AP US Gov Unit 3

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.

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 piecemeal process through which the Supreme Court affirms that almost all protections in the Bill of Rights apply to state governments.

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 where 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 lacking artistic merit.

Ex post facto laws

Laws criminalizing conduct that was legal at the time it occurred.

Bill of attainder

A law passed by Congress punishing an individual without a trial.

Writ of habeas corpus

A document setting out reasons for an arrest or detention.

Procedural due process

A judicial standard requiring fairness 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 of criminal activity.

Exclusionary rule

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

Grand jury

A group of citizens who decide if there is sufficient evidence to charge an individual with a crime.

Double jeopardy

Being tried twice for the same crime, prohibited under the Fifth Amendment.

Miranda rights

The right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning, established in Miranda v. Arizona.

Bail

A sum of money used as a security deposit to ensure that an accused person returns for their trial.