Chapters 4/5 Test Flashcards
Bill of Rights
First 10 Amendments to the Constitution 1. RAPPS 2. Right to Bear Arms 3. Quartering Soldiers 4.Unreasonable Searches/Seizures + Warrants 5. Self-Incrimination, Double Jeopardy, Right to Jury, Eminent Domain, 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Barron v. Baltimore
1833 Supreme Court decision holding that the Bill of Rights restrained only the national government, to the states and cities
Gitlow v. New York
1925 Supreme Court decision holding that freedoms of press and speech are “fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by the states” as well as by the federal government
14th Amendment
Adopted after the Civil War; states that “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of cities of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Due Process Clause
part of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing that persons cannot be deprived of life, liberty, and property by the United States or state governments without due process of law
incorporation doctrine
the legal concept under which the Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights by making most of its provisions applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment
selective incorporation
?
establishment clause
part of the First Amendment stating that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”
Lemon v. Kurtzman
1971 Supreme Court decision that established that aid to church-related schools must 1. have a secular legislative purpose 2. have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion and 3. not foster excessive government entanglement with religion
Engel v. Vitale
1962 Supreme Court decision holding that state officials violated the First Amendment when they wrote a prayer to be recited by new York’s schoolchildren
Abington v. Schempp
1963 Supreme court decision holding that a Pennsylvania law requiring Bible reading in schools violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment
Free Exercise Clause
A First Amendment provision that prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion
Employment Division v. Smith
decision that allowed state to deny unemployment benefits to worker fired because of illegal drug use for religious purposes
Reynolds v. US
polygamy is illegal even if for religion
Wisconsin v. Yoder
parents can refuse to send their kids to school past 8th grade for religious reasons
pure speech
legit speech
symbolic speech
nonverbal communication
Texas v. Johnson
1989 case in which the Supreme kurt struck down a law banning the burning of the American flag on the grounds that such action was symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment
clear and present danger
freedom of speech can be limited if there is a clear and present danger; established in Schenck v. US
Bad Tendency Doctrine
Gitlow v. New York; if speech has bad tendency to cause harm then it can be limited
Schenck v. US
1919 Supreme decision upholding the conviction of a socialist who had urged young men to resist the draft during World War I; government can limit speech if the speech provokes a “clear and present danger” of substantive evils
slander
spoken defamation
libel
the publication of false or malicious statements that damage someone’s reputation
NYT v. Sullivan
1964 Case established the guidelines for determining whether public officials and public figures could win damage suits for libel; individuals must prove that the defamatory statements were made with “actual malice” and reckless disregard for the truth
Roth v. US
1957 Supreme Court decision ruling that “obscenity is not within the area of constitutionally protected speech or press.”
Miller v. California
1973 Supreme Court decision that avoided defining obscenity by holding that community standards be used to determine whether material is obscene in terms of appealing to a “prurient interest” and being “patently offensive” and lacking in value
Prior Restraint
a government preventing material from being published. usually unconstitutional in U.S.
