Speechless in Seattle
This clause prevents the government from promoting religion.
What is the Establishment Clause?
This rule excludes illegally obtained evidence from trial.
What is the exclusionary rule?
This amendment contains the Equal Protection Clause.
What is the 14th amendment?
Selective incorporation applies the Bill of Rights to the states through this amendment.
What is the Fourteenth Amendment?
This foundational document defends civil disobedience.
What is Letter from Birmingham Jail?
This test determines whether speech is protected if it does not materially disrupt the environment.
What is the Clear and Present Danger Test?
This amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.
What is the 4th amendment?
Jim Crow laws are an example of this type of segregation.
What is de jure segregation?
This 2010 case incorporated the Second Amendment.
What is McDonald v. Chicago?
This clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is the constitutional basis for selective incorporation.
Due Process Clause (of the Fourteenth Amendment)
In Engel v. Vitale, the Court struck down school prayer because it was state-sponsored, even though it was described as “nondenominational.”
What is government endorsement of religion violates the Establishment Clause?
This case required states to provide attorneys to indigent defendants.
What is Gideon v Wainwright?
This law most directly increased minority representation in Southern legislatures after 1965.
What is the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
This level of scrutiny applies to classifications based on race or national origin.
Strict scrutiny
This doctrine applies most of the Bill of Rights to the states on a case-by-case basis.
Selective incorporation
What is Engel v Vitale?
This amendment protects against compelled self-incrimination.
Fifth Amendment
This constitutional clause is most directly invoked when a state law treats individuals differently based on race.
Equal Protection Clause
This constitutional amendment gives Congress the power to enforce the Equal Protection Clause.
Fourteenth Amendment (Section 5)
This 1925 Supreme Court case was the first to begin the process of incorporating First Amendment protections to the states.
Gitlow v. New York
A public school bans students from wearing political shirts during an election year but allows sports and band shirts.
Identify the constitutional problem and explain why the policy would likely fail in court.
It is a restriction on political speech and would likely violate the First Amendment because schools cannot selectively suppress political viewpoints unless there is substantial disruption.
Police intentionally delay providing Miranda warnings in order to obtain a confession, then administer the warnings and have the suspect repeat the confession.
Identify the constitutional issue and explain whether the second confession would likely be admissible.
This implicates the Fifth Amendment and Miranda doctrine. If the delay was a deliberate two-step strategy to undermine Miranda, the second confession may be inadmissible under the “question-first” doctrine (Missouri v. Seibert reasoning).
A state law requires voters to present a specific form of government-issued ID. Minority communities disproportionately lack this ID.
Identify the constitutional clause involved and explain what the plaintiffs would need to prove to win the case.
Equal Protection Clause. Plaintiffs must show discriminatory intent or that the law intentionally targets a protected class, not just disparate impact.
Explain why the Court’s reasoning in McDonald v. Chicago reflects judicial activism rather than restraint.
Because the Court expanded constitutional protections by incorporating the Second Amendment against the states, actively shaping national gun policy through judicial interpretation.
Congress passes a federal law prohibiting all states from restricting the sale of firearms within their borders. Several states challenge the law.
Identify the constitutional conflict and explain how the Court would likely analyze it.
The issue involves federalism and the balance of power between Congress and the states. The Court would analyze whether Congress has constitutional authority (likely under the Commerce Clause or enforcement power under the Fourteenth Amendment). If Congress lacks enumerated authority, the law would violate principles of federalism.