AP GOV Unit 3 v4.1

1st Amendment

Protects freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition; limits government censorship and punishment of most expression.

2nd Amendment

Protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, while allowing some regulation (especially for safety and who can possess weapons).

4th Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures; usually requires a warrant based on probable cause, with specific exceptions.

5th Amendment

Protects rights in criminal cases, including due process, protection against self-incrimination, and double jeopardy; also includes the takings clause.

6th Amendment

Guarantees rights of the accused, including a speedy and public trial, impartial jury, counsel, and the ability to confront witnesses.

8th Amendment

Prohibits excessive bail and fines and bans cruel and unusual punishments.

10th Amendment

Reserves powers not given to the federal government (and not denied to states) to the states or the people; supports federalism.

14th Amendment

Applies due process and equal protection limits to state governments; key basis for incorporation and civil rights cases.

Establishment Clause

Bars government from establishing an official religion or favoring one religion over another.

Free Exercise Clause

Protects individuals’ right to practice religion, though neutral, generally applicable laws can still be enforced.

Equal Protection Clause

Requires states to treat similarly situated people alike; used to challenge discrimination and unequal laws.

Due Process Clause

Requires fair procedures and, in some areas, protects certain fundamental rights from government interference

Commerce Clause

Gives Congress power to regulate interstate commerce; has been used to justify many federal economic and regulatory laws.

Right to privacy

A constitutional concept inferred from several amendments; limits government intrusion into personal decisions like contraception and (historically) abortion.

Incorporation doctrine

The process of applying most Bill of Rights protections to the states through the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Symbolic speech

Actions that communicate a message (like armbands or flag-related protests) that can receive First Amendment protection.

Prior restraint

Government censorship before speech happens (like stopping publication); usually unconstitutional except in extreme cases.

Exclusionary rule

Evidence obtained in violation of the Constitution (especially the 4th Amendment) is generally barred from trial.

Double jeopardy

The government can’t try someone twice for the same offense after acquittal or conviction, with limited exceptions.

Entrapment

A defense claiming law enforcement induced a person to commit a crime they were not predisposed to commit.

Stop and frisk

A brief detention and pat-down allowed when police have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and that the person may be armed.

Time, place, and manner restrictions

Content-neutral rules on when/where/how speech happens, allowed if narrowly tailored and leaving alternative ways to speak.

Commercial speech

Advertising and marketing speech; protected by the First Amendment but more regulated than political speech.

Undue burden standard

Abortion regulation test from Casey: a law is unconstitutional if it places a substantial obstacle in the path of someone seeking a pre-viability abortion.

Penumbra of rights

Implied rights formed from “shadows” of explicit guarantees in the Bill of Rights; often used to explain privacy rights.

Habeas corpus

A right to challenge unlawful detention and require the government to justify holding someone.

Guantanamo detainee rights

Legal principles about what constitutional and statutory rights detainees have and whether military tribunals follow proper law and process.

Roe v. Wade

Recognized a constitutional right to choose abortion (grounded in privacy) and created a trimester framework; later replaced by Casey’s standard.

Planned Parenthood v. Casey

Reaffirmed a right to abortion before viability but replaced Roe’s framework with the undue burden standard; allowed more state regulation.

Griswold v. Connecticut

Struck down a ban on contraception for married couples; established privacy rights based on “penumbras” of the Bill of Rights.

Gitlow v. New York

Held that free speech protections apply to states through the 14th Amendment; allowed punishment for speech advocating violent overthrow under certain reasoning.

Engel v. Vitale

Banned state-sponsored prayer in public schools as a violation of the Establishment Clause.

Lemon v. Kurtzman

Created the Lemon test for Establishment Clause issues (secular purpose, primary effect not advancing/inhibiting religion, no excessive entanglement).

Mapp v. Ohio

Applied the exclusionary rule to the states, making illegally obtained evidence generally inadmissible in state courts.

Miranda v. Arizona

Required police to inform suspects in custody of rights (silence, attorney) before interrogation to protect the 5th Amendment.

D.C. v. Heller

Recognized an individual right to possess a handgun for self-defense in the home under the 2nd Amendment, while allowing some regulation.

New York Times v. Sullivan

Set the “actual malice” standard for defamation of public officials, giving strong protection to criticism of government.

Regents of UC v. Bakke

Rejected strict racial quotas but allowed race to be considered as one factor in admissions to pursue diversity.

Grutter v. Bollinger

Upheld limited use of race in holistic law school admissions to achieve diversity as a compelling interest, requiring narrow tailoring.

Gratz v. Bollinger

Struck down a point-based admissions system that gave automatic racial points; not narrowly tailored like holistic review.

Schenck v. United States

Upheld limits on speech that creates a “clear and present danger,” especially during wartime; an early standard for speech restriction.

Miller v. California

Created the Miller test for obscenity; obscene material is not protected speech if it meets the test’s criteria.

Dennis v. United States

Upheld convictions under the Smith Act for advocating overthrow of the government, allowing broader limits on speech tied to perceived threats.

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld

Ruled certain military commissions at Guantanamo lacked proper legal authorization and violated required procedures under U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions framework.

Wolf v. Colorado

Applied the 4th Amendment to the states but initially did not require states to use the exclusionary rule; later changed by Mapp.

Parker v. Gideon

Likely referring to Gideon v. Wainwright: required states to provide an attorney to indigent defendants in serious criminal cases under the 6th Amendment.

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Struck down compulsory high school attendance for Amish families after 8th grade; protected Free Exercise against state education law in that context

McDonald v. Chicago

Applied the Second Amendment to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment (incorporation)