Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Vocab Study Guide
"Clear and present danger"-Doctrine set forth by the Supreme Court inShenck v. United Statesthat states the First Amendment does not protect speech if it imposes a clear and present danger to society (i.e. falsely shouting fire in a crowded theater).
"Miranda rights/warnings"-As a result ofMiranda v. Arizona, the High Court mandates that all accused criminals be informed of their Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights prior to being interrogated. These rights include the protection against self-incrimination ("right to remain silent") and the right to counsel.
"Undue burden"-Supreme Court standard that limits the kinds of laws states can pass, specifically abortion. States can only regulate or restrict abortion if such regulations do not impose an undue burden upon the woman.
Abington School District v. Schempp(1963)-Held that sanctioned organized Bible reading in public schools in the United States to be unconstitutional.
Affirmative action-Policy requiring federal agencies, universities, and most employers to take positive steps to remedy the effects of past discrimination.
Age Discrimination Act (1967)-An act that prohibits age discrimination in employment.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990)-An act that prohibits discrimination based on disability.
Atkins v. Virginia(2002)-Held that the Virginia law allowing the execution of mentally handicapped individuals violated the 8thand 14thamendments and is cruel and unusual punishment.
Bethel School District v. Fraser(1986)-Ruled that the First Amendment does not prohibit schools from prohibiting vulgar speech since it is inconsistent with the “fundamental values of public school education.”
Brown v. Board II(1955)-Held that the problems identified in Brown vs. Board 1 required varied local solutions, but school authorities were to implement the principles based on the first Brown decision with "all deliberate speed."
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka(1954)-Ruled that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” and reversed the 1896Plessy v. Fergusondecision relative to public schools.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission(2010)-Resulted in a provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act prohibiting unions, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations from broadcasting electioneering communications with 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary elections violates the First Amendment.
Civil liberties-freedoms that guard against infringement or abuse by a governmental power.
Civil Rights Act (1964)-Outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women including racial segregation.
Civil Rights Act (1968)-Prohibits discrimination in housing; sales, rentals, and financing.
Civil Rights Act (1991)-Gave the right for parties to obtain jury trials and recover compensatory and punitive damages in lawsuits involving discrimination.
Civil rights-Rightsthat shield people from various kinds of discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity, religion, or other minority status, whether by committed by a government or by citizens.
de factosegregation- Segregation that happens although it is not required by the law.
de juresegregation-Segregation that is imposed by the law.
Due process-Fair treatment through the judicial system.
Employment Division v. Smith(1990)-Held that the Free Exercise Clause permits the States to prohibit sacramental peyote (cactus with psychoactive alkaloids) use and thus to deny unemployment benefits to persons discharged for such use.
Engel v. Vitale(1962)-Held that government-directed prayer in public schools violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, even if the prayer is denominationally neutral and students may remain silent or be excused from the classroom during its recitation.
Equal Pay Act (1963)-Abolished wage disparity based on sex.
Equal Rights Amendment-Gave women and men equal rights under the law proposed in 1923 and is still not part of the Constitution.
Establishment Clause-First half of the First Amendment's freedom of religion clause that prohibits Congress from passing any law "respecting the establishment of religion."
exclusionary rule- Rule that prohibits the use of illegally obtained evience at trial.
Fifteenth Amendment (1870)-Granted African American men the right to vote. This was no fully recognized for almost a century.
Fourteenth Amendment (1868)-Granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States and forbids states from denying any person “life, liberty, or property, without the due process of law,” or to “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Free Exercise Clause-Secondhalf of the First Amendment's freedom of religion clause that prohibits Congress from passing any law "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion.
Furman v. Georgia(1972)-Held that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment and violates the 8thand 14thamendments.
Gideon v. Wainwright(1963)-Held that citizens had a right to be represented by a court-appointed attorney (overruled its decision of Betts vs. Brady).
Gitlow v. New York(1925)-Ruled that the First Amendment applies to the states and a state may forbid both speech and publication if they have a tendency to result in action dangerous to public security, even if they do not create clear and present danger.
Grandfather clause-19th century exemption to literacy tests and other voting barriers stating that if one's grandfather could legally vote, so too could (s)he. This was designed to allow poor and illiterate whites to vote while preventing blacks from doing so.
Gregg v. Georgia(1976)-Held that the death penalty does not automatically violate the 8thand 14thamendments.If it is mandatory and there is no provision for mercy based on the characteristics of the offender then it is unconstitutional.
Griswold v. Connecticut(1965)-Ruled that the Constitution implicitly guarantees citizens’ right to privacy.
Grutter v. Bollinger(2003)-Held that the Univeristy of Michigan Law School admissions program that gave special consideration being a certain racial minority did not violate the 14thamendment.
Hazelwood School v. Kuhlmeier(1988)-Held that speech that can be reasonably viewed to dangerous for schools can be regulated by the school without violating the students’ First Amendment rights.
Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States(1964)-Held that Congress did not unconstitutionally exceed its power under the Commerce Clause by enacting the Title II of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodations.
Hustler Magazine v. Falwell(1988)-Ruled that libel was not protected with the protection of free speech.
Incorporation doctrine/selective incorporation-The process by which the Supreme Court has applied portions of the Bill of Rights to the states.
Inevitable discovery rule-Exception to the exclusionary rule that allows the use of illegally obtained evidence at trial if the court determines the evidence would eventually have been found by legal means.
