Civil Liberties & Civil Rights –CH 4 & 5

These question-and-answer flashcards cover key definitions, constitutional clauses, landmark Supreme Court cases, doctrines, and legislative acts discussed in the lecture on civil liberties and civil rights.

What is the key difference between civil liberties and civil rights?

Civil liberties protect freedom from government interference; civil rights guarantee equal citizenship and equal protection of the laws.

Where in the U.S. Constitution are most civil liberties listed?

In the first ten amendments, collectively called the Bill of Rights.

Why were the first ten amendments added to the Constitution?

As a compromise: Anti-Federalists agreed to ratify the Constitution in exchange for written guarantees of civil liberties.

Which group originally argued that a Bill of Rights was unnecessary because separation of powers would suffice?

The Federalists.

What is selective incorporation?

The Supreme Court’s gradual process of applying (incorporating) specific Bill of Rights protections to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Which clause of the Fourteenth Amendment has been used to incorporate most of the Bill of Rights?

The Due Process Clause ("nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law").

What 1925 case first incorporated freedom of speech against the states?

Gitlow v. New York (1925).

Which 2010 case incorporated the Second Amendment right to bear arms?

McDonald v. Chicago (2010).

Name one amendment that has never been incorporated.

The Third Amendment (quartering of troops).

List the five freedoms protected by the First Amendment.

Religion (Establishment & Free Exercise), Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition.

What does the Establishment Clause forbid?

Government laws "respecting an establishment of religion"—e.g., creating or favoring an official church.

What is the "wall of separation" doctrine?

The view (often held by liberals/libertarians) that government should avoid actions that even suggest establishment of religion.

What is the Free Exercise Clause?

It bars government from interfering with individuals’ religious practice, unless a neutral law of general applicability is involved.

Which 1992 case struck down laws targeting Santería animal sacrifice?

Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1992).

How did Employment Division v. Smith (1990) limit Free Exercise protection?

It allowed enforcement of neutral, generally applicable laws (e.g., banning peyote) even when they incidentally burden religious practice.

What is symbolic speech and is it protected?

Non-verbal expression that conveys a message (e.g., flag burning); it is protected by the First Amendment.

Which case upheld flag burning as protected expression?

Texas v. Johnson (1989).

Define prior restraint.

Government censorship that stops publication or broadcast before it occurs—generally forbidden under freedom of the press.

What does the Fourth Amendment require for most searches?

A warrant issued on probable cause, describing the place to be searched and items to be seized.

What is the exclusionary rule?

Evidence obtained through an illegal search or seizure is inadmissible in court (Mapp v. Ohio, 1961).

Name four major exceptions to the exclusionary rule.

Plain-view, Good-faith, Exigent circumstances, Automobile exception.

Explain the plain-view exception.

Police may seize evidence without a warrant if legally present and the item’s incriminating nature is immediately apparent.

Which case allowed warrantless aerial observation from 1,000 feet as plain view?

California v. Ciraolo (1986).

Which case ruled thermal-imaging of a home is NOT plain view?

Kyllo v. United States (2001).

What is the good-faith exception?

Evidence is admitted if police reasonably relied on a defective warrant or database error (e.g., Herring v. United States, 2009).

Define exigent circumstances.

Emergency situations allowing warrantless entry (e.g., to prevent harm, escape, or destruction of evidence).

Which Supreme Court case first recognized a constitutional right to privacy?

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965).

On what constitutional grounds did Griswold base the privacy right?

"Penumbras" and "emanations" from the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 9th Amendments.

How did Roe v. Wade (1973) use the right to privacy?

It protected a woman’s decision to terminate pregnancy, using a trimester framework balancing state interests.

What 2022 case overturned Roe v. Wade?

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022).

Which justice’s concurrence questioned the existence of any constitutional right to privacy?

Justice Clarence Thomas.

What are the Civil War Amendments?

13th (abolishes slavery), 14th (defines citizenship & equal protection), 15th (prohibits race-based voting denial).

State the Equal Protection Clause.

"No state shall … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Name three Jim Crow devices that circumvented the 15th Amendment.

Literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses.

What was the "separate but equal" doctrine and which case created it?

Legalized racial segregation if facilities were equal; created by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).

Which 1954 case overturned "separate but equal" in public education?

Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

Quote the key line from Brown v. Board on school segregation.

"Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

Which psychologist’s "doll test" research helped influence Brown?

Dr. Kenneth Clark (with Dr. Mamie Clark).

What nationwide law outlawed private discrimination in public accommodations?

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title II via the Commerce Clause).

Which act required jurisdictions with histories of discrimination to get federal "preclearance" for voting changes?

The Voting Rights Act of 1965.

What did Shelby County v. Holder (2013) decide?

Struck down the Voting Rights Act’s preclearance formula, ending automatic federal review of covered jurisdictions’ voting changes.

Which amendment abolished poll taxes in federal elections?

The 24th Amendment (1964).

What 1967 case struck down bans on interracial marriage?

Loving v. Virginia (1967).

What is sharecropping and how did it undermine the 13th Amendment?

A tenant-farming system that trapped many freedmen in perpetual debt, creating de facto economic servitude.

How was mass incarceration used to mimic slavery post-Civil War?

States criminalized minor offenses, arresting Black men and exploiting the 13th Amendment’s exception allowing involuntary servitude "as punishment for crime."

Define "grandfather clause" in voting law.

A rule allowing people to bypass literacy tests or poll taxes if their grandfathers could vote—effectively exempting whites but not Blacks.

Which 1990s case highlighted public–private tension on Free Exercise and led to later RFRA legislation?

Employment Division v. Smith (1990).

What major difference exists between Loving (1967) and Obergefell (2015) rulings?

Loving relied explicitly on equal protection; Obergefell recognized same-sex marriage but did not declare sexual-orientation discrimination per se unconstitutional.

What doctrine did Plessy effectively ‘turn off’ for six decades?

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Why were literacy tests eventually ineffective at blocking Black voters?

Growing Black literacy led states to make tests absurdly difficult and subjectively scored to continue suppression.

What does the term "prior restraint" specifically forbid?

Government prevention of publication before it occurs.

Explain the "automobile exception."

Police may search a vehicle without a warrant if they have probable cause it contains evidence of crime because vehicles are mobile.

What is the main purpose of the Ninth Amendment, as invoked in privacy cases?

To affirm that unenumerated rights (like privacy) are still retained by the people.

What was the compromise outcome of Employment Division v. Smith for Congress?

Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to raise the standard for laws burdening religion.