AP gov Chapter 4 Vocab

Question 0

Bill of rights

Answer 0

The first 10 amendments to the US constitution, which define such basic liberties as freedom of religion. Speech , press and guarantee defendants rights.

Question 1

Civil liberties

Answer 1

The legal constitutional protections against government. Although our civil liberties are formally set down in the bill of rights.

Question 2

First amendment

Answer 2

The constitutional amendment that establishes the four great liberties, freedom of press,speech,assembly and petition.

Question 3

Barron v. Baltimore

Answer 3

the 1833 supreme court decision holding that the Bill of Rights restrained only the national government and not the states and cities.

Question 4

Gitlow v. New York

Answer 4

The 1925 supreme court decision holding that freedoms of press and speech are “fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment from impairment by the “states” as well as by the federal government.

Question 5

fourteenth amendment

Answer 5

the constitutional amendment adopted after the civil war that states , “no state shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the united states. nor shall any state deprive any person of life,liberty,or property, without due process or law, or deny to any person within its own jurisdiction the equal protection of laws.”

Question 6

due process clause

Answer 6

part of the fourteenth amendment guaranteeing that persons cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property, by the united states or state governments without due process of law.

Question 7

incorporation doctrine

Answer 7

the legal concept under which the supreme court has nationalized the bill of rights by making most of its provisions applicable to the states through the fourteenth amendment.

Question 8

establishment clause

Answer 8

part of the first amendment stating that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”

Question 9

Free exercise clause

Answer 9

a first amendment provision that prohibits government from interfering with practice of religion.

Question 10

Lemon v. Kurtzman

Answer 10

the 1971 supreme court decision that established that aid to church-related schools must (1) have a secular legislative purpose; (2) have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion; and (3) not foster excessive government entanglement with religion.

Question 11

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris

Answer 11

the 2002 supreme court decision that upheld a state providing families with vouchers that could be used to pay for tuition at religious schools.

Question 12

Engel v Vitale

Answer 12

The 1962 supreme court decision holding that state officials violated the first amendment when they wrote a prayer to be recited by New York’s school children.

Question 13

School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp

Answer 13

a 1963 supreme court decision holding that a Pennsylvania law requiring Bible reading in schools violated the establishment clause of the first amendment.

Question 14

Prior Restraint

Answer 14

A government preventing material from being published. this is a common method of limiting the press in some nations, but is usually unconstitutional in the united states, according to the first amendment, and as confirmed in the 1931 supreme court case of Near v. Minnesota.

Question 15

Near v Minnesota

Answer 15

The 1931 supreme court decision holding that the first amendment protects newspapers from prior restraint.

Question 16

Schenck v. united states

Answer 16

a 19191 decision upholding the conviction of a socialist who had urged young men to resist the draft during world war 1. Justice Holmes declared that government can limit speech if the speech provokes a “ clear and present danger” of substantive evils.

Question 17

Zurcher v. Stanford daily

Answer 17

a 1978 supreme court decision holding that a proper search warrant could be applied to a newspaper as well as to anyone else without necessarily violating the first amendment rights to freedom of press.

Question 18

Roth v. United states

Answer 18

a 1957 supreme court decision ruling that “obscenity is not within the area of constitutionally protected speech or press.”

Question 19

Miller v. California

Answer 19

a 1973 supreme court decision that avoided defining obscenity by holding that community standards be used to determine whether material is obscene in terms of appealing to a “prurient interest” and being “patently offensive” and lacking in value.

Question 20

libel

Answer 20

the publication of false or malicious statements that damage someone’s reputation.

Question 21

New York Times v. Sullivan

Answer 21

Decided in 1964, this case established the guidelines for determining whether public officials and public figures could win damage suits for libel. to do so, individuals must prove that the defamatory statements were made with “actual malice” and reckless disregard for the truth.

Question 22

Texas v. Johnson

Answer 22

a 1989 case in which the supreme court struck down a law banning the burning of the american flag on the grounds that such action was symbolic speech protected by the first amendment.

Question 23

Symbolic speech

Answer 23

nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband. the supreme court has accorded some symbolic speech protecting under the first amendment.

Question 24

Commercial speech

Answer 24

communication in the form of advertising. it can be restricted more than many other types of speech but has been receiving increased protection from the supreme court.

