Chapter 15 and 16 American Government

U.S. v. O'Brien (1968)

Burning draft cards does NOT fall under the protection of free speech.

Stromburg v. California (1931)

CA state law that prohibited display of red flag (ruled unconstitutional)

Equal Protection Clause

Constitutional guarantee that everyone be treated equally-14th amendment

Mapp v. Ohio

Evidence illegally gathered by the police may not be used in a criminal trial

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Flag-burning is symbolic speech with a political purpose and is protected by 1st Amendment.

4th Amendment

Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures

Fair Trial

Guaranteed by 6th amendment

Jim Crow Laws

Laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites (unofficial)

Obscenity

an offensive or indecent word or phrase

Plessy v. Ferguson(1896)

case that ruled that states had the right to impose "separate but equal" facilities on its citizens as well as create other laws that segregated the races.

University of CA v. Bakke

courts held colleges could not admit less qualified individuals solely based on their race...no holding spots for minorities.

capital punishment

death penalty

prior restraint

government censorship of information before it is published or broadcast

presumption of innocence

innocent until proven guilty

probable cause

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

censorship

restricting access to ideas and information

Slander

spoken defamation

ex post facto clause

the clause in the U.S. Constitution that prevents the government from punishing someone for doing something that was not a crime when the act was committed

Substantive Due Process

the government must create fair policies and laws

double jeopardy

the prosecution of a person twice for the same offense.

pure speech

verbal expression before an audience that has chosen to listen

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 case that overturned Separate but Equal standard of discrimination in education.

Free Exercise Clause

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

petition

A formal message requesting something that is submitted to an authority

sequestered jury

A jury that is isolated from the public during the course of a trial and throughout the deliberation process.

Affirmative Action

A policy designed to give special attention to or compensatory treatment for members of some previously disadvantaged group.

Defamation

Act of harming or ruining another's reputation

Disability Discrimination

Acting against someone on the grounds of physical or mental limitations.

plea deal (or plea bargain or agreement)

Agreement between the defendant and prosecutor where the defendant pleads guilty in exchange for a concession by the prosecutor. It may include lesser charges, a dismissal of charges, or the prosecutor's recommendation to the judge of a more lenient sentence.

8th Amendment

No cruel or unusual punishment

Establishment Clause

Part of the First Amendment stating that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

14th Amendment

Rights of Citizens (citizenship, due process, equal protection)

New Jersey v. T.L.O

School searches without warrants are allowed

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Students in an Iowa school were suspended for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam war. Ruled that this suspension was unconstitutional, and that public school students do not "shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse door."

5th Amendment

The Right to Remain Silent/Double Jeopardy, right to due process

symbolic speech

Using actions and symbols rather than words to convey an idea

assembly

a group of people gathered together in one place for a common purpose.

Search Warrant

a judge's order authorizing a search

gag order

a judge's order that a case may not be discussed in public.

Dred Scott v. Sandford(1857)

was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court held that African Americans, whether slave or free, could not be American citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court

Libel

written defamation