Section 4 Flashcards
civil rights
constitutional guarantees of equal opportunity and protection such as freedom from unwarranted searches, fair trials, and the right to vote; prescriptions, or directions, for government’s power
civil liberties
freedoms guaranteed to individuals in the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights that restrain or stop government from taking particular actions, thus protecting individual choices; proscriptions (limits) on government’s power
equal treatment
the equal treatment of people regardless of who they are
Civil Rights Act of 1964
federal law that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; unequal application of voter registration requirements; and segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations
rational basis test
set of criteria the Supreme Court uses to analyze and decide court cases on types of discrimination; accuser must prove discrimination to the Court
intermediate scrutiny test
set of criteria used by a court to decide if the government is discriminating on the basis of gender or sex
strict scrutiny test
rigorous set of criteria that courts use to analyze cases to see if a law or regulation is needed because of a “compelling state interest”
Reconstruction
an era in U.S. history from 1865 to 1877, following the Civil War; addressed the transition of slave states to non-slave economies and rendered full freedom, citizenship, and equality to African Americans
Ku Klux Klan
a terrorist hate organization that espouses white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration ideologies, first established in the South after the Civil War; name probably derives from the Greek word kyklos, meaning circle, plus clan
civil rights movement
a 1960s social movement led by Martin Luther King, Jr., promoting nonviolent civil disobedience against racial discrimination that led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, along with other important laws against racial discrimination
white flight
a phrase describing a social phenomenon occurring mainly in the 1950s and 1960s; the large-scale migration of people who are White from racially mixed urban areas into racially homogeneous suburbs
racial profiling
the act of making judgments about a person—usually negative— based solely on stereotypes about the person’s race
public
the part of our lives where we interact with others not intimate to us, in a shared or public space
private
the part of our lives when we are alone or with intimate others, which takes place outside of public spaces
ex post facto laws
literally meaning “from a thing done afterward;” a law that applies retroactively, such as making a legal action suddenly illegal, with punishments; the U.S. Constitution prohibits Congress from passing any retroactive, or ex post facto, laws
bill of attainder
an act of a legislature, such as Congress, declaring a person guilty of a crime and levying a punishment, without a trial; the U.S. Constitution prohibits Congress from passing any bills of attainder
search warrant
a legal document issued by a court authorizing the search of a person or property for evidence of a crime
Dred Scott v. Sandford
the Supreme Court ruled that enslaved people, whether free or enslaved, were not citizens and therefore could not sue in federal court, and that Congress lacked the power to ban slavery in the U.S. territories
Thirteenth Amendment
- So it sought to abolish slavery. Slavery (or involuntary servitude) was then permissible only for those duly convicted of a crime.
Fourteenth Amendment
- introduced equal protection to the Constitution. And it extended the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the states. It also required the states to honor the “privileges or immunities” of U.S. citizenship. That is conferred by birth or naturalization in the United States. It requires that states respect the “privileges or immunities” of this citizenship. These privileges include due process of law and equal protection of the law.
Fifteenth Amendment
- first constitutional protection on voting. It prohibited the use of race, color, or previous conditions of servitude to abridge this right.
Plessy v. Ferguson
the court established the policy of “separate but equal.” That decision supported segregation.
The Thirteenth Amendment prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude except when
A person is duly convicted of a crime
Nineteenth Amendment
It prohibits the denial of voting rights based on sex.
Minor v. Happersett
the Supreme Court had ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause did not apply to the right of women to vote.
Twenty-Fourth Amendment
It prohibits the denial of voters due to a failure to pay a poll tax or any other tax.
Twenty-Sixth Amendment
It prohibits the denial of voting for any person 18 years of age or older.
In which amendment does the requirement for states to respect the “privileges or immunities” of your U.S. citizenship appear?
The Fourteenth Amendment
Which Amendment protects the right of women to vote?
The Nineteenth Amendment
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment extends voting rights to:
Persons 18 years old or older
Discrimination is:
The differential treatment of groups based on characteristics they possess
Generally allowed by the courts so long as it is rational.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA):
This law was passed in 1967. It protects people 40 years of age or older. It prohibits discrimination against them in hiring, promotion, and other privileges of employment.
