Chapter 8: Civil Liberties

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

a list of fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals possess. The first ten amendments to the US Constitution are referred to as the Bill of Rights.

Due Process Clause

the clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that restricts state governments from denying citizens their life, liberty, or property without legal safeguards

Selective Incorporation

the piecemeal process through which the Supreme Court has affirmed that almost all of the protections within the Bill of Rights also apply to state governments

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

a 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

the suppression of material prior to publication on the grounds that it might endanger national security

Symbolic Speech

protected expression in the form of images, signs, and other symbols

Libel

an untrue written statement that injures a person’s reputation

Slander

an untrue spoken expression that injures a person’s reputation

Obscenity (Miller v. California)

words, images, or videos that depict sexual activity in an offensive manner and that lack any artistic merit

Ex Post Facto Laws

laws criminalizing conduct that was legal at the time it occurred

Bills of Attainder

a law passed by Congress punishing an individual without a trial

Writ of Habeas Corpus

a document setting out reasons for an arrest or detention

Procedural Due Process

a judicial standard requiring that fairness be applied to all individuals equally

Probable Cause

reasonable belief that a crime has been committed or that there is evidence of criminal activity

Exclusionary Rule (Mapp v. Ohio)

a rule that evidence obtained without a warrant is inadmissible in court

Double Jeopardy

protects an individual acquitted of a crime from being charged with the same crime again in the same jurisdiction

Miranda Rights (Miranda v. Arizona)

the right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning; these rights must be given by police to individuals suspected of criminal activity

Bail

an amount of money posted as a security to allow the charged individual to be freed while awaiting trial

Commercial Speech

advertisements and commercials for products and services; they receive less First Amendment protection, primarily to discourage false and misleading ads

Contemporary Community Standards

the idea that different places may have different standards (for example in determining what is considered obscene)

Eminent Domain

power of a government to take private property for public use; the U.S. Constitution gives national and state governments this power and requires them to provide just compensation for property so taken

Fundamental Right

basic human rights that are recognized as essential to the freedom and dignity of individuals

Lemon Tests (Lemon v. Kurtzman)

three-pronged test that set guidelines for what government involvement in religious institutions is permissible under the establishment clause of the First Amendment

Parody

a work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule