AP Gov exam prep

libel

A published (written) false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation

freedoms given to us by the 1st amendment

assembly, petition, speech, religion, press

civil law

Laws and lawsuits between private individuals, not governmental entities; these are not "crimes against the state"

symbolic speech

1st amendment protected speech that isn't "words"; examples are flag burning and protesting governmental actions by wearing armbands

Slander

False charges and malicious oral statements about someone

2nd Amendment

Right to keep and bear arms

3rd Amendment

No quartering of soldiers

Privacy rights are controversial because:

they are not explicitly stated in the Bill of Rights.

establishment clause

The 1st amendment wording that makes it clear that the federal government cannot identify a "correct" religious belief

equal rights amendment

An effort to amend the Constitution saying that women should be treated the same as men: 35 of the needed 38 states passed it. Close, but no cigar.

Engel v. Vitale

The Supreme Court decided in this case that it is not ok to have school-led prayer in school because it violates the establishment clause of the 1st amendment

4th amendment

If you thought a government official searched you or your belongings without a legitimate reason to do so, you would point to this amendment as your defense

grandfather clause

Saying new laws don't apply to you if the law wouldn't have applied to your grandfather: a way to target laws to just black citizens whose grandfathers were slaves

5th amendment

Where we are given our right to NOT incriminate ourself (confess to an officer of the court) if we don't want to

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Uses the commerce clause in the Constitution to require anyone who has sales across state borders to not discriminate against customers base on race, religion, sex, ...

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

The Supreme Court case that said "separate but equal" is unconstitutional (duh! of course it isn't!!)

civil liberties

the freedom of individual citizens to exercise customary rights without unwarranted or arbitrary interference by the government

prior restraint

Basically censorship; government action that prohibits a protected freedom before it can take place. The Supreme Court really doesn't like it, so to use it, there better be a really good reason

Voting Rights Act of 1965

made it unlawful to threaten and/or intimidate potential voters into not voting

Gideon v. Wainwright

The Supreme Court decision that said everyone is entitled to a lawyer because if you're too poor to afford a lawyer you stand almost no chance of defending yourself properly in court

affirmative action

A program intended to "level the playing field" for women and minorities who have traditionally been discriminated against; if there are 2 EQUAL candidates for a job and one is from a protected class, that person should get the job

Plessy v. Ferguson

The Supreme Court said "separate but equal" was acceptable under the 14th amendment

free exercise clause

1st amendment clause that says we can believe in whatever religion we want to believe in

selective incorporation (incorporation doctrine)

Slowly, on a case by case basis, requiring state and local governments to abide by the due process protections given to all citizens in the 14th amendment

14th amendment

"Due process" and "equal protection of the law" rights are provided to all citizens in this amendment

McDonald v. Chicago

Incorporated the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms to the states

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Amish do not have to attend school after 8th grade - right to freedom of religion

New York Times v. US

Supreme Court case protecting the freedom of the press by allowing the New York Times to publish the "Pentagon Papers" despite the Justice Department's order to restrict it

Tinker v. Des Moines

Guaranteed a student's right to protest (wearing armbands).

Schenck v. US

Can limit free speech when there is a "clear and present danger"

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King Jr.'s statement of his philosophy of nonviolent protest

6th Amendment

The right to a Speedy Trial by jury, representation by an attorney for an accused person

8th Amendment

No cruel or unusual punishment

13th Amendment

Abolishes and prohibits slavery

15th Amendment

U.S. cannot prevent a person from voting because of race, color, or creed

literacy test

A test administered as a precondition for voting, often used to prevent African Americans from exercising their right to vote.

19th Amendment

Gave women the right to vote

Title IX

A United States law enacted on June 23, 1972 that states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

rational basis test

The lowest-level standard used by the Supreme Court to determine whether a law is compatible with the Constitution. A law subject to this standard is assumed to be constitutional as long as its goals are clearly linked to its means.

strict scrutiny test

a higher standard than the rational basis test a law must meet in equal protection cases

de jure segregation

segregation by law

de facto segregation

Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions or personal choice.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites

Equal Protection Clause

Constitutional guarantee that everyone be treated equally-14th amendment

Due Process Clause

14th amendment clause stating that no state may deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law

for life

The length of a federal judges term of office (during "good behavior")

adversary system

A judicial system in which the court of law is a neutral arena where two parties argue their differences. The US federal government has this type of system.

distinctions between criminal law and civil law.

a person's liberty is at stake in criminal law vs. money for civil law

What "the federal judiciary is a passive and reactive branch" means.

it does not instigate the cases (bring charges) nor can it resolve every issue that comes before it.

justiciable disputes

a dispute growing out of an actual case or controversy that is capable of settlement by legal methods

standing to sue

The person (plaintiff) bringing the civil usite must have experienced or be in immediate danger of experiencing direct and personal injury.

attorney general

the head of the US Department of Justice

solicitor general

Justice Department officer who argues the government's cases before the Supreme Court

How US attorneys get their position.

