US GOVT FINAL

First Amendment

5 freedoms: speech, press, religion, assembly, petition

Second Amendment

Right to bear arms

Third Amendment

No quartering of soldiers

Fourth Amendment

Protects against unreasonable search and seizure

Fifth Amendment

Rights of people accused of crimes

Sixth Amendment

Right to a speedy and public trial

Seventh Amendment

Right to trial by jury

Eight Amendment

Prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and excessive bail or fines.

Ninth Amendment

People's rights are not limited to those listed in the Constitution

Tenth Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Fourteenth Amendment

- made "all persons born or naturalized in the United States" citizens of the country

- states must allow fair rules

- everyone must be treated equally

Selective Incorporation

The process by which provisions of the Bill of Rights are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and applied to state governments.

Due Process

Fair treatment by the government

Judicial Review

The power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional

Precendent

-act or decision that sets an example for others to follow

- prior court rulings used to decide future cases

Path to Supreme Court

Lower courts to appeals courts to supreme court

Exclusionary Rule

a law that prohibits the use of illegally obtained evidence in a criminal trial.

Commercial Speech

Communication in the form of advertising. It can be restricted more than many other types of speech but has been receiving increased protection from the Supreme Court.

Seditious Speech

speech urging the overthrow of the government

Pure Speech

the verbal expression of thought and opinion before an audience that has chosen to listen

Symbolic speech

actions expressing ideas

Free Speech

the right to say our opinions, in public or in private, without fear of being stopped or punished by the government for those ideas

Defamation

Act of harming or ruining another's reputation

Slander

spoken defamation

Libel

written defamation

Strict Constructionism

a judicial approach holding that the Constitution should be read literally, with the framers' intentions uppermost in mind

Loose Constructionism

Courts should read the Constitution expansively and should not limit themselves to what is explicitly stated

Prior Restraint

stop speech before it happens

Fighting Words

speech intended to incite violence

Double Jeopardy

- can't tried twice for the same crime

- 5th amendment

Establishment Clause

Clause in the First Amendment that says the government may not establish an official religion.

Free Excercise Clause

protects the rights of individuals to practice their religion wihtout government interference

Judicial Review

Allows the court to determine the constitutionality of laws

Near v. Minnesota

the 1931 Supreme Court decision holding that the first amendment protects newspapers from prior restraint.

Mapp v Ohio

Established the exclusionary rule was applicable to the states (evidence seized illegally cannot be used in court)

Barron v Baltimore

The 1833 Supreme Court decision holding that the Bill of Rights restrained only the national government, not the states and cities.

- wharf: didn't get compensation bc it was state govt not the the fed govt.

Restraint

an act that limits a state's ability to regulate an area

Gideon v Wainwright

a landmark case in United States Supreme Court history. In the case, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state courts are required under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution to provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants unable to afford their own attorneys.

Originalism

A view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original intentions

- conservative

"Living" Constitution

A way of interpreting the Constitution that takes into account evolving national attitudes and circumstances rather than the text alone.