SJSU GOV Updated Flashcards

What was Hammurabi's Code?

One of the earliest extensive written law codes, created under Babylonian King Hammurabi. It demonstrates the idea that society can be governed through established written laws.

How did the Ten Commandments influence Western government?

They provided religious and moral rules that influenced Western ethical and legal traditions.

What was important about Ancient Greek democracy?

Athens developed direct democracy, where eligible citizens participated directly in government. Greek traditions influenced ideas about citizenship, political participation, debate, and jury trials.

What was important about the Roman Republic?

Rome had elected magistrates and citizen assemblies as well as an influential Senate, whose members were not elected as modern U.S. senators are. Its republican institutions influenced later ideas about citizenship, law, and representative government.

What is natural law?

The idea that certain principles of justice exist independently of government-created laws.

What are natural rights?

Rights people possess inherently, independent of government. Locke emphasized life, liberty, and property; the Declaration names life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Government's legitimacy depends on protecting rights.

What is rule of law?

Everyone, including government officials, is subject to established laws. Rulers cannot simply exercise power however they want.

What is limited government?

Government power is restricted by laws, constitutions, and individual rights.

What is rule by law?

Rule by law is a governance system where the state uses the law as a tool to control the population, while the governing authorities themselves remain above or exempt from those laws.

What was the Divine Right of Kings?

The belief that monarchs received their authority from God rather than from the people.

What is social-contract theory?

The idea that legitimate government arises from an agreement among people concerning political authority and social order.

Who was Thomas Hobbes?

Author of Leviathan (1651). He argued that insecurity and conflict in the state of nature led people to authorize a powerful sovereign for peace and protection. Contrast Locke: government must protect natural rights and can lose legitimacy when it violates them.

What is consent of the governed?

Government is legitimate because its authority comes from the people, not divine right. Elections and representative institutions are ways to express consent; majority support does not erase constitutional limits or minority rights.

Why is the Magna Carta important?

The Magna Carta of 1215 established that the king was subject to legal limitations. It became an important foundation for rule of law and limited government.

What was the Petition of Right?

A 1628 English document challenging practices such as arbitrary imprisonment and taxation without Parliament's consent. It reinforced limits on monarchical power.

What was the English Bill of Rights?

The 1689 settlement strengthened Parliament and limited the monarch, including taxation and maintaining a standing army in peacetime without Parliament's consent. It also protected petitioning and barred excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishments. Notes example: the king could not raise revenue independently of Parliament.

What is a constitutional monarchy?

A system in which a monarch exists but the monarch's powers are limited by law and constitutional institutions.

What is habeas corpus?

The right of a detained person to challenge the legality of detention before a court. It protects against arbitrary imprisonment.

Who was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson.

What three unalienable rights are named in the Declaration?

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

What political theory strongly influenced the Declaration?

Natural-rights and social-contract theory: people possess inherent rights, and legitimate government derives power from the consent of the governed.

What are the four basic parts of the Declaration of Independence?

Introduction/preamble → political philosophy/natural rights → grievances against King George III → declaration of independence.

How many sections are in the Constitution?

A Preamble, seven numbered articles, and 27 amendments

What is Article I about?

Creates a bicameral Congress: House and Senate. Section 8 lists powers such as taxation, borrowing, regulating interstate commerce, and declaring war, and includes the Necessary and Proper Clause. Practice: Congress may raise an army, but the President commands it.

What is the Preamble?

The introductory statement that explains the goals and purpose of the government, stating that power comes from the people.

What is Article II about?

Vests executive power in the President; establishes presidential selection through electors and powers such as Commander in Chief, treaty-making with Senate consent, and appointments with Senate confirmation where required. Practice: commanding troops does not give the President Congress's power to declare war.

What is Article III about?

Vests federal judicial power in one Supreme Court and lower federal courts that Congress may establish. It defines categories of federal cases and protects judges' tenure during good behavior. Congress creates lower courts; Article III does not itself create every lower court.

What is Article IV about?

Governs relations among states, including Full Faith and Credit, Privileges and Immunities, and extradition; also addresses admission of new states and guarantees to states. Practice: a state generally must recognize another state's valid court judgment.

