Studied by 1 personCivil Liberties
Constitutionally established guarantees and freedoms protecting citizens from oppression by the government,
What does the Bill of Rights protect?
Civil Liberties, intrusion from the federal government.
Why was the Bill of Rights created?
Anti federalists stated that they would not sign for the ratification for the constitution without a Bill of Rights.
Civil Rights
Rights that give us protection from other citizens and each other. Added in several subsequent amendments to the bill of rights.
Who wrote the Bill of Rights?
James Madison. Took inspiration from George Masons Virginia Declaration of Rights and the English Magna Carta.
First Amendment
Freedom of religion, press, speech, assembly and petition
Which amendment is the free exercise clause under?
First Amendment(Freedom of religion)
Which amendment is the establishment clause under?
First Amendment(Freedom of Religion)
Which required court cases fall under the first amendment?
Schenck v United States
Engel v Vitale
Wisconsin v Yoder
Citizens United v Federal Elections Commission
New York Times Company v United States
Tinker v Des Moines
Second Amendment
Right to keep and bear arms
Which required court case falls under the second amendment?
Mcdonald v Chicago
Third Amendment
Banned forced quartering in citizen homes
Fourth Amendment
Protection against unreasonable search and seizure of personal property.
Fifth Amendment
Rights of citizens when they are accused of crimes.
Right to jury indictment
Protection against double jeopardy and self incrimination
Right to due process and compensation when private property is taken.
Sixth Amendment
Explains how the process will go when a person is accused of a crime and explains the protections they are entitled to.
Speedy and public trial
Right to confront and compel witnesses
Right to defense council
Seventh Amendment
Guarantees the right to a trial by jury
Eighth Amendment
Protects against excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.
Ninth Amendment
Clarifies that the Bill of Rights are not the only fundamental rights the people have(can be added on to).
Tenth Amendment
Gives states the right to do anything not outright prohibited and not given as a power to the national government by the Constitution.
Selective Incorporation
Incorporation of the bill of rights to state governments through Supreme Court rulings
Which required court cases involve selective incorporation?
Mcdonald v Chicago, Gideon v Wainwright
Establishment Clause
Congress or any government body cannot establish an official state religion/church. First amendment freedom of religion.
Free Exercise Clause
Congress or any government body may not prohibit the free exercise of a religion or an individuals right to practice their religion.
“Wall of Separation between Church and State”
Quote from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson. Separation of Church and State.
Johnson Amendment
If a church receives tax exempt status, a pastor or minister from that church cannot endorse a political candidate. Thickening of the wall between church and state.
Put in place by President Johnson and attached to a tax bill
Which required court case was involved with the establishment clause?
Engel v Vitale
Which required court case was involved with the free exercise clause?
Wisconsin v Yoder
Thirteenth Amendment
Banned slavery and freed every slave, post civil war put in place by President Lincoln
Fourteenth Amendment
Grants citizenship to all regardless of race, color or background.
Which amendment featured the equal protections clause?
Fourteenth Amendment
Which amendment featured the due process clause?
Fourteenth Amendment
Equal Protections clause
Prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, religion. Found in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Due Process clause
Protects life, liberty, property: Ensures fair treatment. Found in 5th(federal gov.) and 14th(state gov.) Amendments: Limits government power
Procedural due process: Fair procedures in legal proceedings
Substantive due process: Protects fundamental rights
Incorporates Bill of Rights to states: Ensures equal protection
Fifteenth Amendment
Granted voting rights to all men regardless of race, background and past enslavement.
Nineteenth Amendment
Granted voting rights to all women
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Most comprehensive act in the prevention of discrimination. Outlawed literacy tests and discrimination in public spaces and the workplace.
Affirmative Action
Policies put into place to right the wrongs of past discrimination and bring past marginalized people on an equal playing field.
Title IX
Protected against gender discrimination in the education system(and public places/government facilities). Increased amount of women involved in school sports.
Education amendments act of 1972
Addition to civil rights act and Title VI(banned discrimination based on race, color and background).
Which required case involved symbolic speech?
