Forfeiture, the government seizure of property connected to illegal activity, has been a major weapon in the federal government's "war on drugs" since the mid-eighties. Several developments called attention to the darker side of this practice...
civil rights
Fourteenth Amendment
Overview
The Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution contains a number of important concepts, most famously state action, privileges or immunities, citizenship, due process, and equal protection—all of which are contained in Section...
frisk
Frisk means the quick pat-down search of a suspect's clothing to detect whether they are concealing a weapon or other dangerous contraband. The purpose is to ensure the safety of the police and others in the vicinity of the scene, not to...
fundamental right
Overview
Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by the Supreme Court as requiring a high degree of protection from government encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in the Constitution (especially...
Furman v. Georgia (1972)
Furman v. Georgia (1972) is a U.S. Supreme Court case regarding the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment in death penalty cases. In this case, petitioner William Henry Furman was convicted of murder in Georgia; petitioner...
gerrymander
Gerrymandering occurs when political or electoral districts are drawn with the purpose of giving one political group an advantage over another. This practice often results in districts with bizarre or strange shapes. The term gerrymander...
Gitlow v. New York (1925)
Gitlow v. New York is a U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the First Amendment right to free speech applied to state laws under the Fourteenth Amendment. However, the Supreme Court held that fundamental rights, including...
good faith exception to exclusionary rule
Good faith provides an exception to the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule barring the use at trial of evidence obtained pursuant to an unlawful search and seizure. If officers had reasonable, good faith belief that they were acting according...
Graham v. Richardson
403 U.S. 365 (1971)
State attempts to deny welfare benefits to legally resident aliens violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the exclusive powers of the federal government in immigration matters. When...
grandfather clause
Grandfather clause refers to a section of a law, regulation, or other legal document that limits how changes will be applied to legal relations and activities existing prior to the change. When laws and regulations go through major changes,...