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
list of fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals possess. The first ten amendments to The U.S. Constitution is referred to as the Bill of Rights
due process clause
clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that restricts state governments from denying their citizens their life, liberty, or property without legal safeguards
selective incorporation
process through which the Supreme Court applies fundamental rights in the Bill of Rights to the states on a case-by-case basis
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
fundamental right affirmed in the First Amendment to speak, publish, and protest
clear and present danger test
legal standard that speech posing an immediate and serious threat to national security is not protected by the First Amendment
prior restraint
suppression of material prior to publication on the grounds that it is harmful or might endanger national security
symbolic speech
protected expression in the form of images, signs, and other symbols
libel
untrue written statement that injures a person's reputation
slander
untrue spoken expression that injures a person's reputation
obscenity and pornography
words, images, or videos that depict sexual activity in an offensive manner and that lack any artistic merit
ex post facto law
law punishing people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed
bill of attainder
when legislature declares someone guilty without a trial
writ of habeas corpus
right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them
procedural due process
judicial standard requiring that fairness be applied to all individuals equally
warrant
document issued by a judge authorizing a search
probable cause
reasonable belief that a crime has been committed or that there is evidence indicating so
exclusionary rule
rule that evidence obtained without a warrant is inadmissible in court
grand jury
group of citizens who, based on the evidence presented to them, decide whether or not a person should be indicted and subsequently tried in a court of law
double jeopardy
protects an individual acquitted of a crime from being charged with the same crime again in the same jurisdiction
Miranda rights
the right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning; these rights must be given by police to individuals in custody suspected of criminal activity
bail
amount of money posted as a security to allow the charged individual to be freed while awaiting trial