Studied by 0 peopleCivil Liberties
fundamental rights and freedoms protected from infringement by the government
civil rights
protections from discrimination as a member of a particular group based on race, religion, or sex (ensuring equal treatment under the law).
Bill of Rights
a list of fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals possess. The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution are referred to as the Bill of Rights.
Due Process Clause
the clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that restricts state governments from denying citizens their life, liberty, or property without legal safeguards
selective incorporation
The process by which provisions of the Bill of Rights are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and local governments.
1st Amendment
Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition
2nd Amendment
Right to bear arms
3rd Amendment
Right to not have to quarter Soldiers
4th Amendment
Protection against Unreasonable Search and Seizure, warrent needed.
5th Amendment
The Right to Remain Silent/Double Jeopardy, right to due process
6th Amendment
The right to a Speedy Trial by impartial jury, representation by an attorney for an accused person
7th Amendment
Right to a trial by jury in civil cases
8th Amendment
protection against excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment
Establishment Clause
First Amendment protection against the government requiring citizens to join or support a religion
Free Exercise Clause
First Amendment protection of the rights of individuals to exercise and express their religious beliefs
freedom of expression
a fundamental right affirmed in the First Amendment to speak, publish, and protest
clear and present danger test
legal standard that speech posing an immediate and serious threat to national security is not protected by the First Amendment
prior restraint
the suppression of material prior to publication on the grounds that it might endanger national security (when gov censors material before it is published).
symbolic speech
protected expression in the form of images, signs, and other symbols
Libel
an untrue WRITTEN statement that injures a person's reputation
Slander
an untrue SPOKEN expression that injures a person's reputation
obsenity and pornography
words, images, or videos that depict sexual activity in an offensive manner and that lack an artistic merit (court upheld restrictions but it is hard to define).
ex post facto laws
laws criminalizing conduct that was legal at the time it occurred (prohibited in article 1)
bill of attainder
a law passed by Congress punishing an individual without a trial (prohibited in article 1)
writ of habeas corpus
a document setting out reasons for an arrest or detention (article 1 establishes the right to demand).
Procedural Due Process
a judicial standard requiring that fairness be applied to all individuals equally (most standards have been applied to the states through selective incorporation).
warrant
a document issued by a judge authorizing a search
probable cause
reasonable belief that a crime has been committed or that there is evidence of criminal activity
exclusionary rule
a rule that evidence obtained without a warrant is not valid in court.
grand jury
a group of citizens who, based on the evidence presented to them, decide whether or not a person should be indicted on criminal charges and subsequently tried in court
double jeopardy
protects an individual acquitted of a crime from being charged with the same crime again in the same jurisdiction
Miranda Rights/Warning
the right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning; these rights must be given by police to individuals suspected of criminal activity
bail
A sum of money used as a security deposit to ensure that an accused person returns for his or her trial
13th Amendment
an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1865, that has abolished slavery.
14th Amendment
an amendment to the constitution passed in 1868 granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and placing restrictions on stage laws that sought to abridge these privileges and immunities.
Equal Protection Clause
14th amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination
15th Amendment
an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1870, that prohibits the denial of voting rights to people because of their race or color or because they have previously been slaves
seperate but equal
the doctrine that racial segregation was constitutional so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal
Affirmative Action
a policy designed to address the consequences of previous discrimination by providing special consideration to individuals based upon their characteristics, such as race or gender
de jure segregation
the separation of individuals based on their characteristics, such as race, intentionally and by law
de facto segregation
a separation of individuals based on characteristics that arises not by law but because of other factors, such as residential housing patterns
Civil Disobedience
the intentional refusal to obey a law to call attention to its injustice
Civil Rights Act
(1964) legislation outlawing racial segregation in schools and public places and authorizing the attorney general to sue individual districts that fail to desegregate.
Voting Rights Act
(1965) legislation outlawing literacy tests and authorizing the justice department to send federal officers to register voters uncooperative cities, counties, and states.
19th Amendment
(1920) gave women the right to vote
Title IX of Education Amendments act of 1972
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance
Civil Rights Movement
movement in the United States beginning in the 1960s and led primarily by Blacks in an effort to establish the civil rights of individual Black citizens
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
death penalty
The punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime
Defamation
the action of damaging the good reputation of someone; slander or libel.
eminent domain
Power of a government to take private property for public use.
Grandfather Clause
A clause in registration laws allowing people who do not meet registration requirements to vote if they or their ancestors had voted before 1867.
hate speech
a form of profanity meant to degrade, intimidate, or dehumanize groups of people
indictment
a formal charge or accusation of a serious crime
injunction
an authoritative command or order
Jim Crow Laws
Laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites
majority-minority districts
a district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district
Natinal Organization for Women
USA Patriot Act
Anti Terrorism law that allowed the government certain rights to help chase and capture terrorists
poll tax
A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote (used to keep blacks from voting)
prior-choice movement
pro-life movement
a movement whose followers believe that abortion is murder and should not be conducted under any circumstances (or under limited circumstances involving the physical health of the mother)
public safety exception
Exception to Miranda requirements that permits police to immediately question a suspect in custody without providing any warnings, when public safety would be jeopardized by their taking the time to supply the warnings.
racial classification
the attempt to assign humans to discrete categories based on common ancestry
racial gerrymandering
drawing of legislative boundaries to give electoral advantages to a particular racial group. "Majority-minority" districts include large numbers of racial minorities in order to ensure minority representation in legislatures.
right to privacy
The right to a private personal life free from the intrusion of government.
Secular
Concerned with worldly rather than spiritual matters
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
time, place, and manner restrictions
Government regulations that place restrictions on free speech. These regulations, specifying when, where, and in what way speech is allowed, are applied when unrestricted free speech will conflict with the rights of others.
USA Freedom Act
A 2015 law that came into effect the day after the USA PATRIOT Act expired. This act restored many provision of the PATRIOT Act but limited the collection of telecommunication metadata of citizens by the National Security Agency.
Women's Rights Movement
an organized effort to improve political, legal and economic status of women in American society
Schenck v. United States
1919--Case involving limits on free speech. Established the "clear and present danger" principle. (in times of war more things are a clear and present danger)
McDonald v. Chicago
The right of an individual to "keep and bear arms" protected by the 2nd Amendment is incorporated by the due process clause of the 14th Amendment and applies to the states. (2010)
Brown v. Board of Education
1954 - The Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson (separate but equal), declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated.
Tinker v. Des Moines
U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld a student's First Amendment right to engage in symbolic speech in school as long as it is not disruptive. (1969)
Engel v. Vitale
The 1962 Supreme Court decision holding that state officials violated the First Amendment (establishment clause) when they wrote a prayer to be recited by New York's schoolchildren.
Wisconsin v. Yoder
Amish children do not have to go to school until they are 16---they may stop after the 8th grade because of their religious beliefs. (1972)
New York Times v. US
Supreme Court case protecting the freedom of the press by allowing the New York Times to publish the "Pentagon Papers" despite the Justice Department's order to restrict it
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. (1963)
While a right to privacy is not explicitly named in the Constitution, what clause has the court used to protect this right from state infringement?
The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
Tinker v. Des Moines
Note
Flashcard