Exam 1

Bowers vs Hardwick (1986)

A United States Supreme Court decision, overturned in 2003, that upheld, in a 5-4 ruling, the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults. In this case with respect to homosexual sodomy, the law did not differentiate between homosexual sodomy and heterosexual sodomy.

Church of Lukumi Babalu Ave vs Hialeah (1993)

A case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that an ordinance passed in Hialeah, Florida, forbidding the "unnecessary killing of "an animal in a public or private ritual or ceremony not for the primary purpose of food consumption", was unconstitutional.

Federalists Papers

A collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution.

Fifth Amendment

A constitutional amendment designed to protect the rights of persons accused of crimes, including protection against double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and punishment without due process of law. Protects a person from being compelled to be a witness against himself in a criminal case.

Incorporation

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.

Clear and present danger test

A doctrine adopted by the Supreme Court of the United States to determine under what circumstances limits can be placed on First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, or assembly.

Inevitable Discovery

A doctrine in the United States criminal procedure that allows evidence of a defendant's guilt that would otherwise be considered inadmissible under the exclusionary rule to be admitted into evidence in a trial.

Good Faith Exception

A doctrine that evidence may be introduced at trial, despite the invalidity of a warrant for its seizure, if the police acted in the good faith belief that the warrant was valid.

Agostini vs Felton 1997

A federal district court and Court of Appeals ruled against New York City, stating that the city could not have public school teachers provide supplemental instruction to disadvantaged students at religious schools during regular school hours. The city then sought Supreme Court review and was overturned and allowed.

Brandenburg vs Ohio (1969)

A landmark United States Supreme Court case based on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Court held that government cannot punish inflammatory speech unless that speech is directed to inciting, and is likely to incite, imminent lawless action.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

A landmark piece of civil rights and US labor law legislation in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Procedural Due Proccess

A legal doctrine in the United States that requires government officials to follow fair procedures before depriving a person of life, liberty, or property.

Bill of Attainder

A legislative act finding a person guilty of treason or felony without a trial

Bicameral

A legislature consisting of two parts, or houses, The U.S. Congress, which is made up of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Prurient Interest

A morbid, degrading and unhealthy interest in sex, as distinguished from a mere candid interest in sex.

Equal Protection

A phrase in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution requiring that states guarantee the same rights, privileges, and protections to all citizens.

Affirmative Action

A policy designed to redress past discrimination against women and minority groups through measures to improve their economic and educational opportunities

Equal Rights Amendment

A proposed amendment to the US Constitution stating that civil rights may not be denied on the basis of one's sex.

Federalists

A supporter of federal government; especially : a supporter of the U.S. Constitution. Federalist : a member of a major political party in the early years of the U.S. that wanted a strong central government.

Federalism

A system of government in which entities such as states or provinces share power with a national government. The United States government functions according to the principles of federalism. The U.S. political system evolved from the philosophy of federalism.

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power.

Intermediate Scrutiny

A test used in some contexts to determine a law's constitutionality. To pass intermediate scrutiny, the challenged law must further an important government interest by means that are substantially related to that interest.

Accommodationist

Booker T. Washington was accused of being this because he refused to press for immediate equal rights.

Free Exercise Clause

"Congress shall make no law ... prohibiting the free exercise (of religion)" is called the free-exercise clause of the First Amendment. The free-exercise clause pertains to the right to freely exercise one's religion. It states that the government shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.

Due Process

Fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen's entitlement. The legal requirement that the state must respect all legal rights that are owed to a person. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual person from it.

Rasul vs Bush (2004)

Guantanamo detainees entitled to protection under the US constitution - had access to US federal courts to challenge their detention.

Lee vs Weisman (1992)

No prayer at graduations 1st amendment, establishment clause 5-4

New Jersey Plan

Opposite of the Virginia Plan, it proposed a single-chamber congress in which each state had one vote. This created a conflict with representation between bigger states, who wanted control befitting their population, and smaller states, who didn't want to be bullied by larger states.

Palko vs. Connecticut (1937)

Palko tried and convicted of second degree murder although he committed first degree. Tried again later for first degree murder and sentenced to death. Result: Double Jeopardy is not a fundamental right under the 14th A. and therefore is not applied to the states. Was a United States Supreme Court case concerning the incorporation of the Fifth Amendment protection against double jeopardy.

