Unit 3 - The Judicial Branch, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties

Federalist 78

written by Alexander Hamilton; talks about the federal judiciary; judiciary must depend on other two branches to uphold its decisions

Tenth Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Judicial Review

review by the US Supreme Court of the constitutional validity of a legislative act.

Amicus Curiae Briefs

Legal briefs submitted by a "friend of the court" for the purpose of raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties. These briefs attempt to influence a court's decision.

Appellate Court + Jurisdiction

the higher court that hears and reviews the appeals from legal cases that have already been heard and ruled on in a lower court; appellate courts have jurisdiction over cases that allege violations of federal constitutional rights

Judicial Activism

the practice of judges making rulings based on their policy views rather than their honest interpretation of the current law

Judicial Restraint

a principle that judges should only make decisions based on the specific issue at hand and not involve personal beliefs or unnecessary issues

Original Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial. These are the courts that determine the facts about a case.

precedent

an earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances.

Rule of Four

Where the justices have discretion as to whether to hear an appeal, at least four of the Court's members must vote to grant a writ of certiorari, which facilitates a full review on the merits

Solicitor General

The fourth-ranking member of the Department of Justice; responsible for handling nearly all appeals on behalf of the U.S. government to the Supreme Court.

Stare Decisis

Let the decision stand; decisions are based on precedents from previous cases

Strict Constructionist

an approach to constitutional interpretation that emphasizes the Framers' original intentions

writ of certiorari

Order by the Supreme Court directing a lower court to send up the records of a case for review

Bill of Attainder

a law that punishes a person accused of a crime without a trial or a fair hearing in court

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution; safeguard individual liberties

Civil Liberties

freedoms to think and act without government interference or fear of unfair legal treatment

Civil Rights

Policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals.

Clear and Present Danger Test

Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that the government cannot interfere with speech unless the speech presents a clear and present danger that it will lead to evil or illegal acts.

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.

Double Jeopardy Clause

Part of the Fifth Amendment that protects individuals from being tried twice for the same offense in the same jurisdiction.

Due Process Clause

14th amendment clause stating that no state may deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law

Eighth Amendment

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Establishment Clause

Can be no established religion - separation of church and state; Government involvement in religious activities is constitutional if it meets the following test (Lemon v. Kurtzman 1971): Secular purpose; Primary effect neither advances nor inhibits religion; No excessive government entanglement with religion

Exclusionary Rule

Evidence that the government finds or takes in violation of the 4th Amendment can be excluded from trial (incorporated to states 1961)

Ex Post Facto Law

law that makes an act punishable as a crime even if the action was legal at the time it was committed

Ninth Amendment

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan

The Supreme Court concluded that "actual malice" must be proved to support a finding of libel against a public figure.

Right to Privacy

the right to be left alone, which has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to entail individual access to birth control and abortions

Fighting Words

words that by their very nature inflict injury on those to whom they are addressed or incite them to acts of violence

First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Fourth Amendment

The 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, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Free Exercise Clause

Insures that no law may impose particular burdens on religious institutions; Prohibits abridgement of the freedom to worship (or not to worship); Some conflicts between religious freedom and public policy are difficult to settle

Fundamental Freedoms

Those rights defined by the Court to be essential to order, liberty, and justice and therefore entitled to the highest standard of review, strict scrutiny

Incorporation Doctrine

The legal concept under which the Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights by making most of its provisions applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Libel

a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation.

Miranda Rights

A list of rights that police in the United States must read to suspects in custody before questioning them, pursuant to the Supreme Court decision in Miranda v. Arizona.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

A court order requiring jailers to explain to a judge why they are holding a prisoner in custody.

Affirmative Action

A policy designed to redress past discrimination against women and minority groups through measures to improve their economic and educational opportunities

Black Codes

Laws denying most legal rights to newly freed slaves; passed by southern states following the Civil War

Brown v. Board of Education

court found that segregation was a violation of the Equal Protection clause "separate but equal" has no place

Civil Rights Act of 1964

1964; banned discrimination in public acomodations, prohibited discrimination in any federally assisted program, outlawed discrimination in most employment; enlarged federal powers to protect voting rights and to speed school desegregation; this and the voting rights act helped to give African-Americans equality on paper, and more federally-protected power so that social equality was a more realistic goal

Civil Rights Cases 1883

Name attached to five cases brought under the Civil Rights Act of 1875. In 1883, the Supreme Court decided that discrimination in a variety of public accommodations, including theaters, hotels, and railroads, could not be prohibited by the act because such discrimination was private discrimination and not state discrimination.

De Facto Discrimination

Discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, ethnicity, and the like that results from social, economic, and cultural biases and conditions.

De Jure Discrimination

Discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, ethnicity, and the like that results from a law.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Federal agency created to enforce the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids discrimination on the basis of race, creed, national origin, religion, or sex in hiring, promotion, or firing.

Equal Protection Clause

14th amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination

Fifteenth Amendment

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 race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Fourteenth Amendment

No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Grandfather Clause

A clause in registration laws allowing people who do not meet registration requirements to vote if they or their ancestors had voted before 1867.

Jim Crow Laws

Limited rights of blacks. Literacy tests, grandfather clauses and poll taxes limited black voting rights

Nineteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment adopted in 1920 that guarantees women the right to vote.

Plessy v. Ferguson

a 1896 Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal

Poll Tax

A tax of a fixed amount per person and payable as a requirement for the right to vote

Strict Scrutiny

Supreme Court rule that classification by race and ethnic background is inherently suspect and must be justified by a "compelling public interest."

Suffrage Movement

The drive for voting rights for women that took place in the United States from 1890 to 1920.

Suspect Classification

classifications of people based on their race or ethnicity; laws so classifying people are subject to "strict scrutiny"

Thirteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment ratified after the Civil War that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude.

Title IX

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance

Women's Equality Amendment

Proposed amendment to the Constitution that states "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex."

Prior Restraint

A government preventing material from being published. This is a common method of limiting the press in some nations, but it is usually unconstitutional in the United States, according to the First Amendment and as confirmed in the 1931 Supreme Court case of Near v. Minnesota.

Fifth Amendment

A constitutional amendment designed to protect the rights of persons accused of crimes, including protection against double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and punishment without due process of law.

Miranda v. Arizona

Supreme Court held that criminal suspects must be informed of their right to consult with an attorney and of their right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by police.

Roe v. Wade

The 1973 Supreme Court decision holding that a state ban on all abortions was unconstitutional. The decision forbade state control over abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy, permitted states to limit abortions to protect the mother's health in the second trimester, and permitted states to protect the fetus during the third trimester.

Sixth Amendment

A constitutional amendment designed to protect individuals accused of crimes. It includes the right to counsel, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a speedy and public trial.

Selective Incorporation

The process by which provisions of the Bill of Rights are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and local governments.

Slander

the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.

Substantive Due Process

Constitutional requirement that governments act reasonably and that the substance of the laws themselves be fair and reasonable; limits what a government may do.

Symbolic Speech

nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband. The Supreme Court has accorded some symbolic speech protection under the first amendment.