Unit 3: Civil Rights & Civil Liberties

14th amendment

citizenship clause- anyone born in US is a citizen and guaranteed:

Due process of law

Equal protection under law

Privileges and immunities

(Don't

Eat

Peas!)

civil disobedience

Opposing a law one considers unjust by peacefully disobeying it an accepting the resultant punishment

Used during Civil Rights Movement such as sit ins

clear and present danger test

limit on free speech (1st amendment)

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

set by Schneck v US

double jeopardy

5th amendment prevents in- cannot be tried twice for same crime

substantive due process

mainly in 14 amendment; due process interpretation that protects citizens from unjust laws; the content of laws must treat all equally an not discriminate

procedural due process

Constitutional requirement that governments proceed by proper methods; when laws are implemented and carried out the process must not discriminate against people

eminent domain

protected by 5th amendment

government cannot take your property without compensation

establishment clause

1st amendment- freedom of religion

Government can not create an official religion or advance one over other- separation of church and state

free exercise clause

1st amendment- freedom of religion

prevents gov from interfering with citizens' religious rights and how they practice their religion

exclusionary rule

evidence illegally seized by a federal official cannot be used in federal court

Established for federal govt by Weeks v US

Incorporated to the states in Mapp v Ohio

selective incorporation

not all protections in Bill of Rights are necessarily made applicable to the states via the 14 amendment; must be done case-by-case basis

libel

written statements that defame someone

is unprotected speech

miranda rights

when arrested a person must be informed of their rights- established by Miranda v AZ

right to remain silent, anything said can be held against them, an attorney will be appointed if they can't afford

prior restraint

Censorship imposed before a speech is made or a newspaper is published; usually presumed to be unconstitutional.

(NYT v. US and Near v. MN)

probable cause

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

right to privacy

not officially in Constitution by implied by 3rd, 4th, 9th amendments

upheld by Griswold v CT

slander

spoken defamation

unprotected spech

symbolic speech

Nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband

protected by 1st amendment

(Tinker v DesMoines and TX v Johnson)

wall of separation

refers to division between church and state- seen in the establishment clause

writ of habeas corpus

A court order requiring police officials to produce an individual held in custody and show sufficient cause for that person's detention.

Affirmative Action

Remedial action designed to overcome the effects of discrimination against minorities and women.

Upheld by courts but you cannot have specific quotas

(Bakke v. U of CA and Grutter v Bollinger)

de facto segregation

Segregation that is based on society/culture-

such as residential patterns and is not imposed by law

de jure segregation

segregation that is mandated by law and imposed by the government

intermediate scrutiny

the test used by the Supreme Court in gender discrimination cases; places the burden of proof partially on the government and partially on the challengers to show that the law in question is constitutional

minority-majority district

district where minority groups make up the majority of the population in the district

created so that minority groups receive representation in government

strict scrutiny

A Supreme Court test to see if a law denies equal protection because it does not serve a compelling state interest and is not narrowly tailored to achieve that goal

suspect classifications

classifications of people on the basis of their race or ethnicity

will automatically be subjected to strict scrutiny

white primary

primary election in which Southern states allowed only whites to

made illegal due to Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act

Civil Liberties

Constitutional freedoms guaranteed to all citizens

Protections FROM the government; Bill of Rights

5th amendment- due process applies protections from national government

14th amendment- due process clause applies protections from state governments

Civil Rights

Policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals.

Protections BY the government; laws, court decisions

14th amendment- equal protection clause

secular

Non-religious

time, place, and manner restrictions

regulations regarding when, where, or how expression may occur; must be content neutral

Defamation

Act of harming or ruining another's reputation

Obscenity

Quality or state of a work that taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest in sex by depicting sexual conduct in a patently offensive way and that lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Non-protected speech although it is a hard to win in court

hate speech

any communication that belittles a person or group on the basis of characteristics

It is protected UNLESS it incites violence (fighting words doctrine)

dealth penalty

the legal punishment of death for a crime; is not considered cruel & unusual in most cases

cannot be used for minors or people with mental disabilities

must be used with consistent standards

cruel and unusual punishment

Court sentences prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. Although the Supreme Court has ruled that mandatory death sentences for certain offenses are unconstitutional, it has not held that the death penalty itself constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

compelling state interest

a fundamental state purpose, which must be shown before the law can limit some freedoms or treat some groups of people differently

search warrant

A court order allowing law enforcement officers to search a suspect's home or business and take specific items as evidence

rational basis test

The lowest-level standard used by the Supreme Court to determine whether a law is compatible with the Constitution. A law subject to this standard is assumed to be constitutional as long as its goals are clearly linked to its means.

age, income level

Civil Rights Movement

a social movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s, in which people organized to demand equal rights for African Americans and other minorities. People worked together to change unfair laws. They gave speeches, marched in the streets, and participated in boycotts.

self-incrimination

The situation occurring when an individual accused of a crime is compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in court. The Fifth Amendment forbids self-incrimination.

National Organization for Women

Founded in 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) called for equal employment opportunity and equal pay for women. NOW also championed the legalization of abortion and passage of an equal rights amendment to the Constitution.

Equal Rights Amendment

A constitutional amendment originally introduced in Congress in 1923 and passed by Congress in 1972, stating that "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." Despite public support, the amendment failed to acquire the necessary support from three-fourths of the state legislatures.

pro-life

Term commonly used to identify individuals and organizations that oppose abortion and other affronts to human dignity.

pro-choice

against banning abortion; a woman should have the right/freedom to choose to abort or not abort her baby.

Equal Protection Clause

14th amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination