AP Government and Politics Unit 3 Vocabulary

Plessy v. Ferguson

(1896) upheld Jim Crow laws by allowing separate facilities for different races; created separate but equal doctrine

Due process clause

Clause in the Fifth Amendment limiting the power of the national government; similar clause in the Fourteenth Amendment prohibiting state governments from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Due process clause

Clause in the Fifth Amendment limiting the power of the national government; similar clause in the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the state governments from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Free exercise clause

Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.

Establishment clause

Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The Supreme Court has interpreted this to forbid governmental support to any or all religions.

Equal protection clause

Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that forbids any state to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. By interpretation, the Fifth Amendment imposes the same limitation on the national government. This clause is the major constitutional restraint on the power of governments to discriminate against persons because of race, national origin, or sex.

Contract clause

Clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 10) originally intended to prohibit state governments from modifying contracts made between individuals; for a while interpreted as prohibiting state governments from taking actions that adversely affect property rights; no longer interpreted so broadly and no longer constrains state governments from exercising their police powers.

Substantive due process

Constitutional requirement that governments act reasonably and that the substance of the laws themselves be fair and reasonable; limits what the government may do.

Procedural due process

Constitutional requirement that governments proceed by proper methods; limits how government may exercise power.

Due process

Established rules and regulations that restrain government officials.

Immunity

Exemption from prosecution for a particular crime in return for testimony pertaining to the case.

Self

Incrimination - suspects have the right to remain silent and notified of this right (Miranda v. Arizona) (5th Amendment)

Police powers

Inherent powers of state governments to pass laws to protect the public health, safety, and welfare; the national government has no directly granted police powers but accomplishes the same goals through other delegated powers.

Preferred position doctrine

Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that freedom of expression is so essential to democracy that governments should not punish persons for what they say, only for what they do.

Clear and present danger test

Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that the government cannot interfere with speech unless the speech presents a clear and present danger that it will lead to evil or illegal acts.

Bad tendency test

Interpretation of the First Amendment that would permit legislatures to forbid speech encouraging people to engage in illegal action.

Class action suit

Lawsuit brought by an individual or group of people on behalf of all those similarly situated.

Bill of attainder

Legislative act inflicting punishment, including deprivation of property, without a trial, on named individuals or members of a specific group.

Unprotected speech

Libel, obscenity, fighting words, and commercial speech, which are not entitled to constitutional protection in all circumstances.

Literacy test

Literacy requirements some states imposed as a condition of voting, generally used to disqualify black voters in the South; now illegal.

Vouchers

Money government provides to parents to pay their children's tuition in a public or private school of their choice.

Racial profiling

Police targeting of racial minorities as potential suspects of criminal activities.

Eminent domain

Power of a government to take private property for public use; the U.S. Constitution gives national and state governments this power and requires them to provide just compensation for property so taken.

Obscenity

Quality or state of a work that taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest in sex by depicting sexual conduct in a patently offensive way and that lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

1st Amendment

Religion, Assembly, Petition, Press, Speech (RAPPS)

Affirmative action

Remedial action designed to overcome the effects of discrimination against minorities and women.

Exclusionary rule

Requirement that evidence unconstitutionally or illegally obtained be excluded from a criminal trial.

Ex post facto law

Retroactive criminal law that works to the disadvantage of a person.

De jure segregation

Segregation imposed by law.

De facto segregation

Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions or personal choice.

Writ of habeas corpus

A court order requiring explanation to a judge why a prisoner is being held in custody.

Indictment

A formal written statement from a grand jury charging an individual with an offense; also called a true bill.

Grand jury

A jury of 12 to 23 persons who, in private, hear evidence presented by the government to determine whether persons shall be required to stand trial. If the jury believes there is sufficient evidence that a crime was committed, it issues an indictment.

Petit jury

A jury of 6 to 12 persons that determines guilt or innocence in a civil or criminal action.

Naturalization

A legal action conferring citizenship on an alien.

