AP GOVPOL VOCAB UP TO 336

Exclusionary Rule

Evidence the government canes illegally and violating the fourth amendment can be excluded from trial

Gideon v. Wainwright

States must supply defense attorneys to indigent defendants

Griswold v. Connecticut

Privacy rights prevent state anti-birth control law

Mapp v. Ohio

States must follow the exclusionary rule

Metadata

Cell phone communication data minus the actual conversation

Miranda v. Arizona

States must inform the accused of their rights

New Jersey v. TLO

Students are entitled to a legitimate expectation of privacy but school officials do not have to have the same level of probable cause as police

Procedural due process

Address the manner in which laws are carried out and whether the law violates a basic right to life, liberty, or property

Public safety exception

Questioning to neutralize a dangerous situation and suspect voluntarily response, responses become evidence even if Miranda hasn't been read

Right to privacy

Protection of an individual's right to privacy and lifestyle

Roe v. Wade

States can't outlaw abortion in the first trimester and must adhere to the trimester standard established by the court due to a right of privacy

Search and seizure

Procedure used by the police to inspect or take property based on suspicion of a crime

Substantive due process

Address the essense of the law and whether the law violates a basic right to life, liberty, and property

Civil liberties

Personal freedoms protected from arbitrary governmental interference or deprivation

Clear and present danger test

Balancing act between competing demands of free expression and a government's need to protect a free society

Compelling governmental interest

a purpose important enough to justify the infringement of personal liberties

Due process

Ensures fair procedures where the government burdens or deprived an individual of life, liberty, and property without legal cause

Engle v. Vitale

School sponsored prayers in public schools is unconstitutional

Establishment clause

Prevented the federal government from establishing a national religion

Free exercise clause

prevents government from stopping religious practices

Libel

False statements in print that defame someone or hurt their reputation

McDonald v. Chicago

Protected the right to bear arms under the 14th amendment's due process clause and applies to federal, state, and local governments

New York Times v. United States

Defended free speech of press against prior restraint of the government

Obscene speech

Language and images offensive to the average citizen

Prior restraint

Right to stop spoken or printed expression in advance because it is either repugnant or offensive

Public interest

Freedom of speech could be restricted if the words were presented a clear and present danger to society

Schenck v. United States

Establish the limitations on Free speech may be warranted during wartime

Selective incorporation

States can't enact laws that take away constitutional rights

Symbolic speech

A defense used to defend an action that might otherwise be illegal

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Schools

Protected students' rights to free speech as long as it wasn't disruptive to the educational process

Wall of separation

The distance in between church and state

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Protected freedom of speech and a parent's right to educate their children

Affirmative action

Efforts to diversify race or gender for federal jobs or schools

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

Racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment

Civil Rights Act of 1875

Privately owned places of public accommodations can't make distinctions between whites and blacks

Civil Rights Act of 1957

Established a civil rights commission and diverse in the Justice Department

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination

Civil Rights Cases

Court ruled that the equal protection clause was meant to protect African-Americans against unfair state action

Defense of Marriage Act

Define marriage at the national level in declared states do not have to recognize same-sex marriages of other states

Don't ask, don't tell

Prevented the military about asking about private sexual status but also prevented gays and lesbians from acknowledging or revealing sexual status

Equal Pay Act

Requires employers to pay men and women the same wage for the same job

Equal Protection Clause

Prohibited state governments from denying person within their jurisdiction comparable preservation of the laws

Equal Rights Amendment

Equality of rights can't be denied on account of sex

Freedom-of-choice plans

Placed transfer a burden on black student seeking a move to a more modern white school

Heightened scrutiny test

2nd level of judicial review, challenged law must further an important government interest

Jim Crow Laws

Separated blacks and whites on trains, teachers, public restrooms, and public schools

Lawrence v. Texas

Laws targeting gays and lesbians are unconstitutional under the equal protection clause

Majority-minority district

A voting district where minorities make up the predominantly area

Obergefell v. Hodges

Required states under the 14th amendment to license and recognize same-sex marriage