Liberalism

is a political philosophy or worldview founded on ideas of liberty and equality.

Penumbras

penumbras Literally "shadows," cast off by various provisions of the bill of Rights. implicit zones of protected privacy rights (9th Amendment) on which the existence of explicit rights depends; ex: freedom of speech must also include right to distribute, receive, read others' views; without these rights, freedom of speech would be meaningless

Fourteenth Amendment

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on July 9, 1868, and granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," which included former slaves recently freed. In addition, it forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." By directly mentioning the role of the states, the 14th Amendment greatly expanded the protection of civil rights to all Americans and is cited in more litigation than any other amendment.

City of Boerne vs Flores (1997)

The Catholic Archbishop of San Antonio, Patrick Flores, applied for a permit to expand the church, but the City of Boerne denied it, maintaining that the church qualified as a historic structure under the city's historic preservation ordinances, and that local zoning laws forbade the expansion.

Due Process Clause

The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution each contain a due process clause. Due process deals with the administration of justice and thus the due process clause acts as a safeguard from arbitrary denial of life, liberty, or property by the Government outside the sanction of law.

Establishment Clause

The First Amendment's Establishment Clause prohibits the government from making any law "respecting an establishment of religion." This clause not only forbids the government from establishing an official religion, but also prohibits government actions that unduly favor one religion over another.

Mapp vs Ohio (1961)

The Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures, as applied to the states through the Fourteenth, excludes unconstitutionally obtained evidence from use in criminal prosecutions. Ohio Supreme Court reversed. The case: Dollree Mapp was an employee in the illegal gambling rackets dominated by Cleveland rackets kingpin Shon Birns. On May 23, 1957, police officers in Cleveland, Ohio, received an anonymous tip by phone that Virgil Ogletree, a numbers operator who was wanted for questioning in the bombing of rival numbers racketeer and future boxing promoter Don King's home three days earlier, might be found at Mapp's house, as well as illegal betting slips and equipment employed in the "California Gold" numbers operation set up by Mapp's boyfriend Edward Keeling. Three officers went to the home and asked for permission to enter, but Mapp, after consulting her lawyer by telephone, refused to admit them without a search warrant. Two officers left, and one remained, watching the house from across the street. Three hours later, four cars full of police arrived and knocked on the door. When she didn't answer, they forced the door. Mapp asked to see the alleged warrant and was shown a piece of paper which she snatched away from an officer, putting it inside her dress. The officers struggled with Mapp and recovered the piece of paper which was not seen by her or her lawyers again, and was not introduced as evidence in any of the ensuing court proceedings. When asked about the warrant during oral argument at the Supreme Court, the Cleveland prosecutor arguing the case cautiously deflected the question, which the court did not press. As the search of Mapp's second-floor, 2-bedroom apartment began, police handcuffed her for being belligerent. The police searched the house thoroughly, and discovered Ogletree, who was subsequently cleared on the bombing charge, hiding in the apartment of the downstairs tenant, Minerva Tate. In the search of Mapp's apartment and in a footlocker in the basement of the house police found a quantity of "California Gold" betting slips and paraphernalia. They also found a pistol and a small quantity of pornographic books and pictures which Mapp stated a previous tenant named Morris Jones had left behind Mapp was arrested, charged, and cleared on a misdemeanor charge of possessing numbers paraphernalia; but several months later, after she refused to testify against Shon Birns, Edward Keeling and their associates at their trial that October for the attempted shakedown of Don King, she was prosecuted for possession of the books, found guilty at a 1958 trial of "knowingly having had in her possession and under her control certain lewd and lascivious books, pictures, and photographs in violation of 2905.34 of Ohio's Revised Code", and sentenced to one to seven years in prison. Mapp then appealed her case to the Supreme Court, on the grounds that the police had no probable cause to suspect her of having the books. She stated that the 4th Amendment should be incorporated to the state and local level. She argued that the police couldn't use the books as evidence in trial because they were found without a warrant and therefore illegally.

Lemon Test Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

The Lemon test was formulated by Chief Justice Warren Burger in the majority opinion in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971). Lemon dealt with Rhode Island and Pennsylvania programs that supplemented the salaries of teachers in religiously based, private schools for teaching secular subjects. The Court struck down both programs as violating the establishment clause. The purpose of the Lemon test is to determine when a law has the effect of establishing religion. The test has served as the foundation for many of the Court's post-1971 establishment clause rulings. The test has three parts: First, the statute must have a secular legislative purpose; second, its principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion; finally, the statute must not foster "an excessive government entanglement with religion."

