Unit 6 Key Terms

Front 1

civil liberty

Back 1

freedoms to think and act without government interference or fear of unfair legal treatment

Front 2

Civil rights

Back 2

the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality.

Front 3

establishment clause(1st)

Back 3

the First Amendment guarantees that the government will not create and support an official state church.

Front 4

Free exercise clause(1st)

Back 4

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

Front 5

Prior Restraint(1st)

Back 5

A government clause preventing material from being published. This is a common method of limiting the press in some nations, but it is usually unconstitutional in the United States, according to the First Amendment and as confirmed in the 1931 Supreme Court case of Near v. Minnesota.

Front 6

Libel(1st)

Back 6

the written statement of a plaintiff explaining the cause of action (the defamation) and any relief he seeks

Front 7

Symbolic Speech(1st)

Back 7

Nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband. The Supreme Court has accorded some symbolic speech protection under the First Amendment.

Front 8

Shield Law(1st)

Back 8

Laws created to protect news reporters from being forced to testify in courts or disclose confidential information.-allows them protect their source

Front 9

Sedition(1st)

Back 9

speech threatening the government-connected to clear and present danger

Front 10

Pure speech(1st)

Back 10

communication of ideas through spoken or written words or through conduct limited in form to that necessary to convey the idea.-conversational

Front 11

Limitation to free speech(1st)

Back 11

The fighting words doctrine, in United States constitutional law, is a limitation to freedom of speech as protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In 1942, the U.S. Supreme Court established the doctrine by a 9-0 decision in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire. The speech that is prohibited includes libel, slander, fighting words, hate speech, and obscenity.

Front 12

Obscenity(1st)

Back 12

offensive content with no social value

Front 13

"Separate but equal" doctrine(14th)

Back 13

the concept that providing seperate but equivalent facilities for blacks and whites satisfies the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment.

Front 14

Equal protection clause(14th)

Back 14

The provision of the Fourteenth Amendment quartering citizens "the equal protection of the laws." This clause has served as the basis for the civil rights of African Americans, women and other groups

Front 15

Incorporation Doctrine(14th)

Back 15

a constitutional doctrine through which selected provisions of the Bill of Rights are made applicable to the states through the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Front 16

Affirmative Action(14th)

Back 16

program designed to redress historic injustices committed against specific groups by making special efforts to provide members of these groups with access to educational and employment opportunities

Front 17

Civil Rights Movement(14th)

Back 17

the mass mobilization during the 1960s that sought to gain eqaulity of rights and opportunities for blacks in the South and to a lesser extent in the North, mainly through nonviolent, unconventional means of participation.

Front 18

Civil Rights act of 1964(14th)

Back 18

the law that made racial discrimination against any group in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job discrimination.

Front 19

Jim Crow Laws(14th)

Back 19

laws which promoted segregation, or the separation of people based on race. These laws worked primarily to restricted the rights of African Americans to use certain schools and public facilities, usually the good ones; to vote; find decent employment and associate with anyone of their own choosing. These laws did not make life "separate but equal," but only served to exclude African Americans and others from exercising their rights as American citizens.

Front 20

NAACP(14th)

Back 20

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. An interest group representing the issues of racial equality, drawing most of its influence from litigation. (*)

Front 21

De jure segregation(14th)

Back 21

racial segregation that is a direct result of law or official policy

Front 22

De facto segregation(14th)

Back 22

racial segregation that is not a direct result of law or government policy, but is a reflection of residential patterns, income distributions, or other social factors

Front 23

Ex pos tfacto law(14th)

Back 23

"after the fact." An ex post facto law is one which makes a particular act illegal, and punishes people who committed that crime before the law was passed, i.e., when the act was legal. (denied to state/national)

Front 24

Voting rights(14th)

Back 24

you can vote once you turn 18.

Front 25

Equal rights amendment(14th)

Back 25

a failed constitutional amendment introduced by the National Women's Party in 1923, declaring that "equality of rights under the laws shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex".

