AP Gov Chapter 4 ✅

What is used as justification for stopping a suspect?

"Reasonable suspicion."

Describe the trials of enemy combatants.

- They often do not have access to the evidence against them and are subject to coercion or torture in the gathering of additional evidence. - Trials are closed. - People tried in these courts do not have a right to an attorney of their choosing.

What 3 arguments did the Federalists put forth in opposition to the addition of a bill of rights to the constitution?

1.) A bill of rights was unnecessary in a constitutional republic founded on the idea of popular sovereignty and inalienable, natural rights. Moreover, most state constitutions contained bill of rights, so federal guarantees were unnecessary. 2.) A bill of rights would be dangerous. According to Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 84, since the national government was one of the enumerated powers (that is, it had only the powers listed in the Constitution), "Why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do?" 3.) A national bill of rights would be impractical to enforce. It's validity would largely depend on public opinion and the spirit of the people and government.

According to the Lemon test, what three factors made a policy or practice constitutional?

1.) If it had a legitimate secular purpose, 2.) If it neither advanced nor inhibited religion. 3.) If it did not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion.

What three forms of speech are not protected under the First Amendment?

1.) Libel 2.) Fighting words 3.) Obscenity

What three things has the Fourth Amendment allowed the police to search?

1.) The person arrested 2.) Things in plain view of the accused person 3.) Places or things that the arrested person could touch or reach or the are otherwise on the arrestee's immediate control

What two groups of people are exceptions under the death penalty?

1.) Those who are what the law calls mentally retarded 2.) Those under 18

By the late 1960s, how many states had voted to liberalize their abortion policies? How many states discriminalized abortion?

14. 4.

When was the Bill of Rights sent to the states for ratification?

1789.

When was the Bill of Rights approved by a majority of the states?

1791.

In what year was the Fourteenth added to the Bill of Rights?

1868.

Define selective incorporation.

A judicial doctrine whereby most, but not all, protections found in the Bill of Rights are made applicable to the states via the 14th Amendment.

Define bill of attainder. Are they legal?

A law declaring an act illegal without a judicial trial.

Define impartial jury.

A trial in which a group of the accused's peers act as a fact-finding, deliberative body to determine guilt or innocence.

Describe the case of US v. Miller (1939).

A unanimous Court upheld the constitutionality of the National Firearms Act, stating that the Second Amendment was intended to protect a citizen's right to own ordinary militia weapons, which did not include sawed-off shotguns.

Describe the case of Miranda v. Arizona (1966).

Accused of kidnapping and raping an 18 year old girl. Eventually, he confessed to the crime and wrote and signed a brief statement describing the crime and admitting his guilt. At no time did the police tell him that he did not have to answer any questions that he could be represented by an attorney. After Miranda's conviction, his case was appealed on the grounds that his fifth amendment right not to incriminate himself had been violated because the police had coerced his confession. The Court ruled that Miranda's confession was inadmissible at trial, and it also released the statement that "Prior to any questioning, the person must be warned that he has a right to remain silent, that any statements he does make maybe used as evidence against him, and that he has the right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed." In response, police began to read Miranda rights.

Describe the case of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964).

An Alabama state court found the New York Times guilty of libel for printing a full-page advertisement accusing Alabama officials of physically abusing African Americans during various civil rights protests. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction and established that a finding of libel against a public official could only stand if "actual malice," or knowing disregard for the truth, was shown.

Define incorporation doctrine.

An interpretation of the Constitution holding that the due process clause of the 14th Amendment requires state and local governments to guarantee the rights stated in the Bill of Rights.

Define hate speech.

Any communication that belittles a person or group on the basis of characteristics.

How did the USA PATRIOT Act violate the 1st Amendment?

By barring those who have subject to search orders from telling anyone about those orders, even in situations in which no need for secrecy can be proven. It also authorized the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate citizens who choose to exercise their freedom of speech, without demonstrating that any part of their speech might be labeled illegal.

Describe the case of Gideon v. Wainwright (1963).