Age Discrimination Act of 1975
This law prohibits discrimination based on age in programs that receive federal assistance. These include education, healthcare, housing, and rehabilitation programs.
Which law prohibits discrimination based on age in programs that receive assistance from the federal government?
The Age Discrimination Act of 1975
Civil Rights Act of 1957
This law prohibits intimidation or interference with voting rights based on race, color, religion, or national origin. It applies to people voting for president or members of Congress.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This law prohibits racial discrimination in voting
Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968)
This law requires equal housing rights. These apply regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.
Which two constitutional amendments are supported by the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
The Fifteenth Amendment, The Twenty-Fourth Amendment
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
This law extended civil rights to people with disabilities. It pertains specifically to education and employment. It allows for the reasonable accommodation of such persons.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
This law was passed in 1990. It prohibits discrimination based on disability. It requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. And it created accessibility requirements for public accommodations.
Equal Pay Act of 1963
This law made it illegal to pay different wages to men and women who perform equal work in the same workplace. (This law was reinforced by the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.)
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
This law made it illegal to discriminate against people on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. It also prohibits retaliation against a person who complains about such discrimination.
Title IX (Education Amendments of 1972)
This law addressed any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. It made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sex.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978:
This law made it illegal to discriminate against women because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
What is the importance of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009?
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act reinforced the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
Craig v. Boren
The standard of intermediate scrutiny was first applied by the Supreme Court
Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan
Joe Hogan, a registered nurse and qualified applicant, was denied admission to the Mississippi University for Women. They found in favor of Mr. Hogan, citing that gender discrimination formed the basis of the admission decision that ultimately violated his 14th amendment rights.
Rostker v. Goldberg
the Supreme Court looked at the exclusion of women from Selective Service registration. The court concluded that Congress’s exclusion of women was constitutional.
Automobile Workers v. Johnson Controls, Inc.
the court disallowed Johnson Control’s policy of denying fertile women employment in its battery manufacturing plants.
United States v. Virginia
the Court disallowed the male-only admission policy of the Virginia Military Institute.
Korematsu v. United States.
the court looked at the government’s World War II policy of excluding Japanese Americans from designated areas. This policy did not apply to Americans of German descent. The court supported the policy. Strict scrutiny was applied here.
Brown v. Board of Education
prohibits segregation in public schools.
Griswold v. Connecticut
permits married couples the right to use birth control.
Roe v. Wade
establishes the right of women to have abortions.
City of Boerne v. Flores.
held that zoning laws cannot impose undue restriction on religious freedom.
NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada
the Supreme Court had new requirements for states. Those providing higher education to Whites had to provide similar opportunities to African Americans.
Browder v. Gayle
(1956): Segregation of intrastate transportation is unconstitutional.
Loving v. Virginia
(1967): State laws prohibiting interracial marriage are unconstitutional.
Jones v. Mayer Co.
(1968): Racial discrimination in the public or private sale or rental of property is against federal law.
What do civil rights represent?
Civil rights are expressions of the social contract.
Civil rights are expectations for how the government will treat us.
Civil rights are requirements for government action.
Which approach did the NAACP pursue to challenge African American discrimination?
The NAACP used the courts to challenge de jure racial discrimination.
Montgomery Bus Boycott (1957)
It involved protests against the policy of racial segregation on public transportation in Montgomery, Alabama. The arrest of Rosa Parks was an initiating event in the boycott.
Sit-ins (1958–1960):
These were a series of events. They started in Greensboro, North Carolina. These events were protests of segregated department store lunch counters. College students led most of them.
Freedom Rides (1961):
Activists rode interstate buses into the South. They did so to protest laws requiring the segregation of public transportation facilities.
Birmingham Campaign (1963):
This was a series of sit-ins, marches, and nonviolent protests against segregation. It took place in Birmingham, Alabama. Authorities used fire hoses and police dogs against the protestors.
March on Washington (1963):
This event was organized by an alliance of civil rights, labor, and religious groups. The march advocated economic rights for African Americans.
Freedom Summer (1964):
This was a large-scale effort to register African American voters in Mississippi. It is remembered in part because of the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner.
