Unit 5: chapters 4, 5 Flashcards
affirmative action
a policy designed to give special attention to or compensatory treatment for members of some previously disadvantaged group.
americans with disabilities act of 1990
a law passed in 1990 that requires employers and public facilities to make “reasonable accommodations” for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment.
comparable worth
the issue raised when women are paid less than men for working at jobs requiring comparable skill.
19th amendment
the constitutional amendment adopted in 1920 that guarantees women the right to vote.
equal rights amendment (era)
a constitutional amendment originally introduced in 1923 and passed by Congress in 1972 and sent to the state legislatures for ratification, stating that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of sex.” despite substantial public support and an extended deadline, the amendment failed to get enough support.
voting rights act of 1965
a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to african american suffrage. under the law, federal registrars were sent to southern states and counties that had long histories of discrimination; as a result, hundreds of thousands of african americans were registered and the number of african american elected officials increased dramatically.
24th amendment
the constitutional amendment passed in 1964 that declared poll taxes void.
white primary
one of the means used to discourage african american voting that permitted political parties in the heavily democratic south to exclude african americans from primary elections, thus depriving them of a voice in the real contests. the supreme court declared white primaries unconstitutional in 1944 by the smith v. allwright.
poll taxes
small taxes, levied on the right to vote, that often fell due at a time of year when poor african american sharecroppers had the least cash on hand. this method was used by most southern states to exclude african americans from voting registers. poll taxes were declared void by the twenty-fourth amendment in 1964.
15th amendment
the constitutional amendment adopted in 1870 to extend suffrage to african americans.
suffrage
the legal right to vote, extended to african americans by the fifteenth amendment, to women by the nineteenth amendment, and to people over the age of 18 by the twenty-sixth amendment.
civil rights act of 1964
the law that made racial discrimination against any group in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job discrimination.
13th amendment
the constitutional amendment passed after the civil war that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude.
equal protection of the laws
part of the fourteenth amendment emphasizing that the laws must provide equivalent “protection” to all people. as one member of congress said during debate on the amendment, it should provide “equal protection of life, liberty, and property” to all state’s citizens.
14th amendment
the constitutional amendment adopted after the civil war that states, “no states shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the united states; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
civil rights
policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals.
right to privacy
the right to a private personal life free from the intrusion of government. the right to privacy is implicitly protected by the bill of rights.
cruel and unusual punishment
court sentences prohibited by the eighteenth amendment. although the supreme court has ruled that mandatory death sentences for certain offenses are unconstitutional, it has not held that the death penalty itself constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
eighth amendment
the constitutional amendment that forbids cruel and unusual punishment, although it does not define this phrase. through the fourteenth amendment, this bill of rights provision applies to the states.
plea bargaining
a bargain struck between the defendant’s lawyer and the prosecutor to the effect that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser crime (or fewer crimes) in exchange for the state’s promise not to prosecute the defendant for a more serious (or additional) crime.
sixth amendment
criminal court procedures: right to a speedy/public trial impartial jury informed of cause of incarceration provided with a lawyer
self-incrimination
the situation occurring when an individual accused of a crime is compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in court. the fifth amendment forbids self-incrimination.
fifth amendment
the constitutional amendment designed to protect the rights of persons accused of crimes, including protection against double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and punishment without due process of law.
exclusionary rule
the rule that evidence, no matter how incriminating, cannot be introduced into a trial if it was not constitutionally obtained. the rule prohibits use of evidence obtained through unreasonable search and seizure.
search warrant
a written authorization from a court specifying the area to be searched and what the police are searching for.
unreasonable searches and seizures
obtaining evidence in a haphazard or random manner, a practice prohibited by the fourth amendment. both probable cause and a search warrant are required for a legal and proper search for and seizure of incriminating evidence.
probable cause
the situation occurring when the police have reason to believe that a person should be arrested. in making the arrest, police are allowed legally to search for and seize incriminating evidence.
commercial speech
communication in the form of advertising. it can be restricted more than many other types of speech but has been receiving increased protection from the supreme court.
