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Due Process Clause

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Clause contained in the fifth and fourteenth amendments. Over the years, it has been construed to guarantee to individuals a variety of rights ranging from economic liberty to criminal procedural rights to protection from arbitrary governmental action.

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Substantive Due Process

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Judicial interpretation of the fifth and fourteenth amendments' due process clause that protects citizens from arbitrary or unjust laws.

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Incorporation Doctrine

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An interpretation of the Constitution that holds that the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment requires that state and local governments also guarantee those rights.

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Selective Incorporation

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A judicial doctrine whereby most but not all of the protections found in the Bill of Rights are made applicable to the states via the fourteenth amendment.

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Fundamental Freedoms

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Those rights defined by the Court to be essential to order, liberty and justice.

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Establishment Clause

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The first clause in the First Amendment; it prohibits the national government from establishing a national religion. Separation of church and state.

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Free Exercise Clause

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The second clause of the First Amendment; it prohibits the U.S government from interfering with a citizen's right to practice his or her religion. The state may limit practices, but not beliefs.

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Prior Restraint

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Constitutional doctrine that prevents the government from prohibiting speech or publication before the fact; generally held to be in violation of the First Amendment.

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Clear and Present Danger Test

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Test articulated by the Supreme court in Schenck v. U.S (1919) to draw the line between protected and unprotected speech; the Court looks to see "whether the words used" could "create a clear and present danger that they will bring about substantive evils" that Congress seeks "to prevent."

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Direct Incitement Test

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A test articulated by the Supreme Court in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) that holds that advocacy of illegal action is protected by the First Amendment unless imminent lawless action is intended and likely to occur.

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Symbolic Speech

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Symbols, signs and other methods of expression generally also considered to be protected by the First Amendment. Not as protected.

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Libel

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False written statements or written statements tending to call someones' reputation into dispute.

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Fighting Words

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Words that "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of peace." Not subject to the restrictions of the First Amendment.

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Miranda Rights

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Statements that must be made by the police informing a suspect of his or her constitutional rights protected by the Fifth Amendment, including the right to an attorney provided by the court if the suspect cannot afford one.

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Exclusionary Rule

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Judicially created rule that prohibits police from using illegally seized evidence at trial.

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Right to Privacy

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The right to be alone; a judicially created doctrine encompassing an individual's decision to use birth control or secure an abortion.

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Affirmative Action

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Policies designed to give special attention or compensatory treatment to members of a previously disadvantaged group.

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Black Codes

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Laws denying most legal rights to newly freed slaves; passed by southern states following the Civil War.

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Jim Crow Laws

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Laws enacted by southern states that discriminated against blacks by creating "whites only" schools, theatres, hotels, and other public accommodations.

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Grandfather Clause

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Voting qualification provision in many southern states that allowed only those whose grandfathers had voted before Reconstruction to vote unless they passed a wealth or literacy test.

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De jure Discrimination

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Racial segregation that is a direct result of law or official policy.

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De facto Discrimination

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Racial discrimination that results from practice (such as housing patterns or other social factors) rather than the law.

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Suspect Classification

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Category or class, such as race, that triggers the highest standard of scrutiny from the Supreme Court.

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Strict Scrutiny

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A heightened standard of review used by the Supreme Court to determine the constitutional validity of a challenged practice. Applies to laws that discriminate on the basis of race. Deals with freedom of speech and religion. Gov't must have a compelling reason, and the action must be the least restrictive method.

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First Amendment

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Freedom of speech, religion, press, petition, and assembly.

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Pure Speech

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Verbal and written expression of your thoughts and opinions. Has the highest level of protection.

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Freedom of Religion

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First Amendment freedom. Includes the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause.

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Freedom of the Press

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Gov't cannot prohibit media's freedom of speech. Print media has the most protection.

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Freedom of Petition

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Protects the right to petition the government to demand change.

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Freedom of Assembly

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Right to assemble peacefully. Citizens can meet and hold meetings of peaceable political action.

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Second Amendment

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Protects the right to purchase, possess, and transport firearms. Does it allow citizens to own guns or just those who are part of a regulated militia?

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Third Amendment

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Prohibits the gov't from forcing citizens to house and feed troops.

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Fourth Amendment

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Gov't cannot search or seize a person's body, houses, papers, and effects without reason. Interpretation has changed over time, courts are now allowing more exceptions. (The British allowed unwarranted searches of people, their belongings, and houses.)

