FED GOVT 2305 Exam 2: Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, and Congress

Flashcards covering civil liberties, civil rights, constitutional amendments, congressional powers, and exam procedures for FED GOVT 2305 Exam 2.

Civil Liberties

Protections from improper government action that serve as minority rights and allow individuals to protect themselves from government retaliation and intimidation.

Habeas Corpus

A constitutional guarantee providing protection against illegal incarceration.

Bill of Attainder

Legislation that punishes or blames a specific person for a crime without the benefit of a judicial trial.

Ex Post Facto Law

A law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of an action, preventing the government from arresting someone for behavior committed before it was made illegal.

Selective Incorporation

The process through which the civil liberties granted in the Bill of Rights were applied to the states on a case-by-case basis through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Establishment Clause

The First Amendment provision establishing the separation of church and state by prohibiting the government from favoring or sponsoring any religion.

Free Exercise Clause

The First Amendment provision stating that Congress cannot make laws interfering with religious practice; belief cannot be dictated, though certain actions may be regulated.

Direct Incitement Test

A legal principle establishing that speech is protected unless it is about to cause imminent lawless action or is an attempt to intimidate.

Hate Speech

Expression that is offensive or abusive, particularly in terms of race, gender, or sexual orientation, which is currently protected under the First Amendment.

Fighting Words

Speech that by its very utterance inflicts injury, indicates a willingness to fight, or tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace.

Slander

Spoken false statements that defame and damage an individual's reputation.

Libel

Written false statements printed with malicious intent that damage an individual's reputation.

Prior Restraint

A limit on freedom of the press that allows the government to prohibit media organizations from publishing certain materials in advance.

Commercial Speech

Speech regulated by the government to prevent consumer deception, stop false advertising, protect fair markets, and ensure truthful commercial information.

Freedom of Assembly

The individual right of people to peacefully gather in public spaces to express their views, protest, or share ideas without government interference.

Due Process of Law

The constitutional right of every individual against arbitrary action by national or state governments, ensuring fair rules and procedures.

Search Warrant

A court order authorizing law enforcement to search a specific place or item for evidence after demonstrating probable cause to a judge.

Exclusionary Rule

The judicial principle that illegally or unconstitutionally acquired evidence cannot be used against a defendant in a criminal trial.

Good Faith Exception

An exception allowing illegally obtained evidence in court if officers can demonstrate they believed they were following proper search warrant procedures to the best of their ability.

Plain View Exception

An exception permitting law enforcement to seize evidence without a search warrant if the evidence is clearly visible to officers.

Miranda Rights

Procedural notifications advising individuals of their Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination, which apply once a person is arrested or held in custody.

Double Jeopardy

A constitutional protection preventing an individual from being tried twice for the exact same criminal case.

Eighth Amendment

Constitutional amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment, requiring inmates to exhaust all state-level appeals before pursuing federal appeals.

Ninth Amendment

Constitutional amendment establishing that the enumeration of specific rights shall not be construed to deny other rights retained by the people, serving as a basis for implied privacy rights.

Civil Rights

Guarantees by the government that it will treat people equally and protect individuals from discrimination, especially within the political process.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional because separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.

De Jure Segregation

Racial separation and discrimination that is mandated and enforced by law.

De Facto Discrimination

Discrimination occurring 'in fact' or in daily practice that cannot be resolved solely through legislation or court rulings.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Legislation barring employment discrimination based on race, sex, religion, or national origin, banning segregation in public places, and establishing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Title IX of the Higher Education Act

A federal law passed in 1972 prohibiting sex discrimination in any educational program or institution receiving federal financial assistance.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Legislation prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities in employment and requiring institutions, including schools, to implement accessibility accommodations.

Bully Pulpit

A prominent public platform providing a built-in captive audience, utilized particularly by the president to sway public opinion and advance civil rights or policy goals.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that officially banned and abolished slavery throughout the United States.

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment providing citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. and prohibiting states from denying any person due process or equal protection of the laws.

Fifteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment granting African American men the right to vote by prohibiting denial of the franchise based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Nineteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment ratified in 1920 providing that the right to vote cannot be denied or abridged on the basis of sex, extending suffrage to women.

Disenfranchised

The condition of having been stripped of or denied the ability to exercise a fundamental civil right, specifically the right to vote.

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a leading civil rights organization founded in 1909 to combat racial injustice and discrimination.

LULAC

League of United Latin American Citizens, founded in 1929 to advance Hispanic civil rights through the judicial system and voter registration drives.

Protectionism

The rationale under which discriminatory policies are defended by asserting that groups such as women or minorities should be denied rights for their own safety or wellbeing.

Stonewall Riots (1969)

Protests in New York City against police brutality that galvanized the gay and lesbian community by proving the effectiveness of collective action.

Suspect Classifications

Classifications of individuals based on race or ethnicity that are assumed by the judiciary to have discrimination as their underlying purpose.

Intermediate Scrutiny

The judicial standard used in discrimination cases involving sex or gender, placing the burden of proof on the government to prove an important governmental interest is at stake.

Strict Scrutiny

The highest judicial standard used for cases involving race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin, requiring the government to prove a compelling interest achieved with no alternative means.

The Great Compromise

Constitutional arrangement establishing a bicameral Congress consisting of a population-based House of Representatives and an equally represented Senate.

House of Representatives

The lower chamber of Congress where members face election every two years to remain directly responsive to citizen desires and public sentiment.

Senate

The upper chamber of Congress where members serve six-year terms, with one-third of the body standing for reelection every two years.

Constituency

The residents in the geographical district or area from which an elected representative or official is chosen.

The Electoral Connection

The concept that congressional behavior is fundamentally driven by members' primary desire for reelection, resulting in a continuous campaign.

Incumbency Advantage

The relative infrequency with which sitting members of Congress are defeated in reelection attempts, preserving the status quo in the legislature.

Descriptive Representation

A form of representation where the demographic composition of elected officials reflects the racial, ethnic, and gender characteristics of the governed population.

Single-Member Districts

Legislative districts that are each represented by exactly one elected official.

Reapportionment

The process of allocating and distributing seats in the House of Representatives among districts based on population changes documented in the census.

Redistricting

The highly political process of redrawing legislative district boundaries, typically carried out after the decennial census by the majority party in state government.

Gerrymandering

The deliberate drawing and apportionment of legislative districts to confer an unfair political advantage upon a specific political party or racial/ethnic group.

Racial Gerrymandering

The illegal practice of drawing legislative district boundaries predominantly based on race to advantage or disadvantage a minority group.

Cracking

A gerrymandering tactic that divides an opposing political party's supporters across multiple districts to dilute their voting strength and prevent them from forming a majority.

Packing

A gerrymandering tactic that concentrates an opposing party's voters into as few districts as possible, reducing their electoral influence in all other surrounding districts.

Conference Committees

Temporary joint committees established to reconcile differences between separate House and Senate versions of a bill passed by both chambers.

Constituency Service

Casework and non-legislative assistance that members of Congress provide directly to individual district residents to promote goodwill and assist in reelection.

Universalism

An informal congressional norm stating that when federal funding and benefits are allocated, they should be distributed to as many districts and states as possible.

Earmarks

Federally funded local projects or designated expenditures that are attached to larger legislative bills passing through Congress.

Logrolling

A reciprocal voting practice in which members of Congress vote for legislation they might otherwise oppose in exchange for other members' support on bills they value.

Filibuster

A Senate procedural tactic allowing a senator to hold the floor under the rule of unlimited debate to delay or block a vote on a bill until opponents concede.

Cloture

A formal Senate procedure used to end debate and cut off a filibuster, requiring a supermajority vote of 60 senators.

Pocket Veto

An indirect veto of a legislative bill by an executive who leaves the bill unsigned until Congress adjourns, preventing it from becoming law.

Congressional Oversight

The ongoing review, monitoring, and supervision by Congress of executive branch agencies, policies, and program implementation.

Scantron Form No. 882-ES

The basic 50-question objective testing answer sheet purchased at the bookstore that students are required to bring to class for Exam 2.