Chapter Four Flashcards
Minimal Scrutiny
Rational Basis Test- Law must be
“rationally related to a legitimate goal.”
Intermediate Scrutiny
(Gender)– Law “must substantially relate to important government objectives.”
Federal Form of Government
A system of government in which the states form a union and the sovereign power is divided between the central government and the member states
Police Powers
Powers possessed by the states as part of their inherent sovereignty. These powers may be exercised to protect or promote the public order, health, safety, morals, and general welfare.
Checks and balances
The principle under which the powers of the national government are divided among three separate branches- the executive, legislative, and judicial branches- each of which exercises a check on the actions of the others.
Commerce clause
The provision in Article I, Section 8, of the US Constitution that gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce
Supremacy Clause
The requirement in Article VI of the US constitution that provides that the constitution, laws, and treaties of the united state are “the supreme law of the land.” Under this clause, state and local laws that directly conflict with federal law will be rendered invalid.
Preemption
A Doctrine under which certain federal laws preempt, or take precedence over, conflicting state or local laws.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the US Constitution
Symbolic Speech
Nonverbal expressions of beliefs, symbolic speech, which includes gestures, movements, and articles of clothing, is given substantial protection by the courts
Filtering Software
A computer program that is designed to block access to certain web sites, based on their content. the software blocks the retrieval of a site whose URL or key words are on a list within a program.
Meta Tag
A key word in a document that can serve as an index reference to the document. On the Web, search engines return results based, in part, on these tags in Web documents.
Establishment clause
The provision in the 1st amendment to the US constitution that prohibits the government from establishing any state-sponsored religion or enacting any law that promotes religion or favors one religion over another.
Free Exercise Clause
The provision in the First Amendment to the US constitution that prohibits the government from interfering with people’s religious practices or forms of worship
Due Process Clause
the provisions in the Fifth an fourteenth amendments to the US constitution that gaurantee that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Similar clauses are found in most state constitutions
Equal Protection Clause
The provisions in the Fourteenth amendment to the US constitution that guarantees that a state may not “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the Laws”. This clause mandates that the state governments must treat similarly situated individuals in a similar manner.
The Constitution
Was adopted in 1787 and was ratified by nine of the original 13 states in 1789. It creates a federal form of government
The constitution a federal form of government
- A compromise
- “enumerated” powers to the federal government and other powers to “reserved” to the states (10th amendment)
Constitution consists of
- Enumerated powers
- implied powers
- otherwise reserved to states/people per 10th amendment
Other wise reserved to states/people per 10th amendment
State police powers; strong presumption of validity.
Bill of rights adopted in
1791
Bill of rights protects
individuals from “various types of interference by the federal government
Constitution is made up of
a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments
Article I
Establishes congress constitutional authority
Articles II and III
establishes constitutional authority for executive and judicial branches of government.
Articles IV
includes the “full faith and credit” clause which states that “full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.
Article V
Discusses the amendment process
Article VI
Includes Supremacy Clause
Article VII
Indicated that the original constitution could be ratified by the vote of nne of the original thirteen states.
Amending the constitution
The constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the US house and senate followed by a ratification vote of three-fourths of the states