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Joshua Bryant
Period 4
A.P. Government
Study and Reading Guide Guide 4
AP GovPol
1. Tell why people who are advocates of rights in theory often hesitate when it
comes time to put those rights into practice.
a. Some people feel that there are certain areas that are considered
freedom of speech, however they do not want to conflict with the
values of other citizens or the accepted values of society.
2. How have decisions of the Supreme Court extended specific provisions of the
Bill of Rights to the states as part of the incorporation doctrine?
a. The decisions of the Supreme Court have been used to extend specific
provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states one at a time.
3. Describe how the two constitutional statements about religion and
government – the establishment clause and the free exercise clause – may
sometimes conflict.
a. The conflicts between the establishment clause and the free exercise
clause can occur in some ways that the government acts. One example
is that of how the government provides chaplains at military basis.
Some people take this as establishment of a religion while others take
it as the free practice of religion.
4. What did the First Congress intend by using the terms establishment and free
exercise of religion?
a. The First Congress intended the terms establishment and free
exercise of religion to mean the free practice of other Christian
religions. However, they worded it in such a way that it could evolve
to the present day where we now extend the freedom of religion to
include other religions outside of the various forms of Christianity.
5. Why does the Supreme Court usually not permit prior restraint on speech
and press?
a. The Supreme Court usually does not permit prior restraint on most
speech and press because of the direct conflict with 1st amendment
that this would cause.
6. Explain why it has been so difficult for the courts to clearly define with types
of materials are considered to be obscene.
a. It is difficult for the Supreme Court to define what material is obscene
because of the personal objectivity of what is obscene. What is
obscene to one person is not obscene to another.
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Joshua Bryant
Period 4
A.P. Government
7. Explain the difference between freedom of speech and related concepts like
symbolic speech and freedom of expression.
a. Freedom of speech is the broad title that includes freedom of
expression and symbolic speech. Symbolic speech is the actions of a
person to represent their opinions. Freedom of expression is also
restricted when it comes to libel or slandering.
8. Explain the conflicts that can occur between free speech and public order.
a. Free speech can conflict with public order by causing public order to
become either unruly or to go against what the government feels is
correct. A public speech can incite a riot causing public order to
become disorderly and endanger others. The conflict can also occur
when free speech interferes with the government actions, such as
when a public speech creates a problem for recruiting into the army.
9. How do essential rights such as the right to a fair trial can conflict with other
rights such as the right to a free press?
a. The cases of high profile individuals, such as celebrities, politicians,
and others, can receive a lot of press coverage causing jurors to
become biased towards the opinions that are expressed in the press
leading to an unfair trial.
10. Identify the two features of freedom of assembly and explain how they may
conflict with other societal values.
a. Two features of freedom of assembly are: the right to gather in a
public place and the right to associate with whom they want. The right
to gather in a public place can disturb the peace, disrupt the flow of
traffic, and can cause interference to individuals to go about their
business without interference. The right to associate with whom they
want may go against public opinion because two groups of people
fighting for a right may not be deemed socially acceptable to
intermingle. One example was during segregation when people were
fighting for equal racial rights. White citizens and black citizens were
working together even though this was not acceptable at the time.
11. Explain how specific provisions of the Bill of Rights have been used to extend
basic rights to defendants in criminal trials.
a. The basic rights that have been extended to criminals during criminal
trials are shown in the Miranda Rights because even criminals are
still citizens and not being informed of their rights will result in a
mistrial.
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Joshua Bryant
Period 4
A.P. Government
12. Give details of how concepts such as a right to privacy can be inferred or
implied from the Bill of Rights.
a. Right to privacy can be inferred from the bill of rights just as the right
to have your own beliefs can be implied from the freedom of religion.
13. Explain why civil liberties are seen as an individual’s protection against the
government.
a. The civil liberties are seen as individual’s protection against the
government because they allow people to speak their mind with no
fear of repercussions from the government. They allow the person to
remain an individual as opposed to being forced to assume a certain
way of acting and giving up individuality.
KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

Bill of Rights: The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, drafted in
response to some of the Anti-Federalist concerns. These amendments define
such basic liberties as freedom of religion, speech, and press and offer
protections against arbitrary searches by the police and being held without
talking to a lawyer.

Civil Liberties: The legal constitutional protections against government.
Although our civil liberties are formally set down in the Bill of Rights, the
courts, police, and legislatures define their meaning.

Commercial Speech: Communication in the form of advertising. It can be
restricted more than many other types of speech but has been receiving
increased protection from the Supreme Court.

Cruel and unusual punishment: Court sentences prohibited by the Eighth
Amendment. Although the Supreme Court has ruled that mandatory death
sentences for certain offenses are unconstitutional, it has not held that the
death penalty itself constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

Eighth Amendment: The constitutional amendment that forbids cruel and
unusual punishment, although it does not define this phrase. Through the
Fourteenth Amendment, this Bill of Rights provision applies to the states.

Establishment clause: Part of the First Amendment stating that “Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”

Exclusionary rule: The rule that evidence, no matter how incriminating,
cannot be introduced into a trial if it was not constitutionally obtained. The
rule prohibits use of evidence obtained through unreasonable search and
seizure.
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Joshua Bryant
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A.P. Government

Fifth Amendment: The constitutional amendment designed to protect the
rights of persons accused of crimes, including protection against double
jeopardy, self incrimination, and punishment without due process of law.

First Amendment: The constitutional amendment that establishes the four
great liberties: freedom of the press, of speech, of religion, and of assembly.

Free exercise clause: A First Amendment provision that prohibits
government from interfering with the practice of religion.

Incorporation Doctrine: The legal concept under which the Supreme Court
has nationalized the Bill of Rights by making most of its provisions applicable
to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Libel: The publication of false or malicious statements that damage
someone’s reputation.

Plea Bargaining: An actual bargain struck between the defendant’s lawyer
and the prosecutor to the effect that the defendant will plead guilty to a
lesser crime (or fewer crimes) in exchange for the state’s promise not to
prosecute the defendant for a more serious (or additional) crime.

Prior restraint: A government’s preventing material from being published.
This is a common method of limiting the press in some nations, but it is
usually unconstitutional in the United States, according to the First
Amendment and as confirmed in the 1931 Supreme Court case of Near v.
Minnesota.

Probable cause: The situation occurring when the police have reason to
believe that a person should be arrested. In making the arrest, the police are
allowed legally to search for and seize incriminating evidence.

Right to privacy: According to Paul Bender, “The right to keep the details of
[one’s] life confidential; the free and untrammeled use and enjoyment of
one’s intellect, body, and private property … the right, in sum, to a private
personal life free from the intrusion of government or the dictates of society.”
The right to privacy is implicitly protected by the Bill of Rights.

Search warrant: A written authorization from a court specifying the area to
be searched and what the police are searching for. The Fourth Amendment
requires a search warrant to prevent unreasonable searches and seizures.
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Joshua Bryant
Period 4
A.P. Government
Self-incrimination: The situation occurring when an individual accused of
a crime is compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in Court. The
Fifth Amendment forbids self-incrimination.

Sixth Amendment: The constitutional amendment designed to protect
individuals accused of crimes. It includes the right to counsel, the right to
confront witnesses, and the right to a speedy and public trial.

Symbolic Speech: Nonverbal communications, such as burning a flag or
wearing an armband, The Supreme Court has accorded some symbolic
speech protection under the First Amendment.

Unreasonable searches and seizures: Obtaining evidence in a haphazard
or random manner, a practice prohibited by the Fourth Amendment. Both
probably cause and a search warrant are required for a legal and proper
search for and seizure of incriminating evidence.