APGovCH.4

Question 1

The Crown v. Jenger (1735)

Answer 1

Legal case in the NY colony that is considered a precursor to the free press provisions of the U.S. Constitution. The case did not set legal precedent did reflect differences between the English authorities and U.S. colonists regarding press freedoms.

Question 2

civil liberties

Answer 2

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

Question 3

civil rights

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Bill of Rights

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Ninth Amendment

Answer 5

Part of the Bill of Rights that makes it clear that enumerating rights in the Constitution or Bill of Rights does not mean that others do not exist.

Question 6

Tenth Amendment

Answer 6

The final part of the Bill of Rights that defines the basic principle of American federalism in stating that the powers not delegated to the national government are reserved to the states or to the people.

Question 7

14th Amendment

Answer 7

One of three major amendments enacted after the Civil War, extending “equal protection” under the law to all citizens.

Question 8

due process clause

Answer 8

Clause contained in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments; over the years, it has been construed to guarantee to individuals a variety of rights.

Question 9

substantive due process

Answer 9

Judicial interpretation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments’ due process clauses that protects citizens from arbitrary or unjust state or federal laws.

Question 10

sedition laws

Answer 10

Laws that made it illegal to speak or write criticism that threatened to hurt the respect of the government, laws or public officials. State versions of these laws were overturned in the 1905 Gitlow decision.

Question 11

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

Answer 11

Supreme Court decision that extended the First Amendment protections of freedom of speech and of the press to the state governments.

Question 12

incorporation doctrine

Answer 12

An interpretation of the Constitution that holds that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires that state and local governments must also guarantee the rights stated in the Bill of Rights.

Question 13

selective incorporation

Answer 13

A judicial doctrine whereby most but not all of the protections found in the Bill of Rights are made applicable to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 14

fundamental freedoms

Answer 14

Those rights defined by the Court to be essential to order, liberty, and justice and therefore entitled to the highest standard of review.

Question 15

Warren Court

Answer 15

Period in Supreme Court history in which Earl Warren served as Chief Justice, noted for its many rulings expanding civil liberties and civil rights.

Question 16

Earl Warren

Answer 16

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1953-1969.; led the court through an important liberal phase.

Question 17

First Amendment

Answer 17

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

Question 18

establishment clause

Answer 18

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

Question 19

free exercise clause

Answer 19

The second clause of the First Amendment; it prohibits the U.S. government from interfering with a citizen, right to practice his or her religion.

Question 20

Lemon test

Answer 20

Three-part test created by the Supreme Court for examining the constitutionality of religious-establishment issues.

Question 21

prior restraint

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Alien and Sedition Acts

Answer 22

Laws passed in 1796 that allowed the imprisonment and deportation of aliens considered dangerous and criminalized false statements against the government.

Question 23

abolitionist

Answer 23

A supported, especially in the early 19th century, of an end to slavery.

Question 24

Abraham Lincoln

Answer 24

President that led Union during the Civil War (1861-1865).

Question 25

Espionage Act

Answer 25

A 1917 law that prohibited resistance to the draft or distributing anti-war leaflets. Upheld by the Supreme Court in Schenck v. U.S. (1919).

Question 26

clear and present danger test

Answer 26

Test articulated by the Supreme Court in Schenck. v. U.S. (1919) to draw the line between protected and unprotected speech; 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 seeks “to prevent.”

Question 27

direct incitement test

Answer 27

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

Question 28

N.Y. Times v. U.S. (1971)

Answer 28

Supreme Court ruling stating that the U.S. government may not block the publication of Department of Defense documents illegally furnished to the Times.

Question 29

symbolic speech

Answer 29

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

Question 30

hate speech

Answer 30

Communication that belittles a group or person on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity or other characteristics.

Question 31

Occupy Wall Street

Answer 31

Recent social movement that promotes protests and political activism against income inequality and corporate greed.

Question 32

Black Lives Matter

Answer 32

Recent social movement focused on direct protest and political activism against police brutality, mass incarceration, and related offenses against Black Americans.

Question 33

libel

Answer 33

Written statement that defames a person’s character.

Question 34

slander

Answer 34

Untrue spoken statements that defame the character of a person.

Question 35

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)

Answer 35

Case in which the Supreme Court concluded that “actual malice” must be proven to support a finding of libel against a public figure.

Question 36

fighting words

Answer 36

Words that, “by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of peace.” Fighting words are not subject to the restrictions of the First Amendment.

Question 37

Miller v. California (1973)

Answer 37

Supreme Court case that created the “Miller test” to determine when sexually explicit expression was obscene and therefore beyond the protection of the First Amendment.

Question 38

DeJonge v. Oregon (1937)

Answer 38

Supreme Court case that applied the First Amendment’s protections of freedom of assembly to the states.

Question 39

18th Amendment

Answer 39

1913 amendment that created a nationwide prohibition on alcoholic beverages. Repealed in 1933.

Question 40

writs of habeas corpus

Answer 40

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

Question 41

ex post facto law

Answer 41

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

Question 42

bill of attainder

Answer 42

A law declaring an act illegal without a judicial trial.

Question 43

due process rights

Answer 43

Protections drawn from the Fourth Amendment and Bill of Rights. Due process may be procedural, ensuring fair treatment, or substantive, protecting fundamental rights.

Question 44

Fourth Amendment

Answer 44

Part of the Bill of Rights 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 no 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.”

Question 45

Fifth Amendment

Answer 45

Part of the Bill of Rights that imposes a number of restrictions on the federal government with respect to the rights of persons suspected of committing a crime. It provides for indictment by a grand jury and protection against self-incrimination, and prevents the national government from denying a person life, liberty, or property without the due process of law. It also prevents the national government from taking property without just compensation.

Question 46

grand jury

Answer 46

A group of citizens charged with determining whether enough evidence exists for a case to go to trial. Guaranteed by the 5th Amendment.

Question 47

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Answer 47

A landmark Supreme Court ruling that held the Fifth Amendment requires that individuals arrested for a crime must be advised of their right to remain silent and to have counsel present.

Question 48

Miranda rights

Answer 48

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

Question 49

Burger Court

Answer 49

A period in Supreme Court history led by Chief Justice Warren Burger. Moved in a conservative direction.

Question 50

Warren Burger

Answer 50

15th Supreme Court Chief Justice who served from 1969 to 1986, and who directed the Court in an increasingly conservative direction.

Question 51

double jeopardy clause

Answer 51

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

Question 52

exclusionary rule

Answer 52

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

Question 53

Sixth Amendment

Answer 53

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

Question 54

Eighth Amendment

Answer 54

Part of the Bill of Rights that states “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

Question 55

right to privacy

Answer 55

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

Question 56

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Answer 56

The Supreme Court found that a woman’s right to an abortion was protected by the right to privacy that could be implied from specific guarantees found in the Bill of Rights applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 57

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992).

Answer 57

Supreme Court decision that replaced the strict scrutiny standard of Roe v. Wade with the less stringent undue burden standard.

Question 58

undue burden test

Answer 58

A standard set by the Supreme Court in the Casey case, that narrowed Roe v. Wade and allowed greater regulation of abortions.

Question 59

Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstadt (2016)

Answer 59

A Supreme Court decision that struck down a Texas state law as presenting an undue burden on abortions. Led to other state laws being invalidated.

Question 60

September 11

Answer 60

2001 terrorist act that involved hijacked planes attacking the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Question 61

capital cases

Answer 61

court cases in which a conviction may result in the application of the death penalty