Chapter 8: Civil Liberties

civil liberties

fundamental rights and freedoms protected from infringement by the government

civil rights

protections from discrimination as a member or a particular group

bill of rights

a list of fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals possess; the first ten

amendments to the U.S. Constitution are referred to as the Bill of Rights

due process

clause

the clause in the 14th Amendment that restricts state governments from denying

citizens their life, liberty, or property without legal safeguards

selective incorporation

the piecemeal process through which the Supreme Court has affirmed that almost

all of the protections within the Bill of Rights also apply to state governments

establishment

clause

First Amendment protection against the government requiring citizens to join or

support a religion

free exercise

clause

First Amendment protection of the rights of individuals to exercise and express

their religious beliefs

freedom of expression

a fundamental right affirmed in the First Amendment to speak, publish, and protest

clear and present

danger test

legal standard that speech posing an immediate and serious threat to national

security is not protected by the First Amendment

prior restraint

the suppression of material prior to publication on the grounds that it might

endanger national security

symbolic speech

protected expression in the form of images, signs, and other symbols

libel

an untrue written statement that injures a person's reputation

slander

an untrue spoken expression that injures a person's reputation

obscenity and

pornography

words, images, or videos that depict sexual activity in an offensive manner and that

lack any artistic merit

ex post facto laws

laws criminalizing conduct that was legal at the time it occurred

bill of attainder

a law passed by Congress punishing an individual without a trial

writ of habeas

corpus

a document setting out reasons for an arrest or detention

procedural due

process

a judicial standard requiring that fairness be applied to all individuals equally

warrant

a document issued by a judge authorizing a search

probable cause

reasonable belief that a crime has been committed or that there is evidence of

criminal activity

exclusionary rule

a rule that evidence obtained without a warrant is inadmissible in court

grand jury

a group of citizens who, based on the evidence presented to them, decide whether

or not a person should be indicted on criminal charges and subsequently tried in

court

double jeopardy

protects an individual acquitted of a crime from being charged with the same crime

again in the same jurisdiction

Miranda rights

the right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning; these

rights must be given by police to individuals suspected of criminal activity

bail

an amount of money posted as a security to allow the charged individual to be

freed while awaiting trial