AP GOV Unit 3 Key Terms

Civil Liberties

the rights to freedom of thought, expression, and action, and the protection of these rights from government interference or restriction.

Civil Rights

guarantees of equal social opportunities and protection under the law, regardless of race, religion, or other characteristics.

Bill of Rights

the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, ratified in 1791 and guaranteeing such rights as the freedoms of speech, assembly, and worship.

Due Process Clause

guarantees that the government cannot take a person's basic rights to "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

Selective Incorporation

the choice of the U.S. Supreme Court to apply rights and freedoms to states as outlined in the Bill of Rights. The process is considered "selective incorporation" because these rights are applied one at a time rather than all at once.

Establishment clause

the clause in the First Amendment of the US Constitution that prohibits the establishment of religion by Congress.

Free Exercise Clause

A First Amendment provision that prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion.

Freedom of speech/expression

the power or right to express one's opinions without censorship, restraint, or legal punishment

Clear and present danger

Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that the government cannot interfere with speech unless the speech presents a clear and present danger that it will lead to evil or illegal acts.

Prior restraint

government censorship of information before it is published or broadcast

Symbolic Speech

nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband. The Supreme Court has accorded some symbolic speech protection under the first amendment.

Libel

A written defamation of a person's character, reputation, business, or property rights.

Slander

the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.

Obscenity

Quality or state of a work that taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest in sex by depicting sexual conduct in a patently offensive way and that lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Ex post Facto laws

A law which punishes people for a crime that was not a crime when it was committed. Congress cannot pass these laws.

bill of attainder

a law that punishes a person accused of a crime without a trial or a fair hearing in court

writ of habeas corpus

A court order requiring jailers to explain to a judge why they are holding a prisoner in custody.

Procedural Due Process

Constitutional requirement that governments proceed by proper methods; limits how government may exercise power.

warrant

A legal paper, issued by a court, giving police permission to make an arrest, seizure, or search.

probable cause

reasonable cause for issuing a search warrant or making an arrest; more than mere suspicion

exclusionary rule

improperly gathered evidence may not be introduced in a criminal trial

grand jury

A group of citizens that decides whether there is sufficient evidence to accuse someone of a crime.

double jeopardy

the prosecution of a person twice for the same offense.

eminent domain

Power of a government to take private property for public use.

Miranda Rights

A list of rights that police in the United States must read to suspects in custody before questioning them, pursuant to the Supreme Court decision in Miranda v. Arizona.

Bail

A sum of money used as a security deposit to ensure that an accused person returns for his or her trial

Thirteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment ratified after the Civil War that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude.

Fourteenth Amendment

A constitutional amendment giving full rights of citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States, except for American Indians.

equal protection clause

14th amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination

Fifteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment adopted in 1870 to extend suffrage to African Americans.

Separate but equal

Principle upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) in which the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public facilities was legal.

Affirmative action

A policy designed to redress past discrimination against women and minority groups through measures to improve their economic and educational opportunities

Civil Disobedience

A form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

Voting Rights Act of 1965

a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African-American suffrage

Nineteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment adopted in 1920 that guarantees women the right to vote.

Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972

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.