Ap Government - Unit 6 Terms

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First Amendment Freedoms

Back 1

Prohibits the Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion", prohibiting the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech and infringing on the freedom of the press.

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Civil Liberties

Back 2

Rights in Freedom that protect an individual from the government of the nation in which they reside.

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Civil Rights

Back 3

The right of the people to be treated without unreasonable or unconstitutional differences.

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Establishment Clause

Back 4

First Amendment ban on laws "respecting an establishment of religion"

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Free Exercise Clause

Back 5

First Amendment requirement that law cannot prevent free exercise of religion.

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Pure Speech

Back 6

Pure speech is simply written or spoken words. It is differentiated from symbolic speech which is "speaking" through behavior. Pure speech is a legal term to define speech protected by the First Amendment. The use of the word "pure" is only to differentiate it from speech that does not use words, it has nothing to do with the content of the speech.

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Speech Plus

Back 7

A form of expression in which behavior is used by itself or in coordination with written or spoken words to convey an idea or message.

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Symbolic Speech

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An act that conveys a political message.

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Slander

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A malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report.

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Sedition

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A term of law which refers to overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority as tending toward insurrection against the established order.

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Due Process

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Denies the government the right, without due process, to deprive people of life, liberty,and property.

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Probable Cause

Back 12

Reasonable cause for issuing a search warrant or making and arrest; more than mere suspicion.

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Search Warrant

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A judge's order authorizing a search.

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Double Jeopardy

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A procedural defense (and, in many countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico and India, a constitutional right) that forbids a defendant from being tried twice for the same crime on the same set of facts.

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Venue

Back 15

the location where a case is heard. In the United States, it is either a county (for cases in state court) or a district or division (for cases in federal court).

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Eminent Domain

Back 16

The inherent power of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent.

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Reasonable Suspicion

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A legal standard in United States law that a person has been, is, or is about to be engaged in criminal activity based on specific and articulable facts and inferences.

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Exclusionary Rule

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Improperly gathered evidence may not be introduced in a criminal trial.

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Bail

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Some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail (and be guilty of the crime of failure to appear).

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Comparable Worth

Back 20

An issue regarding pay inequality between men and women.

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Jim Crow Laws

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Mandated de jure segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans. In reality, this led to treatment and accommodations that were usually inferior to those provided for white Americans, systematizing a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages.

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De Jure Segregation

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Racial Segregation that is required by law.

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De Facto Segregation

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Racial Segregation that occurs in schools , not as a result of the law, but as a result of patterns of residential settlement.

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Grandfather Clause

Back 24

A clause in registration laws allowing people who do not meet registration requirements to vote if they or their ancestors had voted before 1867.

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Affirmative Action

Back 25

Programs designed to increase minority participation in some institution (businesses, schools, labor unions, or government agencies) by taking positive steps to appoint more minority-group members.

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Reverse Discrimination

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Using race or sex to give preferential treatment to some people.

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Separate but Equal Doctrine

Back 27

The doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that African Americans could constitutionally be kept in separate but equal facilities.

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Indictment

Back 28

A formal accusation that a person has committed a criminal offense.

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Arraignment

Back 29

A formal reading of a criminal complaint in the presence of the defendant to inform the defendant of the charges against him or her.

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Literacy Test

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A requirement that citizens pass a literacy test in order to register to vote.

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Poll Tax

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A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote.

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Compensatory Action

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An action to favor members of disadvantaged groups who may never have been the victims of discrimination. This action is the basis for affirmative action to overcome the consequences of past discrimination.

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Strict Scrutiny

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A Supreme Court test to see if a law denies equal protection because it does not serve a compelling state interest and is not narrowly tailored to achieve that goal.

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Clear and Present Danger

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Law should not punish speech unless there was a clear and present danger of producing harmful actions.

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Presumption of Innocence

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(Being considered innocent until proven guilty) A legal right that the accused in criminal trials has in many modern countries. The burden of proof is thus on the prosecution, which has to collect and present enough compelling evidence to convince the trier of fact, who are restrained and ordered by law to consider only actual evidence and testimony that is legally admissible, and in most cases lawfully obtained, that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.