APGoPo Ch 8 and 9 Terms

Civil liberties

Constitutionally established guarantees and freedoms that protect citizens, opinions, and property against arbitrary government interference.

Civil War amendments

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, which abolished slavery and granted civil liberties and voting rights to newly freed people after the Civil War.

Clear and present danger test

Established in Schenck v U.S., this test allowed the government to restrict certain types of speech deemed dangerous.

Commercial speech

Public expression with the aim of making a profit; it has received greater protection under the First Amendment in recent years but remains less protected than political speech.

Direct incitement test

Established in Brandenburg v. Ohio, this test protects threatening speech under the First Amendment unless that speech aims to and is likely to cause imminent lawless action.

Double jeopardy

Being tried twice for the same crime; this is prevented by the Fifth Amendment.

Due process clause

Part of the 14th Amendment that forbids states from denying "life, liberty, or property" to any person without the due process of law.

Due process rights

The idea that laws and legal proceedings must be fair; found in the 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.

Establishment clause

Part of the First Amendment that states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," interpreted to mean that Congress cannot sponsor or favor any religion.

Exclusionary rule

The principle that illegally or unconstitutionally acquired evidence cannot be used in a criminal trial.

Fighting words

Forms of expression that "by their very utterance" can incite violence; these can be regulated by the government but are often difficult to define.

Free exercise clause

Part of the First Amendment that states Congress cannot prohibit or interfere with the practice of religion unless there are important secular reasons for doing this.

Hate speech

Expression that is offensive or abusive, particularly in terms of race, gender, or sexual orientation; currently protected under the First Amendment.

Intermediate scrutiny

The middle level of scrutiny the courts can use when determining whether a law is constitutional.

Lemon test

The Supreme Court uses this test, established in Lemon v. Kurtzman, to determine whether a practice violates the First Amendment’s establishment clause.

Libel

Written false statements that damage a person’s reputation; they can be regulated by the government but are often difficult to distinguish from permissible speech.

Miller test

Established in Miller v. California, this three-part test is used by the Supreme Court to determine whether speech meets the criteria for obscenity.

Miranda rights

The list of civil liberties described in the Fifth Amendment that must be read to a suspect before anything the suspect says can be used in a trial.

Prior restraint

A limit on freedom of the press that allows the government to prohibit the media from publishing certain materials.

Privacy rights

Liberties protected by several amendments in the Bill of Rights that shield certain personal aspects of citizens’ lives from governmental interference.

Selective incorporation

The process through which most of the civil liberties granted in the Bill of Rights were applied to the states on a case-by-case basis through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Slander

Spoken false statements that damage a person’s reputation; they can be regulated by the government but are often difficult to distinguish from permissible speech.

Strict scrutiny

The highest level of scrutiny the courts can use when determining whether a law is constitutional.

Symbolic speech

Nonverbal expression, such as the use of signs or symbols; it benefits from many of the same constitutional protections as verbal speech.

"Time, manner, and place" restrictions

Reasonable and content-neutral limits imposed by the government to regulate the context of expression.

Affirmative action

Policies to help people who have been historically excluded or underrepresented have better access to higher education and employment.

Civil rights

Rights that guarantee individuals freedom from discrimination; grounded in the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

De facto

Relating to actions or circumstances that occur outside the law, or "by fact," such as segregation resulting from housing patterns.

De jure

Relating to actions or circumstances that occur "by law," such as the legally enforced segregation of schools.

Disenfranchised

To have been denied the ability to exercise a right, such as the right to vote.

Disparate impact standard

The idea that discrimination exists if a practice has a negative effect on a specific group, regardless of intent.

Grandfather clause

A law allowing those who could vote before the Civil War to bypass obstacles to voting.

Jim Crow laws

State and local laws that mandated racial segregation in public facilities in the South from 1876 to 1964.

"Letter from Birmingham Jail"

A letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. justifying civil disobedience in response to calls for legal action over protests.

Protectionism

The idea used to rationalize discriminatory policies by claiming certain groups should be denied rights for their own safety.

Rational basis test

The use of evidence to suggest that differences in behavior of two groups can justify unequal treatment.

"Separate but equal" doctrine

The idea that racial segregation was acceptable as long as facilities were of equal quality, struck down by Brown v. Board of Education.

Substantive due process doctrine

One interpretation of the due process clause giving the Supreme Court the power to overturn laws infringing on individual liberties.

Title IX of the Education Amendments

A federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

A federal law that banned racial discrimination in voting and provided for federal enforcement of voting rights.