AP GOV Unit 3 Vocab: Civil Liberties & Rights

Civil Liberties

fundamental rights and freedoms protected from infringement by the government

Civil Rights

protections from discrimination as a member of a particular group

Bill of Rights

a list of fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals possess. The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution are referred to as the Bill of Rights.

Due Process Clause

the clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that restricts state governments from denying citizens their life, liberty, or property without legal safeguards

Selective Incorporation

the process through which the Supreme Court applies fundamental rights in the Bill of Rights to the states on a case-by-case basis

Establishment Clause

First Amendment protection against the government requiring citizens to join or support a religion

Free Exercise Clause

First Amendment protection of the rights of individuals to exercise and express their religious beliefs

Freedom of Expression

a fundamental right affirmed in the First Amendment to speak, publish, and protest

Clear and Present Danger Test

legal standard that speech posing an immediate and serious threat to national security is not protected by the First Amendment

Prior Restraint

the suppression of material prior to publication on the grounds that it might endanger national security

Symbolic Speech

protected expression in the form of images, signs, and other symbols

Libel

an untrue written statement that injures a person's reputation

Slander

an untrue spoken expression that injures a person's reputation

Obscenity and Pornography

words, images, or videos that depict sexual activity in an offensive manner and that lack any artistic merit

Ex Post Facto Laws

a law punishing people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed

Bill of Attainder

when the legislature declares someone guilty without a trial

Writ of Habeas Corpus

the right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them

Procedural Due Process

a judicial standard requiring that fairness be applied to all individuals equally

Warrant

a document issued by a judge authorizing a search

Probable Cause

reasonable belief that a crime has been committed or that there is evidence indicating so

Exclusionary Rule

a rule that evidence obtained without a warrant is inadmissible in court

Grand Jury

a group of citizens who, based on the evidence presented to them, decide whether or not a person should be indicted and subsequently tried in court a court of law

Double Jeopardy

protects an individual acquitted of a crime from being charged with the same crime again in the same jurisdiction

Miranda Rights

the rights to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning; these rights must be given by police to individuals suspected of criminal activity

Bail

an amount of money posted as a security to allow the charged individual to be freed while awaiting trial

Civil Rights

protections from discrimination as a member of a particular group

Thirteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment that outlaws slavery

Fourteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment asserting that persons born in the United States are citizens and prohibits states from denying persons due process or equal protection under the law

Equal Protection Clause

a clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that requires the states to treat all citizens alike with regard to application of the laws

Fifteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment that gave African Americans the right to vote

Separate but Equal

the doctrine that racial segregation was constitutional so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal

Legal Segregation

the separation by law of individuals based on their race

De Jure Segregation

the separation of individuals based on their characteristics, such as race, intentionally and by law

De Facto Segregation

a separation of individuals based on characteristics that arises not by law but because of other factors, such as residential housing patterns

Affirmative Action

a policy designed to address the consequences of previous discrimination by providing special consideration to individuals based upon their characteristics, such as race or gender

Social Movement

large groups of citizens organizing for political change

Civil Disobedience

the intentional refusal to obey a law to call attention to its injustice

Civil Rights Act of 1964

legislation outlawing racial segregation in schools and public places and authorizing the attorney general to sue individual school districts that failed to desegregate

Voting Rights Act of 1965

legislation outlawing literacy tests and authorizing the Justice Department to send federal officers to register voters in uncooperative cities, counties, and states

Nineteenth Amendment

a 1920 constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote

Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972

legislation prohibiting sex discrimination in schools receiving federal aid, which had the impact of increasing female participation in sports program