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Clear and present danger test
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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Communist control act
a federal law enacted in 1954 which declared the communist party to be part of aconspiracy to overthrow the government.
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Due process clause of the fourteenth amendment
a part of the 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
federal laws enacted in 1917 and 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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Establishment clause
one of two first amendment clauses dealing with religion. It forbids governmentinvolvement in religion, even on a nonpreferential basis. It has been interpreted as erecting a wall of separationbetween church and state.
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Exclusionary rule
a rule of criminal procedure which holds that evidence gathered in violation of theconstitution cannot be used in trial.
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Freedom of expression
one of two parts of the first amendment protecting freedom of speech, of the press, andof assembly, and the right to petition the government.
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Freedom of religion
one of two parts of the first amendment protecting the free exercise of religion andprohibiting the establishment of religion
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Free exercise clause
one of two first amendment clauses dealing with religion. It forbids congress fromprohibiting individuals' practice of religion, although there are rarely religious exemptions from laws that arebinding on all individuals.
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Good faith
exception a modification of the exclusionary rule allowing evidence in a trial even though it wasobtained without following proper legal procedures if the police believed the procedures were properlyexecuted. For example, this allows evidence to be submitted when the police believed that the search warranthad been properly issued.
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Hate crime
crime motivated by bigotry.
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Internal security act
a federal law enacted in 1950 which required members of the communist party to registerwith the government.
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Libel
form of speech not given automatic constitutional protection, consisting of any written statementdefaming the character of another person with a falsehood. Public figures must also prove actual malice.
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McCarthyism
- an allegation that a person is unfairly impugning the motives, attacking the patriotism, orviolating the rights of individuals. The term originated from the unsubstantiated charges advanced by senator
- McCarthy in the 1950s.
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Miranda Warnings
- informing a person taken into custody of the right to remain silent, the right to have a
- lawyer present during questioning, and the right to consult a lawyer without 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 incriminate oneself. Police failure to give the warning makes any confession presumed to be involuntary.
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Obscenity
a form of speech not given automatic constitutional protection, defined as a work that, taken as awhole, appeals to the prurient interest as judged by contemporary community standards or that depicts sexualactivity in a patently offensive manner, and that lacks literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
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Prior restraint
government censorship of the press in advance of publication.
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Probable cause
a condition that must be satisfied before a judge can issue a search warrant. It requires that ajudge be persuaded by the police that good reason exists to believe that a crime has been committed and that thevidence bearing on that crime will be found at a certain location.
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Public figure
a person of public stature, such as a celebrity or elected official. Public figures must prove actualmalice to win a libel suit.
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Search warrant
an order from a judge authorizing the search of a place. The warrant must describe what is to be searched and seized and is issued only after a judge is convinced by police that probable cause exists to believe that a crime has been committed and that evidence bearing on the crime will be found at a certain location.
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Sedition act
a federal law enacted in 1798 which made it a crime to express anything false, scandalous, and malicious about officers of the federal government or to excite hatred against the government itself.
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Smith act
a federal law enacted in 1940 which made it illegal to advocate the overthrow of the government byforce or violence.
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Symbolic speech
a form of speech not given automatic constitutional protection, involving an illegal act meantto convey a political message.
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Wall of separation principle
an interpretation of the establishment clause embraced by the supreme court thatallows no government involvement with religion, even on a nonpreferential basis.
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