Clarence Earl Gideon, a 51-year-old a drifter, was charged with breaking into a panama city, Florida, pool hall and stealing beer, wine, and some change from a vending machine. At his trial, he asked the judge to appoint a lawyer for him because he was too poor to hire one. The judge refused, and Gideon was convicted and given a five year prison term for a petty larceny. While in jail, he drafted and mailed a writ of certiorari to the US Supreme Court, asking to overrule his conviction. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court agreed with Gideon.

Define due process clause.

Clause contained in the 5th and 14th Amendments. Over the years, it has been constructed to guarantee a variety of rights of individuals.

Define prior restraint.

Constitutional doctrine that prevents the government from prohibiting speech or publication before the fact. It's generally held to be in violation of the Constitution.

Define libel.

False written statement that defames a person's character.

Describe the case of Palko v. Connecticut (1937).

Frank Palko was charged with first-degree murder for killing two Connecticut police officers, found guilty of a lesser charge of second-degree murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Connecticut appealed. Palko was retired, found guilty of first-degree murder, and sentenced to death. Palko then appealed his second conviction, arguing it violated the 5th Amendment's prohibition against double jeopardy because the due process clause of the 14th Amendment had made the 5th Amendment applicable to the states. The Supreme Court disagreed.

In situations involving no arrests, how must police obtain warrants?

From a "neutral and detached magistrate" prior to conducting more extensive searches of houses, cars, offices, or any other place where an individual would reasonably have some expectation of privacy.

What unconstitutional actions did Abraham Lincoln take during the Civil War that limited first Amendment rights?

He made it unlawful to print any criticisms of the national government or of the Civil War, effectively suspending the Free Press protections of the First Amendment. Lincoln went so far as to order the arrest of several newspaper editors critical of his conduct of the war and ignored a Supreme Court decision saying that these practices were unconstitutional.

How has the process of selecting the jury changed significantly throughout history?

Historically, lawyers had used peremptory challenges to exclude minorities from juries, especially when the defendant was a member of a minority group.

When can warrantless searches occur?

If police suspect that someone is committing or is about to commit a crime. Also, if the police obtain consent.

Describe the case of RAV v. City of St. Paul (1992).

In St. Paul, Minnesota, ordinance that made it a crime to engage in speech or action likely to arouse "anger," "alarm," or "resentment" on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, or gender was at issue. The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that a white teenager who burned a cross on a black family's front lawn, thereby committing a hate crime under the ordinance, could not face charges under that law because the First Amendment protects governments from "silencing speech on the basis of its content."

How was freedom of the press limited during the Civil War?

In the 1830s, at the urging of abolitionists, the publication or dissemination of any positive information about slavery became a punishable offense in the north. On the other hand, in the south, supporters of slavery enacted laws to prohibit the publication of any anti-slavery sentiments. Southern postmasters, for example, refused to deliver northern abolitionist newspapers.

Describe the case of House v. Bell (2006).

In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that a Tennessee death row inmate who had exhausted other federal appeals was entitled to an exception to more stringent federal appeals because DNA and related evidence suggested his innocence. The Supreme Court, further, has ruled that although inmates do not have an automatic right to DNA testing, it is with in their civil rights to file a lawsuit seeking this relief.

Describe the case of Miller v. California (1973).

In this case, the Supreme Court set out a test redefining obscenity. To make it easier for states to regulate obscene materials, the justices concluded that lower courts must ask, "whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically define by state law." The courts would also determine "whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value." The Supreme Court also noted that local standards might affect its assessment of obscenity, under the rationale that what citizens of New York City find acceptable may not be case in Maine or Mississippi.

In what circumstances has the Court allowed Congress and the chief executive limit the rights of the 1st Amendment?

In times of war.

What did the Washington State's Public Records Act do? What did the Supreme Court rule about this act?

It allowed the government to release the names of citizens who signed a petition in support of a ballot initiative that would have banned gay couples from adopting children. The Supreme Court ruled that it was constitutional.

What did the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act do? How did President Clinton respond to the bill?

It banned a specific procedure used in late-term abortions. Clinton vetoed it, but many state legislatures just passed their own versions of it.

Describe the case of Gonzales v. Carhart (2007).

It empowered states to enact abortion regulations with the new gusto.

