Terms Flashcards
Civil Liberties
Government limits aka they cannot infringe on your civil liberties (speech, press etc)
Selective Incorporation
Case by case decision where they decide what parts of the Bill of rights apply to states
Barron v Baltimore
Baltimore did some city renovations that messed up Barron’s dock which meant ships couldn’t dock so no businesses.
-This then leads to Barron arguing this was a violation of the 5th amendment specifically the “ nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
-The Supreme Court says the 5th only applies to the federal, not the state government, this then sets the precedent for a lack of a limit on state government
Gitlow v New York
Gitlow distributed “a Left Wing Manifesto” -> was convicted by New York’s Criminal Anarchy Law bc he was advocating for overthrowing the government -> the court decided that it was punishable bc of a national security threat HOWEVER the law itself is unconstitutional
Schenck v US
Schenck was telling people to disobey the draft bc it violated the 13th Amendment -> was charged with the Espionage Act of 1917 -> Argued he was using his First Amendment -> Court said “nuh uh” and ruled that Schenck was a “clear and present danger” by telling people to dodge the draft therefor his 1st amendment was not infringed upon and the charge was fair
Brandenburg v Ohio
Brandenburg is the KKK leader, makes a speech at a KKK rally -> gets convicted under Ohio criminal syndicalism law for advocating “crime, sabotage, violence, or unlawful methods of terrorism as a means of accomplishing industrial or political reform,” -> Court ruled against Ohio law saying speech can only be silenced if it has intent, imminence and likelihood for something to occur
Texas v Johnson
Johnson burns American flag to protest -> convicted under Texas law for desecrating a flag -> gets overturned bc Supreme Court rules that flag burning was protected under the First Amendment because it was a political protest and that is protected by the First Amendment
Matal v Tam
Tam tried to trademark his band name “The Slants” -> was rejected because it was disparaging to people of Asian descent under the Disparagement Clause of the Lanham Act of 1946 -> Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot decide what hate speech -> they can only silence speech when it falls under 3 category (fraud, defamation, and incitement) and the name did not fall under any of these 3
Right to Privacy
Made up constitutional right that has grounds in the 1st, 4th, and 9th Amendments. An area that is meant for you/your close circle but overturning Roe V. Wade has led to questions about its existence/extent of protection
Griswold v Connecticut
Griswold was providing contraceptives to couples -> got arrested -> Griswold is in the right because couples have the right to privacy and this is found in the 1st, 4th, and 9th Amendments.
Eisenstadt v Baird
Eisenstadt gave out contraceptives to unmarried people and got arrested, the law at the time only allowed it for married people -> Court ruled in favor of Eisenstadt because of equal protection law (if married people can get contraceptives so can single people)
Roe v Wade
Roe was going to get an abortion even though they are illegal in Texas, claimed that right to privacy = right to abortion-> Court ruled that as long as it was within the first trimester the court did not have a say; the second trimester would have regulations whilst the third trimester would be banned outright
Casey v Planned Parenthood
Pennsylvania made it super hard to get abortions -> the court ruled that these obstacles were considered “undue burdens” -. changed the requirement of trimester system to viability system
Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization
Mississippi passed a law banning abortion -> Court ruled that Roe was wrong from the start and that it protected a right that never existed in the Constitution -> This then overturned Roe V. Wade and returned abortion laws back to the states
Civil Rights
Equal treatment under the law
Fourteenth Amendment
Everyone has equal protection under the law
Literacy Tests
Tests that were made for African American voters were impossible in order to stop them from voting
Jim Crow
Laws that segregated African Americans from white people in all public institutions such as schools, busses etc.
Plessy v Ferguson
Plessy went onto a whites-only car even though he was 1/8 black and this led to the Supreme Court ruling that segregation was constitutional as long as facilities were equal -> leads to early civil rights movements
Brown v Board of Education
Brown fought for the desegregation of schools and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brown; serves as a landmark case and was the first important case in civil rights
Civil Rights Act of 1964
law that prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, or religion. Formally ends segregation in the US
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Local registers were replaced with federal registers and any outlawed anything that would limit someone’s voting rights including the literacy test and grandfather clause
Affirmative Action
Policies that take into account race/gender in hiring, admissions, promotions and grants. Soft affirmative action is removed when the pool is diverse enough; hard affirmative action keeps these factor in consideration all throughout the process
UC Regents v Bakke
Bakke was denied from UC Davis even though he was highly qualified, he argued that this was due to 16/100 seats being reserved for diverse populations -> Court ruled that schools can do this bc it provides benefits to minority groups leading to legal diversity
Gratz v Bollinger/Grutter v Bollinger
Gratz & Grutter were denied admission from University of Michigan bc of affirmative action -> Gratz was denied bc of a point system that gave more points to African American applicants & Grutter was denied based on another system -> the court ruled that the school point system was unconstitutional but other than that they were promoting diversity
SFFA v Harvard/UNC
Asian American applicants were scoring high on academics but low on personal qualities -> leads to affirmative action being overturned on the basis that equal protection cannot mean one thing to another person and a different thing to someone else
The “Problem” of the Presidency
President is often constrained w/ power and resources -> still has to meet high expectations and perform well but good presidents can work around this, bad presidents cannot
Line Item Veto
The person can veto certain parts of a bill but pass the rest; the president cannot do this
Pocket Veto
