Glossary
Balancing Test
A judicial approach where the Court weighs the individual's rights against the government's interest in regulating or restricting those rights.
Example:
When deciding if a city can restrict loud protests near a hospital, a court might use a balancing test to weigh free speech against public health.
Clear and Present Danger
A standard that allows the government to restrict speech if it poses an immediate and substantial threat to public safety or order.
Example:
During wartime, speech that reveals troop movements to the enemy could be considered a clear and present danger.
Clear and Present Danger Test
A legal standard used to determine when speech can be restricted, allowing government to limit speech that incites or creates an immediate risk of lawless action.
Example:
Shouting 'fire' in a crowded theater when there is no fire is a classic example of speech that fails the clear and present danger test.
Compelling State Interest
A government objective that is so important and necessary that it can justify infringing upon a fundamental right.
Example:
National security during wartime is often cited as a compelling state interest that might justify certain restrictions on civil liberties.
Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Punishments that are considered inhumane, degrading, or disproportionate to the crime committed, prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.
Example:
Sentencing a shoplifter to life in prison without parole would likely be deemed cruel and unusual punishment.
Death Penalty
Capital punishment; the legal execution of a person as punishment for a crime.
Example:
The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty but has limited its application to certain crimes and populations.
Eighth Amendment
A part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments.
Example:
The debate over the constitutionality of lethal injection as a method of execution often involves interpretation of the Eighth Amendment.
Exclusionary Rule
A legal principle that prohibits the use of illegally obtained evidence in a criminal trial.
Example:
If police conduct a search without a warrant and find incriminating evidence, that evidence might be inadmissible in court due to the exclusionary rule.
Fourth Amendment
A part of the Bill of Rights that protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.
Example:
Police generally need a warrant based on probable cause to search a person's home, due to protections under the Fourth Amendment.
Fundamental Rights
Rights deemed essential to liberty and justice, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the right to privacy.
Example:
The right to marry is considered a fundamental right, meaning any law restricting it would face high judicial scrutiny.
Imminent Lawless Action
Illegal conduct that is about to happen and is directly incited by speech, allowing for the restriction of that speech.
Example:
A speaker urging a crowd to immediately destroy public property would be inciting imminent lawless action.
Important Government Interest
A significant government objective that justifies a law, though it is a less demanding standard than a 'compelling state interest'.
Example:
Promoting traffic safety is an important government interest that justifies laws like speed limits.
Individual Freedom
The rights and liberties guaranteed to citizens, allowing them to act without undue government interference.
Example:
The First Amendment protects a student's individual freedom to express their political views, even if unpopular, on campus.
Intermediate Scrutiny
A middle level of judicial review, applied to laws that regulate conduct of lesser importance than fundamental rights, often involving classifications based on gender or illegitimacy.
Example:
A law setting different drinking ages for men and women would likely be reviewed under intermediate scrutiny.
Narrowly Tailored
A legal requirement that a law restricting a fundamental right must be precisely drawn to achieve its compelling government interest, without unnecessarily infringing on rights.
Example:
For a law to be considered narrowly tailored, it shouldn't ban all forms of protest, but perhaps only those that block emergency services.
Probable Cause
A reasonable belief, supported by facts and circumstances, that a crime has been committed or that evidence of a crime will be found in a particular location.
Example:
If police see illegal drugs in plain view, they likely have probable cause to obtain a search warrant for the rest of the property.
Public Order and Safety
The government's interest in maintaining peace, preventing crime, and protecting the general welfare of its citizens.
Example:
Laws requiring vaccinations are often justified by the need to protect public order and safety by preventing the spread of disease.
Regulating Firearms
Government actions or laws aimed at controlling the sale, possession, or use of guns.
Example:
Background checks for gun purchases are a common method of regulating firearms.
Right to Bear Arms
The individual right to own and carry weapons, as protected by the Second Amendment.
Example:
Advocates for unrestricted gun ownership often emphasize the individual's right to bear arms for self-defense.
Second Amendment
A part of the Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
Example:
The ongoing debate about gun control laws in the United States is primarily centered on the interpretation of the Second Amendment.
Strict Scrutiny
The highest level of judicial review, applied to laws that restrict fundamental rights or involve suspect classifications.
Example:
A law banning all political protests would likely face strict scrutiny because it infringes on the fundamental right to free speech.
Substantially Burden
To significantly hinder or impede the exercise of an individual's rights.
Example:
A zoning law that makes it nearly impossible to build a church could be seen as substantially burdening religious freedom.
Substantially Related
A legal requirement that a law must have a strong, direct connection to the important government interest it aims to serve.
Example:
For a curfew law to pass intermediate scrutiny, it must be substantially related to reducing juvenile crime, not just a general desire for order.
Unreasonable Search and Seizure
Government actions that intrude on a person's reasonable expectation of privacy without proper justification, prohibited by the Fourth Amendment.
Example:
A police officer searching a car without any suspicion or a warrant would be conducting an unreasonable search and seizure.