Bill of Rights Basics
These first ten amendments to the Constitution protect individual liberties.
What is the Bill of Rights?
This clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to treat all people equally under the law.
What is the equal protection clause?
This amendment protects individuals from cruel and unusual punishment.
What is the Eighth Amendment?
This Supreme Court case held that prior restraint is unconstitutional in most cases, reinforcing freedom of the press.
What is New York Times Co. v. US?
This 1965 law aimed to eliminate barriers like literacy tests that prevented African Americans from voting.
What is the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
The First Amendment protects these five freedoms...
This landmark case declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
What is Brown v. Board of Education?
This amendment includes the right against self-incrimination and guarantees due process of law.
What is the Fifth Amendment?
These two clauses protect religious freedom by preventing the government from establishing religion and protecting free exercise.
What is the establishment clause and the free exercise clause?
This type of government response involves passing new laws to address the demands of a social movement.
What is policy reform?
What is legislation?
This amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures.
What is the Fourth Amendment?
This standard of review is applied by courts to laws involving race or fundamental rights and is the most difficult to pass.
What is strict scrutiny?
This Supreme Court case requires police to inform suspects of their rights before interrogation.
What is Miranda v. Arizona?
This Supreme Court case established the “clear and present danger” test for limiting speech.
What is Schenck v. US?
This Supreme Court case upheld affirmative action but allowed race to be one of several factors in college admissions.
What is Grutter v Bollinger? (NOT a required case, but good to know!)
This amendment guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury.
This policy aims to address past discrimination by giving advantages to historically disadvantaged groups.
What is affirmative action?
This amendment guarantees the right to an attorney, even for those who cannot afford one.
What is the Sixth Amendment?
This type of speech is generally not protected and includes false statements that harm a person’s reputation.
What is libel (written) and slander (spoken)?
This response involves major structural changes to the Constitution in response to long-term social movement pressure.
What is an amendment?
This legal process has applied most of the Bill of Rights to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.
What is selective incorporation?
This level of scrutiny is applied to laws involving gender discrimination and requires that laws be substantially related to an important government interest.
What is intermediate scrutiny?
This Supreme Court case established the exclusionary rule, preventing illegally obtained evidence from being used in court.
What is Mapp v Ohio?
This Supreme Court case protected student speech as long as it does not substantially disrupt school activities.
What is Tinker v. Des Moines?
This government action uses court orders or federal authority to force compliance with new laws or rights protections.
What is (federal) enforcement?