UNIT 3 AP GOV VOCAB

Brown v. Board of Education

Racial segregation in schools violates the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment.

Civil liberties

Personal freedoms, e.g., speech, assembly, religion.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Prohibits discrimination in voting, schools, public spaces, and government programs.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 2010

Political spending by corporations, associations, and labor unions is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment.

De facto segregation

Segregation 'by fact', which results from factors like housing patterns rather than law.

De jure segregation

Segregation by law, required by government.

Due process clause

Prohibits the national government (5th amendment) and states (14th amendment) from denying life, liberty, or property.

Engle v. Vitale, 1962

School support of religious activities violates the establishment clause.

Equal protection clause

14th amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, used to combat discrimination.

Establishment Clause

Provision of Amendment 1 that prohibits Congress from establishing an official state religion; basis for separation of church and state.

Exclusionary rule

Supreme Court guideline that excludes the use of illegally obtained evidence in a criminal trial.

Free exercise clause

Provision of Amendment 1 stating that Congress may not prohibit the free exercise of religion.

Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963

Guaranteed right to a lawyer for people who cannot afford one.

Grand jury

Determines whether to bring criminal charges against a suspect.

Habeas Corpus

Constitutional right of suspects to know charges against them and to see evidence.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King outlined justifications for civil disobedience (non-violent resistance).

Indictment

Grand jury order that a suspect must stand trial for a criminal offense.

McDonald v. Chicago, 2010

Applied 2nd Amendment (right to bear arms) to the states.

Miranda Warnings

Warnings that must be read to suspects prior to questioning. Suspects must be advised of their rights.

New York Times Co. v. United States, 1971

Usually cannot impose prior restraint against press; strengthened freedom of the press.

Plea Bargain

Arrangement in which a suspect pleads guilty to a lesser offense to avoid a trial.

Prior restraint

When a court stops speech or a printed story before it is made; this is unconstitutional.

Roe v. Wade, 1973

Woman's decision to have an abortion is protected by the right to privacy.

Schenck v. United States, 1919

Speech which creates a 'clear and present danger' is not protected by the First Amendment.

Sedition

Encouraging the overthrow of the government.

Selective Incorporation

States gradually adopted the Bill of Rights over time, applied through the 14th Amendment.

Separate but equal

Supreme Court doctrine from Plessy v. Ferguson allowing state-required racial segregation in public places if facilities were equal.

Strict scrutiny

Supreme Court guideline for determining if government can make racial distinctions; allowed only if narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest.

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

Public school students are allowed to engage in symbolic speech as a form of protest.

Wisconsin v. Yoder, 1972

Requiring Amish students to attend school after 8th grade violates the free exercise clause.