HUSTON-AP US GOVT CHAP 5
Terms
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- due process rights
- Procedural guarantees provided by the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments for those accused of crimes.
- "partial birth abortions"
- Abortion procedure used in late terms of pregnacy: the Partial Birth abortion Act (to outlaw procedure) was veteoed by President Clinton, however passed by congress under President Bush
- 5th Amendment
- Rights of the accussed in criminal proceedings, due process
- 6th Amendment
- Right to a speedy and fair trial
- 8th Amendment
- Punishment for crimes (cruel and unusual punishment)
- ACLU
- American Civil liberities Union: known for defending civil liberties in controversial cases such as the right to hate speech(freedom of expression), abortions, and women's and gay's rights
- actual malice
- proof of harm caused by slander or libel: burden of proof imposed on the public officials and public figures suing for defamation and falsity requiring them to prove with clear and convincing evidence that na offending story was published with knowing falsehood or reckless disregard for the truth
- Alien & Sedition Acts (1798)
- 1789- Designed to ban any political criticism by the growing number of Jeffersonian Democtratic-Republicans, these acts made publication of "any false, scandalous writing againste the government" a criminal offense.Led to 1800 election of Jefferson, a vocal opponent of the acts and he pardoned all convicts under the act.
- Barron v. Baltimore (1833)
- 1833: decision that limited the application of the Bill of Rights to the actions of Congress alone.
- civil liberties
- Personal rights and freedoms that the federal government cannot abridge by law, constitution, judicial interpretation
- Civil War restrictions of rights
- Abe Lincoln suspended the free press part of the 1st ammendment
- clear and present danger test
- Test articulated by the Supreme Court in Schenck v. U.S. to draw the line between protected and unprotected speech; Court looks to see "whether the words usedÂ…" could "create and clear and present danger that they will bring about substantive evils" that Congress seeks to prevent. Goes into words that would be appropriate during peacetime not being allowed to be said during a war or some other crisis.
- compelling reason
- direct incitement test
- A test articulated by the Supreme Court in Brandenberg 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.
- due process clause
- 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.
- Engel v. Vitale (1962)
- The Court ruled that the recitation in public classrooms of a nondenominational prayer was unconstitutional and a violation of the establishment clause.
- free exercise clause
- The second clause of the First Amendment. It prohbits the U.S. government from interfering with a citizen's right to practice his or her religion.
- fundamental freedoms
- Freedoms found in the Bill of Rights that the federal government cannot abridge, either by law, or judicial interpretation.
- Furman v. Georgia (1972)
- The Supreme Court used this case to end capital punishment, at least in the short run.
- Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
- Granted indigents the right to counsel.
- Gitlow v. New York (1925)
- Incorporated the free speech clause of the First Amendment, ruling that states were not completely free to limit forms of political expression.
- Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
- Supreme Court case that established the Constitution's implied right to privacy.
- habeas corpus
- An argument that a person in jail is there in violation of some statutory or constitional right.
- hate speech
- The protection of offensive speech that could arouse anger on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, or gender.
- incorporation clause
- 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.
- John Ashcroft
- current Attorney General of the United States; former senator and governor; conservative supporter
- Lemon test (1971)
- part of Supreme Court rulings on religionÂ’s influence in government; introduced three guidelines by which to judge contestable laws - law must have secular purpose, primary purpose should neither advance nor inhibit religion, law should not entangle government and religion
- levels of constitutional protection for rights
- over time, legislation, and Supreme Court rulings, states have adopted the amendments that guarantee citizensÂ’ rights but not all - selective indoctrination; right to privacy not in Constitution but assumed to a certain degree; certain types of speech/expression can be censored
- libel
- false written statements; generally threaten someoneÂ’s reputation
- Mapp v, Ohio (1961)
- 1961 case to determine if an illegal search-and-seizure could result in someoneÂ’s being prosecuted; origin of the exclusionary rule (4th amendment rights supercede the faults in the justice system)
- Miranda rights
- 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 is unable to afford one.
- Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
- A landmark Supreme Court ruling that held the Fifth Amendment requires that individuals arrested for a crime be advised of their right to remain silent and to have a counsel present.
- New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)
- The Supreme Court concluded that "actual malice" must be proved to support a finding of libel against a public figure.
- Ninth Amendment
- The Part of the Bill of Rights that reads "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
- prior restraint
- Judicial doctrine stating that the government cannot prohibit speech or publication before the fact.
- right to die
- The right to be euthanized, or to euthanize someone in a comatose (or equivalent state)
- right to privacy
- The right to be left alone; a judicially created doctrine encompassing an individualÂ’s decision to use birth control or secure an abortion.
- Roe v. Wade (1973)
- The Supreme Court found that a womanÂ’s right to an abortion was protected by the right to privacy that could be implied from specific guarantees found in the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Roth v. US (1957)
- Defined obscenity as: utterly without redeeming social value and if applying contemporary community standards wholly appeals to the prurient interest
- Schenck v. US (1919)
- ruled that distributing leaflets opposing the draft was unconstitutional during time of war because it posed a "clear and present danger" to the republic
- school prayer
- In Engel v. Vitale (1962), the Court first ruled that a 22 word non-denominational prayer drafted by the school board was unconstitutional. In 1992, the Court ruled that saying prayers at a middle school graduation was unconstitutional.
- school vouchers
- Federal money given to public institutions so that they can become better schools. Some believe that competition and the free market can solve the problems of public schools and have championed voucher plans and charter schools.
- search warrant
- A court order that permits police to search one's house, person, etc. As layed out in Mapp v. Ohio (1961), all evidence must be gotten in a valid way (with a search warrant) if it is going to be used during the trial.
- selective incorporation
- 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.
- self-incrimination
- To prove yourself guilty by your statements; citizens are protected from self-incrimination by the Fifth Amendment, which states that no man should be compelled to be a witness against himself.
- slander
- Untrue spoken statements that defame the character of the person.
- substantive due process
- Judicial interpretaion of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments' due preocess clause that protects citizens from arbitrary or unjust laws.
- symbolic speech
- Symbols, signs, and other methods of expression generally also considered to be protected by the First Amendment.
- Three Strikes laws
- after a criminal commits three consecutive felonies on his third charge he is sentenced automatically to a life sentence
- USA Patriot Act
- a US legislative law, enacted in response to the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, that enables government monitoring of private goings-on
- Warren Court
- The description of the United States Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren) from 1953 to 1969 which became the symbol of judicial activitism and which handed down many landmark decisions on desegregation, civil rights, First Amendment freedoms, and the rights of criminal defendants
- Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989)
- In upholding several restrictive abortion regulations, the court opened the door for state governments to enact new restrictions on abortions
- writs of assistance
- Unlike the warrant, it is generally open-ended, and requires all parties to support the officer to whom it was issued. Its normal use is in support of customs and excise inspections. The writ authorizes an officer to search any person or place and does not expire.