Plessy v. Ferguson/ Separate but equal

Established separate but equal satisfied the 14th Amendment

Reasonableness standard

Allowing gender bias

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

Upheld affirmative action allowing race to be a factor in college admissions

Strict scrutiny

Highest standard of judicial review, laws infringing fundamental rights must have a compelling state interest for the law and the law is necessary to protect an interest while being designed to be as narrow as possible

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Usage of mathematical ratios to achieve school integration between whites and blacks

Title IX

Colleges must make opportunities available for male and female students in substantially proportionate numbers based on full time undergraduates

White flight

Movement of white people from racially mixed neighborhoods to neighborhoods with little to no diversity

Appropriations

Sum of money devoted for a purpose

Authorization of spending

Agency can't spend public funds until a committee approves this

Civil Service Commission

Prevented officers from requiring federal employees to contribute to campaigns

Civil Service Reform Act

Altered how bureaucrats were dismissed, limited preferences for veterans to balance genders, and gave upper level appointments to the president

Competitive service

Merit-based jobs that require some type of exam or ambitious hiring process

Compliance monitoring

Making sure the firms and companies subject to industry regulations are following standards and provisions

Discretionary authority

congress granted certain groups the ability to develop rules and interpret legislation within their sphere of influence

Excepted service

non-tested jobs

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

works with state and local law enforcement to find criminals and terrorist organizations threating the USA

Freedom of Information Act

gives the public the right to request access to records or information

Hatch Act

distanced state and federal employees paid with federal funds from politics

Legislative veto

congress' attempt to nullify an action, unconstitutional according to the supreme court

Merit system

Competitive, written exams for job applicants

National Performance Review (NPR)

organized to identify problems and offer solutions and ideas for government spending

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)

regulations that have a significant impact on the economy, public health or other major aspects of policy undergo close review

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

Human resources department for the federal government and runs the merit system

Patronage

practice of rewarding loyal party leaders with federal jobs

Pendleton Civil Service Act

prevented constant reward to loyal party members

Red tape

vast amount of paperwork, procedures, forms, and formal steps citizens must take to accomplish a government mandated task

Senior Executive Service

system that placed more emphasis on a bureaucrat's skills and experiences than on the lab

Spoils system

appointing regional and local postmasters based on their efforts to help elect presidents

Sunshine Act

requires most federal agencies to hold their meetings in publicly accessible places

Whistleblower Protection Act

Protects federal workers who report or disclose evidence of illegal or improper government action

Appellate jurisdiction

power of federal courts to hear appeals from lower courts and amend or overrule lower courts

Attorney general

leads the department of justice and is the lop legal officer

Binding precedent

when a case parallels an already decided case from a higher court, lower courts are obliged to rule in the same way

Certiorari

an appeal to make more certain an incorrect verdict in the trial court

Class action suit

large groups of plaintiffs claiming common damage by one party

Common law

refers to the body of court decisions that make up part of the law

Concurring opinion

those that agree with the majority opinion but have reservations about the legal reasoning and explain it separately

Defendant

the party answering the action

Dissenting opinion

has no force of law but allows a justice to explain their disagreement with the majority opinion

Dred Scott v. Sandford

ruled Americans of the African descent weren't citizens and could not sure in federal courts. Also, ruled congress lacked the power to ban slavery.

Injunction

court order to the losing party making them act or refrain from acting to address a wrong

Judicial activism

when a judge strikes down laws or reverse public policy

Judicial self-restraint

Courts should not decide a dispute unless there is injury to be relieved by the decision

Liberal constructionist

Someone who believes the Constitution should be interpreted taking the times and social conditions into account

Litmus test

quick determination of an appointee's political philosophy

Majority opinion

the court's opinion, decision, and rationale

Marbury v. Madison

Established judicial review

John Marshall

father of the supreme court, established customs, and had other justices unite rulings to shape national law

Original jurisdiction

supreme court has authority to hear a case for the first time when affecting ambassadors, public ministers, and states

Per curium opinion

when the court issues a decision without the full explanation

Persuasive precedent

Using past decisions or rulings as a guiding basis for their decision