Govt. Chapter 4

Front 1

civil liberties

Back 1

the legal constitutional protections against govt. Although our civil liberties are formally set down in the the Bill of Rights, the courts, police and legislatures define their meaning.

Front 2

Bill of Rights

Back 2

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which define such basic liberties as freedom of religion, speech and press and guarantee defendants' rights.

Front 3

First Amendment

Back 3

Establishes the four great liberties: freedom of the press, of speech, of religion, and of assembly.

Front 4

Barron v. Baltimore

Back 4

1833 holding that the Bill of Rights restrained only the national govt, not the states and cities

Front 5

Gitlow v. New York

Back 5

1925 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 b the states" as well as by the federal government.

Front 6

14th Amendment

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States cannot deprive persons of life, liberty and property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws

Front 7

incorporation doctrine

Back 7

nationalized the Bill of Rights by making most of its provision applicable to the states through the 14th Amendment

Front 8

establishment clause

Back 8

Congress shall make not law respecting an establishment of a religion

Front 9

free exercise clause

Back 9

First Amendment provision that prohibits govt from interfering with the practice of religion

Front 10

Lemon v. Kurtzman

Back 10

1971 established that aid to church-related school must
1. have secular legislative purpose
2. neither advances not inhibits religion
3.no excessive govt entanglement

Front 11

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris

Back 11

2002 upheld a state (OHIO) providing families with vouchers that could be used to pay for tuition at religious schools

Front 12

Engel v. Vitale

Back 12

1962 holding that state officials violated the First Amendment when they wrote a prayer to be recited by New York's schoolchildren

Front 13

School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp

Back 13

1963 holding that a Pennsylvania law requiring Bible reading in schools violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

Front 14

Employment Division v. Smith

Back 14

1988 - state laws interfering with religious practices but not specifically aimed at religion are constitutional

Front 15

prior restraint

Back 15

a govt preventing material from being published - unconstitutional in U.S.

Front 16

Near v. Minnesota

Back 16

1931- First Amendment protects newspapers from prior restraint

Front 17

Schenck v. United States

Back 17

1919 upholding the conviction of a socialist who had urged young men to resist the draft during WWI. Holmes declared that govt can limit speech if it is dangerous/evil

Front 18

shield laws

Back 18

laws that protect reporters from punishments for not disclosing possibly vital information to a case

Front 19

Zurcher v. Stanford Daily

Back 19

1978- a proper search warrant could be applied to a newspaper as well as to anyone else without necessarily violating the 1st Amendment rights to freedom of the press

Front 20

Roth v. United States

Back 20

1957 - obscenity is not within the area of constitutionally protected speech or press

Front 21

libel

Back 21

the publication of false or malicious statements that damage someone's reputation

Front 22

New York Times v. Sullivan

Back 22

1964 - established guidelines for determining whether public officials and public figures could win damage suits for libel. Individuals must prove that defamatory statements were made with "actual malice"

Front 23

Texas v. Johnson

Back 23

1989 - struck dow a law banning the burning of the American flag on the grounds that such action was symbolic speech under 1st Amendment

Front 24

symbolic speech

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nonverbal communication, such as burning flags and wearing armbands. protected under 1st Amendment

Front 25

commercial speech

Back 25

communication in the form of advertising

Front 26

Miami herald publishing company v. Tornillo

Back 26

1974 - state cannot forc a newspaper to print replies from candidates it had criticized, illustrating the limited power of govt to restrict the print media

Front 27

Red Lion Broadcasting Company v. Federal Communications Commission

Back 27

1969 upheld restrictions on radio and tv broadcasting. These restrictions on broadcast media are much tighter than those on print media

Front 28

NAACP v. Alabama

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1958- NAACP dd not have to submit its membership list subject it's members to danger and questioning

Front 29

probable cause

Back 29

police have a reason to believe that a person should be arrested. Police are allowed legally to search for and seize incriminating evidence.

Front 30

unreasonable searches and seizures

Back 30

Obtaining evidence in a haphazard or random manner, prohibited by Fourth Amendment. Probable cause and search warrant needed for seizure of evidence

Front 31

search warrant

Back 31

a written authorization from a court specifying the area to be searched and what the police are searching for.

Front 32

exclusionary rule

Back 32

no matter, how incriminating, cannot be introduced into a trial if it was not constitutionally obtained.

Front 33

Mapp v. Ohio

Back 33

1961 ruled that the Fourth Amendment's protected against unreasonable searches and seizures must be extended to the states as well as to the federal govt

Front 34

Fifth Amendment

Back 34

protect the rights of persons accused of crimes, including protection against double jeopardy, self-incrimination and punishment without due process of law.

Front 35

self-incrimination

Back 35

individual accused of a crime is compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in court

Front 36

Miranda v. Arizona

Back 36

guidelines for police questioning of accused persons to protect them against self-incrimination and to protect their right to counsel

Front 37

Sixth Amendment

Back 37

designed to protect individual accused of crimes. right to counsel, right to confront witnesses and right to a speedy and public trial

Front 38

Gideon v. Wainwright

Back 38

1963 anyone accused of a felony where imprisonment may be imposed however poor he or she might be, has a right to a lawyer

Front 39

plea bargaining

Back 39

a bargain struck between the defendant's lawyer and the prosecutor to the effect that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser crime in exchange for the state's promise not to prosecute the defendant for a more serious crime

Front 40

Eight Amendment

Back 40

forbids cruel and unusual punishment. applied to states by 14th amendment

Front 41

cruel and unusual punishment

Back 41

prohibited by 8th amendment. mandatory death sentences are unconstitutional, but death penalty is not

Front 42

Gregg v. Georgia

Back 42

1976 upheld constitutionality of death sentence

Front 43

McCleskey v. Kemp

Back 43

1987 death penalty does to violate 14th amendment because minority defendants were more likely to receive the death penalty than were white defendants

Front 44

right to privacy

Back 44

the right to a private personal life free from the intrusion of govt

Front 45

Roe v. Wade

Back 45

1973 state ban on all abortion is unconstitutional. no control of abortion in first trimester. limit abortions second trimester. permit states to protect fetus third semester

Front 46

Planned Parenthood v. Casey

Back 46

1992 loosened its standard for evaluating restrictions on abortion from one of strict scrutiny of any restraints on a fundamental right to one of undue burden that permits considerably more regulation