Unit 3- AP Gov Vocab

Civil Liberties

Fundamental rights and freedoms protected
from infringement by the government

Civil Rights

Protections from discrimination as a member
of a particular group

Due process clause

no STATE can deny a person "life, liberty, or property
without due process of law"

Selective Incorporation

The Bill of Rights has been applied (incorporation) to the states
over time on a case-by-case basis (selective).

Establishment Clause

protection against the government
requiring citizens to join or support a religion

Free exercise clause

protection of the rights of individuals
to exercise and express their religious beliefs

Freedom of expression

a fundamental right affirmed in
the First Amendment to speak, publish, and protest

Clear & present danger

legal standard that speech posing an immediate and
serious threat to national security is not protected by the First Amendment

Prior restraint

the suppression of material prior to publication on
the grounds that it might endanger national security

Symbolic speech

Protected expression in the form of images, signs, and other
symbols

Libel

an untrue written statement that injures a person's
reputation

Slander

an untrue spoken expression that injures a person's
reputation

Ex post facto laws

laws criminalizing conduct that was legal at the time it
occurred

Bills of attainder

a law passed by Congress punishing an individual
without a trial

Writ of habeas corpus

a document setting out reasons for an arrest
or detention

Double jeopardy

protects an individual acquitted of a crime from
being charged with the same crime again in the same jurisdiction

Miranda Rights

The right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during
questioning.

13th amendment

prohibited slavery

14th amendment

Granted citizenship to those born in the U.S, due process clause, equal protection clause

Equal protection clause

has been used to protect civil rights of Americans from
discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, gender, and other characteristics

Separate but equal

Facilities could be separate as long as they were equal.

Legal segregation

separation by law of individuals based on race

De jure segregation

the potentially discriminatory separation of groups of people according to government-enacted laws

De facto segregation

separation of individuals based on characteristics
that arise not by law but because of other factors, such as residential
housing patterns

Civil Rights act of 1964

legislation outlawing racial segregation in public places and
authorized the attorney general to sue individual school districts that failed to desegregate

Voting rights act of 1965

legislation outlawing literacy tests and authorizing the Justice
Department to send federal officers to register voters in areas with a history of voter
discrimination

19th amendment

Gave women the right to vote

Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972

legislation prohibiting sex discrimination in schools receiving
federal aid

Civil Disobedience

the intentional refusal to obey a law to call
attention to its injustice

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Defends the movement on the basis of natural rights, Individuals have a right to challenge and even break unjust laws, justifies
actions of the movement, This crisis and confrontation would force white moderates to decide if
racial segregation was consistent with American values

Writ of Certiorari

a request that the Supreme Court order a lower court to send up the record of the case for review

Amicus Brief

legal documents filed in appellate court cases by non-litigants with a strong interest in the subject matter