Char Chap 4

Question 1

civil liberties

Answer 1

legal rights designed to protect individuals from abuse of power by government.

Question 2

Incorporation

Answer 2

name for when the US Supreme Court holds that a civil liberty from the Bill of Rights applies to state governments through the 14th’s Due Process Clause’s command that no ‘’state deprive any person of…liberty… without due process.’’

Question 3

Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment

Answer 3

‘’No State shall…deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.’’

Question 4

selective incorporation

Answer 4

gradual process by which the Supreme Court has chosen which civil liberties from the Bill of Rights to incorporate through the 14th Due Process Clause.

Question 5

total incorporation

Answer 5

the idea that all of the civil liberties protected by the Bill of Rights should automatically be incorporated into the Due Process clause all at once.

Question 6

unenumerated constitutional rights

Answer 6

rights that are said to be implied by the Constitution but that are not actually mentioned in it.

Question 7

Do constitutions protect civil liberties against infringement by private individuals (or businesses) or do constitutions only protect against infringement by government?

Answer 7

Civil liberties primarily protect from infringement by the government and not individuals.

Question 8

Did the civil liberties listed in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution apply to actions taken by state governments prior to the Civil War? Did they apply to actions taken by the federal government prior to the Civil War?

Answer 8

Prior to the Civil War, civil liberties applied only to the federal government and not the state governments.

Question 9

religious freedom

Answer 9

the freedom to develop and live according to one’s own religious beliefs insofar as doing so does not interfere with the similar freedom of others.

Question 10

Establishment Clause

Answer 10

clause of the 1st that states, ‘’Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.’’

Question 11

Free Exercise Clause

Answer 11

clause of the 1st that states, ‘’Congress shall make no law… prohibiting the free exercise.’’

Question 12

separation of church and state

Answer 12

the view, that the establishment clause of 1st of the US Constitution is designed to reduce or eliminate the role of religion in government affairs altogether.

Question 13

Accommodationism

Answer 13

the view that the Establishment Clause of the 1st that doesn’t mandate the separation of church and state. Religion can’t come into politics.

Question 14

Sherbert Test

Answer 14

test used to determine whether a government action interferes with the legal right to the free exercise of religion.

Question 15

strict scrutiny

Answer 15

label given to the most stringent approach taken by courts when reviewing potentially unconstitutional government actions.

Question 16

There are two phases in the Sherbert Test. Which questions are asked are in each phase?

Answer 16

In phase 1 it determines whether 1. the person has a claim involving a sincere religious belief, and 2. the government action is an actual burden on the person’s ability to act on that belief. In phase 2 the questions are whether the government interference with religious practice is the result of pursuing a compelling government interest, and there is a way for government to pursue the compelling government interest that would have placed less of a burden on the free exercise of religion.

Question 17

What does strict scrutiny have to do with the Sherbert Test?

Answer 17

The Sherbert test is a result of strict scrutiny as an action must first be deemed unconstitutional to which it then faces strict scrutiny which then results in the Sherbert test.

Question 18

content-based restrictions

Answer 18

government law or action that restricts the freedom of expression because of disapproval of the content of the message being expressed.

Question 19

time, place, and manner regulations

Answer 19

The state may not deny a group from expressing themselves due to the disapproval of their message, but they can deny that group the right to do so for reasons pertaining to the time, place, or manner of their expression.

Question 20

What is the baseline rule of the Supreme Court’s approach to the freedom of expression?

Answer 20

No content based restrictions on expression.

Question 21

How do proponents of gun rights differ from proponents of gun control in how they interpret the Second Amendment?

Answer 21

Gun rights activists declare that every citizen has the right to bear arms while gun control activists cite that the second amendment refers to a well regulated militia and that each individual has the right to use arms for recreational purposes and not bear them at all times.

Question 22

According to 21st century U.S. Supreme Court decisions, does the Second Amendment protect a right for individuals to own firearms for self-defense? Or does it only protect the right for persons to own guns for purposes of serving in a “well-regulated militia”?

Answer 22

In the landmark 5-4 decision of 2008, the court decided that the right to bear arms was not solely about militia service and was also for the ability to defend oneself.

Question 23

Has the U.S. Supreme Court incorporated the Second Amendment under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment?

Answer 23

It dictates that the U.S. Constitution prohibits both the federal government and state governments from infringing upon the individual right to own and carry guns for self-defense.

Question 24

According to the textbook, what is the purpose (or “aim”) of civil liberties pertaining to the criminal justice system?

Answer 24

To limit the threat of the criminal justice system to the life and liberty of the population.

Question 25

Generally speaking, how do liberals and conservatives tend to differ in how they interpret civil liberties pertaining to the criminal justice system?

Answer 25

Liberals are more concerned than conservatives with protecting the rights of criminals and suspects while conservatives are primarily focused on increasing the governments power to punish convicts and prevent crime.

Question 26

Why, according to the textbook, is the incorporation of criminal justice rights under the 14th Amendment “especially important”?

Answer 26

Because it prevents unjustified government intervention in criminal justice such as unneeded search and seizure.

Question 27

Why did the Supreme Court create the exclusionary rule? Why are a growing number of constitutional scholars, lawyers and judges questioning its wisdom?

Answer 27

The exclusionary rule was implemented to prevented unsanctioned search and seizures by making it so that any evidence gained outside of an official search is inadmissible in court. People contend with this because like what if someone finds the murder weapon in the suspects bed with finger prints all over it and a voice note saying “I 100% did that, slide for Von”, but it was outside of an official search so now we can’t use it.

Question 28

According to the Supreme Court in Miranda v. Arizona (1966), what must police tell criminal suspects before they question them?

Answer 28

“You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without an attorney present, you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney.”

Question 29

If someone goes a full year after being charged with a crime before having a trial, would this necessarily result in charges being dropped on account of the person being deprived of their right to a speedy trial?

Answer 29

Nope you can wait multiple years for a trial and still meet the requirements of the 6th amendment.

Question 30

According to the Supreme Court, what exactly is required by the 6th Amendment command that criminal trials must be by an “impartial jury”?

Answer 30

The jurors are to be pulled randomly from the population relative to how they represent the community and the lawyers on both sides as well as the judge are able to question the bias of potential jurors.

Question 31

What did the Supreme Court declare about the 6th Amendment right to an attorney in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)? What specific impact (discussed by the textbook) did this decision have on the criminal justice system?

Answer 31

The Supreme Court declared that every defendant requires a lawyer even if they cannot afford one which caused state governments to hire over 15,000 lawyers each which represent millions of people yearly.

Question 32

According to the Supreme Court, in what specific circumstances does the Eighth Amendment not allow imposing the death penalty?

Answer 32

Captial punishment can never be used on defendants with intellectual disabilities, are juveniles, Cases where the defendant did not intend to kill, and arbitrary/discriminatory purposes.