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Pol Sci 111- Ch 4 Review
Chapter 4 Review
45
Political Studies
Undergraduate 1
01/23/2008

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Term
Civil Liberties
Definition
Protections of citizens from improper governmental action; limiting the government through substantive and procedural restraints. (Due Process)
Term
Substantive Restraint
Definition
Putting limits on what the government shall and shall not have the power to do, such as establishing a religion or seizing private property without just compensation.
Term
Procedural Restraint
Definition
How the government is supposed to act. For example, the rule that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, the rule questions the way that the government determines who committed a crime.
Term
Civil Rights
Definition
Obligations imposed on government to guarantee equal citizenship and protect citizens from discrimination by other private citizens and other government agencies. Empowers the government to protect equality.
Term
Dual Citizenship
Definition
The Bill of Rights did not apply to decisions or procedures of state governments. Each American was a citizen of the national government and separately a citizen of one of the states. The Supreme Court Case of Barron v. Baltimore confirmed this.
Term
Fourteenth Amendment
Definition
Provided for a single national citizenship, which implied that civil liberties should not vary drastically from state to state. However, the shadow of Barron v. Baltimore left the Court unwilling to nationalize civil liberties for almost a century.
Term
Selective Incorporation
Definition
One-by-one application of the provisions of the Bill of Rights, as the Supreme Court began recognizing a role for the national government to protect citizens from state governments. First Wave: eminent domain, speech, press, religion and assembly. Second Wave: search and seizure, right to counsel, against self-incrimination, against double jeopardy.
Term
Eminent Domain
Definition
The power of public agencies to seize private property. According to the 5th Amendment, private owners must be paid "just compensation" by the government. This power is essential to the very concept of sovereignty.
Term
Miranda Rule
Definition
The Court's ruling in the Miranda v. Arizona case required that arrested persons be informed of the rights to remain silent and have counsel present during interrogation.
Term
Establishment Clause
Definition
A virtual wall of separation between church and state. Highly controversial involving issues of school prayer. Eventually the Lemon Test was established.
Term
Lemon Test
Definition
Government aid to religious schools would be accepted as constitutional if:
(1) it had a secular purpose
(2) its effect was neither to advance nor to inhibit religion
(3) it did not entangle government and religious institutions in each other's affairs.
Term
Free Exercise Clause
Definition
Protects the right to believe and practice whatever religion one chooses. The court has taken pains to distinguish between religious beliefs and actions based on those beliefs. Precedent setting case was West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)
Term
Protected Speech
Definition
The truth is always protected, even when its expression damages the person to whom it applies. Defamatory speech is protected when it is written by a pubic official or official business, or is a statement of the press against someone in the public eye.
Term
Unprotected Speech
Definition
True speech can be regulated if it fails the clear and present danger test, or if it falls below standards of obscenity or pornography. False speech can be regulated if there was a reckless disregard for the truth (libel or slander).
Term
Clear and Present Danger
Definition
The criterion used to determine whether speech is protected or unprotected, based on its capacity to present "clear and present danger" to society. This is the first and foremost "test" of when government censorship can be permitted.
Term
Freedom of Assembly and Petition
Definition
Associated with speech, but go beyond it to speech associated with action. Usually the purpose of a symbolic act is not only to send a direct message but also to draw a crowd to action in order to strengthen the message. One example is the burning of the American flag as a symbol of protest.
Term
Speech Plus
Definition
Speech accompanied by activities such as sit-ins, picketing, and demonstrations. Protected under the First Amendment is conditional, and restrictions imposed by State and local authorities are acceptable if properly balanced by considerations of public order.
Term
Freedom of the Press
Definition
Protected under the doctrine prohibiting prior restraint. Beginning with the case of Near v. Minnesota, the Court has established that expect under the most extraordinary circumstances, the First Amendment prohibits government agencies from seeking to prevent newspapers or magazines from publishing anything.
Term
Prior Restraint
Definition
A government agency can block the publication of material if it is deemed libelous or harmful; censorship.
Term
Libel
Definition
A written statement made in "reckless disregard of the truth" considered damaging to a victim because it is "malicious, scandalous, and defamatory."
