Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Flashcards covering civil liberties, civil rights, amendments, Supreme Court cases, types of discrimination, and duties of citizenship from the lecture.

Civil Liberties

The freedoms government is not permitted to infringe upon.

Civil Right

The government's obligation to protect your ability to do something.

Bill of Rights

Added to the Constitution to gain support for states to ratify it, originally meant to limit the federal government.

Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

Supreme Court ruling that the Bill of Rights were only meant to limit the federal government and placed no restrictions on the states.

Eminent Domain

The power of the government to take private property from its owner without their consent, provided just compensation.

Fourteenth Amendment

Adopted during the Reconstruction era, particularly important for the interpretation of the Bill of Rights because of its due process clause.

Due Process Clause (Fourteenth Amendment)

Prohibits states from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Incorporation

The slow process by which the Bill of Rights has come to apply to the states through individual lawsuits and Supreme Court rulings.

Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad v. Chicago (1897)

The first case in which the Supreme Court incorporated a Bill of Rights provision (Fifth Amendment's eminent domain) to the states, overturning Barron v. Baltimore.

First Amendment

Protects the freedom of religion, speech, the press, the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.

Freedom of Religion

Protected by the First Amendment and divided into the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause.

Establishment Clause

Prohibits the existence of an official religion and ensures that no church or religion will be the officially sanctioned religion of The United States.

Lemon Test

A three-pronged test from Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) to determine if government engagement with a religious institution is constitutional: secular purpose, does not advance or inhibit religion, and no excessive entanglement.

Free Exercise Clause

Guarantees that religious beliefs can never be regulated, though actions motivated by beliefs can be regulated if laws against them have a secular purpose.

Freedom of Expression

An umbrella term used by courts for freedom of speech, the press, and assembly, all addressing the basic concept of expressing thoughts publicly.

Government Censorship

Prohibited by freedom of speech and the press, meaning the government cannot prohibit expression because of the content of beliefs.

Private Censorship

Individuals and organizations (like employers or businesses) are allowed to establish rules which limit what you say, how you say it, or what you're wearing.

Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798

Laws passed during the John Adams administration that criminalized seditious speech, a clear historical violation of First Amendment protections.

Espionage Act of 1917

A law passed during World War I to suppress anti-war sentiment, also a historical violation of First Amendment protections.

Hate Speech

Offensive or unpopular speech that is protected by the Constitution to ensure the protection of all legitimate speech and prevent government overreach in censorship.

Speech Creating Immediate Danger

Speech that might cause immediate danger or criminal conduct (e.g., yelling 'fire' in a crowded theater, inciting a riot) can be prohibited by the government.

Student Speech Regulation

Public schools are permitted to regulate student speech that might be disruptive to their mission of educating children.

Perjury

The crime committed when someone lies while testifying in court, a prohibition extended to lying to federal law enforcement or on federal documents.

Libel

Written defamation that meets three criteria: reckless disregard for truth, actual damage to the person, and malicious or scandalous content.

Slander

Spoken defamation that meets three criteria: reckless disregard for truth, actual damage to the person, and malicious or scandalous content.

Second Amendment

States 'A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.'

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

Supreme Court case that recognized a federally recognized individual right to gun ownership under the Second Amendment.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Supreme Court case that incorporated the Second Amendment to the states, requiring them to recognize an individual right to gun ownership.

Third Amendment

Prohibits soldiers from being quartered in any house without consent in time of peace, or only in a manner prescribed by law in time of war.

Fourth Amendment

Guarantees the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, requiring probable cause and usually warrants.

Probable Cause

The idea that government must have a valid reason to conduct a search or seizure, preventing arbitrary police actions.

Warrant

A legal document authorizing a search or seizure, issued by a judge based on preliminary evidence demonstrating probable cause.

Mapp v. Ohio

Supreme Court ruling that evidence obtained illegally cannot be used in court, to ensure the Fourth Amendment has meaning.

Good Faith Exception

Allows illegally obtained evidence to be used if the government did not intend to collect the evidence illegally, chipping away at the Mapp v. Ohio ruling.

Fifth Amendment

Contains rights to a grand jury indictment, protection against double jeopardy, the right to remain silent, due process, and just compensation for eminent domain.

Grand Jury Indictment

The requirement that a grand jury must agree with prosecutors that there's enough evidence against someone to subject them to a felony criminal trial.

Double Jeopardy

The right stating that no one can be tried for the same crime twice after being found not guilty.

Right to Remain Silent

A provision guaranteeing that you cannot be forced to testify against yourself in a criminal trial or reveal self-incriminating information.

Due Process Clause (Fifth Amendment)

Guarantees that if someone is subject to a criminal trial or any type of proceeding with the government, the process will be fair.

Sixth Amendment

Guarantees the rights to a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, to be informed of the accusation, to confront witnesses, to obtain witnesses, and to have assistance of counsel.

Right to Counsel

The right to have a lawyer defend you, meaning the government must provide one if you cannot afford it.

Eighth Amendment

Prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel or unusual punishments, creating the idea of proportionality within the criminal justice system.

Death Penalty Restrictions

Supreme Court limitations on capital punishment, restricting it to certain murder crimes, humane methods, and competent adults (excluding minors and people with severe mental disabilities).

Seventh Amendment

Guarantees the right to a trial by jury in civil cases where the value in controversy shall exceed $20.

Ninth Amendment

States that the enumeration in the constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people, recognizing implied rights.

Right to Privacy

An implied right recognized by courts, suggested by the First, Third, Fourth, and Ninth Amendments, encompassing personal decisions.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

The first case to explicitly articulate the right to privacy, declaring laws prohibiting contraception illegal and intrusive.

Roe v. Wade

A famous case under the right to privacy that decriminalized abortion, framing it as a matter of privacy and autonomy for the woman and her doctor.

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

A case that decriminalized homosexuality in The United States, based on the right to privacy, declaring government interference in private lives of consensual adults unconstitutional.

Gonzales v. Oregon (2006)

A decision which upheld the constitutionality of physician-assisted suicide laws in Oregon, viewing it as an intensely private decision under the right to privacy.

Tenth Amendment

States that powers not delegated to The United States nor prohibited to the states are preserved to the states respectively, or to the people; intended to protect state governments' rights and powers.

Discrimination

Simply means to treat differently; it is unconstitutional only if targeted against a powerless group for an immutable characteristic, without legitimate purpose, or infringing on a constitutional right/liberty.

Suspect Classification

The highest classification a court grants for discrimination cases, applying to race, ethnicity, national origin, or fundamental rights/liberties, triggering strict scrutiny.

Strict Scrutiny Test

Applied to suspect classifications, requiring the government to prove a compelling state interest and that the infringement/discrimination uses the least restrictive means possible.

Quasi-Suspect Classes

Classification for discrimination based on sex and gender, requiring the government to prove the law was rational and served an important government interest.

Non-Suspect Classification

Classification for all other groups and issues; laws are generally found constitutional if the discrimination is rationally related to a legitimate government interest and not arbitrary.

Duties of Citizenship

Required actions for citizens, including obeying laws, paying taxes, serving on juries, potential military service (draft), and basic loyalty to the country.