chapter 4: civil liberties

bill of rights

first ten amendments to the constitution. lists individual protections from the federal government. with the ratification of the fourteenth amendment, federal freedoms were gradually extended to state governments.

prior restraint involves limits on what form of expression?: freedom of _____.

freedom of the press.

in what case did the supreme court first establish the right to privacy?

griswold v. connecticut

intermediate scrutiny

if a regulation is "content neutral" and doesn't favor any given viewpoint, then it's subject to the less demanding "intermediate scrutiny" standard. this means that the government must demonstrate only substantial interest, the interest must be unrelated to the content of the speech and there must be alternative opportunities for communication.

in 1972 the supreme court banned the death penalty for what reason?

it was being inconsistently applied and violated the due process of law.

flag burning is an example of (symbolic / hate) speech that is currently (protected / not protected) under the first amendment.

symbolic; protected

civil war amendments

the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the constitution whig abolished slavery and granted civil liberties and voting rights to freed slaves after the civil war.

what is the best summary of the current position of the supreme court on the second amendment?

the court has struck down some state and national limitations on gun ownership, arguing that the second amendment protects an individual right to bear arms.

the clear and present danger test

the government could suppress any speech it thought was dangerous (established in schenck v. united states)

strict scrutiny

the highest level of scrutiny the courts can use when determining whether a law is constitutional. to meet this standard, the law or policy must be shown to serve a compelling state interest or goal, it must be narrowly tailored to achieve that goal, and it must be the least restrictive means of achieving that goal. in most cases, this means that the speech will be protected and the regulation is struck down.

due process rights

the idea that laws and legal proceedings must be fair. the constitution guarantees that the government can't take away a person's life, liberty or property without due process of law.

which test does the supreme court use to establish whether there has been "excessive government entanglement with religion"?

the lemon test

selective incorporation

the process through which the civil liberties granted in the bill of rights were applied to the states on a case-by-case basis through the 14th amendment.

which amendment has been used as the basis for selective incorporation?

14th amendment

protections from unreasonable searches and seizures are guaranteed by which amendment?

4th

the miranda rights are protections that primarily fall under which constitutional amendment?

5th

the bill of rights originally protected individuals from which level of government?

federal government

prior restraint

a limit on freedom of the press that allows the government to prohibit the media from publishing or broadcasting something of social or political significance.

civil liberties

basic political freedoms that protect citizens from governmental abuses of power. rooted in the bill of rights and the "due process" protection of the 14th amendment. primarily restrict what the government can do to you ("Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.")

which test does the court use to determine if speech is considered dangerous and should not be legally protected?

direct incitement test

direct incitement test

established in bradenburg v. ohio, this test protects threatening speech under the 1st amendment unless that speech aims to and is likely to cause imminent "lawless action." ex: westboro baptist church protesting fallen soldier funerals

miller test

established in miller v. california, this three-part test is used by the supreme court to determine whether speech meets the criteria for obscenity. if so, it can be restricted by the government.

hate speech

expression that is offensive or abusive, particularly in terms of race, gender or sexual orientation. it is currently protected under the first amendment.

privacy rights

liberties protected by several amendments in the bill of rights that shield certain personal aspects of citizens' lives from governmental interference, such as the 4th amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

symbolic speech

nonverbal expression, such as the use of signs or symbols. it benefits from many of the same constitutional protections as verbal speech.

due process clause

part of the 14th amendment that forbids states from denying "life, liberty, or property" to any person without due process of law. this led to an especially important expansion of civil liberties because the supreme court had previously interpreted a similar pause in the 5th amendment to apply only to the federal government.

establishment clause

part of the first amendment that states congress cannot sponsor or endorse any particular religion

free exercise clause

part of the first amendment that states that congress cannot prohibit or interfere with the practice of religion.

the establishment clause is invoked under which of the following circumstances?

prohibiting prayer in public schools

which of the following freedoms guaranteed in the bill of rights is thought to imply a right to privacy?

right to refuse to quarter soldiers

lemon test

the supreme court uses this test, established in lemon v. kurtzman, to determine whether a practice violates the first amendment's establishment clause.

why are privacy rights a controversial topic?

the term privacy rights is not found in the constitution--rather, it was established in a 1965 supreme court case--but it may be implied in several amendments in the bill of rights. the right to privacy is controversial because of the lack of explicit language in the constitution and the lack of consensus on what the right to privacy means. it has remained a hot-button issue because recognition of the right to privacy is an important facet of the contemporary debate on abortion.