Civil Liberties and Civil Rights: every key term you need (+ practice quiz)
49 flashcard terms for AP US Government Unit 3, written to match the course framework. Read them here, drill them as flashcards, or take the 27-question quiz. Free, no account needed.
Constitutional protections against government power, such as freedoms of speech, religion, and press found in the Bill of Rights.
Baker v. Carr (1962)
Established that federal courts can hear redistricting cases (justiciability), leading to the 'one person, one vote' principle requiring roughly equal-population legislative districts.
New York Times v. United States (1971)
The Pentagon Papers case: a heavy presumption exists against prior restraint of the press, so the government could not block publication without meeting a very high burden.
Civil Rights
Protections against discrimination guaranteeing equal treatment under the law, rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the Constitution, guaranteeing fundamental individual liberties and limiting government power.
Selective Incorporation
The process by which the Supreme Court applies most Bill of Rights protections to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.
Establishment Clause
First Amendment provision prohibiting government from establishing an official religion or favoring one religion over another.
Free Exercise Clause
First Amendment provision protecting the right to practice one's religion freely, subject to some limits for compelling state interests.
Schenck v. United States (1919)
Upheld limits on speech that presents a 'clear and present danger,' such as speech interfering with the WWI draft.
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
Ruled that students wearing armbands to protest the Vietnam War was protected symbolic speech; students don't shed rights 'at the schoolhouse gate.'
New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
Ruled against prior restraint, allowing publication of the Pentagon Papers and strengthening freedom of the press.
Second Amendment
Protects the right to keep and bear arms; District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) affirmed an individual right to own firearms.
Fourth Amendment
Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures and generally requires a warrant based on probable cause.
Fifth Amendment
Guarantees due process, protection against self-incrimination and double jeopardy, and a grand jury for serious crimes.
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
Required police to inform suspects of their rights (to remain silent and to an attorney) before custodial interrogation.
Sixth Amendment
Guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, and legal counsel in criminal prosecutions.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Ruled that states must provide an attorney to defendants who cannot afford one, incorporating the Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
Eighth Amendment
Prohibits excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
Found in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments; guarantees fair legal procedures and protects fundamental rights from government infringement.
Equal Protection Clause
Fourteenth Amendment guarantee that states must treat people equally under the law; basis for many civil rights rulings.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Ruled that state-mandated racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional, overturning 'separate but equal.'
Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963)
Martin Luther King Jr.'s defense of nonviolent civil disobedience against unjust laws, part of the required AP documents.
Fourteenth Amendment
Grants citizenship, guarantees due process and equal protection, and is the vehicle for applying the Bill of Rights to the states.
Clear and Present Danger vs. Prior Restraint
Clear and present danger allows limiting dangerous speech (Schenck); prior restraint is government censorship before publication, generally forbidden (NYT v. US).
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
State-composed, teacher-led school prayer violates the Establishment Clause even if voluntary and nondenominational.
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
Free Exercise Clause protected Amish parents' right to withdraw children from school after eighth grade; state interest in education did not outweigh religious liberty.
Lemon Test
Older Establishment Clause test: secular purpose, primary effect neither advances nor inhibits religion, no excessive entanglement; largely abandoned in Kennedy v. Bremerton (2022).
Symbolic Speech
Expressive conduct such as armbands (Tinker) or flag burning (Texas v. Johnson) that receives First Amendment protection.
Time, Place, and Manner Restrictions
Content-neutral limits on when, where, and how speech occurs are permitted if narrowly tailored and leave alternative channels open.
Prior Restraint
Government action stopping speech before publication; presumptively unconstitutional under New York Times v. United States.
Libel and Defamation Standard
Public officials must prove 'actual malice' (knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard) under New York Times v. Sullivan.
Obscenity
Unprotected speech under the Miller test: appeals to prurient interest, patently offensive, lacks serious value by community standards.
McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
Incorporated the Second Amendment against the states through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.
Exclusionary Rule
Evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment cannot be used at trial; applied to states in Mapp v. Ohio.
USA PATRIOT Act and Surveillance
Post-9/11 law expanding government surveillance powers, raising Fourth Amendment questions about metadata and warrantless searches.
Double Jeopardy
Fifth Amendment bar on being tried twice for the same offense by the same sovereign; separate state and federal prosecutions are allowed.
Fifth Amendment allows taking private property for public use only with fair payment; Kelo v. New London (2005) read 'public use' broadly.
Substantive Due Process
Doctrine that the Due Process Clause protects certain fundamental rights from government interference regardless of procedure.
Right to Privacy
Implied right drawn from several amendments; recognized in Griswold and Roe, narrowed when Dobbs (2022) returned abortion regulation to states.
Strict Scrutiny
Highest standard of review: government must show a compelling interest and narrowly tailored means; applied to race and fundamental rights.
Intermediate Scrutiny
Applied to sex-based classifications: important government interest and substantially related means (Craig v. Boren).
Rational Basis
Lowest standard: law upheld if rationally related to a legitimate interest; applied to most economic and age classifications.
De Jure vs. De Facto Segregation
De jure is segregation by law (struck down in Brown); de facto results from housing patterns and private choices, harder to remedy.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Banned discrimination in public accommodations and employment (Title VII) and authorized withholding federal funds from segregated programs.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Banned literacy tests and required preclearance for changes in covered jurisdictions; Shelby County v. Holder (2013) disabled the preclearance formula.
Title IX (1972)
Bars sex discrimination in federally funded education programs, dramatically expanding women's athletics and academic access.
Affirmative Action
Policies giving consideration to race or sex to remedy past discrimination; race-conscious college admissions were struck down in SFFA v. Harvard (2023).
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
Requires reasonable accommodations and accessibility in employment and public spaces for people with disabilities.
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
Held that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses.