unit 3

Civil Liberties

Basic individual freedoms and rights constitutionally protected against arbitrary government interference

Civil Rights

Legal guarantees protecting individuals from discrimination based on race, gender, religion, or other group identities

Establishment Clause

First Amendment clause prohibiting the federal government from establishing an official state religion

Free Exercise Clause

First Amendment clause prohibiting government interference in citizens' religious beliefs and practices

Prior Restraint

Government censorship preventing material from being published in advance (held to a heavy burden of proof)

Selective Incorporation

The doctrine where the Supreme Court applies Bill of Rights protections to state governments on a case-by-case basis through the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause

Exclusionary Rule

Prohibits illegally obtained evidence from being used in a criminal trial.

Miranda Rights

Mandatory warning issued by law enforcement informing suspects of their 5th and 6th Amendment rights prior to interrogation

Affirmative Action

Policy measures designed to improve education or employment opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups

Engel v. Vitale (1962):

freedom of religion

School-led prayer violates the Establishment Clause

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

freedom of religion

Mandatory school attendance past 8th grade violates Amish families' Free Exercise Clause rights.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

freedom of speech and press

Students retaining First Amendment rights in school; symbolic speech (armbands) is protected.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

freedom of speech and press

Speech creating a "clear and present danger" is not protected

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971):

freedom of speech and press

Reaffirmed heavy presumption against prior restraint, allowing publication of the Pentagon Papers

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Second Amendment & Incorporation

Incorporated the 2nd Amendment individual right to keep and bear arms to states via the 14th Amendment

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Rights of the Accused

Incorporated the 6th Amendment right to legal counsel for indigent defendants in state criminal trials

Brown v. Board of Education (1954):

Equal Protection Clause

Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson; ruled that state-mandated racial segregation in public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause

Letter from a Birmingham Jail (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)

Foundational Document

Defends moral duty to engage in direct, nonviolent resistance against unjust laws and discrimination.