Civil Right Cases and Amendments

1. 04.04 Civil Rights Exhibit
Kaylee Link
Jeremy Parenteau
12/03/2022

2. Miranda v. Arizona
On March 13, 1963, Ernesto Miranda was arrested at his home
and brought to the police station. He was questioned by police
officers in connection with a kidnapping and rape. After two
hours of interrogation, the police obtained a written confession
from him. This confession was admitted into evidence at trail
despite the objection of his attorney. Furthermore, the police
officers admitted to not advising Miranda of his right to have
attorney present during his interrogation. The jury found
Miranda guilty. The question then was asked does the Fifth
Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination extend to the
police interrogation of a suspect? Miranda v. Arizona expanded
our civil rights by requiring law enforcement officials to advise
suspects of their right to remain silent and to obtain an attorney
during interrogations while in police custody.

3. Mapp v. Ohio
The Mapp v. Ohio case took place in 1961 at the U.S. Supreme Court.
The case originally arose in 1957 when the police forcibly entered the
home of Dollree Mapp, whom they suspected of protecting a fugitive,
a suspected criminal in a bombing who had fled custody. Although
the police did not find the fugitive, they did find obscene materials in
her basement that was in violation of an Ohio law against their
possession. She was charged and convicted through the state court.
The Supreme court of Ohio reaffirmed her conviction despite her
lawyers' arguments that police never had a search warrant for the
fugitive let alone materials found in her home. The case then was
brought to the U.S. Supreme court where it was ruled “that the
evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, which prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures,” is
inadmissible in state courts.” With this ruling, it held that the federal
exclusionary rule, which forbade the use of unconstitutionally
obtained evidence in federal courts. “The decision of this case
launched the Court on a troubled course of determining how and
when to apply the exclusionary rule.”

4. 19th Amendment
The 19th amendment granted the women the right to
vote, a right known as Women’s suffrage. The
amendment states: “The right of citizens of the United
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any State on account of sex.” This
was ratified on August 18, 1920, which ended almost a
century of protest. The movement for women's rights
began in 1848. It was launched on a national level with
the Seneca Falls Convention and was organized by
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. The 19th
amendment marked one stage in women’s long fight for
political equality.

5. Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned use of literacy tests and
sent people to register eligible voters. Although the 15th and 19th
amendment protects the suffrage for African American males
and protects the suffrage for women, many state voting districts
still denied African Americans the right of suffrage. White
people thought the change in society was negative and sought
ways to prevent African Americans from using their rights. This
included violence and intimation. Therefore, Congress passed
the Voting Rights Act. The act had two major parts. Federal
examiners were to go to the South and help register eligible
voters and educate them on the political process as well as
assisting them to exercise their right to vote safely. The second
major part was banning the use of literacy tests as a requirement
to vote. Ultimately, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 remains one of
the hardest-fought safeguards for African Americans as it relates
to voting.

6. Cites
 https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-19/
 https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/19th-amendment-1
 Duignan, Brian. "Mapp v. Ohio". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Jun. 2022,
https://www.britannica.com/event/Mapp-v-Ohio. Accessed 3 December 2022.
 "Mapp v. Ohio." Oyez, www.oyez.org/cases/1960/236. Accessed 3 Dec. 2022.
 "Miranda v. Arizona." Oyez, www.oyez.org/cases/1965/759. Accessed 3 Dec. 2022.
 https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/legislative-milestones/voting-rights-
act-1965