US Chapter 3

Question 1

Affirmative action

Answer 1

Positive steps taken by public or private institutions to overcome the remaining effects of racial or sexual bias

Question 2

Bill of attainder

Answer 2

A law that punishes an individual and bypasses the procedural safeguards of the legal process–prohibited by the Consitution

Question 3

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Answer 3

Landmark Supreme Court decision (1954) that overturned the separate-but-equal standard of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and began an end to racial segregation in public schools

Question 4

Capital case

Answer 4

A criminal proceeding in which the defendant is on trial for his or her life

Question 5

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Answer 5

Comprehensive legislation to end racial segregation in access to public accommodations and in employment in the public and private sectors

Question 6

Clear and present danger test

Answer 6

Guideline devised by the Supreme Court in Schenck v. United States (1919) to determine when speech could be suppressed under the First Amendment

Question 7

Comparable worth

Answer 7

An employment policy designed to overcome the economic inequities of sexual discrimination, that mandates persons holding jobs of equal responsibility and skill be paid the same

Question 8

Cruel and unusual punishment

Answer 8

Prohibited by the Eighth Amendment–at issue in capital cases

Question 9

De facto segregation

Answer 9

Programs or facilities that are racially segregated by private choice or private discrimination, not because of law or public policy

Question 10

Eighth Amendment

Answer 10

The part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits “cruel and unusual punishments” and that is often at issue in death penalty cases

Question 11

Equal protection clause

Answer 11

Part of the Fourteenth Amendment that is the source of many civil rights, and declares that no state shall deny to any person “the equal protection of the laws”

Question 12

Equality of condition

Answer 12

A standard, beyond equality of opportunity, which requires policies, such as redistribution of income and other resources, that seek to reduce or eliminate the effects of past discrimination

Question 13

Equality of opportunity

Answer 13

A standard that calls for government to remove barriers of discrimination, such as segregation laws or racially exclusive hiring practices that have existed in the past

Question 14

Equality of result

Answer 14

A standard, beyond the equality of condition, which requires policies such as affirmative action or comparable worth, that places some people on an equal footing with others

Question 15

Establishment clause

Answer 15

Provision of the First Amendment barring government support of religion

Question 16

Ex post facto laws

Answer 16

Laws that make an act a crime after it was committed or increase the punishment for a crime already committed–prohibited by the Constitution

Question 17

Exclusionary rule

Answer 17

Rule developed in the case Mapp v. Ohio (1961) that prevents the state from bringing evidence against a defendant when that evidence was obtained illegally

Question 18

Felony

Answer 18

A serious criminal offense, usually punishable by more than one year in prison

Question 19

First Amendment

Answer 19

The part of the Bill of Rights containing protections for political and religious expression

Question 20

Fourteenth Amendment

Answer 20

Ratified in 1868, the amendment altered the nature of the union by placing significant restraints on state governments

Question 21

Fourth Amendment

Answer 21

Part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures of persons and their property

Question 22

Free exercise clause

Answer 22

Provision of the First Amendment guaranteeing religious freedom

Question 23

Incitement test

Answer 23

The Court’s current test for First Amendment restrictions that asks whether a speech act attempts to or is likely to incite lawless action

Question 24

Legal guilt

Answer 24

The concept that a defendant’s factual guilt be established in accordance with the laws and the Constitution before criminal penalties can be applied

Question 25

Lemon test

Answer 25

A standard announced in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) to determine when a statute violates the establishment clause

Question 26

Libel

Answer 26

Defamation of a person’s character or reputation, not protected by the First Amendment (New York Times Co. v. Sullivan 1964)

Question 27

Miranda rights

Answer 27

Requirements announced in Miranda v. Arizona (1966) to protect a suspect during a police interrogation

Question 28

Misdemeanor

Answer 28

Less serious criminal offense, usually punishable by not more than one year in jail

Question 29

NAACP

Answer 29

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People: an organization founded to improve the social, economic, and political condition of African Americans

Question 30

Nineteenth Amendment

Answer 30

Amendment ratified in 1920 that prohibits limitations on voting based on sex

Question 31

Ninth Amendment

Answer 31

Part of the Bill of Rights that cautions that the people possess rights not specified in the Consitution

Question 32

Obscenity

Answer 32

As applied by the Supreme Court, certain pornographic portrayals of sexual acts are not protected by the First Amendment (Miller v. California 1973)

Question 33

Plea bargain

Answer 33

A deal with the prosecutor to obtain fewer or lesser charges or a lighter sentence

Question 34

Presumption of innocence

Answer 34

A concept in criminal procedure that places the burden of proof in establishing guilt on the government

Question 35

Prior restraint

Answer 35

Official censorship before something is said or published, or censorship that halts publication already under way is usually unconstitutional today under the First Amendment

Question 36

Probable clause

Answer 36

A standard used in determining when police can conduct arrests and searches

Question 37

Roe v. Wade

Answer 37

Supreme Court decision (1973) establishing a constitutional right to abortion

Question 38

Separate-but-equal doctrine

Answer 38

The standard announced by the Supreme court in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 that allowed racially separate facilities as long as the facilities were equal (Overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954)

Question 39

Sixth Amendment

Answer 39

Provision of the Bill of Rights assuring, among other things, the right to counsel

Question 40

Symbolic speech

Answer 40

A speech act that centers on action or performance to communicate a point rather than on words

Question 41

Thirteenth Amendment

Answer 41

The first of the Civil War amendments to the Constitution, adopted in 1865, banned slavery throughout the United States

Question 42

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Answer 42

Major legislation designed to overcome racial barriers to voting, primarily in the southern states, which was extended again in 2006 for 25 years

Question 43

Warrant

Answer 43

Official authorization for government action

Question 44

De jure segregation

Answer 44

Programs or facilities that are racially segregated because of law or public policy

Question 45

Personal Autonomy

Answer 45

Government should leave people alone in their choices about sexual relationships