Vocabulary Terms in The Logic of American Politics: Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties, Study notes of Political Science

Download Vocabulary Terms in The Logic of American Politics: Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties and more Study notes Political Science in PDF only on Docsity! The Logic of American Politics CHAPTER 5 Vocabulary From: Samuel Kernell, Gary C. Jacobsen, Thad Kousser and Gregory Giroux, The Logic of American Politics. Clear and Present Danger Test - A rule used by the Supreme Court to distinguish between speech protected and not protected by the First Amendment. Under this rule, the First Amendment does not protect speech aimed at inciting an illegal action. (Page 205) Clear and Probable Danger Test - A rule introduced by Chief Justice Fred Vinson for the courts to enlist in free expression cases: "In each case [the courts] must ask whether the gravity of the ‘evil,’ discounted by its probability, justifies such invasion of free speech as is necessary to avoid the danger." (Page 208) Community Standards Rule - The Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling that a work is obscene if it is "utterly without redeeming social importance" and, "to the average person, applying contemporary ‘community standards,’ the dominant theme of the material, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interests." (Page 209) Cruel and Unusual Punishment - Criminal penalties not considered appropriate by a society, that involve torture, or that could result in death when the death penalty had not been ordered. (Page 227) Due Process Clause - A clause found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution protecting citizens from arbitrary action by the national and state governments. (Page 200) Equal Protection Clause - A Fourteenth Amendment clause guaranteeing all citizens equal protection of the laws. The courts have interpreted the clause to bar discrimination against minorities and women. (Page 200) Establishment of Religion Clause - The first clause of the First Amendment. Prohibits the national government from establishing a national religion. (Page 214) Exclusionary Rule - A judicial rule prohibiting the police from using at a trial evidence obtained through illegal search and seizure. (Page 224) Incorporation - The Supreme Court’s extension of the guarantees of the Bill of Rights to state and local governments through its various interpretations of the Fourteenth Amendment. (Page 198) Lemon Test - The most far-reaching of the controversial cases in which the Supreme Court specified three conditions every state law must satisfy to avoid running afoul of the establishment of religion prohibition: the statute in question "must have a secular