Selma to Montgomery Marches (1965):
These nonviolent marches were organized to protest segregationist policies preventing African Americans the right to vote. These policies seemed to defy the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike (1968):
This was a strike in response to the poor working conditions of African American sanitation workers. Such conditions resulted in two workers being crushed to death in their truck. During the strike, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
De jure segregation
refers to the legal separation of people based on characteristics like race, enforced by law or government policy, as opposed to de facto segregation which occurs through social or economic factors
de facto segregation
it is common or routine. African Americans still find themselves subject to the direct and indirect effects of discrimination.
white flight.
White people abandoned cities in favor of suburbs. That way they avoided dealing with desegregation.
Which general civil rights trend is most present in the constitutional amendments ratified after the Bill of Rights?
The general civil rights trend most present in these amendments is expansion of the right to vote.
How do civil rights differ from civil liberties?
Civil rights are requirements for government action while civil liberties are restrictions on government power.
Why is habeas corpus such a big deal?
Habeas corpus guarantees our right to challenge our detention by government in a neutral venue.
The relationship between a married couple is considered to be:
A civil liberty, Part of the private sphere
One particular law prohibits a wide range of discriminatory practices in housing sales, housing rentals, mortgage lending, and harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability status, familial status, or national origin. The law helped eliminate widespread discrimination that targeted ethnic and racial minority groups, such as the bank practice of red-lining African American neighborhoods. Which of these laws accomplished the elimination of that sort of discrimination?
The Fair Housing Act of 1968
What does the rational basis legal doctrine permit the government to do?
The rational basis legal doctrine permits the government to distinguish between groups if the distinction has a logical basis.
Which of the following is true for strict scrutiny in regards to treating citizens differently?
The burden of proof is on government at all levels to demonstrate the need for the law or regulation.
these individual freedoms are protected in the Bill of Rights
Freedom of religion, Freedom of speech, Freedom to bear arms
probable cause
the legal standard for determining whether a search or seizure is constitutional or whether a crime has been committed; a lower threshold than the standard of proof needed at a criminal trial
exclusionary rule
based on the Supreme Court case Mapp v. Ohio; evidence obtained as a result of an illegal search or seizure cannot be used in a criminal trial
double jeopardy
a legal prohibition against trying an individual (that is, placing the person “in jeopardy”) twice for the same crime, established by the Fifth Amendment
constitutional rights
rights granted to you in the Constitution
statutory right
a right granted to you in a law or statute
voir dire
the questioning of potential jurors to determine their fitness to sit on a jury; French term meaning “to speak the truth”
common law
the form of law that is based on custom, precedent, and court decisions in England rather than on legislative decree
economic liberty
the right of individuals to obtain, use, and trade things of value for their own benefit
eminent domain
a power of government to take and use private property for a public purpose after fairly compensating its owner; also known as “the takings clause” of the Fifth Amendment
Establishment Clause
listed in the First Amendment; prohibits the federal government from passing laws to create or promote a state-sponsored religion
Free Exercise Clause
located in the First Amendment; protects the choice of each person to adopt and practice individual religious beliefs, forbidding the government to control or restrict such beliefs and practices
First Amendment
It guarantees the most basic freedoms that are available for Americans. Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Why did the Supreme Court ruling in Sherbert v. Verner, which led to the Sherbert test, make it difficult for the national government or states to interfere with religious practices?
The ruling required that the national or state action had to be effective in achieving any government goal.
When is government involvement in religious practices allowed according to the Lemon test (established in Lemon v. Kurtzman)?
Government involvement in religious practices is allowed when that involvement neither advances or inhibits religious practice.
Why are school vouchers acceptable under the Lemon Test even if they are used for attendance at religious schools?
Because they provide direct assistance to students and not to the schools.
What is a main element of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment?
The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment states that the national government is not permitted to provide support to any church school.
Which form of political speech and expression has received the most protection in judicial decisions?
Political speech in all forms
In the Miller v. California case, the Supreme Court established the Miller test for which of the following purposes?
To help determine whether something is obscene
What is included in the Miller test standard?
The Miller standard includes whether the material is patently offensive, as defined by community standards
Which Supreme Court decision provided increased rights for students?
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
second amendment:
A well-regulated militia is necessary for the security of a free state.
