Chap 8: Civil Liberties Flashcards
Civil liberties:
protections guaranteed 2 individuals from unreasonable gov restrictions; protect ppl from the gov taking away or restricting basic freedoms
Selective incorporation
process through which SP court has expanded the protections w/in the Bill of Rights to also cover state laws and actions
Due Process Clause:
clause in 14th A that restricts state govs from denying citizens their life, lib, or prop w/out fair trial
Establishment clause
protects individuals from the gov requiring citizens to join or support a religion (1st A)
Free exercise clause
protects individuals’ right 2 exercise and express their religious beliefs; allows ppl 2 practice their religion freely (1st A)
Religious freedom in school…
- Students can’t pray during instructional time; can during non-instructional time or moment of silence
- staff can’t encourage or discourage prayer in their official capacity (teacher)
- school officials can’t lead prayed (but ok when club advisor)
lemon test
test used 2 determine whether gov action violates the Establishment Clause; public money can not be used to fund religious private schools unless it passes the lemon test…
- must have secular purpose
- neither advances nor inhibits religion
- must not have excessive entanglement between the gov and religion
Freedom of expression:
right to speak, publish, and protest (1st A)
clear and present danger test
legal standard that speech posing an immediate serious threat to national security is not protected by the 1st A
Prior restraint
suppression of material prior to publication on the grounds that it might endanger nat security; limitation on the press; censoring something before publication
Symbolic speech
protected expressions in the form of images, signs, and other symbols
Restrictions on freedom of expression
- Libel & Slander (Libel & slander cases very difficult to prove against pub officials; has to be w/ purpose; “they actually knew it wasn’t true”)
- Hate speech
- Obscenity & Pronography
Libel
an untrue written statement that injures a person’s reputation (not protected)
Slander:
untrue spoken expression that injures a person’s reputation (not protected)
Hate speech:
speech w/ no other purpose but to express hatred, particularly towards members of a group identified by racial, ethnic, gender or sexual orientation
Time, Place, Manner:
difficult for the gov to restrict free speech in pub places; gov can impose reasonable restrictions on time, place, and manner in protected speech
Obscenity & Pronography:
words images or videos that depict sexual activity in an offensive manner that lack any artistic merit
Miller test
standard used by courts to define obscenity (and therefore not protected by 1st A)
- Material must be patently offensive
- Must be w/out redeeming social value
- Contemporary community standards must be applied (different places may have different standards)
Child pornogrphy is not protected by 1st amendment & subject to full restriction + criminalization
Freedom of Assembly:
right to peaceably assemble & to petition the gov
warrant:
doc issued a judge authorizing the search; must have probable cause
Exception to needing a warrant:
hot pursuit, and reasonable cause
Probable cause:
reasonable belief that a crime has been committed or that there is evidence of criminal activity
Exclusionary rule:
evidence obtained w/o a warrant is not admissible in court
-if evidence is in plain sight ok to use
grand Jury:
a group of citizens who decide whether or not there is enough evidence to charge a suspect
-does not decide whether someone is guilty or innocent, just determine if there is enough process 2 charge someone
MIRANDA RIGHTS:
right to remain silent and have an attorney present during question; rights must be given by police to individuals suspected of criminal activity