Constitutional Clash (Federalism)
In McCulloch v. Maryland, the Court ruled that states could not tax the Bank of the United States, cementing the supremacy of national law over this type of government power.
What are State Rights (or Nullification)?
Students wearing black armbands in Tinker v. Des Moines were protected because their action was considered a protected form of this.
What is Symbolic Speech?
Evidence obtained without a warrant or probable cause generally cannot be used in court due to this legal rule.
What is the Exclusionary Rule?
This clause of the 14th Amendment was the primary basis for the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.
What is the Equal Protection Clause?
The President can check the power of the Legislative branch by rejecting a bill, a power known as this.
What is a Veto?
This colorful legal doctrine, mentioned under the 5th Amendment section of your guide, extends the Exclusionary Rule. It states that if the source of evidence is illegal, then any secondary evidence gained from it is also “tainted” and inadmissible.
What is the "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree"?
This clause, often paired with the "Necessary and Proper Clause," allows Congress to regulate trade and was the subject of US v. Lopez.
What is the Commerce Clause?
This First Amendment clause prohibits the government from creating a national religion or favoring one religion over another.
What is the Establishment Clause?
This 1963 case overturned precedent to guarantee the right to an attorney for indigent defendants in state felony trials.
What is Gideon v. Wainwright?
This legal doctrine is the process by which the Supreme Court has applied the Bill of Rights to the states one by one.
What is Incorporation (or Selective Incorporation)?
Established in Marbury v. Madison, this is the power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional.
What is Judicial Review?
DAILY DOUBLE #1
While the Articles of Confederation lacked the power to tax, the Constitution fixed this by granting Congress the power to tax, borrow money, and spend for this broad purpose.
In Schenck v. US, the Court established that speech could be limited if it created this specific type of threat to national security.
What is a "Clear and Present Danger"?
Under the 5th Amendment, a person cannot be forced to witness against themselves, protecting them from this.
What is Self-Incrimination?
Unlike "Procedural Due Process," which concerns the steps the government must take, this type of Due Process protects fundamental rights (like privacy) from government interference.
What is Substantive Due Process?
The Senate has the power to check the President by approving or rejecting these judicial nominations.
What are Appointments (or Confirmations)?
This 1995 case marked a rare victory for state power, ruling that carrying a gun in a school zone was not an economic activity Congress could regulate.
What is US v. Lopez?
This legal term refers to the government's attempt to censor the press before a story is published, a practice generally ruled unconstitutional.
What is Prior Restraint?
DAILY DOUBLE #2
Police do not need a warrant to search a car if they have probable cause, a rule known as this "exception."
The decision in Roe v. Wade relied on the "Right to Privacy" implied by the Due Process Clause and 9th Amendments creating an umbrella of "unenumerated rights" known sometimes as what?
What is a Penumbra?
Congress can check the Judicial branch by altering the size of the court or by proposing these to overturn a Supreme Court ruling.
What are Constitutional Amendments?
Federalism is the division of power between the national and state governments, often justified by this Amendment which reserves powers to the states.
What is the 10th Amendment?
While Wisconsin v. Yoder protected religious exercise, this 1986 case ruled that the military could ban a Jewish officer from wearing a yarmulke due to a "compelling interest" in uniformity.
What is Goldman v. Weinberger?
In New Jersey v. TLO, the Court ruled that school officials do not need "probable cause" to search a student, only this lower standard.
What is Reasonable Suspicion?
In Dobbs v. Jackson (2022), Justice Alito argued that Roe was "egregiously wrong" and returned the authority to regulate abortion to where?
What are the States (or the People / Elected Representatives)?
This "Great" compromise created a bicameral legislature to balance the interests of large and small states, a foundational check within Congress itself.
What is the Connecticut Compromise (or Great Compromise)?