Term
Slander
Definition
An oral statement made in "reckless disregard of the truth" considered damaging to a victim because it is "malicious, scandalous, and defamatory."
Term
Fighting Words
Definition
Speech that directly incites damaging conduct. "Expressive speech" is no longer protected when it moves from the symbolic realm to the realm of actual conduct.
Term
Commercial Speech
Definition
Does not have full First Amendment protection because it cannot be considered political speech. Part of the free flow of information necessary for informed choice and democratic participation.
Term
The Right to Bear Arms
Definition
The Second Amendment is the provision for militias; backing of the government for the maintenance of local public order. The Court has made it clear that this does not allow citizens to form their own militias free from government control; private militias.
Term
Fourth Amendment
Definition
Guarantee the security of citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Term
Exclusionary Rule
Definition
Prohibits evidence obtained during an illegal search from being introduced in a trial. A recent controversy is over mandatory drug testing.
Term
Grand Jury
Definition
Determines whether a trial is warranted, whether sufficient evidence is available.
Term
Double Jeopardy
Definition
A person cannot be tried twice for the same crime. Established in the Palko Case in 1937.
Term
Fifth Amendment
Definition
The right to have a grand jury, protection from double jeopardy, and a protection against the taking of private property.
Term
Sixth Amendment
Definition
The right to counsel, the right to a speedy trail and the right to confront witnesses before an impartial jury.
Term
Eight Amendment
Definition
Prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment. The most controversial issue is the death penalty.
Term
Right to Privacy
Definition
The right to be let alone, a "zone of privacy" created by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Amendments, which has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to entail free access to birth control and abortion. Roe v. Wade: established a woman's right to seek an abortion. Griswold v. Connecticut: right to use contraceptives.
Term
Patriot Act
Definition
New legislation introduced in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Designed to make it easier for federal law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute suspected terrorists.
Term
Plessy v. Ferguson
Definition
The Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment's "equal protection of the laws" was not violated by racial discrimination as long as the facilities were equal, not reversed until 1954.
Term
Brown v. Board of Education
Definition
Opened the question of whether any segregated facility could be truly equal. The Brown decision stated affirmed that States would no longer have the power to use race as a criterion of discrimination in law, the national government would have the basis for extending its power and to intervene with strict regulatory policies.
Term
De Jure Segregation
Definition
Racial segregation that is a direct result of law or official policy.
Term
De Facto Segregation
Definition
Racial segregation that is a reflection of residential patterns, income distributions, or other social factors.
Term
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Definition
Outlawed job discrimination by all private and public employers, including government agencies. Originally the plaintiff had to show that deliberate discrimination was the cause of failure to get a job, but then the Courts allowed the plaintiffs to make cases if they could prove that hiring or firing practices had the effect of exclusion.
Term
Strict Scrutiny
Definition
Is the law necessary for a compelling interest? Involves race, religion, political beliefs, ethnicity, and country of origin.
Term
Low Scrutiny
Definition
Is it reasonable for a rational purpose? It involves income, age, and location or type of residence.
Term
Intermediate Scrutiny
Definition
Does it meed a need that is a compelling or urgent interest? It involves sex (male/female).
Term
Alien and Sedition Acts
Definition
Made it a crime to say or publish anything that might tend to defame or bring into disrepute the government of the United States.
Term
Rights of Immigrants
Definition
The Supreme Court has rule that illegal immigrants are eligible for education and medical care but can be denied social benefits; legal immigrants are to be treated the same as citizens.
Term
The Rights of Native Americans
Definition
All those born in the United States were granted citizenship (1924), Indians were given more control over their own land (1975), Lau decision: right of Native Americans to be taught in their own language.
Term
Affirmative Action
Definition
A policy designed to redress historic injustices committed against specific groups by making special efforts to provide members of these groups with access to educational and employment opportunities. Two Major Cases: Bakke: white man argued that he had not been accepted to the University of California Medical School because of his race. Bollinger: involved the U of M law school, declared that race could be considered a positive factor in admissions decisions.
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