Unit 5-6 Test Review Guide

Flashcards about civil liberties/rights, the judicial branch, and the US court system

The Bill of Rights is made up of the first how many amendments?

Ten

Which clause prevents the national government from recognizing an official U.S. religion?

Establishment Clause

Which amendment protects us against unreasonable search and seizures?

Fourth Amendment

Which Supreme Court case created the rule barring illegally seized evidence at trial?

Mapp v. Ohio

Selective incorporation makes the protections in the Bill of Rights applicable to the states through which clause of which amendment?

Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment

What makes an act punishable as a crime even if the act was legal when it was committed, and are prohibited by Article I of the Constitution?

Ex post facto laws

A defamatory, false written statement is what?

Libel

A defamatory, false statement spoken aloud is what?

Slander

Which amendment protects the right to bear arms?

Second Amendment

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution protects against what?

Unreasonable searches and seizures

What does the Sixth Amendment guarantee to those accused of a crime?

The right to a speedy and public trial, the right to counsel, and the right to confront witnesses.

Today, the United States is the only Western country to use what to punish crimes of murder and treason?

Death penalty

The free exercise clause guarantees what?

The national government will not interfere with religion

Which of the constitutional amendments was the first to be applied to the states?

First Amendment

What does the doctrine of prior restraint say?

The government cannot prevent speech or publication before the fact

In Miranda v. Arizona, the Supreme Court held that the police must inform suspects of which rights?

The right to remain silent and the right to an attorney

What kind of speech is by its very utterance intended to inflict injury or incite an immediate breach of peace?

Fighting words

What type of due process protects citizens from arbitrary or unjust state or federal laws?

Substantive due process

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan held that there must be proof of which of the following in order to find libel against a public figure?

Actual malice

In which case did the Supreme Court first recognize the exclusionary rule?

Mapp v. Ohio

What is the citizen’s protection against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment?

The right to remain silent

What can a police officer do if he/she has a reasonable belief that someone is committing or about to commit a crime?

Stop the suspect without getting a warrant

What does the double jeopardy clause prevent?

Prevents an individual who is acquitted of a crime from being tried again for the same crime

The right to the assistance of counsel and a speedy trial are examples of what?

Procedural due process

Inciting a fight by using threats and profanity could be considered what?

Fighting words

Convicted criminals cannot have their sentences increased when a new law calls for tougher penalties due to a prohibition against what?

Ex post facto laws

Who or what is responsible for determining whether enough evidence exists to go to trial?

Grand Jury

What did The Supreme Court hold in Gitlow v. New York?

States were not wholly free to limit forms of political expression

The personal guarantees and freedoms that the federal government cannot abridge by law, constitution, or judicial interpretation are called what?

Civil Liberties

The establishment clause in the First Amendment prohibits what?

Government from establishing a religion

The judicial doctrine that prevents government from prohibiting speech or publication before the fact is called?

Prior restraint

Why did some Federalists oppose adding a bill of rights to the Constitution?

They believed it was unnecessary because the Constitution already limited the government's power

Which Amendment has been used to gradually make the protections of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states?

14th Amendment

The provision of the Constitution that establishes the judicial branch is what?

Article III

The US employs what kind of court system?

Dual

The trial court which hears a case for the first time has what jurisdiction?

Original

A court whose authority is to hear appeals from lower court decisions has what jurisdiction?

Appellate

95% of all other cases are heard in what courts?

State

What do Federal Courts hear?

All cases arising under the Constitution and U.S. laws.

The court that has only original jurisdiction and hears cases involving federal crimes and civil suits under federal law is what?

District Courts

The court that has only appellate jurisdiction and hears appeals from federal district courts and US regulatory commissions is what?

Circuit Court of Appeals

The Court hears cases involving controversies between two or more states and may hear appeals from lower federal courts.

Supreme

Being tried twice for the same crime is called what?

Double Jeopardy

The body of rules defining offenses which, though they harm an individual are considered to be offenses against society as whole, and as a consequence warrant punishment by and in the name of society is what?

Criminal Law

The type of law dealing with the rights of private citizens, and usually involves lawsuits seeking money damages is what?

Civil Law

The type off law that relates to the meaning of the Constitution in a case is what?

Constitutional Law

The Supreme Court decision in 1803 that established the power of judicial review is what?

Marbury v. Madison

The step in which justices meet privately to discuss cases after oral arguments is what?

Conference

Legal documents submitted by lawyers setting forth the legal arguments, relevant facts, and precedents supporting a case are what?

Briefs

“Friends of the Court,” who usually submit briefs on cases they are interested in but are not directly involved as defendants or litigants are called what?

Amicus Curiae

The practice of basing judicial decisions on precedents set in past cases is called what?

Stare Decisis

Most cases come before the Supreme Court through appeals from lower courts through this method. What is this method called?

Writ of Certiorari

Who appoints Supreme Court justices with the “advice and consent” of the Senate?

The President

The opinion of one or more Justices on the losing side in a case is what opinion?

Dissenting

The _ is the chief lawyer for the Justice Department who argues cases before the Supreme Court involving the federal government and has an office in the Supreme Court building.

Solicitor General

Who is the presiding officer of the U.S. Supreme Court, whose judicial philosophy and leadership style shapes the Supreme Court?

Chief Justice

What is the term of a Supreme Court justice?

Lifetime