Civil Liberties/ Civil Rights Flashcards
Civil Liberties
personal freedoms, e.g., speech, assembly, religion.
Civil Rights
protections against discrimination.
Clear and present danger doctrine
judicial interpretation of Amendment 1 that government may not ban speech unless such speech poses an imminent threat to society.
De Facto Segregation
segregation “by fact,” i.e., segregation that results from such factors as housing patterns rather than law.
De jure segregation
segregation by law, i.e., segregation that is required by government.
Double Jeopardy
being prosecuted twice for the same offense. Banned by Amendment 5.
Due Process Clause
prohibits the national government (5th Amendment) and states (14th Amendment) from denying life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
Equal Protection Clause
14th Amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination.
Eminent domain
the right of government to take private property for the public good. Fair compensation must be paid to the owner of such property.
Establishment Clause
provision of Amendment 1 that prohibits Congress from establishing an official state religion. This is the basis for separation of church and state.
Free Exercise Clause
provision of Amendment 1 stating that Congress may not prohibit the free exercise of religion.
Grandfather Clause
Southern laws that excluded blacks from exercising suffrage by restricting the right to vote only to those whose grandfathers had voted before 1865.
Grand Jury
determines whether or not to bring criminal charges against a suspect.
Incorporation
applying the Bill of Rights to the states. A “total incorporation” view is that the states must obey all provisions of the Bill of Rights because of the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. A “selective incorporation” view is that the Bill of Rights is to be applied to the states on a case by case basis, also via the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.
Jim Crow Laws
Southern laws that required racial segregation in places of public accommodation.
Literacy test
Southern method of excluding blacks from suffrage by requiring that voters prove ability to read & write.
Miranda Warnings
warnings that must be read to suspects prior to questioning. Suspects must be advised that they have the rights of silence and counsel.
Plea Bargain
arrangement in which a suspect pleads guilty to a lesser offense in order to avoid a trial. The manner in which most cases are disposed of.
Poll tax
Southern method of excluding blacks from exercising suffrage by requiring payment of a tax prior to voting.
Prior Restraint
When a court stops expression before it is made, e.g., prohibiting a demonstration by a radical group because the assembly is likely to become violent. Presumed to be unconstitutional.
Separate but equal
Supreme Court doctrine established in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. Allowed state-required racial segregation in places of public accommodation as long as the facilities were equal.
Bill of Rights
adopted in 1791 by the states two years after the ratification of the Constitution, it
established the basis of civil liberties for Americans.
Fighting Words Doctrine
established in Chaplinsky v New Hampshire (1942), the decision
incorporated into state law the concept that the government can limit free speech if it can be proved
that the result of speech will cause physical violence.
Gitlow v. New York
landmark decision in that the Supreme Court incorporated the First
Amendment to a state case for the first time.
Incorporation of the 14th Amendment
doctrine that made the Bill of Rights apply to the states as a result of Supreme Court decisions. Even though the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868, incorporation started to take place in the 1920s. It reached a peak during the Warren Court in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Indictment
a formal list of charges made by a grand jury and guaranteed in the Fifth Amendment.
Living Will
a legitimate document that can be used to direct a hospital to allow an individual to
direct a medical facility not to use extraordinary means such as life support to keep a patient alive. The doctrine was declared constitutional in the case of Cruzan v Missouri Department of Health
(1990).
Judicial Federalism
the extension of the Bill of Rights to the citizens of the states, creating a concept of dual citizenship, wherein a citizen was under the jurisdiction of the national government as
well as state governments.
Procedural Due Process
a series of steps that are established by the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh
Amendments that protect the rights of the accused at every step of the investigation.
Separation of Church and State
Also known as the “establishment clause,” it is part of the First Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting the federal government from creating a state-supported religion
Substantive Due Process
legal process that places limits related to the content of legislation and the
extent government can use its power to enact unreasonable laws.
Affirmative Action
programs for minorities supported by government as a means of providing
equality under the law.
Americans with Disabilities Act
act that required employers, schools, and public buildings to reasonably accommodate the physical needs of handicapped individuals by providing such things as ramps and elevators with appropriate facilities.
Brandeis Brief
a friend of the court opinion offered by Louis Brandeis, in the Supreme Court case
Muller v Oregon (1908), which spoke about inherent differences between men and women in the workplace.
Immigration Act of 1991
act that shifted the quota of immigrants to Europe and aimed to attract
immigrants who were trained workers.
Nationalization of the Bill of Rights
a judicial doctrine of the Fourteenth Amendment that applied the Bill of Rights to the states in matters such as segregation.
Plessy V Ferguson
case that ruled that states had the right to impose “separate but equal”
facilities on its citizens as well as create other laws that segregated the races.