What is Article V about?

Sets the formal amendment process: proposal by two-thirds of each house of Congress or a convention called on applications from two-thirds of state legislatures; ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures or state conventions, as Congress chooses. The President does not sign or veto amendments.

What is Article VI about?

Contains the Supremacy Clause: the Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties are supreme over conflicting state law. It also addresses public debts, oaths, and the ban on religious tests for public office. A federal law must be constitutionally valid to prevail.

What is Article VII about?

Required ratification by conventions in nine of the thirteen states to establish the Constitution among the ratifying states. Do not confuse this original ratification threshold with Article V's three-fourths threshold for amendments.

What is the bill of rights?

The first ten amendments, ratified in 1791. Federalists promised added protections in response to objections that the Constitution lacked an explicit list of rights. It originally limited the federal government; most protections now also limit states through selective incorporation.

What were the Articles of Confederation?

The first U.S. national constitution: adopted by Congress in 1777 and fully ratified in 1781. It created a confederation with a one-house Congress and one vote per state, leaving most authority to the states.

What were major weaknesses of the Articles?

Congress depended on state contributions because it lacked independent taxing power; it could not regulate interstate commerce effectively, had no separate national executive or comprehensive national judiciary, and amendments required unanimous state approval. Notes connection: debt and unrest surrounding Shays' Rebellion exposed demands for stronger national capacity.

What was Shays' Rebellion?

A 1786-1787 uprising of indebted Massachusetts farmers, many veterans, who resisted taxes, debt collection, and foreclosures by obstructing courts. It alarmed nationalists and strengthened calls to revise the Articles. Notes contrast: Jefferson tolerated occasional rebellion; Madison saw instability as a warning about weak government.

What was the Virginia Plan?

Presented by Edmund Randolph and strongly shaped by James Madison in 1787. It proposed a stronger national government with three branches and a bicameral legislature with representation based on population or financial contribution. Practice: a populous state would favor it because it would gain legislative influence.

What was the New Jersey Plan?

William Paterson's 1787 proposal retained a unicameral Congress with equal state votes while strengthening some national powers. Practice: a small state would support it to avoid being outvoted simply because larger states had more people.

What was the Great/Connecticut Compromise?

A bicameral Congress with population-based House representation and equal Senate representation: two senators per state. Associated with Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut, not authored by Madison. Senators were originally chosen by state legislatures; the Seventeenth Amendment later established direct election.

What was the Three-Fifths Compromise?

For representation and direct taxation, every five enslaved people were counted as three persons. This increased representation for slaveholding states without giving enslaved people political rights.

What is federalism?

A system in which governmental authority is divided between national and state governments.

Who were the Federalists?

Supporters of ratifying the Constitution, including Madison, Hamilton, and Jay, who wrote The Federalist Papers. They favored a stronger national government with internal checks. Support was often stronger among commercial and urban interests, though neither side was socially uniform.

Who were the Anti-Federalists?

Ratification opponents such as Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and George Mason. They feared distant national power, threats to state authority, and insufficient protection of individual rights. Support was often stronger among rural and small-farmer constituencies. Their pressure helped secure the promise of a Bill of Rights.

What are the three main levels of the federal court system?

Federal District Courts → Courts of Appeals → Supreme Court.

What is original jurisdiction?

Authority to hear a case first rather than reviewing another court's decision.

What is appellate jurisdiction?

Authority to review a decision made by a lower court.

What is judicial review?

The power of courts to determine whether government actions are constitutional.

What did Marbury v. Madison (1803) establish?

Facts: Marbury sought a writ ordering delivery of his judicial commission. Holding: the Supreme Court could not exercise the expanded original jurisdiction given by the Judiciary Act because it conflicted with Article III. Significance: established judicial review of federal statutes. Marbury did not receive the requested order.

What is precedent?

An earlier judicial decision that provides guidance for later cases involving similar legal issues.

What is stare decisis?

The principle of generally following previous judicial decisions to promote stability and consistency.

What is a writ of certiorari?

An order through which the Supreme Court agrees to review a lower-court case.

Majority vs. concurring vs. dissenting opinion?

