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Bill of Rights

the first ten amendments to the Constitution.

Civil Liberties

guarantees of the safety of persons, opinions, and property from the arbitrary acts of government, including freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Civil Rights

term used for positive acts of government that seek to make constitutional guarantees a reality for all people, e.g., prohibitions of discrimination.

Alien

foreign-born resident, or noncitizen.

Due process Clause

part of the 14th Amendment which guarantees that no State deny basic rights to its people.

Establishment Clause

part of the 1st Amendment of the Constitution that guarantees the separation of church and State.

Free Exercise Clause

the second part of the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom; guarantees to each person the right to believe whatever he or she chooses to believe in matters of religion.

Parochial

church-related, as in a parochial school.

Libel

false and malicious use of printed words.

Slander

false and malicious use of spoken words.

Sedition

crime of attempting to overthrow the government by force or to disrupt its lawful activities by violent acts.

Seditious speech

advocating, or urging, an attempt to overthrow the government by force or to disrupt its lawful activities with violence.

Symbolic speech

expression by conduct; communicating ideas through facial expressions, with body language, or by carrying a sign or wearing an armband.

Prior restraint

idea that government cannot curb ideas before they are expressed.

Injunction

court order that forces or limits the performance of some act by a private individual or by a public official.

Shield laws

law which gives reporters some protection against having to disclose their sources or reveal other confidential information in legal proceedings.

Petition

a citizen's right to bring his or her view to the attention of public officials by such means as written petitions, letters, lobbying, and marches.

Assemble

to gather with one another in order to express views on public matters.

Civil disobedience

a form of protest in which people deliberately but non-violently violate the law as a means of expressing their opposition to some particular law or public policy.

Content neutral

the government may not regulate assemblies on the basis of what might be said.

Right of association

the right to associate with others to promote political, economic, and other social causes.

Involuntary servitude

forced labor.

Discrimination

bias, unfairness.

Writs of assistance

blanket search warrant with which British custom officials had invaded private homes to search for smuggled goods.

Probable cause

reasonable grounds, a reasonable suspicion of crime.

Exclusionary rule

ruling stating that evidence gained as the result of an illegal act by police cannot be used against the person from whom it was seized.

Grand jury

formal device by which a person can be accused of a serious crime.

Indictment

formal complaint before a grand jury that charges the accused with one or more crimes.

Double jeopardy

part of the 5th Amendment stating that no person can be put in jeopardy of life or limb twice; once a person has been tried for a crime, he or she cannot be tried again for the same crime.

Miranda rule

constitutional rights that police must read to a suspect before questioning can occur.

Bail

sum of money that the accused may be required to post (deposit with the court) as a guarantee that he or she will appear in court at the proper time.

Preventive detention

law that allows federal judges to order that an accused felon be held, without bail, when there is good reason to believe that he or she will commit yet another serious crime before the trial.

Capital punishment

death penalty.

Treason

betrayal of one's country; in the Constitution, by 'levying war against the United States or offering comfort or aid to its enemies'.

Writ of habeas corpus

court order that prevents unjust arrests and imprisonments.

Bill of attainder

legislative act that inflicts punishment without a court trial.

Ex post facto law

law applied to an act committed before its passage.