Tinker v Des Moines
Which case involved clear and present danger?
Schenck v United States
Which case involved prior restraint?
New York Times Company v United States
Which amendment included selective incorporation?
14th amendment, due process clause
Exclusionary Rule
Any evidence that is gathered in violation of the Fourth Amendment(without warrant) will be excluded from a persons trial.
Established in Mapp v Ohio
Miranda v Arizona
Case that incorporated the 5th amendment to the states(self incrimination).
Miranda rights
Miranda Rights
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, etc. etc.
Cops are required to say this before arresting someone, established by Miranda v Arizona.
Public Safety Exception
Added to Miranda Rights by subsequent cases. If an officer was acting in favor of public safety and did not have the time to read someone their miranda rights, the evidence can still be used in court.
Which amendments did the Court establish the right to privacy as an implicit right with?
1st, 4th, 5th, 9th and 14th
Griswold v Connecticut
Case that officially established a right to privacy(contraceptives and a couple).
Which required document concerned civil rights?
Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr
Jim Crow Laws
Enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States, legal oppression of black people after the 14th and 15th amendments were passed.
Who was Martin Luther Kings Letter from a Birmingham Jail written to(group)?
White clergymen in Arkansas who had published a newspaper article denouncing Kings protest
What was the ruling in Plessy v Ferguson?
Established legal segregation. Separate but Equal doctrine.
“Separate but Equal” Doctrine
Established in Plessy v Ferguson, stated that the separation of people in schools and public spaces was legal as long as the different facilities were equal.
Which case’s precedent overturned the Separate but Equal doctrine?
Brown v Board of Education
24th Amendment
Outlawed poll taxes
Literacy tests and poll taxes(why did states use them)
They were often a way to legally stop black people and minorities from voting.
Majority-Minority District
A voting district in which the majority of the voters are part of a minority group(Shaw v Reno)
De Jure Segregation
Racial discrimination by law(ex. Jim Crow laws)
Dismantled in Brown v Board
De Facto Segregation
Racial segregation by personal choice(people segregating themselves).
Civil Disobedience
Intentional refusal to follow a law to call out its injustice
Civil Rights Movement, MLK
Strict Scrutiny
Standard followed by the Supreme Court stating that the government has to show a “compelling interest” to justify unequal treatment. Difficult to meet.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Essentially an addition onto the Civil Rights Act of 1964 focused more on voting.
Rational Basis
Court standard. Differential treatment must be shown to be reasonable and un-arbitrary.
Ex Post Facto laws
Prosecution of people who did something that was not illegal at the time they committed and was made illegal afterwards.
BANNED by the Constitution, Article 1
Bills of Attainder
An attempt to prosecute someone without a trial.
BANNED by the Constitution, Article 1
Writ of Habeus Corpus
Document stating reasons for an arrest
Can be requested and granted by the court
Constitution states that the court does not have a right to prevent a prosecuted individual from obtaining this document.
Entrapment
Encouraging someone to commit a crime they otherwise would not have committed
Eminent Domain
You are entitled to compensation if the government takes your private property. 5th amendment.
Grand Jury
A group of citizens who, based on evidence presented to them, decide whether or not someone should be tried of a criminal charge.
Libel
Untrue written statement injuring someone’s reputation(not protected by the first amendment).
Slander
Untrue spoken words injuring someone’s reputation(not protected by the first amendment).
“Miller Test”
Established in Miller v California. Test to determine whether something obscene enough to not be protected under the first amendment right to free speech.
Material if patently offensive
It is without redeeming social or artistic value
Application of community standards.
Federalist 84(not required)
Protection of Civil Liberties.
Argued that a Bill of Rights would be useless and harmful(by establishing a precedent that the Bill of Rights were the only fundamental civil liberties citizens, government could deny rights not listed).
Habeus Corpus, Jury Trial, Religious Freedom
Lemon Test
Established in Lemon v Kurtzman. Tests government involvement in religious institutions.
Underlying Statute must have a “secular” nonreligious legal purpose
Effect must not advance nor inhibit religion
Must not foster excessive entanglement between government and religion
Note
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