Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Vocabulary

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering civil liberties, civil rights, constitutional provisions, and legal standards.

Civil liberties

Rights—chiefly, rights to be free of government interference—accorded to an individual by the Constitution: free speech, free press, and so on.

due process of law

Denies the government the right, without due process, to deprive people of life, liberty, and property.

equal protection of the laws

A standard of equal treatment that must be observed by the government.

freedom of expression

Right of people to speak, publish, and assemble.

freedom of religion

People shall be free to exercise their religion, and government may not establish a religion.

prior restraint

Censorship of a publication.

selective incorporation process

The process whereby the Court has applied most, but not all, parts of the Bill of Rights to the states.

clear-and-present-danger test

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

libel

Writing that falsely injures another person.

symbolic speech

An act that conveys a political message.

free-exercise clause

First Amendment requirement that law cannot prevent free exercise of religion.

establishment clause

First Amendment ban on laws “respecting an establishment of religion.”

wall of separation

Court ruling that government cannot be involved with religion.

exclusionary rule

Improperly gathered evidence may not be introduced in a criminal trial.

search warrant

A judge’s order authorizing a search.

probable cause

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

good faith exception

An error in gathering evidence sufficiently minor that it may be used in a trial.

public safety exception

The police can question a non-Mirandized suspect if there is an urgent concern for public safety.

inevitable discovery

The police can use evidence if it would inevitably have been discovered.

civil forfeiture

A procedure in which law-enforcement officers take assets from people who are suspected of illegal activity, but have not been charged with a crime.

Civil rights

The rights of people to be treated without unreasonable or unconstitutional differences.

separate-but-equal doctrine

The doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that Black Americans could constitutionally be kept in separate but equal facilities.

de jure segregation

Racial segregation that is required by law.

de facto segregation

Racial segregation that occurs not as a result of the law, but as a result of patterns of residential settlement.

suspect classification

Classifications of people based on their race or ethnicity; laws so classifying people are subject to “strict scrutiny.”

strict scrutiny

The standard by which “suspect classifications” are judged. To be upheld, such a classification must be related to a “compelling government interest,” be “narrowly tailored” to achieve that interest, and use the “least restrictive means” available.

civil disobedience

Opposing a law one considers unjust by peacefully disobeying it and accepting the resultant punishment.

police powers

State power to effect laws promoting health, safety, and morals.

equality of results

Making certain that people achieve the same result.

equality of opportunity

Giving people an equal chance to succeed.

affirmative action

Laws or administrative regulations that require a business firm, government agency, labor union, school, or other organization to take active steps to increase the number of people of color or women in its membership.