Unit V: Civil Liberties Flashcards
the constitutionality and other legal protections against government actions., formerly set down in the Bill of Rights
civil liberties
the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which define such basic liberties as freedom of speech, religion, and the press, and guarantee defendants’ rights
Bill of Rights
the constitutional amendment that protects the four great liberties: freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, and of assembly
First Amendment
the constitutional amendment adopted after the Civil War that declares “No State 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.”
Fourteenth Amendment
part of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing that persons cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property by the U.S. or state governments without due process of law
due process clause
the legal concept under which the Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights by making most of its provisions applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment
incorporation doctrine
part of the First Amendment stating that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”
establishment clause
a First Amendment provision that prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion
free exercise clause
government actions that prevent material from being published, usually prevented by the First Amendment as confirmed by Near v. Minnesota
prior restraint
the publication of false and malicious statements that may damage someone’s reputation
libel
nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband, accorded some protection under the First Amendment
symbolic speech
communication in the form of advertising, which can be restricted more than many other types of speech
commercial speech
reasonable grounds for believing that a person is guilty of a crime needed in order to make a lawful arrest
probable cause
obtaining evidence in an unlawful manner, a practice prohibited by the Fourth Amendment, needed to make a legal and proper search for and seizure of incriminating evidence and to seize such evidence
unreasonable search and seizure
a written authorization from a court specifying the area to be searched and what the police may search for
search warrant
the rule that evidence cannot be introduced into a trial if it was not obtained in a constitutional manner, specifically through unreasonable search and seizure
exclusionary rule
a constitutional amendment designed to protect the rights of persons accused of crimes such as against double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and punishment without due process of law
Fifth Amendment
being a witness against oneself, which is forbidden involuntarily by the Fifth Amendment
self-incrimination
a constitutional amendment designed to protect individuals accused of crimes, including right to counsel, right to confront witnesses, and the right to a speedy and public trial
Sixth Amendment
a bargain struck between a defendant’s lawyer and a prosecuted to the effect that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser crime (or to fewer crimes) in exchange for the state’s promise not to prosecute the defendant for a more serious crime or for additional crimes
plea bargaining
the constitutional amendment that forbids cruel and unusual punishment
Eight Amendment
court sentences prohibited by the Eight Amendment
cruel and unusual punishment
the right to a private personal life free from intrusion of government
right to privacy
the 1833 Supreme Court decision holding that the Bill of Rights restrained only the national government, not the states or cities
Barron v. Baltimore
the 1925 Supreme Court Decision holding that freedoms of press and speech are “fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by the states” as well as by the federal government
Gitlow v. New York
the 1971 Supreme Court decision that established that aid to church-related schools must (1) have a secular legislative purpose; (2) have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion; and (3) not foster excessive government entanglement with religion
Lemon v. Kurtzman
the 2002 Supreme Court decision that upheld a state program providing families with vouchers that could be used to pay for tuition at religious schools
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris
the 1962 Supreme Court decision holding that state officials violated the First Amendment when they required that a prayer be recited by public school children
Engel v. Vitale
the 1963 Supreme Court decision holding that a Pennsylvania law requiring Bible reading in schools violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment
School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp
the 1931 Supreme Court decision holding that the First Amendment protects newspapers from prior restraint
Near v. Minnesota
a 1919 Supreme Court decision up-holding the conviction of a socialist who had urged resistance to the draft during World War 1. Judge Holmes declared that government can limit speech if the speech provokes a “clear and present danger” of substantive evils
Schenck v. United States
a 1957 Supreme Court decision ruling that “obscenity is not within the area of constitutionality protected speech or press”
Roth v. United States
a 1973 Supreme Court decision holding that community standards be used to determine whether material is obscene, defined as appealing to a “prurient interest,” being “patently offensive,” and lacking in “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value”
Miller v. California
a 1964 Supreme Court decision establishing that, to win damage suits for libel, public figures must prove that the defamatory statements about them were made with “actual malice” and reckless disregard for the truth
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
a 1989 case in which the Supreme Court struck down a law banning the burning of the American flag on the grounds that such action was symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment
Texas v. Johnson
a 1978 Supreme Court decision holding that a search warrant could be applied to a newspaper without necessarily violating the First Amendment rights to freedom of the press
Zurcher v. Standford Daily
a 1974 case in which the Supreme Court held that a state could not force a newspaper to print replied from candidates it had criticized, illustrating the limited power of government to restrict the print media
Miami Herald Publishing Company v. Tornillo
a 1969 case in which the Supreme Court upheld restrictions on radio and television broadcasting similar to those it had overturned in the Miami Herald Publishing Company v. Tornillo, reasoning the regulating radio and television broadcasting is justified because there are only a limited number of broadcasting frequencies available
Red Lion Broadcasting Company v. Federal Communications Commission
the 1958 Supreme Court decision that that the right to assemble meant that Alabama could not require the state chapter of NAACP to reveal its membership list
NAACP v. Alabama
the 2010 Supreme Court decision that extended the Second Amendment’s limit on restricting an individual’s right to bear arms to state and local gun control laws
McDonald v. Chicago
the 1961 Supreme Court decision ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures must be extended to the states
Mapp v. Ohio
the 1966 Supreme Court decision that set guidelines for police questioning of accused persons to protect them against self-incrimination and to protect their right to counsel
Miranda v. Arizona
the 1963 Supreme Court decision holding that anyone accused of a felony where imprisonment may be imposed as a right to a lawyer, requiring that the government to provide a lawyer to anyone so accused who is too poor to afford one
Gideon v. Wainwright
the 1973 Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty, as “an extreme sanction, suitable to the most extreme of crimes”
Gregg v. Georgia
the 1987 Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty against charges that it violated the Fourteenth Amendment because minority defendants were more likely to receive the death penalty than were white defendants
McCleskey v. Kemp
the 1973 Supreme Court decision holding that a Texas state ban on abortions was unconstitutional, forbidding state control over abortions during the first trimester, permitting state to limit abortions to protect a mother’s health in the second trimester, and permitting states to ban abortion during the third trimester
Roe v. Wade
a1992 case in which the Supreme Court loosens its standard for evaluating restrictions on abortion from one of “strict scrutiny” of any restraints on a “fundamental right” to abortion to one in which regulations not impose an “undue burden” on women
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
