POLS Final Exam – Flashcards

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Civil liberties
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are restraints on the actions of government against individuals.
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As originally presented in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights
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limited only the powers of the national government.
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The Supreme Court began applying the Bill of Rights to state governments
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in the 1925 case, Gitlow v New York which protected freedom of speech in the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed by the First Amendment.
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The incorporation theory
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is the view that most of the protections of the Bill of Rights are incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment's protection against state government actions.
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The concept of the separation of church and state
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guarantees a division due to the establishment clause.
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In the Supreme Court case Lemon v Kurtzman, the court found that
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direct state aid could not be used to subsidize religious instruction.
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The establishment clause in the First Amendment
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prohibits the establishment of a church that is officially supported by the national government.
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In Engel v Vitale (1962), the Supreme Court threw out the Regents' prayer used in New York public schools because,
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the Regent's action violated the First Amendments establishment clause and was declared unconstitutional.
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The teaching of evolution in public schools
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is controversial because the theory is not accepted as true by many Americans.
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The free exercise clause
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contrains Congress from prohibiting the free exercise of religion.
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New York Times v United States
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made it possible for the New York Times to publish the Pentagon Papers without risk of government punishment.
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Symbolic speech is
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expression made through articles of clothing, gestures, movements, and other forms of nonverbal conduct.
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The Supreme Court will consider restrictions on commercial speech as long as
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1) seeks to implement substantial government interest 2) directly advances interest 3) goes no further than necessary to accomplish objective
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Commercial speech is usually defined as
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advertising statements.
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Obscenity
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refers to sexually offensive material, can be illegal if failed four part test established by the Supreme Court.
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In 1969, the Supreme Court in Bradenburg v Ohio
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overturned the conviction of Ku Klux Klan leader for violating a state statute (advocacy speech)
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Requirements met in order to consider work obscene
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1) average person finds it violates contemporary community standards 2) work taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest in sex 3) work shows patently offensive conduct 4) work lacks literary, artistic, or political merit
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In Osbourne v Ohio, the Supreme Court ruled that states can outlaw the possession of child pornography in the home,
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because owning the material perpetuates the commercial demand to exploit the children involved.
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The Communications Decency Act of 1996 and the Children's Online Protection Act of 1998,
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have been blocked on constitutional grounds.
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Slander is
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public uttering of a false statement that harms the good reputation of another.
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In the area of freedom of speech,
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universities may determine to impose restrictions.
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Libel is
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defamation in writing, pictures, signs, films, or any other communication.
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The First Amendment prevents Congress from
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making any law that abridges "the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition government for redress of grievances."
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For a public figure to obtain a damage award under liberal laws, he or she must
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prove actual malice.
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Gag orders have been used to
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restrict the publication of news about a trial hearing to protect the accused right to fair trial.
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In 1965, the Griswald v Connecticut, a case involving the legality of contraceptives the Supreme Court
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overturned Connecticut law prohibiting use of contraceptives because the law violated the right to privacy.
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The Court has based the right to privacy on
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the Constitution.
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According to the Supreme Court ruling Roe v Wade, which of the following restrictions may the state place on abortions
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-1st trimester decision up to the woman and physician -2nd trimester decision on specific conditions -3rd trimester can be outlawed to preserve health of the mother
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In Webster v Reproductive Health Service and Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, the Supreme Court ruled that states may
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set guidelines for performing abortions.
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Which of the following is true in Roe v Wade?
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-after the case, issued decisions on redefining boundaries of abortion -violated right to privacy -abortions are now more difficult
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A defendant's pretrial rights include all of the following except
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no cruel or unusual punishment.
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The writ of habeas corpus is
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order that requires jailers to bring a prisoner before court and explain why the person is being held.
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In Gideon v Wainwright the Supreme Court ruled that
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if a person is accused of felony and cannot afford an attorney one will be made available at the government's expense.
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The Miranda Rule
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evidence obtained by the police during custodial interrogation of a suspect is not admissible in Court, unless he was recited Miranda rights and waiver by suspect.
