| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Bill of Rights | adopted in 1791 by the states two years after the ratification of the Constitution, it established the basis of civil liberties for Americans. |
| Civil liberties | those rights of the people that are protected by the Bill of Rights. |
| Clear and Present Danger Doctrine | established in Schenck v United States (1919), it gives the government the right to censor free speech if, during national emergencies such as war, it can be proven that the result of the speech will significantly hurt national security. |
| Establishment clause | It places a restriction on government creating a "wall of separation" between church and state. |
| Exclusionary rule | rule that resulted from the Mapp v Ohio decision determining that police may obtain only that evidence that can be had through a legitimate search warrant. Other evidence found at the scene of the crime is not admissible, or is excluded, in the trial. |
| Fighting words doctrine | established in Chaplinsky v New Hampshire (1942), the decision incorporated into state law the concept that the government can limit free speech if it can be proved that the result of speech will cause physical violence. |
| Free Exercise Clause | Phrase found in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution that guarantees an individual the right to pray and believe in the religion of his or her choice by making it illegal for Congress to pass laws that restrict this right. |
| Gitlow v. New York (1925) | landmark decision in that the Supreme Court incorporated the First Amendment to a state case for the first time . |
| Incorporation of the Fourteenth Amendment | doctrine that made the Bill of Rights apply to the states as a result of Supreme Court decisions. It reached a peak during the Warren Court in the late 1950s and 1960s. |
| Libel | Written publications that intentionally print false information that defames the character of an individual. |
| Prior restraint | The actions of a governmental body which result in the censorship of written material. In the "Pentagon Papers" case, President Nixon asked for an injunction to halt the publication of the confidential Defense Department documents by the New York Times. |
| Slander | Speech that intentionally gives false information or defames the character of an individual. |
| Symbolic speech | form of free speech interpreted by the Supreme Court as a guarantee under the First Amendment to the Constitution, such as wearing a black armband to protest a governmental action or burning an American flag in protest for political reasons. |
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