AP U.S. Government & Politics Unit 3

Civil Liberties

Basic freedoms that belong to everyone.

Civil Rights

Laws designed to prevent discrimination and provide legal protections

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the US Constitution, which outline fundamental rights and liberties of American citizens and limit the powers of the government.

Equal Protection

A guarantee under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that a state must treat an individual or class of individuals the same as it treats other individuals or classes in like circumstances.

First Amendment

Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition

Second Amendment

Right to Bear Arms

Third Amendment

Quartering of Soldiers

Fourth Amendment

Search and Seizure

Fifth Amendment

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Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self Incrimination, Due Process, Takings

Sixth Amendment

Right to Speedy Trial by Jury, Witnesses, Counsel

Seventh Amendment

Jury Trial in Civil Lawsuits

Eighth Amendment

Excessive Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Ninth Amendment

Non-Enumerated Rights Retained by People

Tenth Amendment

Rights Reserved to States or People

Free Exercise Clause

Protects individuals rights to practice their religion freely.

Establishment Clause

Prohibits the government from establishing an official religion.

Selective Incorporation

The case-by-case application of the Bill of Rights to the states through the 14th Amendment.

Due Process

The legal requirement that an individual’s rights must be respected by a state or government; protected at the federal level by the Fifth Amendment, and at the state level by the Fourteenth Amendment.

14th Amendment

Explicitly guarantees certain rights against infringement by states, including citizenship, due process, and equal protection for all citizens; before the Amendment’s 1868 adoption, these rights were protected at the Federal level by the Bill of Rights, but not explicitly at the state level.

Prior Restraint

The right to stop spoken or printed expression in advance.

Tinker Test

Any student conduct that "materially and substantially" interferes with the operation of a school or the rights of other students.

Symbolic Speech

Nonverbal or nonwritten actions and behaviors that are intended to convey a specific message or belief.

Rational Basis Scrutiny

The court is highly deferential, often accepting any conceivable logical basis for the regulation.

Strict Scrutiny

The government must show that its action is the only way to achieve a vital goal.

Libel

False statements in print about someone that damages that person’s reputation.

Probable Cause

The legal standard that requires law enforcement to have a "reasonable belief," based on objective facts and circumstances, that a person has committed a crime.

Search Warrant

A legal document issued by a judge or magistrate that authorizes law enforcement to search a specific location and seize specific items or individuals.

Self-incrimination

The act of providing information or testimony that could expose oneself to criminal charges.

Implied right to privacy

A legal principle holding that while the word "privacy" does not appear in the U.S. Constitution, it is protected through various amendments and the concept of "liberty".

Procedural Due Process

Addresses the manner in which the law is carried out.

Substantive Due Process

Addresses the essence (meaning) of a law - whether the point of law violates a basic right to life, liberty, or property.

Exclusionary Rule

States that evidence the government finds or takes in violation of the 14th Amendment can be excluded from trial.

Search and Seizure

The right to legal counsel, and the right against self-incrimination during police interrogations.

Habeas Corpus

Guarantees that the government cannot arbitrarily imprison or detain someone without formal charges.

Public Safety Exception

A legal doctrine that allows law enforcement to question a suspect in custody without first providing Miranda warnings (the "right to remain silent") if there is an immediate threat to public safety.

Equal Protection Clause

Requires that individuals in similar situations be treated alike by the law.