Key Amendments and Legal Concepts

Flashcards covering key amendments and legal concepts related to civil liberties and rights.

1st Amendment

Protects freedom of religion, press, speech, petition the government, and assembly.

2nd Amendment

Protects the right to bear arms, allowing for certain restrictions on ownership.

3rd Amendment

Prohibits the government from quartering soldiers in homes during peacetime without the owner's consent.

4th Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, requiring probable cause for a warrant.

5th Amendment

Prohibits government from taking life, liberty, or property without due process; includes protection against self-incrimination and double jeopardy.

6th Amendment

Guarantees the right to an attorney, to be informed of charges, to confront witnesses, and to a speedy and public trial.

8th Amendment

Forbids cruel and unusual punishment and bans excessive fines and bail.

9th Amendment

States that the enumeration of certain rights does not deny or disparage others retained by the people.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery.

14th Amendment

Grants citizenship to all born in the U.S. and ensures equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

Prohibits denial of suffrage based on race.

19th Amendment

Granted women the right to vote.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Forbids discrimination in public accommodations and facilities, impacting interstate commerce.

Clear and Present Danger Test

Legal standard for limiting speech that poses an imminent threat to society.

Defamation

False or malicious statements damaging someone's reputation; includes libel (written) and slander (spoken).

Equal Protection of the Laws

Mandated by the 14th Amendment, ensuring all individuals are treated equally under the law.

Free Exercise Clause

Part of the 1st Amendment that guarantees the right to practice religion, although not absolute.

Miranda Warnings

Warnings read to suspects advising them of their rights before questioning.

Plea Bargaining

Negotiation in which a defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a deal from the prosecution.

Selective Incorporation

The case-by-case process by which liberties listed in the Bill of Rights have been applied to the states using the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. (Thus, the 3rd Amendment still hasn't been incorporated because we haven't had a case of a state violating the right against quartering soldier's in a home).

Symbolic Speech

Political actions that express ideas, such as wearing armbands or t-shirts.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Policies/Procedures designed to reduce the barriers to voting for those suffering discrimination (African-Americans); eliminated literacy tests,required federal oversight of voting and approval of voting changes in Southern states/counties where discrimination in voting was prevalent.

White Primary

Practice where only Whites could vote in primaries.

Strict Scrutiny

Supreme Court rule that classification by race and ethnic background is inherently suspect and must be justified by a "compelling public interest" and is it the "least restrictive means" for achieving that interest.

Search Warrant

Written authorization from a court specifying the area to be searched and what the police are searching for, issued by a judge/magistrate upon probable cause.

Right of Privacy

Not expressly listed in the constitution, but inferred by the Supeme Court from other rights. Protects right to use birth control,consensual sexual relationships, etc. Extreme conservatives and strict constitutional constructionists argue that this right does not exist, and is instead a product of judicial activism.

Probable cause

It must be "probable" that someone have committed a crime for police to arrest someone; get a warrant to search their person, belongings, or home; or for a grand jury indictment.