Civil Liberties

subversive

(adj.) intended to undermine or overthrow (n.) one who advocates or attempts to undermine a political system

libel

(n.) a written statement that unfairly or falsely harms the reputation of the person about whom it is made; (v.) to write or publish such a statement

direct incitement

A articulated by the Supreme Court in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) that holds that advocacy of illegal action is protected by the First Amendment unless imminent lawless action is intended and likely to occur.

protest

A form of political participation designed to achieve policy change through dramatic and unconventional tactics.

atheist

A person who denies the existence of God.

substantive due process

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

picket

Demonstrate or march before a place of business to protest a company's actions.

immunity

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

clear and present danger

In Schenck v. US (1919), The Supreme Court ruled that government may prohibit speech that creates an immediate threat of criminal action. Essentially established different standards for speech during wartime than in peacetime. Thus, establishing the ________________ doctrine.

entrapment

In criminal law, a defense in which the defendant claims that he or she was induced by a public official—usually an undercover agent or police officer—to commit a crime that he or she would otherwise not have committed.

secular

Non-religious

due process rights

Procedural guarantees provided by the 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th amendments for those accused of a crime.

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.

parochial

Religious; restricted.

exclusionary rule

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

double jeopardy

The Fifth Amendment right providing that a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime

pro bono

done for the public good without compensation

incorporation doctrine

The legal concept under which the Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights by making most of its provisions applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

civil liberties

The legal constitutional protections against government. Although our civil liberties are formally set down in the Bill of Rights, the courts, police, and legislatures define their meaning.

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.

Lemon test

The three-part test for Establishment Clause cases that a law must pass before it is declared constitutional: it must have a secular purpose; it must neither advance nor inhibit religion; and it must not cause excessive entanglement with religion.

indictment

a written accusation charging a party with committing a crime which is drawn up by the prosecuting attorney and issued by a grand jury

fundamental freedoms

Those rights defined by the Court to be essential to order, liberty, and justice and therefore entitled to the highest standard of review, strict scrutiny

prior restraint

When a court stops expression before it is made, e.g., prohibiting a demonstration by a radical group because the assembly is likely to become violent. Presumed to be unconstitutional.

writ of habeas corpus

a court order that requires police to bring a prisoner to court to explain why they are holding the person

felony

a crime more serious than a misdemeanor and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year or death.

vagrant

a person who wanders from place to place, esp. one who lives on the streets and constitutes a public nuisance

orthodox

adhering to the traditional and established, especially in religion

contempt of court

an act of disobedience or disrespect to a judge, which may be punished by a fine or jail sentence

sedition

an illegal action inciting resistance to lawful authority and tending to cause the disruption or overthrow of the government

misdemeanor

an offense less serious than a felony and which may be punished by a fine or sentence to a local prison for less than one year

unorthodox

contrary to what is usual, traditional, or accepted

symbolic speech

expression by conduct; communicating ideas through facial expressions, body language, or by carrying a sign or wearing an arm band

agnostic

one who believes that nothing can be known about God; a skeptic; without faith, skeptical

due process

principle in the Fifth Amendment stating that the government must follow proper constitutional procedures in trials and in other actions it takes against individuals

civil rights

right or rights belonging to a person by reason of citizenship including especially the fundamental freedoms and privileges guaranteed by the 13th and 14th amendments and subsequent acts of Congress including the right to legal and social and economic equality

slander

spoken untruths that are harmful to someone's reputation

Miranda rights

statements that must be made by the police informing a suspect of his or her constitutional rights protected by the Fifth Amendment, including the right to an attorney provided by the court if the suspect cannot afford one

free exercise clause

the First Amendment guarantee that citizens may freely engage in the religious activities of their choice

establishment clause

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

euthanasia

the act of painlessly killing a suffering person or animal; mercy killing

bail

the legal system that allows an accused person to be temporarily released from custody (usually on condition that a sum of money guarantees their appearance at trial)

censorship

the practice of officially examining books, movies, etc., and suppressing unacceptable parts

right to privacy

the right to be let alone, which has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to entail free access to birth control and abortions

fighting words

words that by their very nature inflict injury on those to whom they are addressed or incited them to acts of violence; very hard to prove