Near v. Minnesota
1931 Supreme Court decision holding that the First Amendment protects newspapers from prior restraint
Zurcher v. Stanford Daily
1978 Supreme Court decision holding that a proper search warrant could be applied to a newspaper as well as to anyone else without necessarily violating the First Amendment rights to freedom of the press
Tinker v. Des Moines
ruling that said students have a right to freedom of speech and expression within a school as long as it doesn’t disrupt the learning environment
Bethel v. Fraser
the First Amendment does not prohibit schools from restricting vulgar and lewd speech
Morse v. Frederick
public schools can prohibit students from displaying messages promoting the use of illegal drugs at school-supervised events
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeir
Court held that the First Amendment did not require schools to affirmatively promote particular types of student speech; teen pregnancy articles in school paper restricted
Federal Communications Commission
regulates content, nature, and very existence of radio and television broadcasting
Federal Trade Commission
FTC regulates advertisements
Snyder v. Phelps
the First Amendment protects protesters at a funeral from liability for intentionally inflicting emotional distress on the family of the deceased
Limitations on Assembly
place, time and manner restrictions; need permit
NAACP v. Alabama
Supreme Court protected right to assemble peaceably when it decided the NAACP did not have to reveal its membership list and thus subject its members to harassment
DC v. Heller
held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home
probable cause
situation occurring when the police have reason to believe that a person should e arrested. in akin the arrest, police are allowed legally to search for and seize incriminating evidence
search warrant
written authorization from a court specifying the area to be searched and what the police are searching for
good faith exception
illegally obtained evidence can be used if the police who seized it mistakenly thought they were operating under a constitutionally valid warrant
plain view doctrine
clause to exclusionary rule; if in plain view police can use as evidence even without warrant
exigent circumstances
if police suspect harm (screaming in house) they can enter without warrant
Weeks v. US
created exclusionary rule
exclusionary rule
the rule that evidence, no matter who incriminating, cannot be introduced into a trial if it was not constitutionally obtained
Mapp v. Ohio
1961 Supreme Court decision ruling that the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures must be extended to the states as well as to the federal government; applied exclusionary rule to states
USA Patriot Act
gave the government road new powers for the wiretapping, surveillance, and investigation of terrorism suspects; eased restrictions on domestic spying in counterterrorism operations; federal government has the power to examine a terrorist suspect’s 3rd party records; searches of private property without probable cause and without notice the owner until after the search has been executed
Miranda v. Arizona
1966 Supreme Court decision that sets guidelines for police questioning of accused persons to protect them against self incrimination and to protect their right to counsel
Fifth Amendment
designed to protect the rights of persons caused of crimes, including protection against double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and punishment without due process of law
Due Process
all of judicial process must be done
Double Jeopardy
can’t try one for same crime twice
Gideon v. Wainwright
1963 Supreme Court decision holding that anyone accused of a felony where imprisonment may be imposed, however poor he or she might be, has a right to a lawyer
Sixth Amendment
designed to protect individuals accused of crimes; includes the right to counsel, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a speedy and public trial
- Change of Venue
- Question Witnesses/supply
- Question Favorable Witnesses
- Face Accusers
- Lawyer/Own layer
- speedy, public trial by impartial jury of peers
- know charges
Writ of Habeas Corpus
court order requiring jailers to explain to a judge why they are holding a prisoner in custody
plea bargain
bargain struc between the defendant’s lawyer and prosecutor to the effect that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser and/or fewer crime(s) in exchange for the state’s promise not to prosecute the defendant for a more serious/additional crime(s)
terrorists’ rights
?
Eighth Amendment
forbids cruel and unusual punishment, but doesn’t define it
Furman v. Georgia
overturned Georgia’s death penalty law because the state imposed the penalty in a “freakish” and “random” manner
Gregg v. Georgia
1976 Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionally of the data penalty, stating, “It is an extreme sanction, suitable to the most extreme of crimes.” The Court did not, therefore, believe that the death sentence constitutes cruel and unusual punishment
McCleskey v. Kemp
1987 decision that upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty against charges that it violated the Fourteenth Amendment because minority defendants were more likely to receive the death penalty than were White defendants
Griswold v. Connecticut
various portions of the Bill of Rights cast “penumbras” (or shadows)–unstated liberties implied by the explicitly stated rights–protecting a right to privacy, including a right to family planning between husband and wife
Roe v. Wade
1973 Supreme Court decision holding that a state ban on all abortions was unconstitutional; forbade state control over abortions during the fist trimester of pregnancy, permitted states to limit abortions to protect the mother’s health in the second trimester, and permitted states to protect the fetus during the third trimester.
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
1992 case in which the Supreme Court loosened its standard for evaluating restrictions on abortion from one of “strict scrutiny” of any restraints on a “fundamental right” to one of “undue burden” that permits considerably more regulation
protections for women’s access to clinics
Court upheld 36 ft. buffer zone around a Florida abortion clinic; abortion clinics can sue antiabortion protest groups for damages
14th Amendment
adopted after the Civil War: “No State shall make or enforce ay law which shall abridge the priceless or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Equal Protection clause
of the 14th amendment; emphasizing that the laws must provide equivalent “protection” to all people
three levels of scrutiny
standards of review;
- race = inherently suspect/difficult to meet: is the classification necessary to accomplish a compelling governmental purpose and the least restrictive way to reach the goal?
