Civil Liberties + Civil Rights
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Created by:
ajoyiswear on July 18, 2011
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51 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Fourteenth Amendment | Ratified in 1868, the amendment altered the nature of the Union by placing significant restraints on state government. |
| First Amendment | The part of the Bill of Rights containing protections for political and religious expression. |
| Free Exercise | The First Amendment guarantee that prohibits gov't from unduly interfering with the free excercise of religion |
| Establishment Clause | The First Amendment guarantee that the government will not create and support an official state church. Established a wall of separation between church and state. |
| Lemon Test | The three-part test for Establishment Clause cases that a law must pass before it is declared constitutional: it must have a secular purpose; it must neither advance nor inhibit religion; and it must not cause excessive entanglement with religion. |
| Issue of voluntary school prayer | Supreme court rules any prayer sponsored by school authority, no matter who reads it, is in violation of the US Constitution. |
| Legal guilt | Guilt be established in accordance with the laws and the constitution before criminal penalties can be applied. |
| Presumption of Innocence | A concept in criminal procedure that places the burden of proof on the government in establishing guilt. |
| ex post facto laws | Laws that make an act a crime after it was committed or increase the punishment for a crime already committed - prohibited by the Constitution. (criminal laws that apply retroactively) |
| Bill of attainder | Law that imposes punishment but bypasses the procedural safeguards of the legal process. For ex: a person may not have the opportunity for even a simple defense. |
| Fourth Amendment | Part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits unreasonable seizures of persons and their property. |
| Warrant | Official authorization for government action. |
| Probable Cause | A standard used in determining when police can conduct arrests and searches. |
| Bad Tendency Doctrine | Any speech that may lead to violence. Government can be justified in restricting freedom of speech. |
| Clear and present danger | Any speech that violates civil disorder and can lead to violence the government can restrict. There must be an immediate threat of violence. |
| Preferred Position Doctrine | freedom of speech should be given preference over restriction. If government does not have a genuine reason, cannot restrict. |
| Warrant | Official authorization for government action |
| Probable Cause | A standard used in determining when police can conduct arrests and searches. |
| Miranda rights | Requirements announced in Miranda vs Arizona to protect a suspect during a police interrogation. |
| Plea Bargain | A deal with the prosecutor to obtain a lighter sentence. |
| Incitement Test | The courts current test for First Amendment restrictions that asks whether a speech act attempts to or is likely to incite lawless action. |
| Prior Restraint | Official censorship before something is said or published or censorship that halts publication already under way is usually judged unconstitutional today under the First Amendment. |
| Obscenity | Miller vs California ruled that any material that lacks serious artistic, political, scientific, or literary value may be considered obscene. |
| Libel | Defamation of a persons character or reputation, not protected by the First Amendment. NY Times vs Sullivan makes it difficult for public figures and officials to bring successful libel suits against their critics. Must prove malicious intent. |
| Symbolic speech | A speech act that centers on action or performance to communicate a point rather than on words. |
| Free Exercise Clause | Provision of the First Amendment guaranteeing religious freedom. |
| Sixth Amendment | Provision of the Bill of Rights assuring, among other things, the right to counsel. |
| Capital case | A criminal proceeding in which the defendant is on trial for his or her life. |
| Misdemeanor | Less serious criminal offense, usually punishable by not more than one year in jail. |
| Felony | A serious criminal offense, usually punishable by more than one year in prison. |
| Eighth Amendment | The part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits " cruel and unusual punishments" and often at issue in death penalty cases. |
| Cruel and unusual punishment | Prohibited by the Eighth Amendment- at issue in capital cases. |
| Ninth Amendment | Part of the Bill of Rights that cautions that the people possess rights not specified in the Constitution. ( for example, right to privacy) |
| Roe vs Wade | Supreme Court decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion. |
| Equality of opportunity | 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. |
| equality of condition | 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. |
| Equality of Result | A standard, beyond equality of condition, which requires policies such as affirmative action or comparable worth, that places some people on an equal footing with others. |
| Thirteenth Amendment | The first of the Civil War amendments to the constitution., adopted in 1865, banned slavery throughout the United States. |
| Equal Protective Clause | 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" |
| Separate-but-equal doctrine | The doctrine established by Plessy v Ferguson (1896) that African Americans could constitutionally be kept in separate but equal facilities. |
| NAACP | National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; an organization founded to improve the social, economic, and political condition of African Americans. |
| Brown vs Board of Education Topeka | landmark decision of the supreme court that overturned the separate-but-equal standard of Plessy vs Ferguson and began an end to racial segregation in public schools. |
| Civil Rights Act of 1964 | Comprehensive legislation to end racial segregation in access to public accommodations and in employment in the public and private sectors. |
| De facto segregation | Programs or facilities that are racially segregated by private choice or private discrimination, not because of law or public policy. ("unofficial segregation") |
| De jure segregation | Programs or facilities that are racially segregated because of law or public policy. ( for ex: the way cities drew up their school borders could lead to segregation) |
| Affirmative action | Positive steps taken by public or private institutions to. Overcome the remaining effects of racial or sexual bias. (Action programs attempt to acheive equality of result) |
| Voting Rights Act of 1965 | Major legislation designed to overcome racial barriers to voting, primarily in the southern states, which was extended in 1982 for 25 years. |
| Hatch Act | Restricts Federal officials from making money, seeking public office, or donating money. Was relaxed by Clinton. Now reserved for those only in top government positions. |
| Smith Act | Relates to freedom of speech- prohibits seditious speech. |
| Seditious speech | Type of speech that leads to violence or to overthrow the government by force. |
| Comparable worth | An employment policy designed to overthrow the economic inequities of sexual discrimination mandating that persons holding jobs of equal responsibility and skill be paid the same. |
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