| Bill of Rights | the first ten amendments to the Constitution which set forth basic protections for individual rights to free expression, fair trial and property.
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| civil liberties | the fundamental individual rights of a free society, such as freedom of speech and the right to a jury trial, which in the United States are protected by the Bill of Rights.
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| clear-and-present-danger test | a test devised by the Supreme Court in 1919 in order to define the limits of free speech in the context of national security. According to the text, government cannot abridge political expression unless it presents a clear and present danger to the nation's security.
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| due-process clause | a clause in the Fourteenth Amendment which refers to the legal procedures that have been established as a means of protecting individuals' rights.
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| establishment clause | the First Amendment provision that government may not favor one religion over another, or religion over no religion, and that prohibits Congress from passing laws respecting the establishment of religion.
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| exclusionary rule | the legal principle that government is prohibited from using in trials evidence that was obtained by unconstitutional means (for example, illegal search and seizure).
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| freedom of expression | Americans' freedom to communicate their views, the foundation of which is the First Amendment rights of freedom of conscience, speech, press, assembly and petition.
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| free-exercise clause | a First Amendment provision that prohibits the government from interfering with the practice of religion or from prohibiting the free exercise of religion.
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| imminent-lawless-action test | limits the authority of a state to restrict speech that advocates the unlawful use of force unless that speech is likely to produce such action.
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| libel | a written offense that greatly harms a person's reputation.
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| prior restraint | government prohibition of speech or publication before the fact, which is presumed by the courts to be unconstitutional unless the justification for it is overwhelming.
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| procedural due process | the constitutional requirement that government must follow proper legal procedures before a person can be legitimately punished for an alleged offense.
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| selective incorporation | the absorption of certain provisions of the Bill of Rights (for example, freedom of speech) into the Fourteenth Amendment so that these rights are protected from infringement by the states.
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| slander | a spoken offense that greatly harms a person's reputation.
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| symbolic speech | conduct that is designed to express an opinion.
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