Chapter 15- Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Flashcards
Civil liberties
Constitutional freedoms granted to all citizens.
Civil rights
Positive acts of government designed to prevent discrimination and provide equality before the law.
Writ of habeas corpus
Requires a judge to evaluate whether there is sufficient cause to keep a person in jail.
Bills of attainder
Prohibits a person being found guilty of a crime without a trial.
Ex post facto law
Laws applied to acts committed before passage of the laws are unconstitutional.
Self-incrimination
Accusing oneself or giving evidence that may prove oneself guilty.
Double jeopardy
Being tried twice for the same offense.
Incorporation
Application of portions of the Bill of Rights to the states under the 14th Amendment.
Symbolic speech
Using actions and symbols rather than words to convey ideas.
Establishment Clause
Prohibits the establishment of a national religion.
Free Exercise Clause
Congress may not make laws restricting or prohibiting a person’s religious practices.
Lemon test
Standard set by the Supreme Court in Lemon v. Kurtzman to measure the constitutionality of state laws in regard to freedom of religion.
Pure speech
Verbal communication of ideas and opinions.
Speech plus
Verbal and symbolic speech used together.
Prior restraint
Censorship of information before it is published or broadcast.
Substantive due process
The policies of government or the particular subject matter of the laws determining what the law is about and whether the law is fair or if it violates constitutional protections.
Procedural due process
Method of government action, or how the law is carried out according to established rules and procedures.
Eminent domain
Allows the government to take property for public use but also requires the government to provide just compensation for that property.
Exclusionary rule
Ruled that evidence acquired as a result of an illegal act by police cannot be used against the person from whom it was seized.
Miranda v. Arizona
Requires that anyone arrested for a crime be advised of the right to counsel and the right to remain silent.
Plessy v. Ferguson
The Supreme Court case that upheld separate-but-equal segregation in 1896.
Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court decision that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson; ended legal segregation, said school segregation is unconstitutional.
Equal Protection Clause
Constitutional guarantee that everyone be treated equally.
Affirmative action
A policy designed to correct the effects of past discrimination; requirement by law that positive steps be taken to increase the number of minorities in businesses, schools, colleges, and labor.