Front 26

Fifteenth Amendment provisions(14th)

Back 26

to extend the right to vote to former slaves

Front 27

Nineteenth amendment(14th)

Back 27

prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920.

Front 28

Suffrage(24th)

Back 28

The right to vote

ex: Women suffragists compained for their right to vote.

Front 29

Poll tax(24th)

Back 29

a tax of $1 or $2 on every citizen who wished to vote, first instituted in Georgia in 1877. Although it was no burden to most white citizens, it effectively disenfranchised blacks.

Front 30

Grandfather clause(24th)

Back 30

states allowed individuals who had been voters or who were descendants of those who had been voters before 14th or 15th amendments to register to vote if they could not meet a literacy requirement.

Front 31

White primary(24th)

Back 31

one of the means used to discourage African American voting that permitted political parties in the heavily democratic south to exclude African Americans from primary elections, thus depriving them of a voice in the real contests. The Supreme Court declared white primaries unconstitutional in 1944.

Front 32

Voting Rights act of 1965.(24th)

Back 32

a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African American suffrage. Under the law, hundreds of thousands of African Americans were registered and the number of African American elected officials increased dramatically.

Front 33

Comparable worth(24th)

Back 33

the issue rose when women who hold traditionally female jobs are paid less than men for working at jobs requiring comparable skill.

Front 34

Probable clause(4th)

Back 34

the situation occurring when the police have reason to believe that a person should be arrested. In making the arrest, the police are allowed legally to search for and seize incriminating evidence.

Front 35

Search warrant provisions(4th)

Back 35

a written authorization from a court specifying the area to be searched and what the police are searching for. The fourth amendment requires a search warrant to prevent unreasonable searches and seizures.

Front 36

Search Warrant requirements(4th)

Back 36

no unreasonable searches and seizures.

Front 37

Right to privacy(4th)

Back 37

The right to a private personal life free from intrusion of the government.

Front 38

Exclusionary Rule(4th)

Back 38

the rule that evidence, no matter how incriminating, cannot be introduced into a trial if it was not constitutionally obtained. The rule prohibits use of evidence obtained through unreasonable search and seizure.

Front 39

Bill of Attainder(4th)

Back 39

A government decree that a person is guilty of a crime that carries the death penalty, rendered without the benefit of a trial.

Front 40

self-incrimination(5th)

Back 40

The situation occurring when an individual accused of a crime is compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in court. The Fifth Amendment forbids this.

Front 41

plea bargaining(6th)

Back 41

A bargain struck between the defendant's lawyer and the prosecutor to the effect that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser crime (or fewer crimes) in exchange for the state's promise not to prosecute the defendant for a more serious (or additional) crime.

Front 42

Right to a fair trial(6th)

Back 42

supreme court ruled that anyone even in state trials has the right to a fair trial with an attorney. Just because you have a low income doesn't mean you cant have a lawyer to represent you in court.

Front 43

Miranda rights(6th)

Back 43

Supreme Court held that criminal suspects must be informed of their rights prior to being questioned. decided by miranda v. arizona

Front 44

Right to councel(6th)

Back 44

right found in Sixth Amendment; requires criminal defendants to have access to legal representation.

Front 45

Right to a jury trial(6th)

Back 45

Criminal Court Procedures. right to a speedy and public trial. right to a fair jury. right to know what you are being accused of. right to see/hear witnesses against you. right to have a witness to help defend you. right to a lawyer.

Front 46

Eighth Amendment Provisions(6th)

Back 46

The cruel and unusual punishments clause restricts the severity of punishments that state and federal governments may impose upon persons who have been convicted of a criminal offense.

The Excessive Fines Clause limits the amount that state and federal governments may fine a person for a particular crime. The Excessive Bail Clause restricts judicial discretion in setting bail for the release of persons accused of a criminal activity during the period following their arrest but preceding their trial.