- gender = intermediate standard/moderately difficult to meet: does the classification bear a substantial relationship to an important governmental goal?
- other (age, wealth, etc.) = reasonableness/easy to meet: does the classification have a rational relationship to a legitimate governmental goal?
right to privacy
right to a private personal life free from the intrusion of government
equal opportunity vs. equal results
American political culture includes equal opportunity but not equal results
Scott v. Sanford
1857 Supreme Court decision ruling that a slave who had escaped to a free state enjoyed no rights a s a citizen and that Congress had no authority to ban slavery in the territories
13th Amendment
ratified after Civil War; forbade slavery/involuntary servitude
Jim Crow Laws
segregational laws; relegated African Americans to separate public facilities, school systems, restrooms, etc.
Plessy v. Ferguson
1896 Supreme Court decision that provided a constitutional justification for segregation by ruling that a Louisiana law requiring “equal but separate accommodations for the White and colored races” was constitutional
Brown v. Board
1954 Supreme Court decision holding that school segregation was inherently unconstitutional because it violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection; marked end of legal segregation
De Jure vs. De Facto
by law vs. in reality
Civil Rights Act of 1964
law that made racial discrimination against any group in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job discrimination
15th Amendment
constitutional amendment adopted in 1870 to extend suffrage to African Americans
Grandfather Clause
exempted persons whose grandfather were eligible to vote in 1860 from taking literacy tests; allowed illiterate whites to vote
Poll Taxes
small taxes levied on the right to vote that often fell due sat a time of year when poor A. A. sharecroppers and the least cash on hand; declared void by the 24th Amendment in 1944
White Primary
one of the means used to discourage A.A. voting that permitted political parties in the heavily Democratic South to exclude A.A. from primary elections, thus depriving them of a voice in the real contests
civil rights
policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals
24th Amendment
declared poll taxes void in federal elections
1965 Voting Rights Act
law designed to help end formal/informal barriers to A.A. suffrage; under law, hundreds of thousands of A.A. were registered
Shelby County v. Holder
?;4B of Voting Rights Act is now void
Native Americans
Dawes Act; NARF gets them hunting/land rights
Hispanic Americans
!
Hernandez v. Texas
1954 Supreme Court decision that extends protection against discrimination to Hispanics
Asian Americans
!
Korematsu v. US
1944 Supreme Court decision that upheld as constitutional the internment of more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese descent in encampments during World War II
Arab Americans/Muslims
increased tax on them since 9/11; Congress made it illegal to give suspensions of writ of habeaus corpus because they
The Doldrums: 1920-1960
?
Equal Rights Amendment
introduced in Congress 1923, passed by Congress 1972: “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”
Reed v. Reed
1971 case in which the Supreme Court first upheld a claim of gender discrimination
Craig v. Boren
1976 ruling which established the “medium scrutiny” standard for determining gender discrimination
1964 Civil Rights Act
banned gender discrimination in employment
Virginia Military Institute
Supreme Court declared school’s categorical exclusion of women from education opportunities at the state-funded VMI violated women’s right to equal protection of the law; had to integrate
comparable worth
issue raised when women who hold traditionally female jobs are paid less than men for working at jobs requiring comparable skill
sexual harassment
?
aging Americans
illegal to discriminate over 40, mandatory retirement,
Americans with Disabilities Act
1990 law that requires employers and public facilities to make “reasonable accommodations: for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment
AIDS
not considered disabled
DADT
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: policy that barred the Pentagon form asking military recruits or service personnel to disclose their sexual orientation, but reaffirmed the Defense Department’s strict prohibition against homosexual conduct
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
1978 Supreme Court decision holding that a state university could not admit less qualified individuals solely because of their race
Grutter v. Bollinger
2003; court upheld the University of Michigan law school’s use of race as one of many factors in admission; use was narrowly tailored and made individualistic, holistic reviews of applicants in a non mechanical fashion
Adarand Constructors v. Pena
1995 Supreme Court decision holding that federal programs that classify people by race, even for an ostensibly benign purpose such as expanding opportunities for minorities, should be presumed to be unconstitutional
reverse discrimination
less qualified individuals are hired or admitted to educational or training programs because of their minority status