Civil War Amendments

The Reconstruction Amendments are the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments to the United States Constitution, adopted between 1865 and 1870, the five years immediately following the Civil War. The amendments were important in implementing the Reconstruction of the American South after the war.

Boy Scouts of America vs Dale (2000)

The Supreme Court of the United States decided on June 28, 2000, that held that the constitutional right to freedom of association allows a private organization like the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to exclude a person from membership when "the "the presence of that person affects in a significant way the group's ability to advocate public or private viewpoints." In a five to four decision, the Supreme Court ruled that opposition to homosexuality is part of BSA's "expressive message" and that allowing homosexuals as adult leaders would interfere with that message.

Gideon vs Wainright (1963)

The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution requires the states to provide defense attorneys to criminal defendants charged with serious offenses who cannot afford lawyers themselves.

Gratz vs Bollinger (2003)

The Supreme Court ruled that the use of affirmative action in school admission is constitutional if it treats race as one factor among many, its purpose is to achieve a "diverse" class, and it does not substitute for individualized review of applicant, but is unconstitutional if it automatically increases an applicant's chances over others simply because of his or her race. Barbara Grutter, a white Michigan resident whose application was rejected, sued the school in a lower federal court alleging that its admissions policy was unconstitutional.

Civil Disobedience

The active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is a symbolic or ritualistic violation of the law, rather than a rejection of the system as a whole.

Miller vs California (1973)

The case of Miller v. California was decided on June 21st of 1973. The United States Supreme Court in Miller v. California ruled in favor of the state of California. The court found Marvin Miller guilty of the misdemeanor because the material was deemed unsuitable for the general population. The court redefined its definition of obscenity from that of "utterly without socially redeeming value" to that which lacks "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."

Everson vs Board of Education (1947)

The case was brought by a New Jersey taxpayer against a tax funded school district that provided reimbursement to parents of both public and private schooled children taking the public transportation system to school. The taxpayer contended that reimbursement given for children attending private religious schools violated the constitutional prohibition against state support of religion, and the taking of taxpayers' money to do so violated the constitution's Due Process Clause. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment is incorporated against the states. However, the Supreme Court found that the New Jersey law was not in violation of the Establishment Clause.

Protectionism

The economic policy of restraining trade between states (countries) through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. The theory or practice of shielding a country's domestic industries from foreign competition by taxing imports.

New York Times vs United States (1971)

To exercise prior restraint, the Government must show sufficient evidence that the publication would cause a "grave and irreparable" danger. Section 792 of the Espionage Act was cited by Attorney General John N. Mitchell as cause for the United States to sue to bar further publication of stories based upon the Pentagon Papers.

Invidious Discrimination

Treating a class of persons unequally in a manner that is malicious, hostile, or damaging.

Gitlow vs New York (1925)

U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 8, 1925, that the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protection of free speech, which states that the federal "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech," applied also to state governments. The decision was the first in which the Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause required state and federal governments to be held to the same standards in regulating speech.

Plessy vs Ferguson (1896)

Upheld separate-but-equal facilities for white and black people on railroad cars. Constitutional law case of the US Supreme Court. It upheld state racial segregation laws for public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal"

Fighting Words

Which would likely make the person whom they are addressed commit an act of violence. Fighting words are a category of speech that is unprotected by the First Amendment.

Articles of Confederation

was an agreement among all thirteen original states in the United States of America that served as its 1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weak government-no executive, no judicial, no central government no power to tax, no power to regulate trade)

Electoral College

(in the US) a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president. a body of electors chosen or appointed by a larger group. The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. Your state's entitled allotment of electors equals the number of members in its Congressional delegation: one for each member in the House of Representatives plus two for your Senators.

Adarand Constructors vs Pena 1995

A 1995 Supreme Court decision holding that federal programs that classify people by race, even for an ostensibly benign purpose such as expanding opportunities for minorities, should be presumed to be unconstitutional.

Cohen vs California (1971)

A United States Supreme Court case dealing with freedom of speech. The Court overturned a man's conviction for the crime of disturbing the peace for wearing a jacket in the public corridors of a courthouse that displayed the phrase, "**** the Draft".

