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Government Test 2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| civil liberties | protection from government |
| bill of rights | ratified in 1791 |
| bill of rights | originally interpreted to restrain the power of the federal government |
| 14th amendment | 1868 |
| 1st amendment | separation of church and state, free exercise of religion, freedom of speech |
| 2nd amendment | right to keep and bear arms |
| 4th amendment | unreasonable searches and seizures |
| 5th amendment | due process |
| 6th amendment | right to counsel |
| 8th amendment | "cruel and unusual punishment" |
| 10th amendment | reserved powers of the states |
| 1960's | important decade of the supreme court broadening interpretations of civil liberties |
| Thomas Jefferson | 1st amendment "wall of separation between church and state" |
| Engel v. Vitale | Does the reading of a nondenominational prayer at the start of the school day violate the "establishment of religion" clause of the First Amendment, |
| lemon test | statute must have a secular legislative purpose, primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion, and must not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion |
| symbolic speech | a wide range of nonverbal communication including marching, wearing armbands, and displaying or mutilating the U.S. flag |
| 14th amendment | "equal protection clause" states must treat all persons equally |
| fundamental rights | like the first amendment, they are primary and sacred |
| "strict scrutiny" test | few laws are found constitutional using strict scrutiny, highest form of judicial review |
| "strict scrutiny" test subject to a law if | it prevents the exercise of a fundamental right or involves a suspect classification |
| "strict scrutiny" test is passed if | a law promotes a compelling state interest and is narrowly tailored |
| "equal protection" | originally intended to protect blacks after the civil war |
| racial basis test | laws mostly found constitutional if they are “reasonable” |
| jim crow laws | laws in the United States enacted between 1876-1965 that mandated racial segregation in all public facilities with a "separate but equal" status for black Americans |
| Plessy v. Ferguson | upheld "separate but equal" |
| Brown v. Board of Education | overturned “separate but equal” established in Plessy |
| de jure segregation | segregation by law |
| de facto segregation | segregation by facts |
| president Eisenhower | sent National Guard troops into Little Rock’s Central High School |
| busing | attempt to end de facto segregation |
| Civil Rights Act of 1964 | prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin |
| Voting Rights Act of 1965 | prohibits discrimination in voting |
| 19th amendment | 1920, gives women right to vote |
| Nancy Pelosi | 1st women Speaker of the House |
| Sandra Day O'Connor | first woman to sit on the Supreme Court |
| latinos | largest ethnic minority in US |
| 2050 | Latinos will be estimated to make up about 30% of the US population |
| Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 | requires all public buildings/services be accessible to persons with disabilities and mandates that employers “reasonably accommodate” the needs of workers |
| common law | the body of law based on judicial decisions and custom, as distinct from statute law |
| legal precedent | judicial decision that may be used as a standard in subsequent similar cases |
| Stare Decisis | a legal principle by which judges are obliged to respect the precedent established by prior decisions |
| U.S. Constitution | basis for all US law |
| Civil law | law that applies to the citizens of a city or state as opposed to international law |
| criminal law | regulates social conduct and proscribes threatening, harming, or otherwise endangering the health, safety, and moral welfare of people; includes the punishment of people who violate these laws |
| Standing to sue | the ability of a party to demonstrate to the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged to support that party's participation in the case |
| Justiciable controversy | a state of a prolonged public dispute, or argument, that actually has the capability of being resolved by the law |
| U.S. District Courts | the 94 United States general trial courts of the United States federal court system |
| fewer than 100 | number of cases heard annually by the US Supreme Court |
| federal judges | appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate and have lifetime tenure |
| Marbury v. Madison | established doctrine of judicial review |
Created by:
melissa123456