• legal constitutional protections against government
• formally set down in the Bill of Rights
• courts, police, and legislatures define their meaning

• the first 10 amendments to the constition
• define such basic liberties as freedom of religion, speech, and press
• gurantee defednants' rights

the 1971 Supreme Court decision that established that aid to church-related schools must

1. have a secular purpose;
2. have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion; and
3. not foster excessive government entaglement with religion

• a government preventing material from being published
• common method of limiting the press in some nations, but it is ususally unconstitutional in the United States, according to the First Amendment and as confirmed in the 1931 Supreme Court case of Near v. Minnesota

• a 1919 decision upholding the conviction of a socialist who had urged young men to resist the draft during World War I
• Justice Holmes declared that government can limit speech if the speech provokes a "clear and present danger" of substantive evils

• decided in 1964
• established the guidelines for determining whether public officials and public figures could win damage suits for libel
• individuals must prove that the defamatory statments were made with "actual malice" and reckless disregard for the truth

• nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband
• the Supreme Court has accorded some symbolic speech protection under the First Amendment

• communication in the form of advertising
• can be restricted more than many other types of speech but has been receiving increased protection from the Supreme Court

• a 1974 case in which the Supreme Court held that a state could not force a newspaper to print replies from candidates it had criticized
• illustrated the limited power of government to restrict the print media

• a 1969 case in which the Supreme Court upheld restrictions restrictions on radio and television broadcasting
• these restrictions on the broadcast media are much tighter than those on the print media because there are only a limited number of broadcasting frequencies available

• the situation occurring when the police have reason to believe that a person should be arrested
• police are allowed legally to search for and seize incriminating evidence

• obtaining evidence in a haphazard or random manner
• a practice prohibited by the Fourth Amendment
• probable cause and/or a search warrant are required for a legal and proper search for and seizure of incriminating evidence

• the situation occurring when an individual accused of a crime is compelled to be a witness against himself or herslef in court
• forbidden by the Fifth Amendment

• a constitutional amendment designed to protect individuals accused of crimes
• includes the right to counsel, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a speedy and public trial

Eighth Amendment

• the constitutional amendment that forbids cruel and unusual punishemnt, although it does not define the phrase
• applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment

• court sentences prohibited by the Eighth Amendment
• the death penalty itself has not been held by the Supreme Court as cruel and unusual punishment

• the 1973 Supreme Court decision holding that a state ban on all abortions was unconstitutional
• forbade state control over abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy
• permitted states to limit abortions to protect the mother's health in the second trimester
• permitted states to protectthe fetus during the third trimester