Chaplinsky vs New Hampshire (1942)

A United States Supreme Court case in which the Court articulated the fighting words doctrine, a limitation of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech. A category of speech that is unprotected by the First Amendment

Employment Div vs Smith (1990)

A United States Supreme Court case that held that the state could deny unemployment benefits to a person fired for violating a state prohibition on the use of peyote, even though the use of the drug was part of a religious ritual. Although states have the power to accommodate otherwise illegal acts performed in pursuit of religious beliefs, they are not required to do so. Alfred Leo Smith and Galen Black were members of the Native American Church and counselors at a private drug rehabilitation clinic. They were fired because they had ingested peyote, a powerful entheogen, as part of their religious ceremonies as members of the Native American Church. At the time, intentional possession of peyote was a crime under Oregon law without an affirmative defense for religious use. The counselors filed a claim for unemployment compensation with the state, but the claim was denied because the reason for their dismissal was deemed work-related "misconduct.

Gonzales vs Carhart (2007)

A United States Supreme Court case that upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.

Habeas Corpus

An order to produce an arrested person before a judge. A writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person's release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention

Libel

A written statement in which a plaintiff in certain courts sets forth the cause of action or the relief sought, A handbill especially attacking or defaming someone. A written or oral defamatory statement or representation that conveys an unjustly unfavorable impression.

Brown vs Board of Education (1954)

Acknowledged as one of the greatest Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century, unanimously held that the racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Although the decision did not succeed in fully desegregating public education in the United States, it put the Constitution on the side of racial equality and galvanized the nascent civil rights movement into a full revolution.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Addresses the duties that states within the United States have to respect the "public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state."

Jim Crow Laws

Any of the laws legalizing racial segregation of blacks and whites that were enacted in Southern states beginning in the 1880's and enforced through the 1950's, that limited rights of blacks. Literacy tests, grandfather clauses and poll taxes limited black voting rights

Miller Test

Also called the three prong obscenity test, is the United States Supreme Court's test for determining whether speech or expression can be labeled obscene, in which case it is not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and can be prohibited. Material is legally obscene under the following conditions: An average person, applying contemporary local community standards, finds that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interest.

Privileges and Immunities Clause

Also known as the Comity Clause prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner. The Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution states that "the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states."

Indicia of Suspectedness

Court uses the following criteria to determine if a group qualifies as a suspect class: history of purposeful discrimination; political powerlessness; immutable trait (no way to change the distinguishing characteristic); grossly unfair.

Prior Restraint

In First Amendment law, a prior restraint is government action that prohibits speech or other expression before it can take place. There are two common forms of prior restraints. The first is a statute or regulation that requires a speaker to acquire a permit or license before speaking, and the second is a judicial injunction that prohibits certain speech. Both types of prior restraint are strongly disfavored, and, with some exceptions, generally unconstitutional.

F.E.C. vs Wisconsin Right to Life (2007)

In McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court upheld section 203 and other sections of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act against a facial challenge that the law was unconstitutional. Wisconsin Right to Life Inc. ... WRTL sought to run its ads within the 30- and 60-day blackout provisions of BCRA. Ruled that issue ads withing 60 days are allowed as long as they dont advocate a candidate

Miranda vs Arizona (1966)

In Miranda v. Arizona (1966), the Supreme Court ruled that detained criminal suspects, prior to police questioning, must be informed of their constitutional right to an attorney and against self-incrimination. The case began with the 1963 arrest of Phoenix resident Ernesto Miranda, who was charged with rape, kidnapping, and robbery. Miranda was not informed of his rights prior to the police interrogation. During the two-hour interrogation, Miranda allegedly confessed to committing the crimes, which the police apparently recorded. Miranda, who had not finished ninth grade and had a history of mental instability, had no counsel present. At trial, the prosecution's case consisted solely of his confession. Miranda was convicted of both rape and kidnapping and sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison. He appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court, claiming that the police had unconstitutionally obtained his confession. The court disagreed, however, and upheld the conviction. Miranda appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reviewed the case in 1966. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision written by Chief Justice Earl Warren, ruled that the prosecution could not introduce Miranda's confession as evidence in a criminal trial because the police had failed to first inform Miranda of his right to an attorney and against self-incrimination. The police duty to give these warnings is compelled by the Constitution's Fifth Amendment, which gives a criminal suspect the right to refuse "to be a witness against himself," and Sixth Amendment, which guarantees criminal defendants the right to an attorney. His conviction was reversed. Miranda was later retried and convicted without the admission of his confession. Good Law today.

