Assignment #9: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Flashcards

1
Q

DC v. Heller

A

The Supreme Court ruled that D.C.’s ban on handgun ownership was unconstitutional.

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2
Q

civil liberties

A

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

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3
Q

substantive due process

A

Judicial interpretation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments’ due process clauses that protects citizens from arbitrary or unjust state or federal laws; states have a legal burden to prove that their laws were a valid exercise of their power as a means to exact the welfare of their people.

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4
Q

selective incorporation

A

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.

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5
Q

Gitlow v. New York

A

Incorporated the free speech clause of the First Amendment, ruling that the states were not completely free to limit forms of political expression.

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6
Q

Palko v. Connecticut

A

Set the Court’s rationale of selective incorporation, 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.

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7
Q

establishment clause

A

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

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8
Q

Engel v. Vitale

A

The Court ruled that the recitation in public classrooms of a nondenominational prayer was unconstitutional and a violation of the establishment clause.

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9
Q

Abington School District v. Schempp

A

The Court ruled that state-mandated Bible reading or recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in public schools was unconstitutional.

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10
Q

“wall of separation”

A

The barrier between church and state.

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11
Q

Lemon v. Kurtzman

A

The Court determined that direct government assistance to religious schools is unconstitutional unless that aid be sanctioned for a secular purpose. In the majority opinion, the Court created what has become known as the Lemon test for deciding if a law is in violation of that establishment clause: a practice or policy is constitutional if it (1) has a legitimate secular purpose, (2) neither advanced nor inhibited religion, and (3) did not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion.

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12
Q

free exercise clause

A

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

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13
Q

Religious Freedom Restoration Act

A

Passed by the Court in 2000; specifically made the use of peyote (an illegal drug) in religious services legal.

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14
Q

prior restraint

A

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

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15
Q

“clear and present danger” test

A

Test articulated by the Supreme Court in Schneck v. U.S. 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.”

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16
Q

symbolic speech

A

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

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17
Q

New York Times v. United States

A

Also called the Pentagon Papers case; the Supreme Court ruled that any attempt by the government to prevent expression carried “a heavy presumption” against its constitutionality.

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18
Q

libel & slander

A

Written statement that defames a person’s character (libel) and untrue spoken statements that defame the character of a person (slander). Libel and slander are NOT protected speech and press, however it is difficult to sue someone for libel as one must prove that statements intended “actual malice.”

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19
Q

New York Times v. Sullivan

A

The Supreme Court ruled that simply publishing a defamatory falsehood is not enough to justify a libel judgment. “Actual malice” must be proved to support a finding of libel against a public figure.

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20
Q

“fighting words”

A

Words that, “by their very utterance inflict injury or tend or invite an immediate breach of peace.” This includes profanity, obscenity and threats. Fighting words are not protected by the Constitution.

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21
Q

obscenity & pornography

A

Obscene material is not protected by the Constitution. These materials may be considered obscene if “the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value (SLAPS test).”

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22
Q

Miller v. California

A

The Court ruled that Miller’s dispersal of sexually explicit materials was not protected by the Constitution and introduced the SLAPS test: materials may be considered obscene if “the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value (SLAPS test).”

23
Q

habeas corpus

A

Writs of habeas corpus are 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.

24
Q

grand juries

A

A jury, normally of twenty-three jurors, selected to examine the validity of an accusation and determine whether or not there is enough evidence to go to trial. The Fifth Amendment requires that individuals who are accused in the most serious cases be allowed to present their case before a grand jury.

25
Q

Miranda v. Arizona

A

The Fifth Amendment requires that individuals arrested for a crime must be advised of their right to remain silent and to have counsel present.

26
Q

eminent domain

A

The right of a government or its agent to seize private property for public use, with payment of compensation.

27
Q

exclusionary rule

A

Judicially created rule that prohibits police from using illegally seized evidence at trial. Established in Weeks v. U.S.; the Court reasoned that allowing police and prosecutors to use the “fruits of a poisonous tree” (a tainted search) would only encourage that activity.

28
Q

Mapp v. Ohio

A

Incorporated a portion of the Fourth Amendment by establishing that illegally obtained evidence cannot be used at trial.

