Civil Rights Vocabulary Quiz (Robbins)

civil liberties

Rights - chiefly, rights to be free of government interference - according to an individual by the Constitution: free speech, free press, and so on.

clear-and-present danger test

Law should not punish speech unless there was a clear and present danger of producing harmful actions.

due process of law

Denies the government the right, without due process, to deprive people of life, liberty, and property.

equal protection of the laws

A standard of equal treatment that must be observed by the government.

establishment clause

First Amendment ban on laws “respecting an establishment of religion.”

exclusionary rule

Improperly gathered evidence may not be introduced in a criminal trial.

freedom of expression

Right to people to speak, publish, and assemble.

freedom of religion

People shall be free to exercise their religion, and government may not establish a religion.

free-exercise clause

First Amendment requirement that law cannot prevent free exercise of religion.

good faith exception

An error in gathering evidence sufficiently minor that it may be used in a trial.

inevitable discovery

The police can use evidence if it would inevitably have been discovered.

libel

Writing that falsely injures another person.

prior restraint

Censorship of a publication.

probable cause

Reasonable cause for issuing a search warrant or making an arrest; more than mere suspicion.

public safety exception

The police can question an un-Mirandized suspect if there is an urgent concern for public safety.

search warrant

A judge’s order authorizing a search.

selective incorporation

The process whereby the Court has applied most, but not all, parts of the Bill of Rights to the states.

symbolic speech

An act that conveys a political message.

time, place, and manner

Governments may place restrictions on the time, place, and manner of expression or assembly, so long as they are not being restricted purely for their content.

wall of separation

Court ruling that government cannot be involved with religion.