Dickerson vs United States (2000)

In Miranda v. Arizona, the Supreme Court held that statements of criminal suspects made while they are in custody and subject to interrogation by police may not be admitted in court unless the suspect first had certain warnings read to him beforehand. By now, these warnings are familiar to most Americans: that the suspect has the right to remain silent during the interrogation, that anything he says to the police may be used against him in a court of law, that he has the right to legal counsel, and that if he cannot afford legal counsel a lawyer will be provided for him.

Police Powers

In United States constitutional law, police power is the capacity of the states to regulate behavior and enforce order within their territory for the betterment of the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of their inhabitants.

McDonald vs Chicago (2010)

Incorporated the 2nd Amendment to the states, and does not allow states to infringe on a person's right to bear arms.

Black Codes

Statutes passed by pro-slavery, Southern states of the USA before and after the Civil War, to limit the civil rights of slaves or freed slaves. All black codes were eventually repealed.

Lawrence vs Texas (2003)

State law may not ban sexual relations between same-sex partners. police called by Lawrence's neighbors; entered apartment engaged in oral sex in privacy of their home; arrested for sodomy; 5 of 9 judges agreed that anti-sodomy laws are unconstitutional because they infringe on fundamental rights.

Nineteenth Amendment (1920)

Prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex; turning point in securing equal rights

Executive Order 11246

Prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. (president Johnson)

De Facto segregation

Racial segregation, especially in public schools, that happens "by fact" rather than by legal requirement. For example, often the concentration of African-Americans in certain neighborhoods produces neighborhood schools that are predominantly black.

Planned Parenthood vs Casey (1992)

Reaffirmed Roe v. Wade but upheld certain limits on its use. In 1992, the Supreme Court revisited the abortion issue in Casey v. Planned Parenthood. Above, pro-choice activists demonstrate in favor of the 1973 Roe decision. In Casey v. Planned Parenthood (1992), the Supreme Court affirmed the basic ruling of Roe v. Wade that the state is prohibited from banning most abortions.

Probable Cause

Reasonable grounds (for making a search, pressing a charge, etc.).

Near vs Minnesota (1931)

Recognized the freedom of press by rejecting prior restraints on publication. Was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision that recognized the freedom of the press by roundly rejecting prior restraints on publication, a principle that was applied to free speech generally in subsequent jurisprudence.

De jure segregation

Separation enforced by law

Hamdi vs Rumsfeld (2004)

Supreme Court case in which the Court recognized the power of the U.S. government to detain enemy combatants, including U.S. citizens, but ruled that detainees who are U.S. citizens must have the rights of due process, and the ability to challenge their enemy. American citizen captured in Afghanistan was held as an enemy combatant.

New York Times vs Sullivan (1964)

Supreme Court case that established the actual malice standard, which has to be met before press reports about public officials can be considered to be defamation and libel; and hence allowed free reporting of the civil rights campaigns ...The United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the newspaper. ... The Court also said in order to prove libel, a public official must show that what was said against them was made with actual malice - "that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard for the truth."

Parents vs Seattle School District (2007)

The student assignment plan of Seattle Public Schools and Jefferson County Public Schools does not meet the narrowly tailored and compelling interest requirements for a race-based assignment plan because it is used only to achieve "racial balance." Public schools may not use race as the sole determining factor for assigning students to schools. Race-conscious objectives to achieve diverse school environment may be acceptable..

Cruzan vs Dir.,Missouri Dept of Health (1990)

The first "right to die" case ever heard by the Court, In a 5-4 decision, the Court affirmed the earlier ruling of the Supreme Court of Missouri and ruled in favor of the State of Missouri, finding it was acceptable to require "clear and convincing evidence" of a patient's wishes for removal of life support. A significant outcome of the case was the creation of advance health directives. On January 11, 1983, Nancy Cruzan lost control of her car. She was thrown from the vehicle and landed face-down in a water-filled ditch. Paramedics found her with no vital signs, but they resuscitated her. After three weeks in a coma, she was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state Surgeons inserted a feeding tube for her long-term care. In 1988, Cruzan's parents asked her doctors to remove her feeding tube.The hospital refused to do so without a court order, since removal of the tube would cause Cruzan's death. the Cruzans filed for and received a court order for the feeding tube to be removed. The trial court ruled that constitutionally, there is a "fundamental natural right ... to refuse or direct the withholding or withdrawal of artificial death prolonging procedures when the person has no more cognitive brain function ... and there is no hope of further recovery. The court ruled that Nancy had effectively 'directed' the withdrawal of life support by telling a friend earlier that year that if she were sick or injured, "she would not wish to continue her life unless she could live at least halfway normally.