They are apointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate

public defender system

Arrangement whereby public officials are hired to provide legal assistance to people accused of crimes who are unable to hire their own attorneys.

The three types of federal courts.

district courts, circuit courts of appeal and the Supreme Court (order from lowest level to highest)

orginal jurisdiction

Authority of a court to try a case for the first time it is heard

appellate jurisdiction

The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts

District Courts

lowest level of federal courts where almost all federal cases begin. Normally hold trials and decide cases individually.

Circuit Courts of Appeals

Courts with appellate jurisdiction that hear appeals of the decisions of the lower courts. Usually operate as panels of three judges.

writ of habeas corpus

A court order requiring explanation to a judge why a prisoner is being held in custody

Article III of the Constitution

Establishes the judicial branch of the federal government.

Senatorial courtesy

presidential custom of submitting the names of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work. Not used for Supreme Court appointments though.

recess appointment

A presidential appointment made when the Congress is not in session that usually lacks enough votes in the Senate for confirmation. The position must be confirmed by the Senate by the end of the next session of Congress, or the position becomes vacant.

litmus test

test of ideological purity, way of finding out whether a person is a dyed-in-the-wool liberal or conservative or what his or her views are on a controversial question

judicial activism

a philosophy of judicial decision making that argues judges should use their power broadly to further justice, especially in the areas of equality and personal liberty

judicial restraint

philosophy that court should avoid taking the initiative on social & political questions; operation strictly within the limits of the Constitution

writ of certiorari

An order by a higher court directing a lower court to send up a case for review

in forma pauperis

A method whereby a poor person can have his or her case heard in federal court without charge

docket

a list of potential cases that reach the Supreme Court

The Rule of Four

four Supreme Court justices must be interested in the petition and want to hear the case for the appeal to be granted/accepted

amicus curiae briefs

Legal briefs submitted by a "friend of the court" for the purpose of raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties. These briefs attempt to influence a court's decision.

30 minutes

The amount of time given to lawyers in the oral argument stage in the Supreme Court.

opinions of the court

courts principal method of expressing its views and reasoning to the world. Their primary function is to instruct judges of state and federal courts how to decide similar cases in the future.

dissenting opinion

a statement written by a justice who disagrees with the majority opinion, presenting his or her opinion

concurring opinion

An opinion that agrees with the majority in a Supreme Court ruling but differs on the reasoning.

main influences over Supreme Court decisions.

precendent (rulings on previous cases), outside groups' amicus briefs, chief justice, law clerks (by advice they give their justices as well as by their role in reviewing the cases appealed to the court)

remanding a case

Sometimes the Supreme Court will send the case back to the lower court with instructions to act in accordance with its opinion.

reversal

a judgment by a higher court that the judgment of a lower court was incorrect and should be set aside

federal government

when the Bill of Rights was written, it only applied to this level of government

Baker v. Carr

The "one person, one vote" Supreme Court decision; legislative districts must be of (relatively) equal size

Shaw v. Reno

NO racial gerrymandering; race cannot be the sole or predominant factor in redrawing legislative boundaries; majority-minority districts.

Habeus Corpus Act

No one can be held without being charged with a crime

ex post facto law

a law that makes an act criminal although the act was legal when it was committed

bill of attainder

a law that declares a person, without a trial, to be guilty of a crime

Constituents

The residents of a congressional district or state.

Reapportionment

The assigning by congress of congressional seats after each census. State legislatures reapportion state legislative districts.

Redistricting

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

Gerrymandering

The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group or incumbent.

Earmarks (pork, pork-barrel spending)

Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents.

Enumerated powers

The powers explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution.

Majority leader

The legislative leader selected by the majority party who helps plan party strategy, confers with other party leaders, and tries to keep members of the party in line.

Minority leader

The legislative leader selected by the minority party as spokesperson for the opposition.

Whip

The party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank-and-file in the legislature. S/he tries to get party members to vote the party line.

Closed rule

A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments.

Open rule

A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill.

President pro tempore

An officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president.

Filibuster

A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue.

Cloture

A procedure for terminating debate (especially filibusters) in the Senate.

Standing committee

A permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area.