Deck 11: Civil Liberties

Question 1

Slander refers to

A)the First Amendment.
B)government officials.
C)spoken words.
D)sedition statutes.
E)evidence seized illegally.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In The New York Times Co.v.Sullivan (1964),the Supreme Court ruled that for a statement about a public official to be considered libelous,the plaintiff must prove that the

A)statement was false.
B)newspaper did not know the statement was false.
C)statement was made with actual malice.
D)newspaper refused to publish a correction.
E)statement was made only once.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which one of the following is true with respect to prior restraint?

A)The Supreme Court has generally upheld prior restraint.
B)The Supreme Court's rulings in this area have been inconsistent.
C)The Supreme Court has prohibited most forms of prior restraint.
D)The government's attempts to impose prior restraint have been successful.
E)The government has imposed prior restraint under the Fifth Amendment.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In Buckley v.Valeo,the Supreme Court struck down limits on

A)government financing of campaigns.
B)campaign spending.
C)soft money.
D)commercial speech.
E)the right of association.

Question 5

What did the Supreme Court say in Engel v.Vitale (1962)about the constitutionality of school prayer?

A)School-sponsored prayer is an unconstitutional establishment of religion.
B)School-sponsored prayer is permissible as long as it is voluntary.
C)School-sponsored prayer is permissible as long as it is led by students.
D)School-sponsored prayer is permissible as long as it is ecumenical.
E)Schools can only sponsor prayer at graduation ceremonies and football games.

Question 6

Which of the following protections is NOT afforded by the First Amendment?

A)Freedom of speech and press
B)Freedom from government establishment of religion
C)Freedom of assembly
D)The right to petition the government for a redress of grievance
E)The right to counsel

Question 7

The decision of the U.S.Supreme Court in Lemon v.Kurtzman (1971)created the Lemon test for determining whether a law violates the

A)due process clause.
B)establishment clause.
C)equal protection clause.
D)free exercise clause.
E)interstate commerce clause.

Question 8

The right of the Boy Scouts to exclude gays from serving as leaders is protected by

A)the right to engage in symbolic speech.
B)the Second Amendment.
C)the right of association.
D)sedition statutes.
E)prior restraint.

Question 9

The controversial free-speech issue of whether the First Amendment protects the right to burn or deface an American flag is concerned with

A)obscenity.
B)symbolic speech.
C)commercial speech.
D)libel and slander.
E)the right to a fair trial.

Question 10

According to recent Supreme Court interpretations,the Second Amendment guarantees of the right to keep and bear arms

A)only apply to state militias.
B)do not apply in the District of Columbia because it is not a state.
C)only apply to law enforcement officers and members of the armed forces.
D)are individual rights.
E)are absolute.

Question 11

Which one of the following is true with respect to the Fourteenth Amendment and the application of the Bill of Rights upon the states?

A)Selective incorporation has taken place through the equality clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
B)Selective incorporation has expanded the power of the states to infringe upon civil liberties.
C)Selective incorporation began with the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1791.
D)Selective incorporation has applied only the First Amendment to the states.
E)Selective incorporation has guaranteed many of the provisions of the Bill of Rights against infringement by state and local governments.

Question 12

Regarding capital punishment,the Supreme Court has ruled in recent years that

A)the death penalty can be imposed automatically if the defendant is convicted.
B)judges,not juries,decide the factual issues in a death penalty case.
C)the death penalty is always cruel and unusual punishment.
D)the sentencing court must be able to consider both mitigating and aggravating factors.
E)individuals under the age of eighteen or who are mentally handicapped can legally be executed.

Question 13

The Supreme Court has upheld the right of individuals to join together in a nonviolent economic boycott of businesses that practice racial discrimination.This illustrates

A)no prior restraint.
B)symbolic speech.
C)commercial speech.
D)the right of association.
E)the free exercise clause.

Question 14

The term used to refer to defamation by written work is

A)libel.
B)moral suasion.
C)slander.
D)opinion.
E)satire.

Question 15

Which amendment to the U.S.Constitution guarantees freedom of the press?

