Ch 4
Free-exercise clause
A First Amendment provision that prohibits the government from interfering with the practice of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion.
Imminent-lawless-action test
A legal test that says government cannot lawfully suppress advocacy that promotes lawless action unless such advocacy is aimed at producing, and is likely to produce, imminent lawless action
Clear-and-present-danger test
A test devised by the Supreme Court in 1919 to define the limits of free speech in the context of national security. According to the test, government cannot abridge political expression unless it presents a clear and present danger to the nation's security.
Symbolic speech
Action (for example: the waving or burning of a flag) for the purpose of expressing a political opinion
Freedom of expression
American's freedom to communicate their views, the foundation of which is the First Amendment rights of freedom of conscience, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
Establishment clause
The First Amendment provision that government may not favor one religion over another or favor religion over no religion, and that prohibits Congress from passing laws respecting the establishment of religion.
Prior restraint
Government prohibition of speech or publication before the fact, which is presumed by the courts to be unconstitutional unless the justification for it is overwhelming.
Slander
Spoken words that falsely damage a person's reputation.
Selective incorporation
The absorption of certain provisions of the Bill of Rights (for example: freedom of speech) into the Fourteenth Amendment so that these rights are protected from infringement by the states.
Due process clause
The clause of the Constitution that has been used by the judiciary to apply the Bill of Rights to the actions of state governments
Procedural due process
The constitutional requirement that government follow proper legal procedures before a person can be legitimately punished for an alleged offense.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the Constitution. They include such rights as freedom of speech and trial by jury
Civil Liberties
The fundamental individual rights of a free society, such as freedom of speech and the right to a jury trial, which in the United States are protected by the Bill of Rights
Exclusionary rule
The legal principle that government is prohibited from using in trials evidence that was obtained by unconstitutional means
Libel
The publication of material that falsely damages a person's reputation