Majority: controlling reasoning supported by the Court's majority. Concurrence: agrees with the result but offers different/additional reasoning. Dissent: disagrees with the Court's decision.

Civil liberties vs. civil rights?

Civil liberties protect individual freedom from government interference. Civil rights protect against unlawful discrimination and unequal treatment.

What is selective incorporation?

Case-by-case application of most Bill of Rights protections to state and local governments, mainly through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause. Notes sequence: Barron limited the Bill of Rights to the federal government; Gitlow, Mapp, Gideon, and McDonald later applied particular protections to states. Not every provision is incorporated.

Which amendment is central to incorporation?

The Fourteenth Amendment, particularly its Due Process Clause.

What is the Establishment Clause?

The First Amendment provision restricting government establishment or impermissible governmental promotion of religion.

What is the Free Exercise Clause?

The First Amendment provision protecting religious exercise against certain forms of government interference.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)?

Facts: New York public schools used an official prayer written by the state Board of Regents. Holding: government sponsorship violated the Establishment Clause even if participation was voluntary and the prayer nondenominational. Notes application: distinguish school-led prayer from students' private religious expression.

Epperson v. Arkansas (1968)?

Arkansas prohibited teaching evolution in public schools. The Court struck down the law because it violated the Establishment Clause.

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)?

The Court invalidated state aid arrangements for religious-school instruction and articulated the Lemon Test: secular purpose, a primary effect neither advancing nor inhibiting religion, and no excessive government-religion entanglement. Kennedy (2022) expressly rejected the Lemon/endorsement framework in favor of historical practices and understandings.

What was the Lemon Test?

A historical Establishment Clause test: (1) a secular legislative purpose; (2) a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion; and (3) no excessive government entanglement with religion. All three requirements mattered. The Court has abandoned this framework; distinguish the historical exam rule from the later history-and-tradition approach.

McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education (1982)?

A federal court struck down an Arkansas law requiring balanced treatment of creation science and evolution because it violated the Establishment Clause.

Edwards v. Aguillard (1987)?

Louisiana required creation science to accompany evolution instruction. The Supreme Court found this violated the Establishment Clause.

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)?

The Court upheld a school-voucher program that permitted parents to choose religious schools because aid reached those schools through private choice.

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022)?

A public-school football coach challenged discipline over postgame prayer. The majority treated the prayer at issue as private religious expression protected by free exercise and free speech, and rejected Lemon/endorsement analysis in favor of historical practices and understandings. It did not authorize schools to compel students to pray.

Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025)?

Parents challenged denial of religious opt-outs from certain LGBTQ+-inclusive school instruction. The Court held they were entitled to preliminary relief under the Free Exercise Clause.

What is libel?

Written defamation—a false factual statement that damages another person's reputation under applicable law.

What is slander?

Spoken defamation.

What is incitement?

Advocacy can be punished when it is directed toward and likely to produce imminent lawless action. Mere advocacy of unpopular ideas generally remains protected.

What is a true threat?

A serious expression communicating a threat of unlawful violence. True threats can fall outside normal First Amendment protection.

Counterman v. Colorado (2023)?

Counterman repeatedly sent unwanted messages and was prosecuted for stalking. The Court required at least recklessness regarding the threatening nature of the communication for true-threat liability under the First Amendment.

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)?

The Court held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess firearms for lawful purposes such as self-defense in the home.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)?

Applied the Second Amendment right recognized in Heller against state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.

N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022)?

Invalidated New York's challenged public-carry licensing requirement and emphasized constitutional text and the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.

United States v. Rahimi (2024)?

The Court upheld the federal firearm restriction as applied to people subject to qualifying domestic-violence restraining orders after a judicial finding that they pose a credible threat.

What does the Fourth Amendment protect?

People against unreasonable searches and seizures. Warrants generally require probable cause and particularity.

What is probable cause?

A sufficient factual basis for believing a crime occurred or that evidence will be found in a particular place.

What is the exclusionary rule?

A rule that can prevent evidence obtained through unconstitutional searches or seizures from being used against a defendant.

What is the third-party doctrine?

Traditionally, people have reduced Fourth Amendment protection for certain information voluntarily given to third parties. Digital technology has complicated the doctrine.

