APGOVCh.4.Arkane.Riahi Flashcards
The Crown v. Zenger (1735)
Legal case in the colony of New York that is considered a precursor to free press provisions in the Constitution. The case did not set legal precedent, but did reflect a difference between British authorities and colonists with regard to press freedoms.
Civil liverties
The personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge by law, constitution, or judicial interpretation.
Civil Rights
The government-protected rights of individuals against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by governments or individuals.
Bill of Rights
The 1st 10 amendments to the US Constitution, which largely guarantee specific rights and liberties.
9th Amendment
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.
10th Amendment
The final part of the Bill of Rights that defines the basic principle of American federalism in stating that the powers not delegate to the national government are reserved to the states or to the people.
14th Amendment
One of three major amendments enacted after the Civil War, extending “equal protection of the law” to all citizens.
due process clause
Clause contained in the 5th and 14th Amendments; over the years, it has been construed to guarantee a variety of rights to individuals.
substantive due process
Judicial interpretation of the 5th and 14th amendments’ due process clauses. Protects citizens from arbitrary or unjust state or federal laws.’
sedition laws
Laws that make it illegal to speak or write any political criticism that threaten to diminish respect for the government its laws or public officials. State sedition laws were overturned as a result of the 1925 Gitlow Supreme Court decision.
Gitlow v. New York (1925)
A Supreme Court case that extended the 1st Amendment’s protections of freedom of speech and of the press to the state governments.
Incorporation doctrine
An interpretation of the Constitution holding that due process clause of the 14th Amendment requires state and local government to guarantee the rights sated in the Bill of RIghts.
Selective Incorporation
A Judicial doctrine whereby most, but not all, protections found in the BIll of RIghts are made applicable to the states via the 14th Amendment.
Fundamental freedoms
Those rights define by the Court as essential to order liberty and justice and therefore entitled to the highest standard of review.
Warren Court
The period in Supreme Court history during which Earl Warren served as Chief Justice (1953-1969), noted for its many rulings expanding civil liberties and civil rights.
Earl Warren
The 14th Chief Justice of the US who served from 1953 to 1969 and led the Court through an important liberal phase; previously a Republican Governor and vice presidential nominee.
1st Amendment
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
establishment clause
the first clause of the 1st Amendment; it directs the national government not to sanction an official religion.
free exercise clause
The 2nd clause of the 1st amendment; it prohibits the US government from interfering with a citizen’s right to practice his or her religion.
Lemon test
Three-part test created by the Supreme Court for examining the constitutionality of religious establishment issues.
Prior restraint
Constitutional doctrine that prevents the government from prohibiting speech or publication before the fact; generally held to be in violation of the 1st Amendment
Alien and Sedition Acts
Laws passed in 1798 that allowed the imprisonment and deportation of aliens considered dangerous and criminalized false statements against the government
abolitionist
A supporter especially in the early 19th century of an end to the institution of slavery
Abraham Lincoln
16th president of the United States the first elected Republican president who served from 1861-1865. Lincoln, who led the Union during the Civil War, was assassinated in 1865 by Confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth.
Espionage Act
A 1917 law that prohibited urging resistance to the draft or distributing anti-war leaflets; by the Supreme Court in Schenck v. U.S.
Clear and present danger test
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”.
Direct incitement test
Test articulated by the Supreme Court in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) holding that the First Amendment protects advocacy of illegally furnished to the Times by anti-war activists. Also called the Pentagon Papers case.
New York Times Co. v. U.S. (1971)
The case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. government could not block the publication of secret Department of Defense documents illegally furnished to the Times by anti-war activists. Also called the Pentagon Papers case.
symbolic speech
Symbols, signs, and other methods of expression generally considered to be protected by the 1st Amendment.
Hate speech
communication that belittles a person or group on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, or other characteristics.
Occupy Wall Street
A recent social movement that promotes protests and political activism against income inequality and corporate greed.
Black Lives Matter (BLM)
A recent social movement focused on direct protest and political activism against police brutality, mass incarceration, related offenses against African Americans.
libel
False written statements that defames a person’s character.
slander
untrue spoken statements that defame the character of a person.
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)
Case in which the Supreme Court concluded that “actual malice” must be proven to support a finding of libel against a public figure.
fighting words
Words that by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of peace. Fighting words are not subject to the protections of the 1st Amendment.
Miller v. California (1973)
Supreme Court case that created the “Miller Test” to determine when sexually explicit expression was obscene and therefore beyond the protection of the 1st Amendment.
DeJonge v. Oregon (1937)
Supreme Course case that applied the 1st Amendment’s protections of freedom of assembly to the states.
18th Amendment
a 1913 amendment that created the nationwide prohibition on alcoholic beverages; it was repealed in 1933.
writs 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.
ex post facto law
An ex post facto law is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions that were committed, or relationships that existed, before the enactment of the law.
bill of attainder
a law declaring an act illegal without a judicial trail.
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.
4th Amendment
Part of the BIll of Rights that protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures of their persons, houses, papers, and effects without a warrant from a judge among other guarantees.
5th Amendment
the section of the Bill of Rights that protects you from being held for committing a crime unless you have been indicted correctly by the police.
grand jury
a jury, typically of twenty-three people, selected to examine the validity of an accusation before trial.
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
a landmark Supreme Court ruling holding that the 5th Amendment requires individuals arrested for a crime to be advised of their right to remain silent and have counsel present.
Miranda rights
Statements required of police that inform a suspect of his or her constitutional rights protected by the 5th Amendments.
Burger Court
The 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.
Warren E. Burger
5th Chief Justice of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1986.
double jeopardy clause
protects individuals from being tried twice for the same offense in the same jurisdiction
exclusionary rule
Judicially created rule that prohibits police form using illegally seized evidence at trail.
6th Amendment
Part of the Bill of Rights that sets out the basic requirements of procedural due process for federal courts to follow in criminal trails. These include Speedy and public trails, impartial juries, trails in the sate where the crime was committed, notice of the charges, the right to confront and obtain favorable witnesses and the right to counsel
capital cases
Court cases in which a conviction may result in the application of the death penalty.
8th Amendment
Part of the Bill of Rights that states: Excessive bail shall not be required nor excessive fines imposed nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted
right to privacy
an element of various legal traditions to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals.
Roe v. Wade (1973)
Supreme Court case that found that a woman’s right to 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 14th Amendment.
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992)
The Supreme Court’s decision in this abortion case replaced the strict scrutiny standard of Roe with the less stringent undue burden standard.
undue burden test
A standard set by the Supreme Court in the Casey case in 1992 that narrowed Roe v. Wade and allowed for greater regulation of abortion by the states.
Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt (2016)
Supreme Court abortion ruling that struck down state law provisions in Texas as Presenting an undue burden on woman seeking abortions.
September 11th
A terrorist plot carried out on September 11, 2001 that used hijacked civilian aircraft to attack the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near Washington D.C.
