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Vocabulary Terms
Civil Liberties
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Bill of Rights | the first TEN Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. |
civil liberties | guarantees that place limits on the government's power to restrain or dictate how individuals act. |
clear and present danger test | U.S. Supreme Court test used to draw the line between protected and unprotected speech; "whether the words used" could "create a clear and present danger that they will bring about substantive evils" that Congress seeks "to prevent." |
direct incitement test | U.S. Supreme Court test that holds advocacy of illegal action is protected by the 1st Amendment UNLESS imminent Lawless action is intended and likely to occur. |
due process clause | found in the 5th & 14th Amendments; construed to guarantee liberties and procedural due process. |
Eighth Amendment | prohibits excess bail; cruel and unusual punishment. |
establishment clause | prohibits the U.S. government from establishing a national religion. |
exclusionary rule | judicially created rule that prohibits police from using illegally seized evidence at trial. |
Fifth Amendment | provides for grand jury indictment; prohibits the taking of life, liberty or property without due process of law; protects from self-incrimination |
First Amendment | sets the boundaries of government action; it imposes restrictions to safeguard civil liberties, including the freedoms, of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. |
Fourth Amendment | "right of the people to be secure in their Persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable Searches and Seizures" |
free exercise clause | prohibits the U.S. government from interfering with a citizen's right to practice his/her religion. |
incorporation doctrine | holds that the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment requires that state and local governments guarantee your rights. It is NOT the law of the land. |
selective incorporation doctrine | holds that only SOME of the Bill of Rights protections are applicable to the States via the 14th Amendment. |
prior restraint doctrine | holds that it is a violation of the 1st Amendment for the government to prohibit speech or publication BEFORE the fact. |
right to privacy | the right to be left alone; the U.S. Constitution is said to “be silent” about this right. |
Sixth Amendment | sets out the procedural requirements for federal courts to follow in criminal trials. |
slander | SPOKEN statement that defames a person’s character. |
libel | WRITTEN statement that defames a person’s character. |
symbolic speech | symbols, signs, and other methods of expression are usually held to be protected by the 1st Amendment. |
substantive due process | U.S. Supreme Court standard that holds the States have the legal burden to prove their laws are a valid exercise of their power to regulate the health, welfare, or public morals of U.S. citizens. |
Ninth Amendment | states that you have rights other than just those listed in the U.S. Constitution. |
Fundamental Freedoms | those Rights defined by the U.S. Supreme Court to be essential to order, liberty and justice. |
fighting words | Unprotected speech; words that inflict injury or incite an immediate breach of the peace, including profanity, obscenity, and threats. They ARE subject to regulation by the federal and state governments. Can be written or spoken words. |