Question 25

Miami Herald Publishing Company v. Tornillo

Answer 25

A 1974 case in which the supreme court held that s state could not force a newspaper to print replies from candidates it had criticized, illustrating the limited power of the government to restrict the print media.

Question 26

Red Lion Broadcasting Company v. Federal Communications commission

Answer 26

a 1969 case in which the supreme court upheld restrictions on radio and television broadcasting. these restrictions on the broadcast media are much tighter than those on the print media because there are only a limited number of broadcasting frequencies available.

Question 27

NAACP v. Alabama

Answer 27

The supreme court protected the right to assemble peaceably in this 1958 case when it decided the NAACP did not have to reveal its membership list and thus subject its members to harassment.

Question 28

probable cause

Answer 28

the situation occurring when the police have reason to believe that a person should be arrested. in making the arrest, police are allowed legally to search for and seize legally to search for and seize incriminating evidence.

Question 29

unreasonable searches and seizures

Answer 29

obtaining evidence in a haphazard or random manner, a practice prohibited by the fourth amendment. Probably cause, and /or a search warrant are required for a legal and proper search for and seizure of incriminating evidence.

Question 30

search warrant

Answer 30

a written authorization from a court specifying the area to be searched and what the police are searching for.

Question 31

exclusionary rule

Answer 31

the rule that evidence, no matter how incriminating, cannot be introduced into a trial if it was not constitutionally obtained. the rule prohibits use of evidence obtained through unreasonable search and seizure.

Question 32

Mapp v. Ohio

Answer 32

The 1961 supreme court decision ruling that the fourth amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures must be extended to the states as well as to the federal government.

Question 33

fifth amendment

Answer 33

a constitutional amendment designed to protect the rights of persons accused of crimes, including protection against double jeopardy, self incrimination, and punishment without due process of law.

Question 34

self-incrimination

Answer 34

the situation occurring when an individual accused of a crime is compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in court. the fifth amendment forbids self incrimination.

Question 35

Miranda v. Arizona

Answer 35

The 1966 supreme court decision that sets guidelines for police questioning of accused person to protect them against self-incrimination and to protect their right to counsel.

Question 36

sixth amendment

Answer 36

a constitutional amendment designed to protect individuals accused of crimes. it includes the right to counsel, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a speedy and public trial.

Question 37

Gideon v. Wainwright

Answer 37

the 1963 decision holding that anyone accused of a felony where imprisonment may be imposed, however poor he or she might be, has a right to a lawyer.

Question 38

plea bargaining

Answer 38

a bargain struck between the defendant’s lawyer and the prosecutor to the effect that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser crime, (or fewer crimes) in exchange for the state’s promise not to prosecute the defendant for a more serious crime.

Question 39

Eight amendment

Answer 39

the constitutional amendment that forbids cruel and unusual punishment, although it does not define this phrase. through the fourteenth amendment, this bill of rights provision applies to the states.

Question 40

cruel and unusual punishment

Answer 40

court sentences prohibited by the eight amendment. although the supreme court has ruled that mandatory death sentences for certain offenses are unconstitutional, it has not held that the death penalty itself constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

Question 41

Gregg v. Georgia

Answer 41

the 1976 supreme court decision that upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty, stating “ it is an extreme sanction, suitable to the most extreme crimes.” the court did not therefore, believe that the death sentence constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

Question 42

McCleskey v. Kemp

Answer 42

the 1987 supreme court decision that upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty against charges that it violated the fourteenth amendment, because minority defendants were more likely to receive death penalty than were white defendants.

Question 43

right to privacy

Answer 43

the right to a private personal life free from the intrusion of government.

Question 44

Roe v. Wade

Answer 44

The 1973 supreme court decision holding that a state ban on all abortions was unconstitutional. the decision forbade state control over abortions during the firs trimester of pregnancy, permitted states to limit abortions to protect the mother’s health in the second trimester, and permitted states to protect the fetus during the third trimester.

Question 45

Planned Parenthood v. Casey

Answer 45

A 1992 case in which the supreme court loosened its standard for evaluating restrictions on abortion from one of “strict scrutiny” of any restraints on a fundamental right, to one of “undue burden” that permits considerably more regulation.