How did the USA PATRIOT Act violate the Fourth Amendment? What four areas does it enhances the ability of the government to curtail specific search and seizure restrictions in?

It enhances the ability of the government to curtail specific search and seizure restrictions in four areas. 1.) It allows the government to examine an individual's private records held by third parties. 2.) It expands the government's right to search private property without notice to the owner. 3.) The act "expands a narrow exception to the Fourth Amendment that had been created for the collection of foreign intelligence information." 4.) It expands an exception for spying that collects "addressing information" about where and to whom communications are going, as opposed to what is contained in the documents.

What does the 2nd Amendment do?

It ensures that Congress could not pass laws to disarm state militias. It also upheld the right to bear arms.

Describe the case of Griswold v. Connecticut (1965).

It involved a challenge to the constitutionality of in 1879 Connecticut law prohibiting the dissemination of information about and/or the sale of contraceptives. Seven justices decided that various portions of the Bill of Rights, including the first, third, fourth, ninth, and 14th amendments, cast what the supreme court called "penumbras," thereby creating zones of privacy, including a married couple's right to plan a family. Thus, the Connecticut statute was ruled unconstitutional because it violated marital privacy, a right the Court concluded could be read into the US Constitution through interpreting several amendments.

For a warrantless vehicle search to occur, what needs to be present?

It needs to be both narrowly construed and the defendant needs to be able to access the vehicle.

What did the PROTECT Act do?

It outlawed or transmission of child pornography.

Describe the case of McCleskey v. Zant (1991).

It produced new standards designed to make the filing of appeals much more difficult for death-row inmates

Describe the case of Furman v. Georgia (1972).

It put an end to capital punishment, at least in the short run. The Supreme Court ruled that because the death penalty often was imposed in an arbitrary manner, it constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the eighth and 14th amendments.

What did the Religious Freedom Restoration Act do?

It specifically made the use of peyote in American Indian's religious services illegal.

Who was the author of the Bill of Rights?

James Madison.

Define substantive due process.

Judicial interpretation of the 5th and 14th Amendments' due process clauses that protect citizens from arbitrary or unjust state or federal laws.

Define exclusionary rule. In what case was it adopted?

Judicially created rule that prohibits police from using illegally seized evidence at trial. It was adopted in Weeks v. US (1914).

Describe the case of Planned Parenthood of Sourthern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992).

Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy, and David Souter, in a jointly authorized opinion, wrote that Pennsylvania could limit abortions as long as it's regulations did not pose an undue burden on a pregnant woman. The narrowly supported standard, by which the Supreme Court upheld a 24 hour waiting period and parental consent requirements, did not overrule Roe, but it clearly limited its scope by abolishing its trimester approach and substituting the undue burden standard for the trimester approach used in Roe.

Define ex post facto laws. Are they legal?

Laws that make an act punishable as a crime even if the action was legal at the time it was committed. No.

How were 1st Amendment rights barred after the 9/11 terrorist attacks?

Members of the media were under strong constraints to report only positive aspects of US efforts to combat terrorism.

Which organization fought hard against the death penalty? Why?

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense Fund (LDF). They believed that African-Americans received the death penalty more frequently than members of other groups.

Who was the woman behind the case of Roe v. Wade?

Norma McCorvey.

What were some arguments against the continued use of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay?

Opponents cited numerous accusations of torture as well as possible violations of human rights.

Define First Amendment.

Part of the Bill of Rights that imposes a number of restrictions on the federal government with respect to civil liberties, including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.

Define Fifth Amendment.

Part of the Bill of Rights that imposes a number of restrictions on the federal government with respect to the rights of persons suspected of committing a crime. It provides for indictment by a grand jury and protection against self-incrimination, and prevents the national government from denying a person life, liberty, or property without the due process of law. It also prevents the national government from taking property without just compensation.

Define Ninth Amendment.

Part of the Bill of Rights that makes it clear that enumerating rights in the Constitution or Bill of Rights does not mean that others do not exist.

Define Fourth Amendment.

Part of the Bill of Rights that protects people from unreasonable searches by the federal government.

Define 6th Amendment.

