Chapter 2 Terms

Question 1

a legislative act directed against an individual or group of individuals imposing punishment without trial

Answer 1

bill of attainder

Question 2

first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution

Answer 2

Bill of Rights

Question 3

a constitutional system that limits the powers of the government

Answer 3

constitutional democracy

Question 4

the 5th and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution guarantee individuals equal protection of the law

Answer 4

equal protection

Question 5

a law declaring an act criminal following the commission of the act

Answer 5

ex post facto law

Question 6

insulting words causing a breach of the peace

Answer 6

fighting words

Question 7

protects freedom of expression, assembly, and free exercise of religion and prohibits the establishment fo a religion

Answer 7

First Amendment

Question 8

speech that denigrates, humiliates, and attacks individuals on account of race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual preference, or other personal characteristics and preferences

Answer 8

hate speech

Question 9

words provoking individuals to breach the peace

Answer 9

incitement to violent action

Question 10

the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution is interpreted to include most of the rights contained in the Bill of Rights and extends these protections of the states.

Answer 10

incorporation theory

Question 11

classifications based on gender must be factually related to differences based on gender and must be substantially related to the achievement of a valid state objective

Answer 11

intermediate level of scrutiny

Question 12

a civil action for words that harm an individual’s reputation

Answer 12

libel

Question 13

law presumed constitutional so long as reasonably related to a valid state purpose

Answer 13

minimum level of scrutiny test

Question 14

no crime without law, no punishment without law

Answer 14

nullum crimen sine lege, nulla poena sine lege

Question 15

description or representation of sexual conduct that, taken as a whole by the average person applying contemporary community standards, appeals to prurient interest in sex. Sex is portrayed in a patently offensive way and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value when taken as a whole

Answer 15

obscenity

Question 16

a statute that is unconstitutionally broad and punishes both unprotected speech or conduct and protected speech or conduct

Answer 16

overbreadth

Question 17

the constitutional right to be free from unjustified governmental intrusion into the sphere of personal autonomy

Answer 17

privacy

Question 18

a law is presumed valid so long as it is reasonably related to a valid state purpose

Answer 18

rational basis test

Question 19

individual may not be punished for an act that was not criminally condemned in a statute prior to the commission of the act

Answer 19

rule of legality

Question 20

the state has the burden of demonstrating that a law employing a racial or ethnic classification is strictly necessary to accomplish a valid objective

Answer 20

strict scrutiny

Question 21

threats of bodily harm directed against an individual or a group of individuals

Answer 21

true threats

Question 22

a law violates due process that fails to clearly inform individuals of what acts are prohibited and/or fails to establish clear standards for the police

Answer 22

void of vagueness