Civil Liberties

Ninth Amendment: 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.”

Fourteenth Amendment: provides a broad definition of citizenship and requires states to provide equal protection of the law to all people within their jurisdictions

Due Process Clause (s): clause contained in the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments. Over the years, it has been construed to guarantee individuals a variety of rights ranging from economic liberty to criminal procedural rights to protection from arbitrary governmental action. The significance is that it's language suggested the possibility that some or even all of the protections guaranteed in the Bill of Rights might be interpreted to prevent state infringement of those rights

Sedition Laws: laws that made it illegal to speak or write any political criticism that threatened to diminish respect for the government, its laws, or public officials

Gitlow v. New York (1925): court case in which the Supreme Court first noted that the states were not completely free to limit the forms of political expression; first step in the development of the incorporation doctrine

Incorporation Doctrine: 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

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

First Amendment (Five Freedoms): part of the Bill of Rights that imposes a number of restrictions on the federal government with respect to the civil liberties of the people, including the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition

Establishment Clause: the first clause in the First Amendment; it provides the national government from establishing a national religion

Free Exercise Clause: 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

Engle v. Vitale (1962): the Court first ruled that recitation in public classrooms of a twenty-two word non-denominational prayer drafted by a New York school board was unconstitutional

Lemon v. Kurzman (1971): the Court tried to carve out a three-part test for laws dealing with religious establishment issues—a practice or policy was considered constitutional if: 
1. had a secular purpose
2. neither advanced nor inhibited religion
3. did not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion

Prior Restraint: constitutional doctrine that prevents the government from prohibiting speech of publication before the fact; generally held to be in violation of the First Amendment

Sedition: speech or publication expressing discontent of lawful authority/the government

Schenck v. U.S. (1919): Supreme Court upheld the Espionage Act of 1917, ruling that Congress had a right to restrict speech “of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.”

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; 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”

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

Symbolic Speech: symbols, signs, and other methods of expression generally also considered to be protected by the First Amendment

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969): the Court upheld students' rights to wear black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War

Libel: false written statements or written statements tending to call someone's reputation into disrepute

Slander: untrue spoken statements that defame the character of a person

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964): The Supreme Court concluded that “actual malice” must be proved to support a finding of libel against a public figure

Roth v. U.S. (1957): the Court held that in order to be obscene, the material in question had to be “utterly without redeeming social importance” 

Miller v. California (1973): case wherein the Supreme Court began to formulate rules designed to make it easier for states to regulate obscene materials and to return to communities a greater role in determining what is obscene 

Reno v. ACLU (1997): Court overturned the Communications Decent Act, which prohibited the transmission of obscene materials over the Internet to anyone under the age of eighteen, ruling that it violated the First Amendment and was too vague and overbroad

Texas v. Johnson (1989): Case in which the Court overturned the conviction of a Texas man found guilty of setting fire to an American flag

Second Amendment: ensures that Congress could not pass laws to disarm state militias; protects a right to keep and bear arms

Due Process Rights: procedural guarantees provided by the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments for those accused of crimes

Fourth Amendment: part of the Bill of Rights that reads “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Fifth Amendment: part of the Bill of Rights that imposes a number of restrictions on the federal government with respect to the rights of persons suspected of committing a crime. It provides for indictment by a grand jury and protection against self-incrimination, and prevents the national government from denying a person life, liberty, or property without the due process of law. It also prevents the national government from taking property without fair compensation

Miranda v. Arizona (1966): a landmark Supreme Court ruling that held the Fifth Amendment requires that individuals arrested for a crime must be advised of their right to remain silent and to have counsel present

Exclusionary Rule: judicially created rule that prohibits the police from using illegally seized evidence at a trial

Mapp v. Ohio (1961): incorporated a portion of the Fourth Amendment by establishing that illegally obtained evidence cannot be used at trial

Sixth Amendment: part of the Bill of Rights that sets out the basic requirements of procedural due process for federal courts to follow in criminal trials. These include speedy and public trials, impartial juries, trials in the state where the crime was committed, notice of the charges, the right to confront and obtain favorable witnesses, and the right to counsel

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): granted indigents the right to counsel

Eighth Amendment: part of the Bill of Rights that states: “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

Furman v. Georgia (1972): the Supreme Court used this case to end capital punishment (did not last very long)

Gregg v. Georgia (1976): overturning Furman v. Georgia, the case ruled that Georgia's rewritten death penalty statute was constitutional

Right to Privacy: the right to be let alone; a judicially created doctrine encompassing an individuals decision to use birth control or secure an abortion

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965): Supreme Court case that established the Constitution's implied right to privacy

Roe v. Wade (1973): the Supreme Court found that a woman'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 applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment

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 abortion

Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992): an unsuccessful attempt to challenge Pennsylvania's restrictive abortion regulations

Lawrence v. Texas (2003): The Court reversed its 1986 ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick by finding a Texas statute that banned sodomy to be unconstitutional 

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