AP Gov Unit 3 (Chapter 8 & 9)

UNIT 3: CIVIL LIBERTIES AND CIVIL RIGHTS

1. Bill of Rights - consists of the first ten Amendments to the Constitution, which enumerate the liberties and rights of individuals, and is specifically designed to protect individual liberties and rights ; application of the Bill of Rights is continuously interpreted by the courts

2. Civil liberties -  constitutionally established guarantees and freedoms that protect citizens, opinions, and property against arbitrary government interference

3. Civil rights - protect individuals from discrimination based on characteristics such as race, national origin, religion, and sex; these rights are guaranteed to all persons under the due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution, as well as acts of Congress.

4. First Amendment - government power to make law and an individual’s right to religious freedom through the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause ; freedom of speech ; freedom of the press

5. Second Amendment - right to bear arms

6. Fourth Amendment - the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures

7. Fifth Amendment - due process clause in the Fifth Amendment applies to the national government

8. Sixth Amendment - the right to legal counsel, speedy and public trial, and an impartial jury

9. Eighth Amendment - cruel and unusual punishment ; Supreme Court interpretations of the Eighth Amendment have applied to death penalty statutes

10. Ninth Amendment - states that individuals have protected rights beyond those listed in the first eight amendments ; some argue it provides support for the existence of unenumerated rights

11. Fourteenth Amendment - Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause as applied to the states ; granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., including formerly enslaved people

12. Establishment clause - prohibits the establishment of an official religion by the government

13. Free exercise clause - guarantees freedom of conscience and prohibits the government from interfering in religious belief

14. Symbolic speech - nonverbal action that communicates an idea or belief

15. Time, place, manner -  regulations that impose restrictions such as limits on the time of day an event can be held, limits on where an event can be held, and limits on the noise levels at an event

16. Obscenity - speech that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time and society

17. Defamation - language that harms the reputation of another

18. Libel - written communication of defamation

19. Slander - oral communication of slander

20. Clear and present danger -  speech can be limited when it is shown to present a danger to public safety

21. Prior restraint - ; Supreme Court has affirmed support for a heavy presumption against prior restraint even in cases involving national security

22. Selective incorporation - doctrine that imposed limitations on state regulation of civil liberties by extending select protections of the Bill of Rights to the states through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

23. Due process - state that the government may not infringe on a person’s right to life, liberty, or property without due process of law

24. Procedural due process -  requires that government officials use methods that are not arbitrary when making and carrying out decisions affecting constitutionally protected rights ; procedural due process protections are reinforced by key protections enshrined in other provisions of the Bill of Rights and key legal doctrines established by the Supreme Court

25. Miranda rule -  requires accused persons to be informed of some procedural protections found in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments prior to interrogation

26. Public safety exception -  allows unwarned interrogation to stand as direct evidence in court

27. Patriot Act - congressional legislation enacted in the wake of 9/11 designed to expand surveillance abilities of law enforcement, facilitate interagency communication, and increase penalties of acts of terrorism

28. USA Freedom Act - congressional legislation intended to limit bulk collection of telecommunication metadata on U.S. citizens by American intelligence agencies and end secret laws of FISA courts

29. Exclusionary rule - stipulates that evidence illegally seized by law enforcement officers in violation of the suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights (including the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures) cannot be used against that suspect in criminal prosecution

30. Substantive due process - used by the Supreme Court to examine whether government laws and actions are arbitrary infringements of individual rights

31. Unenumerated rights - recognized constitutionally protected rights that are not explicitly listed in the Bill of Rights ;  include the right to privacy

32. Right to privacy - a recognized constitutionally protected right not explicitly named in the Constitution ; interpreted by the Supreme Court to be granted by the Due Process clause in Griswold v. Connecticut

33. Griswold v. Connecticut - the Supreme Court interpreted the due process clause to protect the right of privacy from government infringement

34. Roe v Wade - the Supreme Court held that the application of substantive due process further extended the privacy right to abortion

35. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization - overturned Roe v. Wade, holding that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, leaving decisions about the regulation of abortion to legislatures

36. Civil Rights Movement - a nonviolent social movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United States

37. Letter from Birmingham Jail - a letter by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stating people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and take direct action instead of waiting for social and racial justice through the court system ; “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

38. Women’s Rights Movement - a nonviolent social movement and campaign during the 1960s and 1970s to address gender equality and discrimination with a focus on equal employment and pay, reproductive rights, and discrimination in employment and education

39. National Organization of Women (NOW) - a feminist organization which lobbies for gender equality

40. LGBTQ rights - political and social rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender individuals ; gains have been made for same-sex activities and behaviors, same-sex marriage, and discrimination in employment ; opposition to transgender and gender identity continues 

41. Pro-life movement - an anti-abortion movement based on moral and religious grounds supporting legal restrictions and prohibitions on abortions with many believing life begins at conception

42. Pro-choice movement - a movement supporting the view that women should have the legal right to an elective abortion based on a recognized right to privacy

43. Brown v. Board of Education - declared that race-based school segregation violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause ; overturned Plessy v. Ferguson

44. Civil Rights Act of 1964 -  prohibits discrimination in public places, provides for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and makes employment discrimination illegal

45. Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 - prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance

46. Voting Rights Act of 1965 - prohibits racial discrimination in voting

47. Separate but equal doctrine - State laws and Supreme Court decisions restricting African American access to the same restaurants, hotels, schools, etc., as the majority white population

48. Majority-minority districting - drawing an electoral district in which the majority of constituents are racial or ethnic minorities

49. Affirmative Action - policies intended to address workplace and educational disparities related to race, ethnic origin, gender, disability, and age ; Supreme Court debate has focused on whether affirmative action is protected by the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution