POLI SCI 102 Chapter 4
In New York Times v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court established two conditions for libel against a public figure. What are they?
1. The story must be untrue. 2. The story must be motivated by "actual malice" or "reckless disregard" for the truth.
Which of the following situations demonstrate libelous speech?
A newspaper falsely accuses a mayor of corruption with the intention of damaging the mayor's career. A magazine that wants to boost its circulation runs an article falsely accusing a senator of running a gambling ring.
Examples of unprotected speech
A newspaper publishes detailed U.S. military positions during wartime. A student violates a school's ban on wearing clothing advertising cigarettes.
Examples of protected speech
A protestor burns the Texas state flag. A person protests outside a politician's funeral. Walter's Widgets, Inc., runs ads supporting a political candidate.
Which of the following cases weakened affirmative action?
Adarand Constructors v. Pena and Gratz v. Bollinger
Fair Housing Act
Allowed the government to initiate legal action in cases of housing discrimination
The bill of rights was adopted as part of the constitution as a concession to which political faction?
Antifederalist
In what case did the Supreme Court first formally address affirmative action?
Bakke v. Board of Regents
Which of the following supreme court cases incorporated the fifth amendment protection from "double jeopardy" to the states
Benton v. Maryland (1969)
Freedom of religion is one of several civil liberties protected in the first ten amendments to the constitution, __. The __ amendment specifically addressed religious freedom and has two bolstering clauses- the establishment clause and the __.
Bill of Rights; First; free exercise clause
Read the following instances of commercial speech and select those that can and cannot be regulated by the government.
CAN: A pastry shop places a large sign on the grounds of a local police station. A juice company falsely claims that its product is a treatment for cancer. CANNOT: A major corporation runs ads supporting a political candidate. An organization publishes a newspaper advocating the use of birth control.
In Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), the supreme court ruled that Michigan Law School's affirmative action policy was
Constitutional, since race was used in a holistic and individualized way and not as a quota
What challenges did African Americans face after Brown v. Board of Education?
De facto school segregation continued in the North and South. African Americans still could not vote in many southern states. Many states refused to desegregate their schools. Housing remained racially segregated.
"Fighting Words" fall outside the constitutional protection because they
Directly incite violence
Twenty-fourth amendment
Eliminated the poll tax
Which clause of the 14th amendment to the constitution has been most often utilized to obtain civil rights protections by groups in the US
Equal protection clause
The most dramatic restraint imposed on police by the Bill of Rights, which can free those people who are known to have committed the crime of which they have been accused of, is the
Exclusionary rule
In ensuring rights for citizens, the Bill of Rights checks the powers of the branches of government. Match the following branches of government to their corresponding amendments.
Executive: second, third, and fourth amendment Judicial: fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth amendment Legislative: first amendment
Fourteenth amendment
Extended equal protection under the law to all Americans (guaranteed equal protection under the law)
The constitution does not provide a basis for the right to privacy.
False
Which amendments have been, through selective incorporation, incorporated or applied to the states using the Fourteenth Amendment.
Federal: tenth and seventh amendment State and federal: first and eighth amendment
In what ways is the second amendment different from the first amendment?
First amendment: allows for the freedom of the press, allows for the freedom of speech Second amendment: allows for the right to bear arms
What parts of the Constitution have been used to expand the right to privacy?
First and Fourth Amendment.
State and Federal government
First and eighth amendment
Which of the following were among Alexander Hamilton's arguments concerning the Bill of Rights?
Hamilton argued that a bill of rights would be irrelevant because the national government had only delegated powers. To limit powers it had not been granted might lead the government to claim more powers. Hamilton argued that the Constitution was a bill of rights in itself since it contained provisions that amounted to a bill of rights.
Which supreme court cases set a precedent that corporations have religious liberty rights under the first amendment free exercise clause
Hobby Lobby v. Burwell (2014)
Which of the following is true of the Supreme courts treatment of student speech?
It has allowed limitations on student free speech depending on the content of the speech
How does the "wall of separation" apply to the establishment clause?
It prevents the government from establishing an official religion.
What is the purpose of a "shield law"?
It protects the confidentiality of journalists' sources.
In which case did the supreme court rule that state governments no longer had the authority to make private sexual behavior a crime?
Lawrence v. Texas
How have the following contributed to the civil rights of gays and lesbians?
Lawrence v. Texas extended right of privacy as related to intimate contact to gay men and lesbians. Supreme Court ruling on the federal Defense of Marriage Act expanded recognition of same-sex marriages. repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" allowed gay men and women to serve openly in the military.
Civil liberties are
Limitations on government action
What age and race did males have to be to serve in a militia during the 1700s?
Males had to be white and between the ages of 18 and 45.
The exclusionary rule is illustrated by which Supreme Court case
Mapp v. Ohio
The movement for expanding the rights of the disabled in the US in the 1970s was inspired by what other civil rights group
NAACP
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Outlawed job discrimination by all employers
How has affirmative action policies evolved over time?
President Johnson compels the federal civil service to hire minorities, the federal government makes affirmative action a priority, the supreme court said affirmative action policies must survive strict scrutiny.
__ Liberties place restraints on how government is suppose to act, while __ liberties limit what the government has the power to do.
Procedural; substantive
Public Forum Doctrine
Protection of public spaces, traditionally used for assembly
Which of the following were protected categories against discrimination in the 1964 Civil Rights act
Race, religion, sex, and national origin
Which supreme court case first restricted the use of racial quotas in university admissions
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Which of the following supreme court cases confirmed that women have a constitutional right to abortion
Roe v. Wade
The fourth amendment protects citizens from unreasonable __. It does this by guaranteeing citizens due process of law and applying the __, which makes "evidence" from illegal searches inadmissible.
Search and seizures; exclusionary rule
Speech Plus
Speech accompanied by actions such as protesting
Why is the doctrine of strict scrutiny important to free speech?
Strict scrutiny forces the government to effectively prove a reason for the restriction or censorship of speech.
Ernesto Miranda's case led to the Miranda rule because he was coerced into confessing to the kidnapping and rape of an 18-year-old woman. Miranda's case went to the __, which used the Fifth Amendment to clarify the protection from __ and the Sixth Amendment to guarantee a __. These rights had been greatly neglected until Miranda's case.
Supreme court; self-incrimination; right to counsel
Which two countries are more likely to protect the right to privacy?
Sweden and Canada
What has caused the Supreme Court to weaken affirmative action laws?
The Court decided that affirmative action policies must survive strict scrutiny. Some affirmative action policies violated the Fourteenth Amendment.
Put these major moments from civil rights history in chronological order.
The Equal Protection Clause is added to the U.S. constitution. Plessy v. Ferguson is decided by the Supreme Court. Brown v. Board of Education is decided by the Supreme Court. The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act are passed in back-to-back years.
How does the Fifth Amendment affect U.S. citizens?
The Fifth Amendment is similar to the Fourth Amendment. Its goal is to protect citizens from unfair treatment by the government in criminal cases. It prevents citizens from being tried twice, which is also known as double jeopardy.
How have the following statutes and cases had a profound effect on gun control?
The Second Amendment established the right to bear arms. District of Columbia v. Heller the Supreme Court banned handguns in the country's capital. McDonald v. Chicago the Supreme Court allowed individuals to own guns within the city limits of a major metropolitan area.
Why do the states have more responsibility in regulating gun ownership than the federal government?
The Second Amendment limits the federal government's power on gun regulation, reserving that power for the states.
How have Native Americans expanded their civil rights?
The Supreme Court ruled that Native Americans are not subject to state laws prohibiting gambling. Native Americans have successfully used the courts to win reparations from the federal government.
Which of the following statements about the efforts to pass an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is accurate
The amendment passed Congress easily, but fell three states short of the requirement for ratification by the deadline
What does the free exercise clause allow citizens to do?
The clause allows citizens to believe and practice whatever religion they choose. The clause allows individuals to abstain from religion.
What role does the grand jury serve?
The grand jury determines if satisfactory evidence is accessible to warrant a trial
What did the supreme court do to stop the formation of private militias during the late 1800s?
The supreme court clearly defined what militias were for
The evolution of privacy rights in order from oldest to most recent
The supreme court ruled in favor of martial privacy, the supreme court expanded the right to privacy with regard to abortions, the supreme court ruled that gays did not have a right to privacy, the supreme court ruled that gays have a right to privacy
What encouraged more legal action regarding the education of women?
The supreme court ruled that gender discrimination could result in monetary damages
Fifteenth amendment
allowed black men to vote
Which of the following supreme court cases shows how the supreme court regulates high school students free speech rights
Tinker v. DesMoines and Morris v. Frederick
How have the following contributed to the advancement of women's rights?
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act established sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination. Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools allowed monetary damages for Title IX violations. Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act made it easier for employees to sue in cases of wage discrimination. Equal Pay Act of 1963 made wage discrimination illegal.
How has the government protected the right to privacy?
Various supreme court cases have recognized the right to privacy
The gap between white and black voting rates was the smallest in __ before the Voting Rights Act. The Act had the biggest impact in closing the gap in __, where the gap closed by more than fifty percentage points. The Act had the smallest impact on black voter registration rates in __.
Virginia; Mississippi; North Carolina
What was the precedent-setting case concerning the free exercise clause?
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
When did civil rights become part of the Constitution
With the adoption of the fourteenth amendment in 1868
habeas corpus
a court order demanding that an individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause of detention
Bill of attainder
a law that declares a __ guilty of a crime without a trial
strict scrutiny
a test used by the supreme court in racial discrimination cases and other cases involving civil liberties and civil rights that places the burden of proof on the government rather than on the challenges to show that the law in question is constitutional
libel
a written statement made in "reckless disregard to the truth" that is considered damaging to a victim because it is "malicious, scandalous, and defamatory"
prior restraint
an effort by a governmental agency to block the publication of material it deems libelous or harmful in some other way; censorship; in the united states, the courts forbid prior restraint except under the most extraordinary circumstances
In 2008, the US supreme court declared that the Second Amendment protects
an individuals right to possess a firearm for self-defense
slander
an oral statement made in "reckless disregard of the truth" that is considered damaging to the victim because it is "malicious, scandalous, and defamatory"
Civil liberties
areas of personal freedom constitutionally protected from government interference
Federal agencies, as part of the shift from desegregation to integration in schools, required school districts to present integration plans or risk losing federal funds. What had to be considered in those plans?
busing students across district lines, closing certain schools, redistributing faculty, and redistributing students
Selective incorporation
considers the provisions of the Bill of Rights one by one and selectively applies them as limits on states through the Fourteenth Amendment
Segregation or discriminatory practices that occur even when there is no explicit legal enforcement, such as school segregation in much of the united states today, is called __ segregation.
de facto
"separate but equal" rule
doctrine that public accommodations could be segregated by race but still be considered equal
Which gun laws are practiced in Wyoming?
does not have a ban on possessing any type of gun, does not implement a probationary waiting period before purchasing a gun, does not require a permit when holding a concealed weapon
The fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth amendments, taken together, define
due process of law
Thirteenth amendment
ended slavery
Brown v. Board of Education
ended the era of "separate but equal" schools
The idea of separation of church and state is most closely associated with the
establishment clause
The supreme court rules in Lawrence v. Texas that the right to privacy
extends to gay and lesbian citizens
Freedom of speech
fighting words
Which of the following protections are not contained in the first amendment
freedom from unlawful searches and seizures
Affirmative action
government policies or programs that seek to redress past injustices against specified groups by making special efforts to provide members of these groups with access to educational and employment opportunities
Prior Restraint
governments efforts to block the publication of material
The supreme courts decision in Bakke v. Board of Regents was significant because
it stated that diversity is a compelling state interest and that university admissions that take racial categories into account are constitutional as long as they are highly individualized
grand jury
jury that determines whether sufficient evidence is available to justify a trial; grand juries do not rule on the accused's guilt or innocence
ex post facto laws
laws that declare an action to be illegal after it has been committed
de facto
literally, "by fact"; practices that occur even when there is no legal enforcement, such as school segregation in much of the United States today
de jure
literally, "by law"; legally enforced practices, such as school segregation in the south before the 1960s
In the 1965 Griswold case, the Supreme Court ruled that states may __ the use of contraceptives without violating __. The Court ruled that the Third, __, and Fifth Amendments protected the right to privacy. This was the first time the Court formally recognized privacy rights.
not ban; martial privacy; fourth
Civil rights
obligation imposed on government to take positive action to protect citizens from any illegal action of government agencies and of other private citizens
In chronological order the evolving definitions of unprotected obscenity
obscenity is material that appeals to "prurient interest", obscenity is prurient material, having no social value, depicting sexual conduct in an offensive way, obscenity was largely deregulated
thirteenth amendment
one of three civil war amendments; it abolished slavery
fourteenth amendment
one of three civil war amendments; it guaranteed equal protection and due process
fifteenth amendment
one of three civil war amendments; it guaranteed voting rights for African American men
The right of the people "to keep and bear Arms" is based on
participation in state militias
due process law
the right of every citizen against arbitrary action by national or state governments
Freedom of the press
prior restraint
Which of the following rights was not included in the original constitution?
