Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Vocab

4th Amendment

Part of the BOR that reads: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and not Warrants shall Issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized."

6th Amendment

Part of the BOR that sets out the basic requirements of procedural due process for federal courts to follow in criminal trials. These include juries, trials in the state where crime committed, notice of the chafes, the right to confront and obtain favorable witnesses, and the right to counsel

8th Amendment

"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

9th Amendment

Part of the BOR that makes clear that enumerating rights in the constitution doesn't mean that others don't exist

10th Amendment

Part of the BOR that defines the basic principle of American federalism in stating that the powers not delegated to the National gov. are reserved to the states or people

Bill of Attainer

A law declaring an act illegal without judicial attainder trial

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Rights Constitution, which largely guarantee specific rights and liberties

Civil Liberties

The personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge by law, constitution, or judicial interpretation.

Civil Rights

The government-protected rights of individuals against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by gov.s or individuals

Clear and Present Danger Test

Test articulated by the supreme court in Schenck v. US (1919) to draw the line between protected and unprotected speeches; the court looks to see "whether the words used" could "create a clear and present danger that they will bring about substantive evils" that congress "to prevent."

Direct Incitement Test

Test articulated by the Supreme Court in Incitement Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) that hold that Test advocacy of illegal action is protected by the First Amendment unless imminent lawless action is intended and likely to occur.

Double Jeopardy Clause

Part of 5th Amendment that protects individuals from being tried twice for the same offense in the same jurisdiction

Due Process Clause

Clause contained in the 5th amendments; over the years, it has been constructed to guarantee to individuals a variety of rights

Establishment Clause

The first clause of the First Amendment, it directs the national government not to sanction an official religion

Exclusionary Rule

Judicially created rule that prohibits police from using illegally seized evidence at trial

Ex post facto law

Law that makes an act punishable as a crime even if the action was legal at the time it was committed

Fighting Words

Words that, "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of peace," these aren’t subject to the restrictions of the first amendment.

1st Amendment

Part of the BOR that imposes a number of restrictions on the federal gov. with respect to civil liberties, including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition

Free Exercise Clause

The second clause of the 1st amendment; it prohibits the U.S. government from interfering with a citizen's right to practice his or her religion

Fundamental Freedoms

Those rights defined by the court to be essential to order, liberty, and Justice and therefore entitled to the highest standard of review

Incorporation Doctrine

Interpretation of the Constitution that holds that the due process clause of the 14th amendment requires that state and local gov.s must also guarantee the rights stated in the BOR

Lemon Test

Three part test created by the supreme court for examining the constitutionality of religious establishment issues

Libel

Written statement that defames a person's character

Miranda rights

Statements that must be made by the police rights informing a suspect of his or her constitutional rights protected by the 5th Amendment, including the rights to an attorney provided by the kurt if the suspect cannot afford one.

Miranda V. Arizona

Landmark Supreme Court ruling that held the 5th Amendment required that individuals arrested for a come must be Arizona advised of their right to remain silent and to have counsel present.

NYT CO. V. Sullivan

Case in which the SC concluded that "actual malice" must be proven to support a finding of line against a public figure.

Prior Restraint

Constitutional doctrine that prevents the government from prohibiting speech or publication before the fact; generally held to be violation of the first amendment.

Right to Privacy

The right to be left alone; a judicially created principle encompassing variety of individual actions protected by the penumbras cast by several constitutional amendments, including the First, Third, Fourth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments

Roe v. Wade

The supreme court found that a woman's right to privacy that could be implied from specific guarantees found in BOR applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment

Selective Incorporation

A judicial doctrine where most but not all of the protections found in the BOR are made applicable to the states via the 14th Amendment.

Slander

Untrue spoken statements that defame the character of a person

Substantive Due Process

Judicial interpretation of the 5th and 14th amendments' due process clauses that protects citizens from arbitrary or unjust state or federal laws

Symbolic Speech

Symbols, signs, and other methods of expression generally considered to be protected by the First Amendment

Writs of Habeas Corpus

Court orders in which a judge requires authorities to prove that a prisoner is being held lawfully and allow the prisoner to be freed if the judge is not persuaded by the gov's case. The rights imply that a prisoners have a right to know what chargers are being made against them.