study unit 8

Question 1

What is the difference between Civil Liberties and Civil Rights?

Answer 1

Civil Liberties → Protections against government actions. Civil Rights → Protection by the government against discrimination.

Question 2

What does the 1st Amendment protect?

Answer 2

Free speech, religion (Establishment & Free Exercise Clauses), press, assembly, petition.

Question 3

What does the 14th Amendment achieve?

Answer 3

Selective incorporation → Extends Bill of Rights protections to the states.

Question 4

Define Prior Restraint.

Answer 4

Government limits on publication before it happens.

Question 5

What is Libel?

Answer 5

False written statements damaging a person’s reputation.

Question 6

What is the Exclusionary Rule?

Answer 6

Illegally obtained evidence cannot be used in court (Mapp v. Ohio).

Question 7

What is the Right to Privacy?

Answer 7

Implied in Constitution, applied to cases like abortion (Roe v. Wade).

Question 8

What did the 13th Amendment accomplish?

Answer 8

Abolished slavery.

Question 9

What are the key provisions of the 14th Amendment?

Answer 9

Equal protection & due process.

Question 10

What did the 15th Amendment guarantee?

Answer 10

Voting rights for Black men.

Question 11

What were the limits of the Civil War Amendments?

Answer 11

Led to Jim Crow Laws & segregation despite these protections.

Question 12

Differentiate between De jure and De facto segregation.

Answer 12

De jure – Legal segregation (e.g., Jim Crow Laws). De facto – Segregation by practice/social norms.

Question 13

What did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 achieve?

Answer 13

Banned discrimination in public places & employment.

Question 14

What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlaw?

Answer 14

Literacy tests, protected voter rights.

Question 15

What is Affirmative Action?

Answer 15

Policy to address historic discrimination; still debated today.

Question 16

What is the significance of Marbury v. Madison (1803)?

Answer 16

Established judicial review.

Question 17

What was the outcome of Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?

Answer 17

Ended segregation; Plessy v. Ferguson overturned.

Question 18

What did Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) guarantee?

Answer 18

Right to an attorney.

Question 19

What are Miranda rights established in Miranda v. Arizona (1966)?

Answer 19

Rights that must be read to individuals upon arrest.

Question 20

What is Stare Decisis?

Answer 20

The Court follows precedent.

Question 21

What are Amicus Curiae briefs?

Answer 21

“Friend of the court” briefs that influence cases.

Question 22

What is a Writ of Certiorari?

Answer 22

Supreme Court requests case records for review.

Question 23

What is the Rule of Four?

Answer 23

At least 4 justices must agree to hear a case.

Question 24

What are the steps in the Supreme Court Process?

Answer 24

1️⃣ Case petition 2️⃣ Oral arguments 3️⃣ Justices deliberate & issue opinions.

Question 25

What is Executive Privilege?

Answer 25

Presidents can withhold certain communications.

Question 26

True or False: U.S. v. Nixon (1974) established that executive privilege cannot hide evidence in criminal cases.

Answer 26

True.

Question 27

What is the Impeachment Process?

Answer 27

House accuses & votes on impeachment; Senate holds trial, possible removal.

Question 28

Who presides over the impeachment trial if the president is impeached?

Answer 28

Supreme Court Chief Justice.

Question 29

What is the Commerce Clause?

Answer 29

Grants Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states and with foreign nations. ## Footnote The Commerce Clause is found in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.

Question 30

What does the Due Process Clause provide?

Answer 30

Guarantees that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. ## Footnote The Due Process Clause is part of the 14th Amendment.

Question 31

What is the purpose of the Equal Protection Clause?

Answer 31

Prohibits states from denying any person within its jurisdiction equal protection under the law. ## Footnote The Equal Protection Clause is also part of the 14th Amendment.

Question 32

What does the Supremacy Clause state?

Answer 32

Establishes that federal law takes precedence over state laws. ## Footnote The Supremacy Clause is found in Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution.

Question 33

What is the Free Exercise Clause?

Answer 33

Protects the right to practice one's religion freely. ## Footnote The Free Exercise Clause is part of the First Amendment.

Question 34

What does the Establishment Clause prohibit?

Answer 34

Prohibits the government from establishing an official religion or unduly favoring one religion over another. ## Footnote The Establishment Clause is also part of the First Amendment.

Question 35

What is the Full Faith and Credit Clause?

Answer 35

Requires states to recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. ## Footnote The Full Faith and Credit Clause is found in Article IV, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution.

Question 36

What does the Necessary and Proper Clause allow?

Answer 36

Gives Congress the power to make all laws that are necessary and proper for carrying out its enumerated powers. ## Footnote The Necessary and Proper Clause is located in Article I, Section 8.

Question 37

What is the Privileges and Immunity Clause?

Answer 37

Prohibits states from discriminating against citizens of other states in favor of their own citizens. ## Footnote The Privileges and Immunity Clause is found in Article IV, Section 2.

Question 38

What does the Ex Post Facto Clause prohibit?

Answer 38

Prohibits laws that impose penalties retroactively. ## Footnote The Ex Post Facto Clause is found in Article I, Section 9.

Question 39

What is the Extradition Clause?

Answer 39

Requires states to return fugitives who flee from justice in another state. ## Footnote The Extradition Clause is part of Article IV, Section 2.