AP Gov ch.4 Mariana Sanchez-Monke Flashcards
Abraham Lincoln
an American statesman, politician, and lawyer who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War, its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis.
Abolitionists
a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery.
The Alien and Sedition Acts
four laws passed by the Federalist-dominated 5th United States Congress and signed into law by President John Adams in 1798.
Bill of attainder
an act of a legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them, often without a trial.
Bill Of Rights
the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, ratified in 1791 and guaranteeing such rights as the freedoms of speech, assembly, and worship.
Black Lives Matter (BLM)
an international activist movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards black people.
Burger Court
refers to the Supreme Court of the United States from 1969 to 1986, when Warren Burger served as Chief Justice of the United States.
Capital cases
a prosecution case for murder in which a jury is asked to decide whether a defendant should be put to death, if found guilty. A prosecutor must charge special circumstances in order to sentence a defendant to death.
Civil liberties
the state of being subject only to laws established for the good of the community, especially with regard to freedom of action and speech.
Civil rights
the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality.
Clear and present danger test
a doctrine adopted by the Supreme Court of the United States to determine under what circumstances limits can be placed on First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, or assembly.
DeJonge v. Oregon (1937)
a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause applies to freedom of assembly.
Direct incitement test
that holds that advocacy of illegal action is protected by the 1st amendment unless imminent lawless action is intended and likely to occur.
Double jeopardy clause
bars second prosecutions after either acquittal or conviction, and prohibits multiple punishments for the same offense.
Due process rights
the legal requirement that the state must respect all legal rights that are owed to a person. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual person from it.
Earl Warren
an American jurist and politician who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States and earlier as the 30th Governor of California
Eighth Amendment
the section of the Bill of Rights that states that that punishments must be fair, cannot be cruel, and that fines that are extraordinarily large cannot be set.
Eighteenth Amendment
established the prohibition of “intoxicating liquors” in the United States. The amendment was proposed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and was ratified by the requisite number of states on January 16, 1919.
Espionage Act
a United States federal law passed on June 15, 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code but is now found under Title 18, Crime.
Establishment clause
the clause in the First Amendment of the US Constitution that prohibits the establishment of religion by Congress.
Exclusionary rule
a law that prohibits the use of illegally obtained evidence in a criminal trial.
Ex post facto law
a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions that were committed, or relationships that existed before the enactment of the law.
First Amendment
an amendment to the US Constitution that prohibits any law limiting freedom with respect to religion, expression, peaceful assembly, or the right of citizens to petition the government.
Fourth Amendment
part of the Bill of Rights that was added to the Constitution on December 15, 1791. It protects people from unlawful searches and seizures. This means that the police can’t search you or your house without a warrant or probable cause. From the Constitution.
Fourteenth Amendment
ratified in 1868, defining national citizenship and forbidding the states to restrict the basic rights of citizens or other persons.
Fifth Amendment
an amendment to the US Constitution that contains a number of provisions relating to criminal law, including guarantees of due process and of the right to refuse to answer questions in order to avoid incriminating oneself.
Fighting words
are written or spoken words intended to incite hatred or violence from their target.
Free exercise clause
he section of the First Amendment italicized here: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
Fundamental freedoms
freedom of expression,freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of belief,freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association.
Gitlow v. New York (1925)
a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution had extended the reach of certain limitations on federal government authority set forth in the First Amendment
Grand jury
a jury, typically of twenty-three people, selected to examine the validity of an accusation before trial.
Hate speech
abusive or threatening speech or writing that expresses prejudice against a particular group, especially on the basis of race, religion, or sexual orientation.
Incorporation doctrine
a constitutional doctrine through which the first ten amendments of the United States Constitution (known as the Bill of Rights) are made applicable to the states through the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Lemon test
the process of determining as to when a law has the effect of establishing religion
Libel
a published false statement that is damaging to a person’s reputation; a written defamation
Miranda rights
the rights (as the right to remain silent, to have an attorney present, and to have an attorney appointed if indigent) of which an arresting officer must advise the person being arrested
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
the Supreme Court ruled that detained criminal suspects, prior to police questioning, must be informed of their constitutional right to an attorney and against self-incrimination. Miranda appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reviewed the case in 1966.
Miller v. California (1973
a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court wherein the court redefined its definition of obscenity from that of “utterly without socially redeeming value” to that which lacks “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value”
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)
a landmark United States Supreme Court case that established the actual malice standard that must be met for press reports about public officials to be considered libel. The decision defended free reporting of the civil rights campaigns in the southern United States.
New York Times Co. v. US (1971)
a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the First Amendment. The ruling made it possible for The New York Times and The Washington Post newspapers to publish the then-classified Pentagon Papers without risk of government censorship or punishment.
Ninth Amendment
addresses rights, retained by the people, that are not specifically enumerated in the Constitution. It is part of the Bill of Rights.
Occupy Wall Street
a left-wing protest movement that began on September 17, 2011, in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City’s Wall Street financial district, against economic inequality. The Canadian anti-consumerist and pro-environment group/magazine Adbusters initiated the call for a protest
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992)
a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the constitutionality of several Pennsylvania state statutory provisions regarding abortion was challenged.
Prior restraint
censorship imposed, usually by a government or institution, on expression, that prohibits particular instances of expression.
Right to privacy
an element of various legal traditions to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 150 national constitutions mention the right to privacy.
Roe v. Wade (1973)
established a woman’s right to have an abortion without undue restrictive interference from the government. The Court held that a woman’s right to decide for herself to bring or not bring a pregnancy to term is guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Sedition laws
overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition Often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent towards, or resistance against established authority.
Selective incorporation
a constitutional doctrine that ensures states cannot enact laws that take away the constitutional rights of American citizens that are enshrined in the Bill of Rights
September 11th
a group of Islamic terrorists, widely believed to be part of the Al Qaeda network, hijacked three commercial airliners in midair, took over the controls, and deliberately crashed them into the Pentagon and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
Sixth Amendment
sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions. It was ratified in 1791 as part of the United States Bill of Rights.
Slander
the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation.
Substantive due process
a principle allowing courts to protect certain fundamental rights from government interference, even if procedural protections are present or the rights are not specifically mentioned elsewhere in the US Constitution.
Symbolic speech
a legal term in United States law used to describe actions that purposefully and discernibly convey a particular message or statement to those viewing it.
Tenth Amendment
the section of the Bill of Rights that basically says that any power that is not given to the federal government is given to the people or the states.
The Crown v. Zenger (1735)
Despite the instruction, the jury, after a brief deliberation, found Zenger “not guilty” of publishing seditious libel. … He returned to his printing business and published an account of his trial. It is important to note that the Zenger case did not establish legal precedent in seditious libel or freedom of the press.
Undue burden test
the legal standard that courts use to determine whether an abortion restriction violates the Constitution.
the legal standard that courts use to determine whether an abortion restriction violates the Constitution.
Warren Court
Warren was succeeded as Chief Justice by Warren Burger.Warren led a liberal majority that used judicial power in dramatic fashion, to the consternation of conservative opponents. TheWarren Court expanded civil rights, civil liberties, judicial power, and the federal power in dramatic ways.
Warren E. Burger
the judge who presides over a supreme court. WhenWarren retired, Nixon’s choice to replace him was the vain but lightweight Warren E.
Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt (2016)
is a landmark United States Supreme Court case decided on June 27, 2016. The Court ruled 5–3 that Texas cannot place restrictions on the delivery of abortion services that create an undue burden for women seeking an abortion.
Writ of habeas corpus
a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, to bring the prisoner to court, to determine whether the detention is lawful