A non-formal veto; a bill that sits on the president’s desk for 10 days w/out being signed is not law
General Veto
The president can reject a law even if it passes the House and Senate; can be overturned by a 2/3 vote in house and senate
Omnibus Bill
Bill that contains multiple policies and laws; President cannot line-item veto this -> forces president to sign either none of the laws or all of the laws
“Take Care” Clause
President must ensure laws are fully executed -> forces President to abide and execute federal laws bc not doing so would break the clause
War Powers Act
The president has to get Congress’s approval before deploying US troops to foreign nations; this keeps the president’s power in check
2001 and 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force
After 9/11, this bill passed in order to give the president power to use military force against those he deemed involved in 9/11 -> this means he can bypass Congress & is still active
Executive Order
The president decides how the executive branch implements policies; can bypass Congress and implement policies
Executive Privilege
Information within the executive branch can stay classified -> gives the president leverage on Congress bc he can claim he has information that needs special permission
Pardons and Commutations
Executives can remove/lessen a crime/sentence; pardon fully removes crime & commutations lessen it -> Needs to be a federal conviction & the president is intervening in judiciary work
Appointment Power of the President
President can appoint people into executive & judiciary; Judiciaries appointments are for life -> Congress has to approve appointments
Constitutional Signing Statements
Signing a statement where the President claims they won’t enforce it heavily, is controversial bc its unknown if this is legally binding or not
Rhetorical Signing Statements
Signing a statement that acknowledges those involved in passing the law and thanks them
Interpretive Signing Statements
President saying how they believe the law should be executed
National Emergency Act of 1976
President can activate emergency provisions of the law, gives president emergency powers without congressional authorization
-> National emergencies ended by law which rarely happens so presidents still have some emergency powers bc some of them are still in effect
Unitary Executive
Entire executive branch appointed by President leading to unified goal
Office of Management and Budget
Formulates national budget & oversees federal agencies and the federal budget
Impeachment
Congress can remove an executive; Needs to be impeached and convicted of treason, bribery, or high crime/misdemeanor. Simple majority in house and 2/3 of senate needed -> moreso used as a political statement
Presidential Strategies
- Going through congress (long process but it lasts)
- Going around congress (easy process but can get overturned)
- going under congress (bypassing congress; rare)
- going above congress (pushing for action)
Presidential Success in Foreign and Domestic Policy
President more success in foreign than domestic policy bc of less restriction in foreign policy making; main factors of domestic group are congress and interest groups
The “Problem” of Congress
Role: make national policy, oversee executive and represent constituents
Issue: structure fragments power and makes congress focus more on local constituents rather than national issues
Executive Oversight
Congress exercising control of executive branch through hearings, investigations, etc.
Federal Budget
3 parts
-net interest
-mandatory spending
-discretionary spending (determined and allocated differently each year) (mostly spent on military)
-as population gets older mandatory spending increases
National Debt
Amount that the US owes to government groups like the federal reserve and countries like Japan; current debt is the highest its been and makes it an issue to borrow money
Pork Barrel Legislation
legislation by congress members that helps the district they represent rather than a collective good so they can get reelected
Filibuster
a single individual can stop a law from passing; can be overturned with a 60/100 senate vote meaning law requires supermajority instead of simple majority
Cloture
overturn a filibuster w/ a 60/100 vote in senate; most laws require a supermajority meaning most fail
Individual Rationality produces Collective Irrationality
Congress members want to represent the district that elected them so they can get reelected -> everyone wants higher spending lower taxes -> ignores national interest which then means laws fail bc of different desires
Status Quo Bias of Congress
laws hard to pass, policies remain unchanged, Congress not responsive to the public
The “Problem” of Judiciary
Issue: how to maintain legilegitimacy when you make/shape policies undemocratically
Main problem: Judicial power is one of the most powerful one
Original Jurisdiction
Power to hear case for a first time
Writ of Certiorari
Supreme Court asking lower court to send over records of a case to review information; can lead to a Supreme Court overturning past cases etc.
Amicus Curiae
Someone outside of the court that can get more information and deliver it back to the justices; can provide expertise and insight
Stare Decisis
Courts should follow precedent which puts heavy importance on Supreme Court case rulings (Roe V. Wade)
Judicial Review
Power to determine if a law is constitutional or not; good to keep legislative branch in check & also good for constantly interpreting different meanings of the constitution
Statutory Interpretation
Court gives powers to bureaucrats to interpret gaps and ambiguities in their own laws as long as its reasonable; more power to bureaucrats which is a non-democratic part of the government
Marbury v Madison
First law ever to be unconstitutional; established the idea of judicial review
Problem: Congress tried to alter the Constitution with the Judiciary Act of 1789 but congress could not do that making it the first illegal law which then gives way to judicial review
Judicial Activism
Judges ruling based on personal policy vs interpretation of the law; this leads to more precedents being overturned
Judicial Restraint
Judges only focusing on the interpretation of the law & that judicial review should be used sparingly
-Cases already decided on should be precedent
-This rarely happens though bc judges are more focused on personal policy
Federalist #78
Hamilton says that the court is the least dangerous and that they are merely reactionary & cannot initiate action. Court has been consistently ignored but their power of judicial review, policy-making, and shaping policy is so strong that it might overpower their base weakness.
