Ch. 15 Terms
Prior restraint
Censorship imposed before a speech is made or a newspaper is published; usually presumed to be unconstitutional
Probable cause
Reasonable grounds for making a search, pressing a charge, etc.
Due Process
Established rules and regulations that restrain government officials
Freedom of Religion
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Free exercise clause
A clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.
Establishment clause
A 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.
Substantive due process
A constitutional requirement that governments act reasonably and that the substance of the laws themselves be fair and reasonable; limits what a government may do
Procedural due process
A constitutional requirement that governments proceed by proper methods; limits how government may exercise power
Exclusionary rule
A requirement that evidence unconstitutionally or illegally obtained be excluded from a criminal trial
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
Miranda warning
Also referred to as Miranda rights or Miranda rule, is a right to silence warning given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody (or in a custodial interrogation) before they are interrogated
14th Amendment
Amendment that granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," which included former slaves recently freed
Good-faith exception
An exception to the exclusionary rule barring the use at trial of evidence obtained pursuant to an unlawful search and seizure
Clear and present danger test
An 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
Bill of Rights
First ten amendments to the Constitution
Freedom of Expression
Freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers
Self-incrimination
Self-incrimination is the act of exposing oneself (generally, by making a statement) "to an accusation or charge of crime; to involve oneself or another [person] in a criminal prosecution or the danger thereof."
Wall-of-separation
Separation of church and state (sometimes "wall of separation between church and state") is a phrase used by Thomas Jefferson and others expressing an understanding of the intent and function of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
Preferred position doctrine
States that "[f]reedom of press, freedom of speech, [and] freedom of religion are in a preferred position," indicating that certain fundamental human rights have prerogative
Symbolic speech
Symbolic speech is a legal term in United States law used to describe actions that purposefully and discernibly convey a particular message or statement to those viewing it
Lemon Test
The Lemon Test: The three-part test enunciated in Lemon v. Kurtzman which is used to asses whether a law violates the Establishment Clause
Selective Incorporation
The process by which provisions of the Bill of Rights are brought within the scope of the 14th Amendment and so applied to state and local governments
Obscenity
The 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.
Equal protection of the law
The right of all persons to have the same access to the law and courts, and to be treated equally by the law and courts, both in procedures and in the substance of the law
Unprotected speech
Unprotected speech means speech that is subjected to regulations issued by the government
Libel
Written defamation of another person. For public officials and public figures, the constitutional tests designed to restrict libel actions are especially rigid