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Power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional

The division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another

Reserves the right of American citizens to accept any religious belief and engage in religious rituals

Laws that retroactively change the legal consequences (or status) of actions committed or relationships that existed before the enactment of the law

Legal action or writ by means of which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment

A system of government where power is divided between a central government and regional governments

Addresses the duties that states within the United States have to respect the 'public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state'

Prohibits the establishment of religion by Congress

A principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts

Legal requirement that the state must respect all the legal rights that are owed to a person

Provision of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing citizens 'the equal protection of the laws'

A legal doctrine that prevents the government or its political subdivisions, departments, and agencies from being sued without its consent

The act of implicating oneself in a crime or exposing oneself to criminal prosecution

A law that prohibits the use of illegally obtained evidence in a criminal trial

System that allows each branch of government to amend or veto acts of another branch to prevent any one branch from exerting too much power

Prohibits anyone from being prosecuted twice for substantially the same crime

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing specific freedoms and rights

Literally means 'friend of the court'; someone who is not a party to a case who offers information that bears on the case

Establishes that the federal constitution, and federal law generally, take precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions

Constitutional doctrine that ensures states cannot enact laws that take away the constitutional rights of American citizens that are enshrined in the Bill of Rights

Prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner

Punishments that are considered incompatible with modern-day standards of decency or disproportionally harsh to the offense committed

Grants Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes

An order by a higher court directing a lower court to send the record in a given case for review