The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
United States v. Cruikshank
The court concluded that the amendment only applied to actions by Congress, not by a state. Therefore, the common law right to firearms could be regulated by a state.
United States v. Miller.
The Supreme Court allowed Congress to impose restrictions on the ownership of firearms not normally used by the military. The court also allowed taxing the purchase and transfer of such weapons.
District of Columbia v. Heller.
The court ruled that the individual ownership of firearms was protected by the Second Amendment.
McDonald v. City of Chicago
It used the principle of selective incorporation. It applied this interpretation of the Second Amendment to the states. This prevents states from interfering with the ownership of firearms relative to self-defense.
The Supreme Court decision in which of the following cases ruled that states may not interfere with gun ownership relative to self-defense?
McDonald v. City of Chicago
The Third Amendment
Soldiers cannot be quartered in your home during peacetime without your consent, Soldiers cannot be quartered in your home during war except as prescribed by law.
What are the Third Amendment’s quartering-of-troops provisions taken to imply?
These provisions imply that the framers considered our homes to be off-limits from government intrusion.
The Fourth Amendment
Warrants are necessary for searches and seizures to take place, Warrants must be granted by a judge. The judge acts on a sworn statement from law enforcement. The judge concludes there to be probable cause for the search or seizure.
Who must approve a warrant for a search?
A judge must approve a search warrant.
Exceptions for Warrants
If a person consents to the search, If the search takes place where the person lacks a “reasonable expectation of privacy”, If the item in question is in plain view, If the police fear that, during the time a warrant is being sought, evidence will be tampered with or destroyed, If the police reasonably suspect a person is involved in criminal activity
Mapp v. Ohio
The court decided that evidence obtained without a warrant could not be used in a state criminal trial.
What is the exclusionary rule?
The exclusionary rule excludes illegally obtained evidence from being used in a criminal trial.
Evidence obtained without a search warrant or a wrongfully obtained search warrant cannot be used.
When is a search warrant not necessary?
When evidence of illegal activity is in plain sight
The Fifth Amendment
A grand jury indictment is necessary to indict you for a serious crime (except for crimes committed within the military), You cannot be tried for the same crime twice (double jeopardy), You cannot be forced to provide evidence of guilt, You have the right to remain silent, Your life, liberty, or property cannot be taken without due process.
Kohl v. United States
eminent domain was first acknowledged. Supreme Court limited the action to be constrained by the powers granted to the federal government.
Kelo v. City of New London.
The court held that the City of New London could use eminent domain to take private property from one group and give it to another group to further economic development.
Which of these applies to the restrictions for taking private property as imposed by the Fifth Amendment?
These restrictions serve to protect individual economic liberty.
The Sixth Amendment
You are entitled to a speedy and public trial, You are entitled to an impartial jury, Your trial is to take place where the crime was committed, You are entitled to know what crime you are alleged to have committed, You are entitled to confront any of the witnesses against you, You are entitled to compel people to testify on your behalf, You are entitled to have an attorney present to assist in your defense
voir dire
In this process, they question potential jurors about their fitness to serve on the jury.
The Seventh Amendment
Your right to a civil trial is guaranteed. But the dispute must exceed $20, The facts decided by a jury in a civil trial are not to be questioned. There is an exception under the rules of common law.
The Eighth Amendment
You are protected from excessive bail, You are protected from excessive fines, You are protected from cruel and unusual punishment
Furman v. Georgia
the court laid out guidelines for capital punishment
Baze v. Rees
the court allowed Kentucky’s three-step protocol for lethal injection
Ford v. Wainwright
the court prohibited the death penalty for a person who is declared insane.
Atkins v. Virginia
the court extended this prohibition to people who are mentally challenged.
Roper v. Simmons.
prohibited the execution of juvenile offenders.
The Supreme Court has held that the death penalty is allowable under the Constitution under certain circumstances. What are those circumstances?
The death penalty is a punishment proportionate to the crime, The death penalty is not administered in a way that involves unnecessary or prolonged suffering, The use of mandatory death sentences for certain crimes violates the Eighth Amendment.
What did the equal time rule, which was initially part of the Communications Act, require?