Restrictive covenant

A provision in a deed to real property prohibiting its sale to a person of a particular race or religion. Judicial enforcement of such deeds is unconstitutional.

Search warrant

A writ issued by a magistrate that authorizes the police to search a particular place or person, specifying the place to be searched and the objects to be seized.

Commercial speech

Advertisements and commercials for products and services; they receive less First Amendment protection, primarily to discourage false and misleading ads.

Plea bargain

Agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser offense to avoid having to stand trial for more serious offense.

Jim Crow laws

State laws formerly pervasive throughout the South requiring public facilities and accommodations to be segregated by race; ruled unconstitutional.

Incorporation doctrine

Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights through the 14th Amendment

14th Amendment

equal protection for citizens of states (continues the 5th) and defines citizenship

Civil War Amendments (13, 14, 15)

included the end of slavery, equal protection of rights by states, and voting rights for African Americans (respectively)

Civil Rights Act (1965)

law that made racial discrimination against any group in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and made job discrimination illegal when based on color or race

Majority

minority district - A congressional district created to include a majority of minority voters; ruled constitutional so long as race is not the main factor in redistricting.

White primary - Democratic party primary in the old "one

party South" that was limited to white people and essentially constituted an election; ruled unconstitutional in Smith v. Allwright (1944).

Civil Rights

positive acts of government, designed to prevent discrimination and provide for equality before the law

8th Amendment

protection against cruel and unusual punishment (does not include death penalty)

Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)

requires employers and public facilities to make "reasonable accommodation" for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment.

Right to Privacy

right to protect your personal life from government intrusion

6th Amendment

right to speedy and public trial, includes right to an attorney and confront witnesses

5th Amendment

rights of people accused of crimes, includes right to due process (federal), double jeopardy, self-incrimination

Civil Liberties

rights that belong to everyone

Probable Cause

situation when police believe that a person should be arrested - police are allowed to search and seize illegal material for court.

Pure Speech

the most common form of protected speech; verbal speech

Miranda v. Arizona

upheld 5th amendment right to remain silent and not self-incriminate

Lemon Test

use of federal funds in school must 1. Have a secular purpose 2. The effect of the spending must not aid or inhibit religion and 3. must not create excessive entanglement between government and religion

Symbolic Speech

using actions and symbols to convey an idea rather than words (e.g., burning a flag) may be restricted if they endanger public safety

Double jeopardy

Trial or punishment for the same crime by the same government; forbidden by the Constitution.

Fighting words

Words that by their very nature inflict injury on those to whom they are addressed or insight them to acts of violence.

Libel

Written defamation of another person. For public officials and public figures, the constitutional tests designed to restrict libel actions are especially rigid.

Unreasonable Search and Seizures

a search that occurs without probably cause or a legal warrant

Community policing

Assigning police to neighborhoods where they walk the beat and work with churches and other community groups to reduce crime and improve relations with minorities.

Sedition

Attempting to overthrow the government by force or use violence to interrupt its activities.

Prior restraint

Censorship imposed before a speech is made or a newspaper is published; usually presumed to be unconstitutional.

Dual citizenship

Citizenship in more than one nation.

Civil disobedience

Deliberate refusal to obey law or comply with orders of public officials as a means of expressing opposition.

Poll tax - Tax required to vote; prohibited for national elections by the Twenty

Fourth Amendment (1964) and ruled unconstitutional for all elections in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966).

Regulatory taking

Government regulation of property so extensive that government is deemed to have taken the property by the power of eminent domain, for which it must compensate the property owners.

Commerce clause

The clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations.

Racial gerrymandering

The drawing of election districts so as to ensure that members of a certain race are a minority in the district; ruled unconstitutional in Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960).

Selective incorporation

The process by which provisions of the bill of rights are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and local governments.

Women's suffrage

The right of women to vote (19th Amendment)

Right of expatriation

The right to renounce one's citizenship.

Natural rights

The rights of all people to dignity and worth; also called human rights.

Property rights

The rights of an individual to own, use, rent, invest in, buy, and sell property.