Term
| clear-and-present-danger test |
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Definition
| A legal interpretation that reconciled two views of the First Amendment right of free speech, the first that Congress could not pass anylaw to restrict speech and the second that it could punish harms caused by speech. Congress could only punish speech that created a "clear and present danger" of bringing about the actions that Congress is authorized to prevent. |
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| A federal law enacted in 1954 which declared the Communist party to be part of a conspiracy to overthrow the government. |
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| due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment |
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| A constitutional amendment ratified in 1868 that has been used by the Supreme Court to prevent state governments from infringing "fundamental personal rights," such as freedom of speech. |
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| Espionage Act and Sedition Act |
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Definition
| Federal laws enacted in 1917 and in 1918 which made it a crime to utter false statements that would interfere with the military, to use the mails to advocate treason or resistance to laws, or to express any disloyalty intending to incite resistance to the war effort. |
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| One of two First Amendment clauses dealing with religion. It forbids government involvement in religion, even on a non preferential basis. It is designed to erect a wall of separation between church and state. |
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| A rule of criminal procedure which holds that evidence gathered in violation of the Constitution can not be used in trial. |
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| One of two parts of the First Amendment protecting freedom of speech, press, assembly, and petition. |
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| One of two parts of the First Amendment protecting the free exercise of religion and the prohibition against an establishment of religion. |
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| One of two first Amendment clauses dealing with religion. It forbids Congress from prohibiting individual's practice of religion. In general, the Supreme Court allows people to practice their religion so long as they do not cause serious harm to others. |
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| A modification of the exclusionary rule allowing evidence in a trial even though it was obtained without following proper legal procedures if the police believed a defective warrant was valid when executed. |
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| The imposition of a tougher sentence against a person convicted of hurting someone whose behavior was motivated by racial or ethnic hate. |
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| A federal law enacted in 1950 which required members of the Communist party to register with the government. |
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| A form of speech not given automatic consitutioanl protection, consisting of any written statement defaming the character of another person with a falsehood. Public figures must also prove "actual mailice" exists. |
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| An allegation against a person who unfairly inpugns the motives, attacks the patriotism, or violates the rights of individuals. The term originated from the unsubstantiated charges by Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1950 against people working for various government agencies in claiming they were communists. |
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| Informing a person taken into custody of hte right to remain silent, the right to have a lawyer present during questioning, and the right to consult a lawyer withouth charge if unable to afford one. The requirement that the Miranda warning be delivered to detainees is a protection derived from the Fifth Amendment's right not to incrminate oneself. Police failure to give the warning makes any confession presumed to be involuntary. |
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| A FORM OF SPEECH NOT GIVEN AUTOMATIC CONSITUTIONAL PROTECTION, DEFINED AS A WORK THAT, TAKEN AS A WHOLE, APPEALS TO THE PRUIENT INTEREST AS JUDGED BY COMMUNITY STANDARDS, THAT DEPICTS SEXUAL ACTIVITY IN A PATENTLY OFFENSISVE MANNER, AND THAT LACKES LITTERARY , ARTSTIC, POLITICAL, OR SCIENTIFIC VALUE. |
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| Government censorship of the press in which a newspaper is told in advance what it can publish. |
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