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Fifth Amendment

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Gov't cannot take your property without following legally established processes. Gov't cannot try a person twice for the same crime. Gov't can't make a person testify against him or herself in court.

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Sixth Amendment

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Gov't must inform the accuses of the nature and cause of the accusations against them so that they can prepare an appropriate defense. Trials must be held within a reasonable amount of time and must be open to the public. Gov't must allow the accused to have a lawyer, or must appoint one if the accused cannot pay.

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Seventh Amendment

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Protects the right of civil trial by jury for cases exceeding $1500. Included because the British didn't allow for jury trials in civil cases.

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Eighth Amendment

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Prohibits excessive fines and bails, and cruel and unusual punishment.

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Ninth Amendment

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Citizens have rights not listed in the Constitution. Has partially been used as a source for the right to privacy.

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Tenth Amendment

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Only amendment that protects powers, not rights. Powers not given to the federal government are reserved for the states. Created federalism.

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Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

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Created a test for religious laws: Does the law have a secular test? So the effects advance or inhibit religion? Does the law create "an excessive government entanglement with religion?"

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Slander

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Untrue spoken statements that defame the character or a person.

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Limit on Speech: "Indecent Material" v Obscenity

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Would the average person, applying the contemporary community standards, viewing the work as a whole, find the work appeals to the prurient interest? Does the work depict sexual conduct in a patently offensive way? Does the work taken as a whole lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value?

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Limit on Speech: Time, Place, and Manner

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Did the expression occur at a time or place, or did the speaker use a method of communication, that interferes with a legitimate government interest?

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Furman v Georgia (1972)

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Found most death penalty laws to be unconstitutional because they were applied in a biased manner.

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Gregg v Georgia (1976)

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Reinstated the death penalty when the trial and punishment are done in two separate trials.

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Fourteenth Amendment- Citizenship

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Incorporated the federal definition of citizenship to the states. US citizenship is paramount to state citizenship. US citizens have certain rights that no state can take away.

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Procedural Due Process

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Governmental procedures used to make, apply, interpret, and enforce the law must be reasonable and consistent.

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Substantial Relationship

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Applies to government acts to classify according to gender. Gov't must show important reason to justify its classifications. Must be a close relationship between the gov'ts acts and its purpose.

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Rational Relationship

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Applies to gov't actions that classify one group (ie age) differently from another. Must be logical relationship between the classification and the law's purpose. Gov'ts interest in discriminating must be legitimate.

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Equal Protection Clause

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Section of the Fourteenth Amendment that guarantees that all citizens receive "equal protection of the laws."

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Affirmative Action- Controversy

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Backlash began in 1970s. Seen as reverse discrimination violating equal protection clause. Court has traditionally favored such programs, except during Reagan Administration.

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Affirmative Action- Current Policy

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Programs must pass strict scrutiny test. Institutions can create & implement numerical goals for diversity. Institutions can consider race, among other things.

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Fifteenth Amendment

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One of the three Civil War amendments; specifically enfranchised (gave them the right to vote) newly freed slaves.

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Nineteenth Amendment

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Amendment to the Constitution that guaranteed women the right to vote.

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Thirteenth Amendment

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One of the three Civil War amendments; specifically bans slavery in the United States.

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Fourteenth Amendment

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One of the three Civil War amendments; guarantees equal protection and due process of law to all US Citizens.

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Barron v. Baltimore

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Barron co-owned a wharf in Baltimore, and there was construction nearby, causing the wharf to become too shallow for boats. Barron sued the City of Baltimore. Supreme Court ruled that the Fifth Amendment DIDN'T apply to states.

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Cesar Chavez

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Led the United Farm Workers who used non-violent protests and boycotts to raise awareness about exploitation of migrant workers.

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Equal Rights Amendment

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Proposed amendment that would bar discrimination against women by federal or stare governments.

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NAACP

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Devoted to the problems of African Americans. Concerned about outbreaks of violence and the possibility for more. Mostly included activists also working for woman suffrage and better working conditions for women and children.

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New Jersey v. TLO

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T.L.O. was a high school student. School officials searched her purse suspecting she had cigarettes. The officials discovered cigarettes, a small amount of marijuana, and a list containing the names of students who owed T.L.O. money. Does the exclusionary rule apply to searches conducted by school officials in public schools? No decision.

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