prohibition of warrantless search and seizure
Fourth amendment
protects against unreasonable searches and seizures
Sixth amendment
protects citizens by giving the right to receive counsel for defense of a crime
Eighth amendment
protects citizens from being tortured or excessively threatened
Fifth amendment
protects citizens from being tried twice for the same alleged crime (double jeopardy)
How are the first and second amendment similar?
protects individual freedoms, limits the governments power, within the Bill of Rights, reserves powers to the public
equal protection clause
provision of the fourteenth amendment guaranteeing citizens "the equal protection of the laws"; this clause has served as the basis for the civil rights of African Americans, women, and other groups
The civil rights act of 1964 addressed discrimination in, among other things,
public accommodation and employment
A radical right-wing group holds a small rally in a town square. The group's members are careful not to block traffic or disrupt the businesses in the area. Their right to assemble in this way is protected by what doctrine?
public forum doctrine
Freedom of assembly
public forum doctrine
Which of the following was not a way the twenty-fourth amendment of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965 significantly extended and protected voting rights?
requiring all voters to register two weeks before any federal election
The supreme court has not been consistent in its protection of the right to privacy. For example, it __ several decisions that limited the right to privacy. Initially, the Court did not extend the right to privacy to __. However in 2003, the Court ruled that states __.
reversed; homosexuals; cannot prohibit homosexual conduct
Which of the following rights appeared in the original text of the Constitution, before the addition of the Bill of Rights?
right of habeas corpus and right to trial by jury in the state where a crime was committed
The process by which some of the liberties in the Bill of Rights were applied to the states (or nationalized) is known as
selective incorporation
"speech plus"
speech accompanied by conduct such as sit-ins, picketing, and demonstrations; protection of this form of speech under the first amendment is conditional, and restrictions imposed by state or local authorities are acceptable if properly balanced by considerations of public order
Speech that is accompanied by conduct and that can be regulated by the government to preserve public order is called
speech plus
fighting words
speech that directly incites damaging conduct
The Second Amendment was written during the 1700s, when state governments could not guarantee weapons for __. The states could not be trusted to distribute weapons in times of emergency, so eligible citizens kept their own __ in their homes. Therefore, the right "__" was directly related to whether the states could provide weapons for their militias. Most states could not.
state militias; firearms; to keep and bear arms
the judicial doctrine that places a heavy burden of proof on the government when it seeks to regulate or restrict speech is called
strict scrutiny
Eminent domain is the power of government to
take private property for public use
Federal government
tenth and seventh amendment
Clear and present danger test
test to determine whether speech is protected or unprotected, based on its capacity to present a "clear and present danger" to society
eminent domain
the right of government to take private property for public use
Brown v. Board of Education
the 1954 supreme court decision that struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine as fundamentally unequal; this case eliminated the power to use race as a criterion for discrimination in law and provided the national government with the power to intervene by exercising strict regulatory policies against discriminatory actions
exclusionary rule
the ability of courts to exclude evidence obtained in violation of the fourth amendment
Which of the following is established by the fifth amendment
the courts cannot hold trials for serious offenses without provision for a grand jury
double jeopardy
the fifth amendment right providing that a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime
Bill of Rights
the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, ratified in 1791; they ensure certain rights and liberties to the people
free exercise clause
the first amendment clause that protects a citizen's right to believe and practice whatever religion one chooses
establishment clause
the first amendment clause that says that "congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"; this law means that the "wall of separation" exists between church and state
The bill of rights consist of the
the first ten amendments to the US constitution
Which of the following provided that all of the protections contained in the Bill of Rights applied to the states as well as the national government
the fourteenth amendment
Which of the following is not an example of an area in which women have made progress since the 1970s in guaranteeing certain civil rights?
the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment
selective incorporation
the process by which different protections in the Bill of Rights were incorporated into the fourteenth amendment, thus guaranteeing citizens protection from state as well as national governments
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, was signed into law to close what loophole in gender pay discrimination
the requirement that women suffering pay discrimination file suit within 180 days of the act of discrimination
Miranda rule
the requirement, articulated by the Supreme Court in Miranda v. Arizona, that persons under arrest must be informed prior to police interrogation of their rights to remain silent and to have the benefit of legal counsel
right to privacy
the right to be left alone, which has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to entail individual access to birth control and abortion
The free exercise clause protects
the right to believe in and practice one's religion of choice
In McDonald v. Chicago, the supreme court ruled that
the second amendment applies to states as well as the federal government
Which of the following statements is about the death penalty is accurate
the united states is the only western nation that still executes criminals
What is the primary function of the Eighth Amendment?
to protect citizens from cruel and unusual punishment