Part of the Bill of Rights that sets out the basic requirements of procedural due process for federal courts to follow in criminal trials. These include speedy and public trials, impartial juries, trials in the state where the crime was committed, notice of the charges, the right to confront and obtain a favorable witnesses, and the right to counsel.

Define 8th Amendment.

Part of the bill of rights that states: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

Define double jeopardy clause.

Part of the fifth amendment that protects individuals from being tried twice for the same offense in the same jurisdiction.

Define writs of habeas corpus.

Petition requesting that a judge order authorities to prove that a prisoner is being held lawfully and that allows the prisoner to be freed if the government's case does not persuade the judge. Habeas corpus rights imply that prisoners have a right to know what charges are being made against them.

When secular law conflicts with religious law, which rights are often denied? Give some examples.

Religious rights. Ex: The Court has barred the use of certain drugs, snake handling, and polygamy, which are all practices of some religions.

Define black sights.

Secret offshore prisons.

Define symbolic speech.

Signs, symbols, and other methods of expression generally considered to be protected by the First Amendment.

Describe the case of Lawrence v. Texas (2003).

Six members of the Supreme Court overruled its decision in Bowers v. Hardwick (1986), which had upheld anti-sodomy laws. They found the Texas law unconstitutional. Five justices found it violated fundamental privacy rights.

Define Miranda rights.

Statements required of a police that in for 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.

Define direct incitement test.

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

Define clear and present danger test.

Test articulated by the Supreme Court in Schenck v. US (1919) to draw the line between protected and unprotected speech. The Court looks to see "whether the words used" could "create a clear and present danger that they will bring about substantive evils" that Congress seeks "to prevent."

Describe the case of Abington School District v. Schempp (1963).

The Court ruled that state-mandated bible reading or recitation of the Lord's Prayer in public schools were unconstitutional.

Describe the case of Engel v. Vitale (1962).

The Court ruled that the recitation in public school classrooms of a brief nondenominational prayer drafted by the local school board was unconstitutional.

Describe the case of Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971).

The Court tried to carve out a three-part test for laws dealing with religious establishment issues. The rest is called the lemon test.

Describe the case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969).

The Court upheld the right of high school students to wear black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.

Describe the case of Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969).

The Supreme Court fashioned a new test for deciding whether the government could regulate certain kinds of speech: the direct incitement test.

Describe the case of Roe v. Wade (1973).

The Supreme Court found that a woman's right to an abortion is protected by the right to privacy that could be implied from specific guarantees found in the Bill of Rights applied to the states through the 14th amendment.

Describe the case of Roth v. US (1957).

The Supreme Court held that for something to be considered obscene, the material in question had to be "utterly without redeeming social importance," and articulated a new test for obscenity: "whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appears to the prurient interests."

Describe the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford (1858).

The Supreme Court listed the right to own and carry arms as a basic right of citizenship.

Describe the case of Strindberg v. California (1931).

The Supreme Court overturned a communist youth camp director's conviction under a state statute prohibiting the display of a red flag, a symbol of opposition to the US government.

Describe the case of Barren v. Baltimore (1833).

The Supreme Court refused to incorporate the Bill of Rights to the state government. The decision prevented federal review of state laws.

Describe the case of Mapp v. Ohio (1961).

The Supreme Court ruled "all evidence obtained by searches and seizures in violation of the Constitution, is inadmissible in a state court."

Describe the case of Gregg v. Georgia (1976).

The Supreme Court ruled that Georgia's rewritten death penalty statute was constitutional.

Describe the case of Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart (1976).

The Supreme Court ruled that any attempt by the government to prevent expression carried "a heavy presumption' against its constitutionality. In this case, a trial court issued a gag order barring the press from reporting the lurid details of a crime. In balancing the defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial against the press's right to cover a story, the Nebraska trial judge concluded that the defendant's right had greater weight. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding the press's right to cover the trial paramount.

Describe the case of Barron v. Baltimore (1833).

The Supreme Court ruled that the Bill of Rights limited only the actions of the US government and not those of the states.

Describe the case of D.C. v. Heller (2008).

The Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment protected an individual's right to own a firearm for personal use in Washington DC.

Describe the case of New York Times Co. v. US (1971).

The Supreme Court ruled that the US government cannot block the publication of the secret department of defense documents illegally furnished to the Times by anti-war activists.

