Civil Rights & Liberties Key Court Cases and Concepts (Test 2)

This set of flashcards covers key court cases, concepts, and legal standards related to civil rights and liberties in the United States.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Established 'separate but equal' doctrine; upheld racial segregation on railroads; dissent by Justice Harlan argued the Constitution is color-blind.

Lochner v. New York (1905)

Struck down NY labor law, established 'liberty of contract' under the 14th Amendment, which would began the ______ Era (____ - 1937).

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Upheld Espionage Act; Holmes created the 'Clear and Present Danger Test'; speech distributing anti-draft pamphlets during WWI not protected.

Whitney v. California (1927)

Upheld Criminal Syndicalism conviction; Brandeis concurrence defended robust free speech; later overruled by Brandenburg.

Buck v. Bell (1927)

Upheld compulsory sterilization of intellectually disabled; Holmes: 'Three generations of imbeciles are enough'; widely condemned.

Near v. Minnesota (1931)

Struck down Minnesota Gag Rule; established no prior restraint principle; first case incorporating press freedoms against states.

US v. Carolene Products (1938)

Established Rational Basis Test for economic laws; Footnote 4 suggested stricter review for laws targeting discrete and insular minorities.

Strict Scrutiny

Standard for suspect classifications (race, national origin) and fundamental rights; requires compelling government interest and least restrictive means.

Intermediate Scrutiny

Standard for quasi-suspect classifications like gender; requires important government interest substantially related to achieving it.

Rational Basis Test

Standard for economic legislation; requires only a legitimate government interest rationally related to the law.

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

Upheld Japanese-American internment during WWII; Justice Black majority; relied on military necessity; later formally repudiated.

West Virginia v. Barnette (1943)

Struck down compulsory flag salute; government cannot compel speech or belief; Justice Jackson majority; Justices Black and Douglas concurred.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Overruled Plessy; 'separate but equal is inherently unequal'; Chief Justice Warren unanimous opinion; desegregated public schools.

Bolling v. Sharpe (1954)

Applied desegregation to Washington DC using the 5th Amendment's Due Process clause; reverse incorporation.

Brown II (1955)

Directed desegregation to proceed 'with all deliberate speed'; gave implementation authority to local courts and school boards.

Cooper v. Aaron (1958)

Arkansas must comply with Brown; Supremacy Clause + Marbury v. Madison = Supreme Court rulings are supreme law; states cannot nullify Court decisions.

Engle v. Vitale (1962)

Struck down New York's school prayer as violation of Establishment Clause; written by Hugo Black; government cannot compose official prayers.

Sherbert v. Verner (1963)

State cannot deny unemployment benefits to Seventh-day Adventist for refusing Saturday work; Free Exercise Clause protection.

NY Times v. Sullivan (1964)

Actual malice standard for defamation by public officials; must show knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for truth; expands press freedom.

Duncan v. Louisiana (1968)

6th Amendment right to jury trial in criminal cases incorporated against states via 14th Amendment.

Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

Current free speech standard; speech protected unless directed at and likely to produce IMMINENT lawless action; overruled Schenck, Dennis, Whitney.

Selective Incorporation

Process by which provisions of the Bill of Rights are applied to states through the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause on a case-by-case basis.

Total Incorporation

Hugo Black's doctrine that ALL provisions of the Bill of Rights are incorporated against the states through the 14th Amendment.

Espionage Act of 1917

Made it a crime to interfere with military recruitment or make false statements about the military during wartime; used to suppress WWI dissent.

Sedition Act of 1918

Extended Espionage Act; criminalized disloyal or abusive language about the government, Constitution, or military; repealed in 1920.

Clear and Present Danger Test

Schenck v. US (1919) test for limiting free speech; speech loses protection if it creates a clear and present danger of illegal action.

Imminent Lawless Action Test

Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) current standard; speech only loses protection if directed at and likely to produce IMMINENT lawless action.

Lochner Era

1905-1937 period when the Supreme Court struck down labor regulation as violating 'liberty of contract' under the 14th Amendment.

Hugo Black

Associate Justice 1937-1971; absolutist/textualist philosophy; championed total incorporation and absolute First Amendment; author of Engle v. Vitale and Korematsu majority.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the South (de jure); period 1880s-1960s; covered nearly all public life.

De Jure vs. De Facto Segregation

De Jure: By law (South)

De Facto: In practice without legal mandate (North).

14th Amendment

Grants citizenship; guarantees due process and equal protection of the laws; mechanism for incorporating Bill of Rights against states.

Establishment Clause

First Amendment clause prohibiting government from making laws 'respecting an establishment of religion'; basis for separation of church and state.

Free Exercise Clause

First Amendment clause prohibiting government from preventing the free exercise of religion.

Actual Malice Standard

NY Times v. Sullivan standard; public officials must prove defendant knew a statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for truth to win libel suit.

Prior Restraint

Government suppression of publication before it occurs; presumptively unconstitutional since Near v. Minnesota (1931).

Carolene Products (4)

Famous footnote suggesting courts should apply stricter scrutiny to laws targeting discrete and insular minorities; foundation for tiered scrutiny.

State Action Doctrine

14th Amendment's Equal Protection only restrains government (state) action, not private individuals (Civil Rights Cases, 1883).

Restrictive Covenants

Private agreements prohibiting sale of property to racial minorities; cannot be enforced by courts per Shelley v. Kraemer (1948).

Warren Court Era

1953-1969; Chief Justice Earl Warren; dramatic expansion of civil rights and civil liberties; Brown, Engle, Miranda, Brandenburg, etc.