A)First
B)Third
C)Fifth
D)Sixth
E)Ninth

Question 16

The Supreme Court upheld a display of the Ten Commandments at the Texas State Capitol while striking down displays at Kentucky courthouses because the Kentucky displays

A)were more overtly religious than the Texas display.
B)caused more disruption in the community than the Texas display.
C)were defacing property while the Texas display was not.
D)were centered in a broader historical context that the Texas display.
E)were unpopular with the public.

Question 17

Which of the following can a judge do to ensure a fair trial?

A)Prohibit the media from publishing information about a trial
B)Exclude the press from criminal proceedings
C)Exclude the press from jury selection
D)Sequester a jury to limit the effect of pretrial publicity
E)Issue a gag order that applies to the press

Question 18

In Reynolds v.United States (1878),the U.S.Supreme Court determined that religious freedom includes

A)the absence of religion in government activities.
B)the prohibition of discriminatory religious beliefs.
C)the right to believe anything,but not the right to commit illegal acts.
D)the right to religious beliefs and to engage in illegal acts that are condoned by religion.
E)the right of tax-exempt churches and religious organizations to engage in political activities.

Question 19

During the Nixon administration,when two newspapers began to publish a classified governmental document about the Vietnam War,the Supreme Court

A)sided with the Nixon administration.
B)upheld the right of the newspapers to print the document.
C)refused to hear the case.
D)issued an injunction prohibiting the newspapers from publishing classified documents.
E)overturned the separate-but-equal doctrine.

Question 20

Speech or writing that advocates or incites discontent or rebellion against the government defines

A)sedition.
B)libel.
C)slander.
D)obscenity.
E)profanity.

Question 21

A jury that decides whether there is enough evidence to indict and bring to trial a person accused of a criminal act is a

A)trial jury.
B)grand jury.
C)review board.
D)board of appeal.
E)sequestered jury.

Question 22

Citing the need for a "wall of separation," the Supreme Court has banned all public displays of religious messages in government buildings.

Question 23

Which one of the following is NOT true with respect to the right to counsel?

A)The right appears in the Sixth Amendment.
B)It was applied to the states in 1963 in Gideon v.Wainwright.
C)The right to counsel includes misdemeanor cases in which a person could go to jail.
D)It has been an issue in cases where defendants cannot afford to hire a lawyer.
E)It applies to the states only in instances where the defendant can be sentenced to death.

Question 24

The intent of the exclusionary rule of evidence is to

A)allow criminals to go free.
B)deter illegal searches and seizures by the police.
C)reward police officers.
D)get around the requirement to issue a Miranda warning.
E)give criminals an advantage at trial.

Question 25

The free exercise clause of the First Amendment prohibits many forms of association between church and state.

Question 26

When a defendant in a murder trial chooses not to take the stand in his or her own defense,the jury must be warned by the judge not to interpret this silence as evidence of guilt.This is part of

A)voir dire.
B)the exclusionary rule.
C)the protection against self-incrimination.
D)double jeopardy.
E)symbolic speech.

Question 27

The First Amendment permits the expression of religious ideas and bars the government from restricting these ideas.

Question 28

The warnings a police officer reads an arrested person to inform the person of his or her right to an attorney were mandated by the Supreme Court in its decision in

A)Miranda v.Arizona.
B)New York v.Quarles.
C)Marbury v.Madison.
D)Gitlow v.New York.
E)the Slaughterhouse Cases.

Question 29

In Nix v.Williams,the Supreme Court ruled that illegally obtained evidence could be used in a criminal trial if the government could demonstrate that

A)the government acted out of malice.
B)the defendant was aware that the government was investigating him or her.
C)the evidence inevitably would have been found by the police in the normal course of their investigation.
D)the search was conducted by state rather than federal officials.
E)the evidence was verified by an independent testing laboratory.

Question 30

The Bill of Rights limits the actions of both private individuals and governments.

Question 31

The Constitution protects the right to not identify oneself to the police even if there is reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct.

Question 32

Which of the following has the Supreme Court determined constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment"?

A)Incarceration for life without the possibility of parole
B)The increased likelihood that minorities will be sentenced to death more than whites
C)The execution of minors
D)Capital punishment
E)Using juries to determine the facts of a death penalty case instead of relying on the judge

Question 33

What would be an attorney's permissible motivation for using a "peremptory challenge" during the voir dire?

A)The juror will decide unfavorably for her client.
B)The judge has a bias against her client.
C)The juror is a race other than that of her client.
D)The judge has decided that the attorney should be taken off of the case.
E)The defendant is not represented by an attorney.

Question 34

Congressional attempts to regulate free speech on the Internet have focused on which of the following?

A)Racist beliefs and ideologies
B)Hate speech
C)Undemocratic beliefs and abstract advocacy to overthrow the government
D)Advocacy of unpopular religious doctrines
E)Sexually explicit materials that may be accessible to children

Question 35

Which of the following searches or seizures is a court most likely to determine to be unreasonable?

A)The search of a vehicle's passenger after being stopped for probable cause
B)A "stop and frisk" search of a suspicious person
C)A search of a business after a warrant has been obtained
D)The seizure of illegal drugs that are in plain sight of a police officer
E)The search of a person's home because he or she holds racist political beliefs

Question 36

Under the Supreme Court's decision in Brandenburg v.Ohio,speech can be restricted if it

A)makes abstract advocacy of forcible action against the government.
B)goes against the fundamental principles of democracy.
C)advocates unpopular activities.
D)makes abstract advocacy of overthrowing the government.
E)poses imminent and likely danger.

Question 37

What is the prohibition against double jeopardy?

A)Once a person has been tried for a particular crime and the trial has ended in a verdict of not guilty,that person cannot be tried again for the same crime.
B)Once a person has been tried for a particular crime and the jury cannot arrive at a verdict,that person cannot be tried again for the same crime.
C)Once a person has been tried for a particular crime and there is a mistrial,that person cannot be tried again for the same crime.
D)Once a person has been tried for a crime and convicted,that person can be tried for that crime again in another state where he or she has broken the same law.
E)Two people who commit the same crime cannot be charged at the same time without having a lawyer present.

Question 38

Under a U.S.Supreme Court decision in June 2008,terror detainees at Guantanamo Bay,Cuba,

A)cannot appeal their convictions to military courts.
B)do not have a right to the constitutional privilege of habeas corpus.
C)cannot appeal their cases to the federal courts.
D)must be appointed legal counsel under the Sixth Amendment.
E)possess the constitutional privilege of habeas corpus.

Question 39

Which amendment prohibits the use of cruel and unusual punishment?

A)The Fifth Amendment
B)The Fourth Amendment
C)The Eighth Amendment
D)The Sixth Amendment
E)The First Amendment

Question 40

In Katz v.United States,the Supreme Court determined that individuals' right to protection from unreasonable searches and seizures

A)does not pertain to those engaged in abstract advocacy of overthrowing the government.
B)is absolute.
C)must yield to important law enforcement interests.
D)does not apply to criminal suspects.
E)extends to places where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Question 41

Prior restraint includes censuring material before it is published.

Question 42

Expressing an opinion that holds an individual up to public ridicule and contempt can be the basis for a successful defamation lawsuit.

Question 43

The right to counsel applies in misdemeanor cases in which a person might be imprisoned.

Question 44

Grand juries return indictments in only 10 percent of the cases that they hear.

Question 45

A police officer may conduct a stop without a search warrant and frisk a person who is acting suspiciously.

Question 46

If a federal jury cannot arrive at a verdict and there is a mistrial,the accused can be tried for that same offense again without violating the Constitution.

Question 47

Commercial speech is afforded less protection than other types of speech.

Question 48

A grand jury may render a verdict of guilty or not guilty.

Question 49

The First Amendment gives television stations the right to have cameras in courtrooms.

Question 50

Enemy combatants held at Guantanamo Bay,Cuba,possess the constitutional privilege of habeas corpus.

Question 51

Barack Obama has closed the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba and transferred the few remaining detainees to Fort Bragg,North Carolina,to face civilian tribunals.

Question 52

The Miranda rules require that a person be informed of his or her protection against self-incrimination and right to an attorney.

Question 53

The examination of prospective jurors is the principal means by which the goal of impartiality is sought.

Question 54

The Supreme Court has invalidated death penalty statutes in those states where it has been shown to disproportionately affect minorities.

Question 55

The Supreme Court has ruled that the government can engage in prior restraint of all classified documents.