Civil Liberties Terms

Chapter 8 Abernathy & Waples

First amendment

speech, press, religion, assembly, petition

Second amendment

Right to bear arms

Third amendment

no forced quartering

Fourth amendment

No unreasonable searches and seizures

Fifth amendment

right against self-incrimination and federal due process

Sixth amendment

Right to a speedy and public trial, counsel, and jury in criminal suits

Seventh amendment

right to a trial by jury in civil cases

Eight amendment

forbids excessive bail and cruel or unusual punishment

Ninth amendment

states that people's rights are not limited to just those listed in the Constitution.

Fourteenth amendment

birth-right citizenship, equal proaction clause, and due process

Civil liberties

fundamental rights and freedoms protected from infringement by the government

Procedural due process

Constitutional requirement that governments proceed by proper methods when taking life, liberty or property

Substantive due process

Protects certain fundamental rights from government interference.

Selective incorporation

The Supreme Court's gradual process of extending protection of certain liberties they deem fundamental to the states

Establishment clause

Part of the First Amendment stating that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

Free exercise clause

A First Amendment provision that prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion.

Clear and present danger test

law should not punish speech unless there was a clear and present danger of producing harmful actions

Direct incitement test

Test articulated by the Supreme Court in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) that holds that advocacy of illegal action is protected by the First Amendment unless imminent lawless action is intended and likely to occur.

Prior restraint

government censorship of information before it is published or broadcast

Libel

written defamation

Slander

spoken defamation

Obscenity and pornography

generally not forms of protected speech unless they have some sort of literary, artistic, political or scientific value as determined by the community.

Warrant

A legal paper, issued by a court, giving police permission to make an arrest, seizure, or search.

Probable cause

reasonable cause for issuing a search warrant or making an arrest; more than mere suspicion

Exclusionary rule

improperly gathered evidence is not admissible in court

Double jeopardy

Trial or punishment for the same crime by the same government; forbidden by the Constitution.

Miranda rights

the right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning; these rights must be given by police to individuals suspected of criminal activity

time, place, and manner restrictions

regulations regarding when, where, or how expression may occur; must be content neutral

Lemon test

The three-part test for Establishment Clause cases that a law must pass before it is declared constitutional: it must have a secular purpose; it must neither advance nor inhibit religion; and it must not cause excessive entanglement with religion.

Evolving standards of decency

Under this test, courts will examine prevailing opinions among state legislatures, sentencing juries, judges, scholars, the American public, and the international community to determine whether a particular application of the death penalty is cruel and unusual.