Civil Liberties: Protecting Individual Rights

Which of these groups is typically more protective of individual rights?

Judges

The right to legal counsel is a ______ Amendment protection.

Sixth

In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006), the Supreme Court ruled that enemy combatant detainees were protected by which of the following?

- the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice - the Geneva Convention

The Second Amendment protects and supports which of the following?

- the right to keep and bear arms - a well-regulated militia

Freedom of expression, provided by the First Amendment, allows Americans to ______.

- write or publish almost anything, with some limits - communicate thoughts of their choosing

In which decade did the election of "tough on crime" candidates lead to state legislatures enacting stiffer penalties for crime while also limiting judges' abilities to reduce sentences for nonviolent crimes of first-time offenders?

1990s

The 1977 Supreme Court case that provided guidance on the allowable restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of assembly upheld which of the following?

the right of an American Nazi Party group to hold a parade in Skokie, a city with a large Jewish population that included Holocaust survivors

Griswold v. Connecticut was a case dealing with ______.

the right to privacy

What has the Supreme Court ruled concerning police use of modern technology, such as listening or thermal-imaging devices, to investigate a subject?

A search warrant is required, just as it would be for other circumstances.

T or F: The right to appeal after conviction is guaranteed in the Constitution.

False

Which amendment to the United States Constitution protects individuals from testifying against themselves in a court of law?

Fifth

Which amendment to the United States Constitution protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures?

Fourth

According to the establishment clause, the government is required to ______.

remain neutral toward all religions

Which of the following cases established that law enforcement officers must advise detainees of their rights, including the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney, before beginning questioning in a criminal investigation?

Miranda v. Arizona

Which of the following Supreme Court cases was also known as the "Pentagon Papers" case?

New York Times Co. v. United States

What was challenged by Lawrence v. Texas (2003)?

Texas's sodomy laws

The Supreme Court decision in Schenck v. United States established which principle?

The federal government can restrict free expression but it does not have unlimited authority to do so.

What unique circumstance existed at the time of the Korematsu v. United States decision?

The nation was at war.

Passed by Congress soon after the 9/11 attacks, the law that allows the FBI and other intelligence agencies to access personal information and records without consent from targeted individuals is known as the ______.

USA Patriot Act

The importance of listing individual rights in the Constitution is that it gives individuals who feel that their rights have been violated ______.

a basis for taking the alleged violation into a court of law for a ruling by a judge

Which of the following was the subject under consideration in Roe v. Wade (1973)?

abortion rights

In the case of Korematsu v. United States (1944), the courts ______.

allowed government polices during wartime that would not be allowed in times of peace

In Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot lawfully ______.

ban sexual relations between consenting same-sex adults

Constitutional guarantees that protect citizens from arbitrary government action are known as ______.

civil liberties

Which of the following is likely to convince a judge that police should be issued a search warrant?

establishing probable cause for believing a crime has been committed

In Engle v. Vitale (1962), the Supreme Court ruled against the reciting of prayers in public schools on grounds it violates the ______.

establishment clause

Under the Fifth Amendment, suspects charged with a ______.

federal crime cannot be tried unless indicted by a grand jury

The First Amendment clause barring the government from passing any laws that prohibit an individual's practice of his or her religion is known as the ______ clause.

free-exercise

The First Amendment protection that makes it illegal for the government to enact laws that restrict the free practice of religion by any individual is known as the ______.

free-exercise clause

The Supreme Court has ruled that prisoners should generally appeal their cases first ______.

in state courts

Civil _____ refer to individual rights, such as the freedom of speech and religion, while civil _____ refer to equality under the law for different groups such as racial or religious minorities.

liberties; rights

The Sedition Act of 1798 attempted to ______.

make it a crime to publish stories that are harshly critical of the president

The attempt to block the publication of material considered to be harmful is known as ______ restraint.

prior

Which term describes the set of procedures authorities must follow before a person can be lawfully punished for an offense?

procedural due process

Law enforcement officials sometimes controversially rely on the practice of _____ _____, the assumption that certain groups of people are more likely to commit particular crimes.

racial profiling

The Supreme Court has ruled that the right of free assembly ______.

takes precedence over the mere possibility that the exercise of the right might have undesirable consequences

What was the name of the 1798 law that criminalized any speech or writings critical of the government, Congress, or the president?

the Sedition Act

The Supreme Court consistently ruled that the George W. Bush administration's practice of denying constitutional and legal protections to enemy combatants was ______.

under the jurisdiction of the United States courts

In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court ruled that restrictions on abortion were legal so long as they didn't place an ______ on a woman's right to obtain an abortion.

undue burden

In following the Eighth Amendment, the Supreme Court has used which of the following tests to determine if an action constitutes cruel and unusual punishment?

• determining if a punishment violates "fundamental standards of good conscience and fairness" • determining if a punishment is "unnecessarily cruel" • determining whether a punishment is "disproportionate to the offence"

The Bill of Rights protects a number of civil liberties, including freedom ______.

• of assembly • of the press • of speech

The Supreme Court has recently employed the Eighth Amendment to ban which of the following?

• the death penalty for juveniles • life sentences without parole for juveniles • the death penalty for the mentally ill

Which of the following is a right of the accused that is protected by the Fifth Amendment?

• the right to due process of law • double jeopardy • protection against self-incrimination

The constitutional right to bear arms is found in which of the following amendments?

Second Amendment

According to this test, before speech can be restricted, the government must clearly demonstrate that a citizen's expression presents a very obvious and real danger to the public safety.

clear-and-present-danger test

The USA Patriot Act was passed in order to ______.

combat terrorism

What are the religious clauses in the First Amendment?

the establishment clause & the free-exercise clause

Griswold v. Connecticut is the landmark case that established the right to privacy. The case involved the question of whether a state can prohibit ______.

the use of contraceptives by a married couple