The equal time rule required that if one candidate purchased advertising, all candidates in the same race would be allowed to purchase airtime at the same price.
What is one of the three criteria used for the Lemon test by federal courts, dealing with government involvement with religion?
The law or action must avoid excessive government entanglement.
According to the Supreme Court’s decision in Carson v. Makin, why can states not prohibit private religious schools from receiving education grant money from the government?
If states provide grant funding to secular private schools, they must not deny such funding to religious private schools because that would be a violation of the free-exercise liberties of religious schools and their students.
What did the Supreme Court rule regarding the American Flag in Texas v. Johnson?
Burning the American flag is a protected form of expression under the First Amendment.
According the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brandenberg v. Ohio, political speech can be restricted only if it does which of the following?
Creates a danger of imminent lawless action
Equal Protection Clause
a clause in Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment that prohibits the government from denying any person equal protection under the law
Jim Crow laws:
a set of laws used to discriminate against African Americans and deny rights to newly freed slaves after the Civil War. The name “Jim Crow” came from a minstrel routine, “Jump Jim Crow,” that turned into a derogatory term for African Americans.
disenfranchisement
being denied the right to vote
Civil War Amendments
the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, which were added to the Constitution after the Civil War; these amendments ended slavery, provided equal protection under the law, and granted voting rights to men of color
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
an unratified amendment to the U.S. Constitution, proposed in 1972, that would require equal treatment for all citizens regardless of sex. The original date of ratification by at least 38 states was March 1979; 35 states ratified it. The ERA is still considered by some to be ratifiable, although it is not universally accepted that this is constitutional.
Fourteenth Amendment
It was an additional measure to bring an end to the Civil War. One of the most important clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment is found in Section 1. It is the Equal Protection Clause.
Fifteenth Amendment
addressed the right to vote. It stated that people could not be denied based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
Which of these are examples of Jim Crow Laws aimed to disenfranchise African Americans?
Grandfather clauses, Literacy tests, Poll taxes
How did the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson serve as a restriction on individual rights?
The ruling allowed for separation based on race in public facilities, which limited what people of color could do and where and how they could travel.
United States v. Windsor
It questioned the validity of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA excluded a same-sex partner from the definition of “spouse” as that term is used in federal statutes.
Obergefell v. Hodges
They brought suits against states and relevant agencies that refused to recognize same-sex marriages in states where such marriages were legal.
Respect for Marriage Act
This law repeals DOMA. It means the federal government must respect all marriages, including those between same-sex couples. This is an important legal protection. It reinforces the United States v. Windsor decision.
Loving v. Virginia
ruling (interracial marriage)
Which arguments did the Supreme Court accept in United States v. Windsor about the rights of same-sex married couples?
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) denied the rights of same-sex married couples by refusing to recognize same-sex marriages in the way it recognized heterosexual marriages.
Treating certain married couples differently is a violation of equal protection under the Constitution.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) protected the inheritance rights of some married couples while denying the inheritance rights of other married couples.
Which classes of individuals did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 apply to?
Race, Religion, Sex
The Civil War Amendments (the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments) were not enough to prevent discrimination against people of color, particularly in the South. As a result, which other pieces of legislation were passed by the federal government to prevent discrimination?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Amelia Bloomer
Campaigned for dress reform. She believed women could lead better lives if they dressed differently.
Which of the following amendments provided suffrage rights to women in the United States?
The Nineteenth Amendment
How did the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments impact education in the United States?
Title IX prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in public education institutions that receive federal funds.
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965),
states restricted the sale and advertising of birth control. The state of Connecticut went even further. The use of contraception was punishable by a $50 fine and/or up to one year in prison. Anyone who helped provide birth control could similarly be punished. Supreme Ct ruled: It struck down the state law that made it a crime to use birth control devices or advise anyone about them. The majority decision stated that “specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights have penumbras” that “create zones of privacy.”
Roe v. Wade
It declared that the right to privacy upheld in Griswold included a woman’s right to an abortion. The court tried to balance the rights of the woman with the interests of the states to protect human life, so it created a trimester framework.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
It overruled the precedent set by Roe. This case considered whether the state of Mississippi’s law that banned nearly all abortions after 15 weeks was constitutional.
