Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Study Guide

Free Exercise Clause

A First Amendment provision that prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion.

Quota

A certain proportional share. Quotas have been banned in affirmative action by the Supreme Court in UC Regents v Bakke

search warrant

A court order allowing law enforcement officers to search a suspect's home or business and take specific items as evidence

Affirmative Action

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

Shield laws

Laws that give reporters some protection against having to reveal their sources

de jure segregation

Racial segregation that occurs because of laws or administrative decisions by public agencies.

Miranda rights

Rights possessed by persons who are arrested by the police. (Remain silent, Attorney, etc.)

Explain the extent to which states are limited by the due process clause from infringing upon individual rights.

The Court has on occasion ruled in favor of states' power to restrict individual liberty, as, for example, when speech can be shown to increase the danger to public safety. The Miranda rule involves the interpretation and application of accused persons' due process rights as protected by the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, yet the Court has sanctioned a "public safety" exception that allows unwarned interrogation to stand as direct evidence in court. Pretrial rights of the accused and the prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures are intended to ensure that citizen liberties are not eclipsed by the need for social order and security, including: § The right to legal counsel, speedy and public trial, and an impartial jury § Protection against warrantless searches of cell phone data under the Fourth Amendment § Limitations placed on bulk collection of telecommunication metadata (Patriot and USA Freedom Acts) The due process clause has been applied to guarantee the right to an attorney and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, as represented by: § Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), which guaranteed the right to an attorney for the poor or indigent § The exclusionary rule, which stipulates evidence illegally seized by law enforcement officers in violation of the suspect's Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures cannot be used against that suspect in criminal prosecution. While a right to privacy is not explicitly named in the Constitution, the court has interpreted the due process clause to protect the right of privacy from state infringement. This interpretation of the due process clause has been the subject of controver

Explain the implications of the doctrine of selective incorporation.

The doctrine of selective incorporation has imposed limitations on state regulation of civil rights and liberties as represented by McDonald v. Chicago (2010), which ruled the Second Amendment's right to keep and bear arms for self-defense in one's home is applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

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.

self-incrimination

The situation occurring when an individual accused of a crime is compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in court. The Fifth Amendment forbids self-incrimination.

Terry Stop

detaining, questioning and possible frisking of an individual based on an officer's reasonable suspicion of that individual's involvement in criminal activity

Prior restraint

government censorship of information before it is published or broadcast

Obscenity

indecent or offensive speech or expression

Preferred position

interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that freedom of expression is so essential to the operation of a democracy that judges should give it special protection and should almost never allow governments to punish persons for what they say, only for what they do

Slander

spoken defamation

incorporation doctrine

the process by which the Bill of Rights was extended to the states and localities

rational basis test

the standard used by the courts to decide most forms of discrimination; the burden of proof is on those challenging the law or action to demonstrate there is no good reason for treating them differently from other citizens

Lemon Test

three-pronged rule used by the courts to determine whether the establishment clause is violated

reverse discrimination

using race or sex to give preferential treatment to some people

Libel

written defamation

exclusionary rule

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

Probable cause

reasonable cause for issuing a search warrant or making an arrest; more than mere suspicion

seditious speech

speech urging resistance to lawful authority or advocating the overthrow of the government

Establishment Clause

First Amendment ban on laws "respecting an establishment of religion"

Equal Protection Clause

14th amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination

good faith exception

An exception to the Supreme Court exclusionary rule, holding that evidence seized on the basis of a mistakenly issued search warrant can be introduced at trial if the mistake was made in good faith, that is, if all the parties involved had reason at the time to believe that the warrant was proper.

Explain how constitutional provisions have supported and motivated social movements.

Civil rights protect individuals from discrimination based on characteristics such as race, national origin, religion, and sex; these rights are guaranteed to all citizens under the due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution, as well as acts of Congress. The leadership and events associated with civil, women's, and LGBT rights are evidence of how the equal protection clause can support and motivate social movements, as represented by: § Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and the civil rights movement of the 1960s § The National Organization for Women and the women's rights movement § The pro-life (anti-abortion) movement

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.

Procedural due process

Constitutional requirement that governments proceed by proper methods; limits how government may exercise power.

Explain how the Supreme Court has attempted to balance claims of individual freedom with laws and enforcement procedures that promote public order and safety.

Court decisions defining cruel and unusual punishment involve interpretation of the Eighth Amendment and its application to state death penalty statutes. The debate about the Second and Fourth Amendments involves concerns about public safety and whether or not the government regulation of firearms or collection of digital metadata promotes or interferes with public safety and individual right

Bill of Rights

First 10 amendments to the Constitution

Explain how the court has at times allowed the restriction of the civil rights of minority groups and at other times has protected those rights.

Decisions demonstrating that minority rights have been restricted at times and protected at other times include: § State laws and Supreme Court holdings restricting African-American access to the same restaurants, hotels, schools, etc., as the majority white population based on the "separate but equal" doctrine. § Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared that race-based school segregation violates the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause § The Supreme Court upholding the rights of the majority in cases that limit and prohibit majority-minority districting. The debate on affirmative action includes justices who insist that the Constitution is colorblind and those who maintain that it forbids only racial classifications designed to harm minorities, not help them.

14th Amendment

Declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection of the laws

clear and present danger test

Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that the government cannot interfere with speech unless the speech presents a clear and present danger that it will lead to evil or illegal acts.

de facto segregation

Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions or personal choice.

Describe the rights protected in the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten Amendments to the Constitution, which enumerate the liberties and rights of individuals.

Explain how the U.S. Constitution protects individual liberties and rights.

The constitution contains a specific bill of rights that the government are never allowed to infringe upon

Miller test

The current judicial test for obscenity cases that considers community standards, whether the material is patently offensive, and whether the material taken as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Explain how the government has responded to social movements.

The government can respond to social movements through court rulings and/ or policies. § Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared that race-based school segregation violates the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause § The Civil Rights Act of 1964 § Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 § The Voting Rights Act of 1965

Explain the extent to which the supreme courts interpretation of the first and second amendments reflects a commitment to individual liberty.

The interpretation and application of the First Amendment's establishment and free exercise clauses reflect an ongoing debate over balancing majoritarian religious practice and free exercise as represented by such cases as: - Engel v Vitale (1962) - Wisconsin v Yoder (1972) The Supreme Court has held that symbolic speech is protected by the First Amendment, demonstrated by Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), in which the court ruled that public school students could wear black armbands in school to protest the Vietnam War. In New York Times Co. v. United States (1971), the Supreme Court bolstered the freedom of the press, establishing a "heavy presumption against prior restraint" even in cases involving national security. The Supreme Court's decisions on the Second Amendment rest upon its constitutional interpretation of individual liberty.

Strict scrutiny test

a higher standard than the rational basis test a law must meet in equal protection cases, burden of proof is on the respondent

imminent danger

a situation that poses the strong possibility of risk to people nearby

Symbolic speech

an act that conveys a political message

capital punishment

death penalty