Jim Crow Laws-State and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965 that mandated de jure segregation in al public facilities that were supposedly “separate but equal.”
Katzenbach v. McClung(1964)-Held that Section 201 a, b, and c of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids discrimination by restaurants offering to serve interstate travelers or serving food that has moved in interstate commerce is a constitutional exercise of the commerce power of Congress.
Lawrence v. Texas(2003)-Held that a Texas law classifying consensual adult homosexual intercourse as illegal sodomy violated the right to privacy and liberty of adults to engage in private intimate conduct under the 14thamendments.
Lemon v. Kurtzman(1971)-Held that for a law to be consider constitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the law must have a legitimate secular purpose, must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion, and must not result in an excessive entanglement of government and religion.
libel-A published false statement that is damaging to a person’s reputation.
Loving v. Virginia(1967)-Held that Virginia’s anti-miscegenation statue, the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 was unconstitutional and ended all race-based legal restriction on marriage in the U.S.
Mapp v. Ohio(1961)-Ruled that all evidence obtained illegally is inadmissible in a state court.
Minersville School District v. Gobitis(1940)-Held that the First Amendment does not require States to excuse public school students from saluting the American flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance on religious grounds.
Miranda v. Arizona(1966)-Held that interrogating individuals without notifying them of their right to counsel and their protection against self0incrimination violates the fifth amendment. The Court outlined the specific aspects of police warning to suspects.
Morse v. Frederick(2007)-Ruled that the First Amendment does not prevent educators from suppressing student speech at a school-supervised event.
Near v. Minnesota(1931)-Ruled that laws that permanently prohibit the publication of newspapers with “malicious, scandalous, and defamatory” content violate the First Amendment.
New York Times v. U.S.(1971)-Ruled that in order to exercise restraint, the Government must show sufficient evidence that the publication would cause a “grave and irreparable” danger.
New York v. Sullivan(1964)-Ruled that the First Amendment protected a newspaper from being sued for libel in state court for making false defamatory statements about the official conduct of a public official because the statement were not made with knowing of the truth.
Objective good faith-Exception to the exclusionary rule that allows the use of illegally obtained evidence at trial if the court determines that police believed they were acting within the limits of their search warrant when they seized the evidence.
Planned Parenthood v. Casey(1992)-Held that the required spousal notification prior to obtaining an abortion violated the 14thamendment.However, requirements for parental consent, informed consent, and 24-hour waiting period were not violations.
Plessy v. Ferguson(1896)-Ruled that “separate but equal” facilities for different races are not a violation of the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and are thus constitutional. The decision made "Jim Crow" legal in the United States until it began to be dismantled in the 1950s, starting with theBrowndecision.
Poll tax-A tax levied on every adult, without reference to their income or resources.
Powell v. Alabama(1932)-Held that denying the assistance of counsel from the time of their arraignment until the beginning of their trial violated the 14thAmendment.
Preferred position doctrine-Doctrine that states that “freedom of press, freedom of speech, and freedom or religion are in a preferred position.” Meaning these specific human rights have prerogative over other laws.
Prior restraint-Censorship in which certain material may not be published or communicated.
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke(1976)-Held that while affirmative action systems are constitutional, a quota system based on race is unconstitutional.
Reynolds v. United States(1879)-Ruled that bigamy as a religious practice is not protected by the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause. The First Amendment protects religious practices but not illegal activities.
Roe v. Wade(1973)-Ruled that the woman's ability to decide to abort a pregnancy is protected by the Constitutional right to privacy. Also held that the woman's right to an abortion cannot be restricted in the first trimester, can be regulated in the second trimester, and can be restricted in the third trimester.
Schenck v. United States(1919)-Ruled during wartime, words tolerable in peacetime can be punished if they represent a "clear and present danger" to society.
Self-incrimination-The act of implicating oneself in the commission of an act for which a person can be prosecuted. The Fifth Amendment protects all accused from self-incrimination and thus they "have the right to remain silent."
Shaw v. Reno(1993)-Supreme Court decision holding that oddly shaped (ethnic) minority-majority districts would be held to a standard of "strict scrutiny" under the Equal Protection Clause.
slander-Making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation.
Texas v. Johnson(1989)-Held that a statute that criminalizes the desecration of the American flag violates the First Amendment.
Thirteenth Amendment (1865)-Abolished slavery.
Tinker v. Des Moines(1969)-Ruled that the wearing of armbands was “closely akin to ‘pure speech’” and therefore, protected by the First Amendment.
Title IX, Higher Education Act (1972)-States that ”No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964)-Outlawed poll taxes.
Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971)-Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
Voting Rights Act (1965)-Federal law that increased government supervision of local elected practices, stopped the use of literacy tests, and expanded government efforts to register voters.
Voting Rights Act (1982)-Clarified that any voting practice or procedure that has a discriminatory result is illegal in section 2. This section is permanent.
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services(1987)-Held that the Due Process Clause does not require states to enter into the business of abortions and did not create a right to governmental aid and the court upheld the viability testing requirements. The Court emphasized that it was not revisiting the essential portions of the holding in Roe vs. Wade.
Weeks v. United States(1914)-Held that the warrantless seizure of documents from a private home violated the Fourth Amendment.
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette(1943)-Held that the Free Speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits public schools from forcing students to salute the American flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance.
Wisconsin v. Yoder(1972)-Held that that required attendance past the 8thgrade interfered with the right of Amish parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children.