New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)?

Facts: after a smoking allegation, a school official searched a student's purse and found evidence of drugs. Holding: the Fourth Amendment applies to public-school searches, but officials generally need reasonable suspicion, not a warrant or probable cause. The search must be justified at its start and reasonably related in scope to its purpose.

Safford Unified School District v. Redding (2009)?

Officials searched a 13-year-old student's underwear for medication. The Court found the highly intrusive search unreasonable because the evidence did not justify suspicion that drugs were hidden there or posed the danger needed to support that intrusion. Notes comparison: reasonable suspicion to search a bag does not automatically justify a strip search.

Carpenter v. United States (2018)?

Police obtained extensive historical cell-site location information without a traditional warrant. The Court held that obtaining the records at issue was generally a Fourth Amendment search requiring a warrant.

What is self-incrimination?

The Fifth Amendment privilege protects against compelled testimonial statements that could incriminate the speaker. It is not a general right to refuse all evidence collection or avoid embarrassment. Practice: a potentially incriminating answer differs from a required fingerprint, which is generally physical rather than testimonial evidence.

What is double jeopardy?

The Fifth Amendment generally prevents repeated prosecution for the same offense after acquittal or conviction and multiple punishments for the same offense.

What does a grand jury do?

Determines whether sufficient probable cause exists for specified serious federal criminal charges. It does not determine guilt.

Malloy v. Hogan (1964)?

Applied the Fifth Amendment protection against compelled self-incrimination to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)?

Warnings are generally required before custodial interrogation: the right to remain silent, that statements can be used in court, the right to counsel, and appointed counsel if indigent. Arrest alone is not the trigger; custody plus interrogation is. Practice: a volunteered statement without questioning is different from police interrogation.

What rights does the Sixth Amendment provide?

Speedy/public trial, impartial jury, notice of accusations, confrontation of witnesses, compulsory process, and assistance of counsel.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)?

Facts: an indigent Florida defendant charged with a felony was denied appointed counsel. Holding: states must appoint counsel for indigent felony defendants under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. Later cases extended protection to cases involving actual imprisonment; do not read Gideon as a right to a free lawyer in every civil dispute.

Jury trial vs. bench trial?

A jury trial is decided by jurors; a bench trial is decided by a judge.

What does the Eighth Amendment prohibit?

Excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments.

What did the Thirteenth Amendment do?

Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime after conviction.

United States v. Kozminski (1988)?

The Court narrowly interpreted involuntary servitude under the criminal statutes then at issue, focusing on physical or legal coercion. Congress later broadened federal protections against forced labor and trafficking.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)?

Connecticut criminalized contraceptive use by married couples. The Court invalidated the law, finding marital privacy in the penumbras of specific Bill of Rights guarantees, including the First, Third, Fourth, and Fifth; the Ninth also figured in the opinions. Significance: protection for an unenumerated privacy right.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022)?

The Court held that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion and overruled Roe and Casey. Regulation was returned primarily to elected governments, subject to other constitutional limitations.

What does "deeply rooted" mean in substantive due process?

The Court has asked whether an asserted unenumerated right is deeply rooted in the nation's history and tradition and implicit in ordered liberty.

What does the Equal Protection Clause do?

The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from denying people equal protection of the laws.

What is rational-basis review?

The government classification must be rationally related to a legitimate government interest. Usually applies to age, disability, wealth, and economic classifications when no other heightened-scrutiny trigger applies. Notes case: Murgia upheld mandatory police retirement at 50 under this deferential test.

What is intermediate scrutiny?

For sex classifications, government must show an important objective and means substantially related to achieving it; unsupported stereotypes are insufficient. Practice: a state excluding women from a program cannot justify its rule merely by asserting traditional gender roles.

What is strict scrutiny?

Government must show a compelling interest and a narrowly tailored means. Race and national-origin classifications generally trigger it, including race-based preferences; burdens on certain fundamental rights also receive demanding review. Notes case: SFFA rejected the challenged university admissions programs under the applicable constitutional/statutory standards.

Reed v. Reed (1971)?

Idaho automatically preferred men over women as estate administrators. The Court held that the sex-based preference violated Equal Protection.