Craig vs Boren (1976)

The first case in which a majority of the United States Supreme Court determined that statutory or administrative sex classifications were subject to intermediate scrutiny under the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Oklahoma passed a statute prohibiting the sale of "nonintoxicating" 3.2% beer to males under the age of 21 but allowed females over the age of 18 to purchase it. The statute was challenged as Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection violation by Curtis Craig, a male who was over 18 but under 21, and by an Oklahoma vendor of alcohol. The nominal defendant was David Boren, who was sued ex officio by virtue of his serving as Governor of Oklahoma at the time of the lawsuit.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the US Constitution, ratified in 1791 and guaranteeing such rights as the freedoms of speech, assembly, and worship.

Imminent Lawless Action Test

The judgment in the 1969 case Brandenburg v. Ohio formed the "Imminent Lawless Action" test, which is used by the Supreme Court to decide the limits on which speech is protected by the First Amendment. The test concludes that speech can be restricted by the First Amendment if it follows two criteria: 1) The speech invites imminent lawless action and 2) The speech is likely to produce said action.

Public Safety Exception

The public-safety exception allows into evidence an otherwise suppressible statement ..The Supreme Court considered the admissibility of a statement elicited by a police officer who apprehended a rape suspect who was thought to be carrying a firearm.

Civil Rights

The rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality

Civil Liberties

The state of being subject only to laws established for the good of the community, especially with regard to freedom of action and speech. individual rights protected by law from unjust governmental or other interference.

Declaration of Independence

The statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer under British rule. Instead they formed a new nation—the United States of America. John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence, which was passed on July 2 with no opposing vote cast. A committee of five had already drafted the formal declaration, to be ready when Congress voted on independence. The term "Declaration of Independence" is not used in the document itself.

Constitution of the United States

The supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles entrench the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the President; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Articles Four, Five and Six entrench concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government. Article Seven establishes the procedure subsequently used by the thirteen States to ratify it. Since the Constitution came into force in 1789, it has been amended twenty-seven times. We the people of the U.S.......

Antifederalists

They opposed the ratification of the Constitution because it gave more power to the federal government and less to the states, and because it did not ensure individual rights. Many wanted to keep the Articles of Confederation. The Antifederalists were instrumental in obtaining passage of the Bill of Rights as a prerequisite to ratification of the Constitution in several states. After the ratification of the Constitution, the Antifederalists regrouped as the Democratic-Republican (or simply Republican) party.

Equal Protection Clause

This clause means that states must apply the law equally and cannot discriminate against people or groups of people arbitrarily. Part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction "the equal protection of the laws".

Pierce vs Society of Sisters (1925)

Though states may require public education, they may not require that students attend only public schools

Lynch vs Donnelly (1984)

Was a United States Supreme Court case challenging the legality of Christmas decorations on town property. Pawtucket, Rhode Island's annual Christmas display in the city's shopping district, consisting of a Santa Claus house, a Christmas tree, a banner reading "Season's Greetings," and a crèche, was challenged in court. The crèche had been a part of the display since at least 1943.[1] The plaintiffs brought the suit to the District Court of Rhode Island, which permanently enjoined the city from displaying the Nativity scene as a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The city of Pawtucket's nativity scene does not violate the Establishment Clause.

Poe vs Ullman (1961)

Was a United States Supreme Court case that held that plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge a Connecticut law that banned the use of contraceptives, and banned doctors from advising their use, because the law had never been enforced. Connecticut law barring possession of birth control not ripe for constitutional challenge because of lack of enforcement. Appeal dismissed.

Engle vs Vitale (1962)

Was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that ruled it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools.

Exclusionary Rule

a law that prohibits the use of illegally obtained evidence in a criminal trial.

Ex Post Facto Law

a law that would allow a person to be punished for an action that was not against the law when it was committed