Legal Studies and Constitutional Law Flashcards

A collection of vocabulary flashcards reviewing key legal terms, landmark judicial cases, and constitutional principles from the lecture notes.

1896 Segregation Case

The 1896 Supreme Court decision involving Louisiana law and transportation segregation, which established that races could be segregated before being reversed in 1954.

Fundamental Rights

Rights recognized by the Supreme Court—including freedom of press, freedom of religion, and the right against self-incrimination—that are selectively applied to the states from the Bill of Rights.

Tinker versus Des Moines school district

A Supreme Court case addressing student rights and symbolic speech within a school district.

Howard versus DC

The 2008 court case referenced in the lecture that established the Second Amendment as a fundamental right imposed on the states.

Roe v. Wade

The landmark Supreme Court case that overturned a Texas law prohibiting abortion.

Hardwick v Bowers

The legal case that upheld a Georgia statute making consensual oral sex a crime punishable by up to twenty years in prison.

Plaintiff

The legal term for the individual who brings a civil lawsuit alleging harm caused by another person.

Defendant

The legal term for the individual who is defending themselves against a civil lawsuit or criminal prosecution.

1960s Written Legal Document

A major work drafted in the 1960s by judges, lawyers, and law professors that shifted criminal law from judge-made precedent to statutory law enacted by legislatures.

Rule of Law

The constitutional doctrine establishing that no individual, including the president, is above the law of the land.

1803 Supreme Court Decision

The landmark 1803 ruling that established the Supreme Court as the final arbiter on whether a law is constitutional.

Defense Requiring Evidence

An affirmative criminal defense, such as insanity or standing your ground, in which the defendant must present some initial evidence to raise the defense.

Eighth Amendment (Juvenile Death Penalty)

The constitutional amendment under which the Supreme Court held that juvenile offenders cannot receive the death penalty.