29
Q

inevitable discovery rule

A

A doctrine in the United States criminal procedure that allows evidence of a defendant’s guilt that would otherwise be considered inadmissible under the exclusionary rule to be admitted into evidence in a trial.

30
Q

Gideon v. Wainwright

A

The Court granted indigents the right to counsel in felony cases; selective incorporation of the Sixth Amendment.

31
Q

death penalty

A

Currently, the Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the death penalty by lethal injection. There are two key classes of people that are exempt from the death penalty: the “mentally retarded” and those under the age of eighteen.

32
Q

Gregg v. Georgia

A

Overturning Furman v. Georgia (that ended capital punishment), the case ruled that Georgia’s rewritten death penalty statue was constitutional.

33
Q

right to privacy

A

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

34
Q

Griswold v. Connecticut

A

Supreme Court case that established the Constitution’s implied right to privacy.

35
Q

Roe v. Wade

A

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

36
Q

Lawrence v. Texas

A

The Court reversed its 1986 ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick by finding a Texas statue that banned sodomy (interpreted to target homosexuals’ sex lives specifically) to be unconstitutional.

37
Q

civil rights

A

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

38
Q

equal protection clause

A

Section of the Fourteenth Amendment that guarantees that all citizens receive “equal protection of the laws.”

39
Q

Jim Crow laws

A

Laws enacted by southern states that required segregation in public schools, theater, hotels and other public accommodations.

40
Q

Plessy v. Ferguson

A

Plessy challenged a Louisiana statute requiring that railroads provide separate accommodations for blacks and whites. The Court found that separate but equal accommodations did not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, establishing the “separate but equal” doctrine.

41
Q

Brown v. Board of Education

A

Supreme Court decision holding that school segregation is inherently unconstitutional because it violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection; marked the end of legal segregation in the United States.

42
Q

NAACP

A

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; relied heavily on litigation as a means to achieving expanded equality.

43
Q

SCLC

A

Southern Christian Leadership Conference; philosophy reflected King’s belief in the effectiveness of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience.

44
Q

SNCC

A

Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee; led freedom rides, designed to focus attention on segregated public accommodations.

45
Q

Civil Rights Act of 1964

A
  • Outlawed arbitrary discrimination in voter registration and expedited voting rights lawsuits
  • Barred discrimination in public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce
  • Authorized the Department of Justice to initiate lawsuits to desegregate public facilities and schools
  • Provided for the withholding of federal funds from discriminatory state and local programs
  • Prohibited discrimination in employment on grounds of race, creed, color, religion, national origin or sex
  • Created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to monitor and enforce the bans on employment discrimination
46
Q

Voting Rights Act of 1965

A

Outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting.

47
Q

de jure vs de facto segregation

A

Racial segregation that is a direct result of law or official policy (de jure) vs racial discrimination that results from practice (such as housing patterns or other social or institutional non-governmental factors) rather than the law (de facto).

48
Q

NOW & the ERA

A

The National Organization for Women urged for the passage of the Equal Rights Act. The ERA passed through Congress, but was only ratified by 22 states (out of the 35 that was needed). The amendment provided that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”

49
Q

suspect classifications

A

Category or class, such as race, that triggers the highest standard of scrutiny from the Supreme Court.

50
Q

Equal Pay Act of 1963

A

Legislation that requires employers to pay men and women equal pay for equal work.

51
Q

Title IX

A

Provision of the Education Amendments of 1972 that bars educational institutions receiving federal funds from discriminating against female students.

52
Q

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

A
  • The status defined a disabled person as someone with a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more “life activities,” or who has a record of such impairment.
  • It extended the protections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to all citizens with physical or mental disabilities.
  • It guarantees access to public facilities, employment and communication services.
  • It also required employers to acquire or modify work equipment, adjust work schedules and make existing facilities accessible to those with disabilities.
53
Q

affirmative action

A

Policies designed to give special attention or compensatory treatment to members of a previously disadvantaged group.

54
Q

University of California v. Bakke

A

A sharply divided Court concluded that the university’s rejection of Bakke as a student was illegal because the use of strict affirmative action quotas was inappropriate.