Describe the case of Christian Legal Society v. Martinez (2010).

The Supreme Court ruled that the University of California Hastings College of Law could deny recognition and therefore funding to the Christian Legal Society because the group limited its membership to those who shared a common faith orientation.

Describe the case of Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989).

The Supreme Court upheld state required fetal viability tests in the second trimester, even though these tests increased the cost of an abortion considerably. The Supreme Court also a palled Missouri's refusal to allow abortions to be performed in states supported hospitals or by state funded doctors or nurses.

Describe the case of Schenck v. US (1919).

The Supreme Court upheld the Espionage Act of 1917, ruling that Congress had a right to restrict speech "of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to protect."

Describe the case of Near v. Minnesota (1931).

The US Supreme Court further upheld the incorporation doctrine by holding that a state law violated the First Amendment's freedom of the press.

What did the National Firearms Act do?

The act imposed taxes on automatic weapons and sawed-off shotguns.

Define Tenth Amendment.

The final part of the Bill of Rights that defines the basic principle of American Federalism in stating that the powers not delegated to the national government are reserved to the states or to the people.

Define establishment clause.

The first clause of the 1st Amendment. It directs the national government not to sanction an official religion.

Define Bill of Rights.

The first ten amendments to the US Constitution, which largely guarantee specific rights and liberties.

Define civil rights.

The government-protected rights of individuals against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by governments or individuals.

Define civil liberties.

The personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge by law, constitution, or judicial interpretation.

Define right to privacy.

The right to be left alone. A judicial he created a principle encompassing a variety of individual actions protected by the penumbras cast by several constitutional amendments, including the first, third, fourth, ninth, and 14th amendments.

Define free exercise clause.

The second clause of the 1st Amendment. It prohibits the US government from interfering with a citizen's rights to practice his or her religion.

Why did Congress work quickly to approve Madison's draft of the Bill of Rights?

They feared instability.

What did the Alien and Sedition Acts do? Why were they passed? How did they meet their demise?

They were passed because President John Adams and his Federalist Congress were facing increasing criticism from the Democratic-Republicans. These acts banned any criticism of the Federalist government by the growing numbers of Democratic-Republicans, making the publication of "any false, scandalous writing against the government of the United States" a criminal offense. In the next election, Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, allowed the acts to expire and pardoned all who had been convicted under the acts.

What were some arguments for the continued use of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay?

Those in support declared that detainees unlawful combatants and not war criminals subject to the provisions of the Geneva Convention.

Define fundamental freedoms.

Those rights defined by the Court as essential to order, liberty, and justice and therefore entitled to the highest standard of view.

What did the Military Commission Act of 2006 do?

Under the act, alien victims of torture had significantly reduced rights of habeas corpus. It also eliminated the right to challenge "detention, transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions of confinement" of detainees. It's allowed the government to declare a permanent resident aliens to be enemy combatants and enabled the government to jail these people indefinitely without any opportunity to file a writ of habeas corpus.

Define penumbras.

Unstated liberties on the fringes or in the shadow of more explicitly stated rights.

Define slander.

Untrue spoken statements that defame the character of a person.

Describe the case of Gitlow v. New York (1925).

When Benjamin Gitlow, a member of the socialist party, printed 16,000 copies of a manifesto in which he urged workers to overthrow the US government, he was convicted of violating a New York state law that prohibited such advocacy. The US Supreme Court noted that states were not completely free to limit forms of political expression. It ruled that states could not abridge free speech protections.

What are some "good faith exceptions" to the exclusionary rule?" What's the "inevitable discovery" exception to the rule?

When police have a search warrant and, in good faith, conduct the search on the assumption that the warranty is valid, even though it is subsequently found invalid. Courts may allow illegally seized evidence if such evidence would likely have been discovered in the course of continuing investigation.

Define fighting words.

Words that "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to insight and immediate breach of peace."

Is it legal for the federal government to lend books and computers to religious schools?

Yes.

Is it legal for the government to give parents money to send their children to private or religious schools?

Yes.

Is the mandatory drug and alcohol testing of employees involved in accidents constitutional?

Yes.