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Rational Basis
A standard of review used by courts to evaluate laws that classify people or groups without involving a fundamental right or suspect class; the government must show a legitimate interest.
Intermediate Scrutiny
A standard of review for laws involving gender or illegitimacy classifications, requiring an important government objective and substantial relation to that objective.
Strict Scrutiny
The highest standard of review for laws infringing on fundamental rights or involving suspect classifications (e.g., race); laws must serve a compelling government interest and be narrowly tailored.
Due Process Clause
Part of the 14th Amendment that prevents states from depriving individuals of life, liberty, or property without due process.
Equal Protection Clause
Part of the 14th Amendment mandating that states provide equal protection under the law to all individuals.
Selective Incorporation
A doctrine that applies certain Bill of Rights protections to states via the 14th Amendment, on a case-by-case basis.
Fundamental Rights Analysis
A judicial method to determine if certain liberties are fundamental, warranting stricter scrutiny when laws infringe upon them.
Commercial Speech
Speech that predominantly proposes a commercial transaction; it receives limited protection under the First Amendment.
Obscenity
Speech or material that fails a specific legal test for being offensive or devoid of serious literary, artistic, or scientific value; not protected by the First Amendment.
Fighting Words
Words likely to incite immediate violence or retaliation; not protected under the First Amendment.
Libel
A damaging written false statement regarding an individual's reputation.
Slander
A damaging oral false statement regarding an individual's reputation.
Establishment Clause
The First Amendment clause prohibiting the government from establishing an official religion or favoring one religion over another.
Free Exercise Clause
The First Amendment provision safeguarding individuals' rights to practice their religion without government interference.
Griswold v. Connecticut
A landmark case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the state's prohibition on contraceptives violated the right to marital privacy.
Roe v. Wade
The 1973 Supreme Court decision affirming a woman's legal right to an abortion under specific circumstances.
Substantive Due Process
A constitutional doctrine that safeguards certain fundamental rights from governmental infringement.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
A pivotal federal law aimed at abolishing various forms of voting discrimination, particularly against African Americans.
Civil Rights Cases (1883)
Supreme Court decisions striking down the Civil Rights Act of 1875, limiting Congress's ability to prohibit discrimination by private individuals.
Plyler v. Doe
The Supreme Court ruling that public schools cannot deny enrollment to children based on their immigration status.
Carolene Products Footnote 4
A noted footnote in the Carolene Products case suggesting that laws infringing on rights, restricting political access, or affecting discrete and insular minorities should undergo heightened scrutiny.
