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Civil Rights And Civil Liberties Court Cases

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Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
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  • Match each statement with the correct term.
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This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. MALDEF failed to convince the Court that educational funds should be distributed equally among school districts.






2. All defendants must be informed of legal rights before they are arrested [5th]






3. Concluded that the U.S. Congress lacked the constitutional authority to bar slavery in the territories; this decision narrowed the scope of national power while it enhanced that of the states. Also declared that slaves couldn't sue since they weren't






4. Free exercise of religion not violation of compulsory attendance laws; Amish children do not have to go to school until they are 16---they may stop after the 8th grade






5. Peyote smoking member of native american church denied unemployment compensation [Free exercise]






6. Court ruled that laws banning animal sacrifice were unconstitutional because they targeted the Santeria religion specifically.






7. Supreme Court decision that said it was unconstitutional to keep Mexican-Americans off of juries.






8. The confrontation clause of the Sixth Amendment does not guarantee defendants an absolute right to come face to face with their accusers.






9. The arm band in schools case; First Amendment applied to public schools - and that administrators would have to demonstrate constitutionally valid reasons for any specific regulation of speech in the classroom. [symbolic speech]






10. In upholding several restrictive abortion regulations - the Court opened the door for state governments to enact new restrictions on abortion.






11. This case was an unsuccessful attempt to challenge Pennsylvania's restrictive abortion regulations.






12. The Supreme Court found that a woman's right to an abortion was protected by the right to privacy that could be implied from specific guarantees found in the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment.






13. Public schools may not have clergy lead prayers at graduation ceremonies [est. clause and schools]






14. Supreme Court case that established the Constitution's implied right to privacy. (Birth control case)






15. The Court fashioned the direct incitement test for deciding whether certain kinds of speech could be regulated by the government. This test holds that advocacy of illegal action is protected by the First Amendment unless imminent action is intended a






16. Illegal to discuss overthrowing the government [free speech]






17. Supreme court decision holding that school segregation is inherently unconstitutional because it violates the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection; marked the end of legal segregation in the US.






18. Limitation on the scope of Tinker ruling. prohibiting certain styles of expression that are sexually vulgar.






19. The Court ruled that a Nebraska 'partial birth' abortion statute was unconstitutionally vague and unenforceable - calling into question the laws of twenty-nine other states.






20. The Court held that in order to be obscene - material must be 'utterly without redeeming social value.'






21. A Tennessee death-row inmate who had otherwise exhausted his federal appeals was provided an exception due to the availability of DNA evidence suggesting his innocence; the case recognized the potential exculpatory power of DNA evidence.






22. Prior restraint case; the Court ruled that a trial judge could not prohibit the publication or broadcast of information about a murder trial.






23. This decision expanded the types of beliefs that can be used to get conscientious objector status. The depth and fervency of the beliefs - rather than their status as part of an established religious system - became fundamental to determining which v






24. Peremptory challenges cannot be used to exclude all people of a given race (in this case - African Americans) from a jury pool.






25. A Colorado constitutional amendment precluding any legislative - executive - or judicial action at any state or local level designed to bar discrimination based on sexual preference was ruled not rational or reasonable.






26. Censorship did not violate the student's First Amendment rights of free speech; decision which held that public school curricular student newspapers that have not been established as forums for student expression are subject to a lower level of First






27. Mandatory prayer in schools is a violation of the establishment clause






28. A landmark case in the area of U.S. criminal procedure - in which the United States Supreme Court decided that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment protection against 'unreasonable searches and seizures' may not be used in criminal






29. Incorporation (free exercise)






30. Moments of silent prayer at school are unconstitutional---moments of silence are not. [est. clause and schools]






31. Halt to all death penalty punishments in nation until a less arbitrary method of sentencing was found [8th]






32. The Supreme Court - however - held that the ordinances were neither neutral nor generally applicable: rather - they applied exclusively to the church. Because the law was targeted at Santera






33. Follow-up to Brown v. Board of Education - this case laid out the process for school desegregation and established the concept of dismantling systems 'with all deliberate speed.'






34. Ruled that the First Amendment protected radical and revolutionary speech - unless it posed a 'clear and present danger'. (overt action required) [Free Speech]






35. 'Bad Tendency Doctrine -' speech restricted if it has tendency to lead to illegal actions; selectively incorporated freedom of speech to states






36. Defined the power of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over 'indecent' material as applied to broadcasting; some kid over heard Filthy Words routine on TV - so the dad sued. [obscenity]






37. The Court overturned the conviction of a director of a Communist youth camp under a state statute prohibiting the display of a red flag.






38. Evidence collected or analyzed in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights is sometimes inadmissible for a criminal prosecution in a court of law.






39. Law aimed at preventing laws which substantially burden a person's free exercise of their religion. Also - attempted to reign in the Courts' decisions against religious practices.






40. Granted indigents the right to counsel






41. Although the tests were searches under the Fourth Amendment - they were reasonable in light of the schools' interest in preventing teenage drug use.






42. Law must be clearly secular - not prohibiting or inhibiting religion - and there should be no excessive entanglement






43. You may believe whatever you wish - but you may not be able to exercise that belief.






44. Due process in suspension or expulsion






45. This Act prescribed fines up to $10000 and prison up to 20 yrs for a variety of loosely defined antiwar activities. [free speech]






46. The Army accused chief counsel - Roy Cohn - of pressuring the Army to give preferential treatment to G. David Schine - Who was a former McCarthy aide and a friend of Cohn's. McCarthy counter-charged that this accusation was made in bad faith - in ret






47. Declared school sponsored Bible reading in public schools in the United States to be unconstitutional [est. clause and schools]






48. Paying legislative chaplains and opening a legislative body with a prayer does not violate the establishment clause. (Long standing tradition - they're adults) [exception to lemon v. kurtzman]






49. Identified an implied right to privacy in the U.S. Constitution using the 1st - 3rd - 4th - 5th - and 9th amendment. Hint: This case involved birth control and married couples... relate this somehow to the Griswold family vacation movies?






50. Unsuccessful attempt to challenge Georgia's sodomy law. The case was overturned by Lawrence v. Texas.