of Rights they say that were entitled to such right to life liberty property fair trial and citizenship and a lot more and that they can't be denied to anyone and some of those rights are found in earlier documents such as the Declaration of Independence and I guess you can find people trying to do something about them all through history role isn't there any more to it than that well let's see in this portfolio I keep a record of what I consider to be the most important aspects of our rights civil rights civil rights defend the individual they are interrelated they are defended by ensuring them to others good could you explain those judge : civil rights and defend the individual now just what does that mean you know individuals sometimes need protection from private groups or other individuals or even from our hostel majority and sometimes from the government itself now our rights are organized to provide protection where protection is most needed here let me show you this freedom to speak worship print and assemble and freedom to petition the government when you think you've been wronged and to bear arms no cost offering of soldiers or searches and seizures without a warrant your life liberty or property cannot be taken from you without due process of law the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury the right not to be tried again on the same charge once you've been acquitted no excessive bail and fines or cruel and unusual punishments and our Bill of Rights also mentions that any other rights not mentioned are reserved to the people or the states where they live well now some of the major amendments has something to do with rights to didn't they we as they do these are the original rights that make up our Bill of Rights the others are more or less from them judge Kaufman what about the trial you said it had something to do with civil rights indeed it did if you think back you will find that civil rights were at work in today's case mr. Smith charged that the defendant Nixon was causing a public disturbance by passing out election handbills on a street corner Nixon appeared in court our law permits him to appear before a court with all reasonable speed this is one of the important rights guaranteed to every citizen by the Constitution Nixon protested that he was being denied the right of freedom of the press as you know I denied the complaint for injunction for suppose that Nixon had been charged with violating a statute of this state dealing with the distribution of anvils suppose that we had tried Nixon for violating that law then still a law of civil rights would have come to his protection something called due process of law which we might say includes being informed of the nature and cause of the charges having the right to assistance of a lawyer to defend you having the right to enjoy an open trial by an impartial jury being confronted by witnesses against you and being allowed to present witnesses in your favor and should you be convicted the right to appeal your case to a higher court civil rights defend the individual we are so used to enjoying civil rights we're likely to forget how it would be without them kaien picture how this trial might be run in a country where there are no civil rights what are the charges officer this man was passing out election handbills and littering up the street trying to influence our elections they are regarding election I think you are not allowed to think about things that are contrary to the public good but your honor I merely wants to express my opinion the very idea of an individual expressing his opinion publicly about things related to elections you not only expressed your thoughts you took them in print well Your Honor may I present witnesses of course not may I ask for a trial by jury and a lawyer to defend me certainly not there is no defense the Court finds you guilty [Music] do you see what I mean without civil rights your life liberty property could be taken away from you on a mere whim I'm glad that wasn't the way the trial actually took place civil rights make that much difference yes civil rights defend the individual and here's another important point about them and about the trial you saw civil rights are interrelated now let's suppose again that Nixon were on trial for violating a state law now of course our aim would be to give a fair trial after all this is one of the man's civil rights but how could it be given suppose the witness had not been allowed to talk or for that matter suppose the lawyer were not allowed to speak freely in a man's defense could a fair trial have been achieved no the more you study civil rights more you will see that these rights that end upon one another they are interrelated once you have gained one right the others are more easily achieved do you mean judge Conklin that in order to pass out handles this man had to have all these runs of course Ellen and that's got to be an always oh no it doesn't even if it's true the class won't understand it no I won't let you put it in wait a minute here ah during the court what's this Third Point here civil rights agate standards by insuring them to others what about me each of you especially Jett here seems to want to deny the others the right to state their opinions in this report that you're writing but don't you see if one of you forces the others to be silent there's a possibility that somebody stronger or with more authority will come along and force you to be silent did you ever think of that Jeff if we all agree that each one has equal rights to state his opinion then that danger doesn't exist I see by protecting the rights of other people or really protecting our own exactly that's why we must constantly be on guard if we're to keep our civil rights in good working condition we must work to understand protect and extend them expand underscore yes our civil rights are growing we've already achieved some goals but there's a great deal more to be gained and working think how often civil rights plays a part in your everyday lives and ask yourself if you're helping to understand protect and broaden them do you always respect other people's right to have their own opinion no matter how wrong it may seem to get together with others and say what they think to be able to write and print what they believe even if you disagree with it do you always respect others rights to property Liberty life the rights of every member of the community these rights and many others need to be understood protect and extended to every citizen and each one of us can play an important part in supporting these rights our civil rights are always in danger we may lose them unless you and every good citizen takes an active part in guaranteeing them here's something you can do be informed remember the civil rights we have find out what these rights are know them recognize them know how they operate be vigilant learn how these rights may be protected and how they may be abused finally discuss civil rights out to inform other people or it is only by a mutual understanding and supporting of civil rights and enjoy their benefits [Music]