UTA POLS 2311 Exam 2 Practice Questions with Answers
2026
What are civil liberties? - ANSWER ✔✨---Specific individual rights, such as the right to a fair trial,
that are constitutionally protected against infringement by government.
What is the Bill of Rights? - ANSWER ✔✨---The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution that
list the rights the federal government is obliged to protect.
What does the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause do? - ANSWER ✔✨---It prevents
states from abridging individual rights.
What is selective incorporation? - ANSWER ✔✨---The Supreme Court's practice of applying the Bill
of Rights to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
How did the Supreme Court's approach to selective incorporation change in the 1960s? -
ANSWER ✔✨---The Court began to assert and protect the rights of the accused in the states.
What are the limitations on free speech? - ANSWER ✔✨---Free speech is limited if it is obscene,
slanders another person, or incites imminent lawless action.
What is the clear-and-present-danger test? - ANSWER ✔✨---A legal standard used to determine
whether speech can be limited based on the potential to incite danger.
, What is prior restraint? - ANSWER ✔✨---Government prohibition of speech or publication before
it occurs, which is subject to extreme burden of proof.
What is the Establishment Clause? - ANSWER ✔✨---A clause in the First Amendment that prohibits
the government from favoring one religion over another.
What is the Free-Exercise Clause? - ANSWER ✔✨---A clause in the First Amendment that prohibits
government interference with the practice of religion.
What was the ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)? - ANSWER ✔✨---The Court ruled that
the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm.
What is the significance of Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)? - ANSWER ✔✨---It established that
AmericANSWER have a 'zone of privacy' that government cannot lawfully invade.
What did Roe v. Wade (1973) protect? - ANSWER ✔✨---It protected abortion as a right of privacy.
What is procedural due process? - ANSWER ✔✨---Procedures that authorities must follow before
a person can lawfully be punished for an offense.
What does the Fourth Amendment protect against? - ANSWER ✔✨---Unreasonable search and
seizure; police searches require probable cause.
What are the exceptions to the warrant requirement? - ANSWER ✔✨---Warrantless searches may
occur in certain circumstances, such as school searches for drugs or systematic police roadblocks.
What is libel? - ANSWER ✔✨---Publishing material that falsely damages a person's reputation,
requiring proof of actual malice if the subject is a public official.
What is slander? - ANSWER ✔✨---Spoken words that falsely damage a person's reputation.
2026
What are civil liberties? - ANSWER ✔✨---Specific individual rights, such as the right to a fair trial,
that are constitutionally protected against infringement by government.
What is the Bill of Rights? - ANSWER ✔✨---The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution that
list the rights the federal government is obliged to protect.
What does the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause do? - ANSWER ✔✨---It prevents
states from abridging individual rights.
What is selective incorporation? - ANSWER ✔✨---The Supreme Court's practice of applying the Bill
of Rights to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
How did the Supreme Court's approach to selective incorporation change in the 1960s? -
ANSWER ✔✨---The Court began to assert and protect the rights of the accused in the states.
What are the limitations on free speech? - ANSWER ✔✨---Free speech is limited if it is obscene,
slanders another person, or incites imminent lawless action.
What is the clear-and-present-danger test? - ANSWER ✔✨---A legal standard used to determine
whether speech can be limited based on the potential to incite danger.
, What is prior restraint? - ANSWER ✔✨---Government prohibition of speech or publication before
it occurs, which is subject to extreme burden of proof.
What is the Establishment Clause? - ANSWER ✔✨---A clause in the First Amendment that prohibits
the government from favoring one religion over another.
What is the Free-Exercise Clause? - ANSWER ✔✨---A clause in the First Amendment that prohibits
government interference with the practice of religion.
What was the ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)? - ANSWER ✔✨---The Court ruled that
the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm.
What is the significance of Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)? - ANSWER ✔✨---It established that
AmericANSWER have a 'zone of privacy' that government cannot lawfully invade.
What did Roe v. Wade (1973) protect? - ANSWER ✔✨---It protected abortion as a right of privacy.
What is procedural due process? - ANSWER ✔✨---Procedures that authorities must follow before
a person can lawfully be punished for an offense.
What does the Fourth Amendment protect against? - ANSWER ✔✨---Unreasonable search and
seizure; police searches require probable cause.
What are the exceptions to the warrant requirement? - ANSWER ✔✨---Warrantless searches may
occur in certain circumstances, such as school searches for drugs or systematic police roadblocks.
What is libel? - ANSWER ✔✨---Publishing material that falsely damages a person's reputation,
requiring proof of actual malice if the subject is a public official.
What is slander? - ANSWER ✔✨---Spoken words that falsely damage a person's reputation.
