Chapter 4 Flashcards
Arraignment
The first act in a criminal proceeding, in which the defendant is brought before a court to hear the charges against him or her and enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.
Actual Malice
Either knowledge of a defamatory statement’s falsity or a reckless disregard for the truth.
Clear and Present Danger Test
The test proposed by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes for determining when government may restrict free speech. Restrictions are permissible, he argued, only when speech creates a “clear and present danger” to the public order.
Commercial Speech
Advertising statements, which increasingly have been given First Amendment protection.
Defamation of Character
Wrongfully hurting a person’s good reputation. The law imposes a general duty on all persons to refrain from making false, defamatory statements about others.
Establishment Clause
The part of the First Amendment prohibiting the establishment of a church officially supported by the national government. It is applied to questions of the legality of giving state and local government aid to religious organizations and schools, allowing or requiring school prayers, and teaching evolution versus intelligent design.
Exclusionary Rule
A judicial policy prohibiting the admission at trial of illegally seized evidence.
Free Exercise Clause
The provision of the First Amendment guaranteeing the free exercise of religion. The provision constrains the national government from prohibiting individuals from practicing the religion of their choice.
Gag Order
An order issued by a judge restricting the publication of news about a trial or a pretrial hearing to protect the accused’s right to a fair trial.
Incorporation Theory
The view that most of the protections of the Bill of Rights apply to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause.
Libel
A written defamation of a person’s character, reputation, business, or property rights.
Obscenity
Sexually offensive material. Obscenity can be illegal if it is found to violate a four-part test established by the United States Supreme Court.
Prior Restraint
Restraining an activity before it has actually occurred. When expression is involved, this means censorship.
Public Figures
A public official, a public employee who exercises substantial governmental power, or any other person, such as a movie star, known to the public because of his or her position or activities.
Slander
The public uttering of a false statement that harms the good reputation of another. The statement must be made to, or within the hearing of, persons other than the defamed party.
