Unit 3

Question 1

civil liberties

Answer 1

Protect individuals from government actions; these liberties are either explicitly identified in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, or interpreted through the years by courts and lawmakers.

Question 2

writ of habeas corpus

Answer 2

A court order requiring explanation to a judge why a prisoner is being held in custody.

Question 3

ex post facto law

Answer 3

Retroactive criminal law that works to the disadvantage of a person.

Question 4

due process clause

Answer 4

Clause in the Fifth Amendment limiting the power of the national government; similar clause in the Fourteenth Amendment prohibiting state governments from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Question 5

selective incorporation

Answer 5

The process by which provisions of the bill of rights are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and local governments.

Question 6

establishment clause

Answer 6

Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The Supreme Court has interpreted this to forbid governmental support to any or all religions.

Question 7

free exercise clause

Answer 7

Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.

Question 8

clear and present danger test

Answer 8

Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that the government cannot interfere with speech unless the speech presents a clear and present danger that it will lead to evil or illegal acts.

Question 9

prior restraint

Answer 9

Censorship imposed before a speech is made or a newspaper is published; usually presumed to be unconstitutional.

Question 10

unprotected speech

Answer 10

Libel, obscenity, and fighting words which are not entitled to constitutional protection in all circumstances.

Question 11

libel

Answer 11

Written defamation of another person. For public officials and public figures, the constitutional tests designed to restrict libel actions are especially rigid.

Question 12

obscenity

Answer 12

Quality or state of a work that taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest in sex by depicting sexual conduct in a patently offensive way and that lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. prohibits lewd, filthy, or disgusting words/pictures

Question 13

fighting words

Answer 13

Words that by their very nature inflict injury on those to whom they are addressed or incite them to acts of violence.

Question 14

search warrant

Answer 14

A writ issued by a magistrate that authorizes the police to search a particular place or person, specifying the place to be searched and the objects to be seized.

Question 15

exclusionary rule

Answer 15

Requirement that evidence unconstitutionally or illegally obtained be excluded from a criminal trial.

Question 16

due process

Answer 16

Established rules and regulations that restrain government officials.

Question 17

procedural due process

Answer 17

Constitutional requirement that governments proceed by proper methods; limits how (the procedure) government may exercise power.

Question 18

substantive due process

Answer 18

Constitutional requirement that governments act reasonably and that the substance of the laws themselves be fair and reasonable; limits what (the substance) the government may do.

Question 19

double jeopardy

Answer 19

Trial or punishment for the same crime by the same government; forbidden by the Constitution

Question 20

USA PATRIOT Act

Answer 20

Law created after 9/11 that was intended to help government agencies detect and prevent possible acts of terrorism, or sponsorship of terrorist groups.

Question 21

USA FREEDOM Act

Answer 21

Law created in 2015 that restored in modified form several provisions of the PATRIOT Act; the act imposes new limits on the bulk collection of telecommunication metadata on U.S. citizens by American intelligence agencies, including the (NSA).

Question 22

grand jury

Answer 22

A jury of 12 to 23 persons who, in private, hear evidence presented by the government to determine whether persons shall be required to stand trial. If the jury believes there is sufficient evidence that a crime was committed, it issues an indictment.

Question 23

petit jury

Answer 23

A jury of 6 to 12 persons that determines guilt or innocence in a civil or criminal action.

Question 24

indictment

Answer 24

A formal written statement from a grand jury charging an individual with an offense; also called a true bill.

Question 25

plea bargain

Answer 25

Agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser offense to avoid having to stand trial for a more serious offense

Question 26

eminent domain

Answer 26

The power of a government to take private property for public use; the U.S. Constitution gives national and state governments this power and requires them to provide just compensation for property taken.

Question 27

civil rights

Answer 27

Protect individuals from discrimination based on characteristics such as race, national origin, religion, and sex; these rights are guaranteed to all citizens under the due process and equal protection clauses of the Constitution, + acts of Congress.

Question 28

natural rights

Answer 28

The rights of all people to dignity and worth; also called human rights.

Question 29

affirmative action

Answer 29

Remedial action designed to overcome the effects of discrimination against minorities and women

Question 30

naturalization

Answer 30

A legal action conferring citizenship on an alien.

Question 31

women’s suffrage

Answer 31

The right of women to vote.

Question 32

equal protection clause

Answer 32

clause in the 14th amend. that forbids any state to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. This clause is the major constitutional restraint on the power of govts to discriminate against ppl because of race, sex,etc

Question 33

due process clause

Answer 33

Clause in the Fifth Amendment limiting the power of the national government; similar clause in the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the state governments from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Question 34

literacy test

Answer 34

Literacy requirements some states imposed as a condition of voting, generally used to disqualify black voters in the South; now illegal.

Question 35

white primary

Answer 35

Democratic Party primary in the old “one-party South” that was limited to white people and essentially constituted an election; ruled unconstitutional in 1944.

Question 36

racial gerrymandering

Answer 36

The drawing of election districts so as to ensure that members of a certain race are a minority in the district; ruled unconstitutional in 1960.

Question 37

poll tax

Answer 37

Tax required to vote; prohibited for national elections by the Twenty-Fourth Amendment (1964) and ruled unconstitutional for all elections in 1966.

Question 38

majority-minority district

Answer 38

A congressional district created to include a majority of minority voters; ruled constitutional so long as race is not the main factor in redistricting.

Question 39

Jim Crow laws

Answer 39

State laws formerly pervasive throughout the South requiring public facilities and accommodations to be segregated by race; ruled unconstitutional.

Question 40

civil disobedience

Answer 40

Deliberate refusal to obey law or comply with orders of public officials as a means of expressing opposition.

Question 41

commerce clause

Answer 41

The clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations.

Question 42

class action suit

Answer 42

Lawsuit brought by an individual or group of people on behalf of all those similarly situated.

Question 43

de jure segregation

Answer 43

Segregation imposed by law.

Question 44

de facto segregation

Answer 44

Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions or personal choice.