Gov 3/13

First Amendment – Protects freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition.

Fourth Amendment – Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Fifth Amendment – Protects against self-incrimination and double jeopardy; guarantees due process.

Sixth Amendment – Guarantees the right to a fair trial, legal counsel, and an impartial jury.

Fourteenth Amendment – Grants citizenship and equal protection under the law.

Majority Opinion – The official ruling of a court case, representing the view of most justices.

Dissenting Opinion – A statement written by justices who disagree with the majority.

Due Process – Legal requirement that the state must respect all legal rights of a person.

Exclusionary Rule – Prevents illegally obtained evidence from being used in court.

Texas v. Johnson (1989) – Flag burning is protected speech under the First Amendment.

Schenck v. US (1919) – Speech creating a “clear and present danger” is not protected (WWI protest case).

Engel v. Vitale (1962) – School-led prayer is unconstitutional.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) – Students have free speech rights in schools (black armbands protest case).

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988) – Schools can censor student newspapers.

Mapp v. Ohio (1961) – Evidence obtained illegally cannot be used in court (exclusionary rule).

New Jersey v. TLO (1984) – Schools can search students with reasonable suspicion.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) – Declared that enslaved people were not citizens.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966) – Required police to inform suspects of their rights (Miranda Rights).

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) – Guaranteed a right to a lawyer for defendants who cannot afford one.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – Upheld segregation (“separate but equal”).

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – Overturned Plessy; ruled segregation unconstitutional in schools.