Exam 4: Chapter 15 (add 16, 17, 18) Flashcards
Define civil liberties.
freedoms found primary in the bill of rights, the enjoyment of which are protected from government interference
Amendment 1
RAPPS
free exercise OR establishment of religion
Amendment 4
citizens are to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, search warrants issued based only on probable cause and for specific objects
Amendment 5
protected against double jeopardy and self-incrimination; deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; just compensation for public use of private property
Amendment 6
right to a speedy, public trial before impartial jury; right to face accuser and cross examine witnesses
Amendment 8
prohibits excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment
Understand the significance of economic liberty. Was economic liberty a main goal of the US Constitution?
the right to own and use property free from unreasonable government interference; yes, convention was called after shay’s rebellion
Understand the Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling.
Court’s defense of property rights was also strong about slavery; declared that congress could not regulate slavery in any way, voiding the missouri compromise that had balanced free/slave states; Justice Taney declared slaves travelling to other states with their masters could not sue for freedom
Understand the due process clause.
The part of the 14th amendment prohibiting states from depriving anyone of life, liberty, or property without “due process of law;” the court began interpreting “anyone” as businesses, too, in santa clara county vs southern pacific railroad and in lochner v new york
Understand selective incorporation.
The gradual spread of the protections of the Bill of Rights to the states by the US Supreme Court. fourteenth amendment does it officially, but each amendment was still only applied slowly by the COURT
Understand the “clear and present danger” outcome offered by the Supreme Court when it comes to speech.
Justice holmes argued later that it was interpreted too broadly
Understand the outcome in Texas v. Johnson.
shows how far the protection of free speech has expanded; ruled that flag burning is a protected expression and overturned a texas law against it
Understand prior restraint.
the government’s power to prevent publication, as opposed to punishment afterwards
What is the legal term for sexual materials?
Obscenity
Which court ruling outlines the three-prong test regarding obscenity?
Miller vs California
What are the free exercise clause and the establishment clause?
Free exercise clause: The portion of the 1st amendment that prohibits congress from impeding religious observance or impinging upon religious beliefs
establishment clause: The portion of the 1st amendment that prohibits congress from establishing an official religion; the basis for separation of church and state
Is the right to privacy stated in the Constitution?
No, not explicitly, but implied in fourth amendment and ninth
Understand Mapp vs. Ohio.
ruled that evidence gathered through a warrantless and unreasonable search may not be used at trial, even if its incriminating (exclusionary rule?)
Understand the outcome in Gideon v. Wainwright.
defendants accused of any felony in state jurisdictions are entitled to a lawyer and that the states must supply one when the defendant cannot afford to do so
Understand the history of the death penalty.
70s - Burger Court made judges give every opportunity for defendant before killing them;
80s - Rehnquist Court expedited and supported the use of the death penalty because crime was getting bad, but it eased and banned it for mentally retarded offenders in 2002, and then only juries, not judges, could decide it;
Roberts Court is undecided on death penalty, but declining crime and declining public support for death penalty
Now there is an alternative available: life in jail with no parole
Understand the outcome in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
example of rejecting overly broad claim of presidential war power. In this case, the court ruled that both foreign and american citizens detained as enemy combatants have a right to a hearing to contest the basis of their detentions
Understand civil rights.
Guaranteed by government of equal citizenship to all social groups
Understand the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.
13: ended slavery
14: made black people citizens
15: black men can vote
