Chapter 8: Civil Liberties

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Constitutional Amendments, and AP Required Supreme Court cases.

Civil Liberties

Protections of individuals from government abuse that define what the government cannot do, grounded in the Bill of Rights and the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Civil Rights

Protections provided by government to protect minority groups from majority abuse and discrimination, grounded in the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments added to the U.S. Constitution on December 15, 1791, written by James Madison to limit government power and protect individual rights.

Anti-Federalists

Group that worried that without a Bill of Rights, the federal government could infringe upon individual rights and liberties.

First Amendment

Amendment preventing the legislative branch from passing laws restricting speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition.

Freedom of Speech

First Amendment protection preventing government from punishing people for expressing their ideas, beliefs, or opinions, encompassing spoken, written, and symbolic speech.

Obscenity

Offensive or inappropriate content that is not protected under First Amendment freedom of speech.

Clear and Present Danger

Legal standard establishing that speech inciting violence and capable of causing harm is not protected by the First Amendment.

Fighting Words

Speech specifically intended to incite a fight, which is not protected under the First Amendment.

Defamation

False statements of fact that harm someone's reputation, divided into libel and slander.

Libel

A written false statement defaming another person.

Slander

A defamatory oral statement that harms another person's reputation.

Symbolic Speech

Expressing an idea, opinion, or protest through actions or symbols rather than words.

Freedom of Press

First Amendment protection preventing the government from censoring or stopping the press from publishing information and opinions.

Prior Restraint

Government attempts to stop something from being published before it is published.

Shield Laws

State laws that protect journalists from having to reveal their confidential sources in court.

Establishment Clause

First Amendment clause stating that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, prohibiting government sponsorship or favoring of religion.

Free Exercise Clause

First Amendment clause prohibiting Congress from interfering with citizens' practice of religion, as long as it does not conflict with public morals or safety.

Freedom of Assembly

First Amendment protection allowing people to gather peacefully to express ideas, subject to reasonable rules on time, place, and manner.

Freedom of Association

Principle that government cannot restrict group membership unless it threatens national security.

Second Amendment

Constitutional amendment protecting the right to keep and bear arms.

Third Amendment

Constitutional amendment prohibiting the forcing of citizens to house or quarter soldiers in peacetime without consent.

Due Process Rights

The principle that laws and legal proceedings must be fair, protected primarily through the 4th through 9th amendments.

Fourth Amendment

Constitutional amendment protecting people against unreasonable searches and seizures and requiring warrants based on probable cause.

Warrant

Legal document required for government searches and seizures, based on probable cause.

Probable Cause

Reasonable grounds to believe that a crime occurred or that evidence of a crime will be found.

Exclusionary Rule

Rule stating that illegally or unconstitutionally acquired evidence cannot be used in a criminal trial.

Habeas Corpus

Constitutional guarantee protecting against illegal incarceration by requiring police to state the legal reason for arrest.

Bill of Attainder

A legislative act punishing someone for a crime without the benefit of a trial, explicitly prohibited by the Constitution.

Ex Post Facto Law

A law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions committed before the law was passed, explicitly prohibited by the Constitution.

Fifth Amendment

Constitutional amendment protecting due process rights, prohibiting self-incrimination and double jeopardy, and requiring grand jury indictment.

Double Jeopardy

Fifth Amendment protection preventing an individual from being tried twice for the exact same crime.

Grand Jury

A group of citizens that decides whether there is enough evidence to formally charge a defendant and proceed to trial.

Miranda Rights

Requirement that suspects be informed of their right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning.

Self-Incrimination

Compelling an individual to give testimony that might lead to criminal charges against themselves, prohibited by the Fifth Amendment.

Sixth Amendment

Constitutional amendment guaranteeing rights of the accused in criminal cases, including a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, and a lawyer.

Seventh Amendment

Constitutional amendment protecting the right to a jury trial in federal civil cases.

Eighth Amendment

Constitutional amendment prohibiting excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

Ninth Amendment

Constitutional amendment specifying that citizens retain rights beyond those specifically listed in the Constitution.

Tenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment declaring that powers not specifically delegated to the federal government belong to the states or the people.

Fourteenth Amendment

Amendment granting citizenship and equal rights to anyone born or naturalized in the U.S., requiring states to provide due process and equal protection.

Selective Incorporation

The process by which SCOTUS applies protections in the Bill of Rights to state governments through the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Due Process Clause (14th Amendment)

Provision prohibiting state governments from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)

Provision stating that no state shall deny any person equal protection of the laws, serving as the basis for civil rights cases.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Landmark SCOTUS case ruling 5–4 that the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms for self-defense is incorporated against state and local governments through the 14th Amendment.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Landmark SCOTUS case ruling unanimously that states must provide court-appointed attorneys to felony defendants who cannot afford one.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Landmark SCOTUS case ruling 6–1 that official state-sponsored prayer in public schools violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Landmark SCOTUS case ruling 7–0 that forcing Amish children to attend school past 8th grade violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Landmark SCOTUS case ruling unanimously that anti-draft leaflets distributed during WWI presented a clear and present danger not protected by free speech.

New York Times Company v. United States (1971)

Landmark SCOTUS case ruling 6–3 that the government could not use prior restraint to block publication of the Pentagon Papers.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Landmark SCOTUS case ruling 7–2 that public school students retain First Amendment rights to wear black armbands as protected symbolic speech unless it causes substantial disruption.