Chapters 4-6 "Need to Know' Vocab Flashcards
Power of the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of laws.
Judicial Review
The institutional arrangement that assigns judicial, executive, & legislative powers to different persons or groups, thereby limiting the powers of each.
Separation of Powers
The principle that allows each branch of government to exercise some form of control over the others.
Checks & Balances
Citizenship rights guaranteed to the people (primarily in the 13th, 14th, 19th, & 26th amendments) & protected by the government.
Civil Rights
Individual freedoms guaranteed to the people primarily by the Bill of Rights.
Civil Liberties
The right of an accused person to be brought before a judge & informed of the charges & evidence against him or her.
Habeas Corpus
Laws that criminalize an action after it occurs.
Ex Post Facto Law
Incorporation of rights on a case-by-case basis.
Selective Incorporation
The 1st amendment guarantee that the government will not create & support an official state church.
Establishment Clause
Three-pronged rule used by the courts to determine whether the establishment clause is violated or not.
Lemon Test
The 1st amendment guarantee that citizens may freely engage in the religious activities of their choice.
Free Exercise Clause
Rule used by the courts that allows language to be regulated only if it presents an immediate & urgent danger.
Clear & Present Danger Test
Speech intended to incite violence.
Fighting Words
Written defamation of character.
Libel
Guarantee that laws will be fair & responsible & that citizens suspected of breaking the law will be treated fairly.
Due Process
Rule created by the Supreme Court that evidence seized illegally may not be used to obtain a conviction.
Exclusionary Rule
Taxes levied as a qualification for voting.
Poll Taxes
Tests regarding reading or comprehension skills are qualification for voting.
Literacy Tests
Provisions exempting from voting restrictions the descendants of those able to vote in 1867.
Grandfather Clause
Southern laws designed to circumvent the 13th, 14th, & 15th amendments & to deny blacks rights in bases other than race.
Jim Crow Laws
Supreme Court case that established the constitutionality of the principle of “separate but equal”.
Plessy v. Fergunson
An interest group founded in 1910 to promote civil rights for African Americans.
N.A.A.C.P.
National Association for the Advancement for Colored People
Supreme Court case that rejected the idea that “separate but equal” is ok in education.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Discrimination arising from or supported by the law.
De Jure Segregation
Discrimination that is the result not of law but rather of tradition and habit.
De Facto Segregation
Achieving racial balance by transporting students to schools across neighborhood boundaries.
Busing
A policy of creating equal opportunities for members of certain groups as a substantive remedy for past discrimination.
Affirmative Action
Unwelcome sexual speech or behavior that creates a hostile work environment.
Sexual Harassment