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The exclusionary rule is a policy
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prohibiting the admission at trial of illegally obtained evidence.
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Cruel and unusual punishment is prohibited by
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the Eighth Amendment.
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All of the following are true of the death penalty except
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-34 states have it -support of the death penalty is dropping -takes 7 years to convict -state government usually responsible
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The term civil rights refers to
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the right of American's equal protection under the law of the Fourteenth Amendment.
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The Thirteenth Amendment
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states that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States.
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The Civil Rights Act of 1865 passed by Congress between 1865 and 1875
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enforced the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.
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The Fifteenth Amendment
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prohibits government from denying a citizen the right to vote.
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After the Civil Wars, Civil Rights legislation was passed by Congress but
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was ineffective and soon forgotten.
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In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court case of Plessy v Ferguson
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agreed that separation of races was not a violation of the Constitution.
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The white primary in southern states allowed
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voting to whites only.
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In the 1944 case Smith v Allwright, the United States Supreme Court ruled _____ to be a violation of the Fifteenth Amendment.
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white primary
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The tests administered as a precondition for voting were called
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literacy test.
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A poll tax was used to
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keep African Americans from voting.
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The Supreme Court ruling in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka held that
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segregation of races in public schools violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
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De facto segregation means
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segregation because of past social and economic conditions and residential racial patterns.
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De facto segregation
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confined African American to all black districts.
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All of the following are true of the 1964 and 1968 Act except
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-equal voter registration -equal public accommodations -desegregate public schools and facilities -withheld funds for programs discriminating -right to equal employment
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The Civil Rights Movement
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focused on African Americans, but benefited all minority groups.
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The Fourteenth Amendment
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all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States.
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Which of the following is true about women's rights
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-women did not have the right to vote -established feminism -increased their participation in the workforce
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Women's groups divided over issues including
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-domestic violence -abortion -pornography
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Any practice, policy, or procedure that denies equality of treatment to an individual or group because of gender
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gender discrimination.
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On the issue of sexual harassment the Supreme Court ruled,
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any unwanted physical or verbal conduct or abuse of sexual nature that creates a hostile environment is to be dealt with by the company.
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The Equal Pay Act of 1963
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provided equal pay for substantially equal work.
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The policy in admissions that gives special consideration to traditionally disadvantaged groups to overcome present effects of past discrimination
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affirmative action.
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The charge that some affirmative action programs discriminate agains non-minorites is called
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reverse discrimination.
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The Supreme Court ruled in the Bakke case that
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race cannot be the sole factor in admissions decisions.
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The Supreme Court's decision in Addarand Constructors, Inc. v Pena ruled that an affirmative action program
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that uses racial or ethnic classifications as the basis for making decisions is subject to strict scrutiny.
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In 2003, the United States considered two different admissions policies adopted at the University of Michigan Law School and
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prohibited affirmative action programs in all public universities and state government positions.
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In 2003, the decision of Lawrence v Texas the United States Supreme Court
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held that laws against sodomy violated the due process clause.
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In the 1996 decision Romer v Evans, the Supreme Court
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invalidated a Colorado law that denied homosexuals the right to seek specific protection of the law.
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The Defense Marriage Act of 1996 was passed in response to
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Hawaii Supreme Court ruling that denying marriage license to gay couples might violate the equal protection clause.
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Keynesian economics advocates
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the use of direct government intervention to achieve economic growth and stability.
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Fiscal policy
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is the domain of Congress.
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Monetary policy includes
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controlling the rate of growth of the money supply.
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Tight monetary policy theory dictates that when the economy is faced with inflation, the government should
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reduce government regulation and reduce taxes.
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With a progressive tax,
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rates go up as income goes up.
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Which of the following is not a regressive tax?
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-Social Security -Medicare -State sales tax -Local real estate tax
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Which of the following is not an entitlement program?
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-Medicare -Medicaid -Social Security -Unemployment compensation
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Which of the following statements regarding entitlement programs is accurate?
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-have to meet certain qualifications -make up greatest share of the budget deficit -determine how much you pay in taxes -determine how much support you receive in old age
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