Deck 4: Civil Liberties

Question 1

In its 2010 McDonald v. Chicago decision about the Second Amendment, the Supreme Court ruled that

A) states must enact "duty to retreat" laws.
B) the Second Amendment does not entitle law-abiding citizens to own a firearm.
C) the Second Amendment is incorporated under the Fourteenth Amendment.
D) only the national government can pass laws regulating firearms.
E) state and local governments cannot pass laws regulating firearms.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In which year did the Supreme Court actually begin the process of incorporation?

A) 1833
B) 1868
C) 1925
D) 1937
E) 1954

Answer 2

C

Question 3

During the Civil War, which legal right did President Abraham Lincoln suspend as a means of silencing political dissidents?

A) access to legal counsel
B) the writ of habeas corpus
C) access to early release and parole
D) foreign residency status
E) the right of assembly

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which concept argues that true and free political discourse requires a forum for free and unrestrained political discussion?

A) confederalism
B) divine right theory
C) marketplace of ideas
D) horizontal federalism
E) intergovernmental relations

Question 5

Which of the following protects an individual from being held in custody without the right to be heard in a court of law?

A) right to privacy
B) First Amendment right
C) rendition
D) habeas corpus
E) double jeopardy

Question 6

Which type of law gives a gun owner the most freedom to legally shoot another person?

A) Stand Your Ground
B) Duty to Retreat
C) Castle Doctrine
D) Stand Your Ground and Duty to Retreat both confer the same amount of freedom.
E) Stand Your Ground and the Castle Doctrine both confer the same amount of freedom.

Question 7

The conflict between the Constitution's competing goals of protecting freedom and ensuring order is most evident in which of the following?

A) Alien and Sedition Acts
B) habeas corpus
C) Griswold v. Connecticut
D) double jeopardy
E) total incorporation

Question 8

Which of the following constitutional amendments focuses on the rights reserved to the people?

A) Second Amendment
B) Fourth Amendment
C) Sixth Amendment
D) Eighth Amendment
E) Ninth Amendment

Question 9

Stand Your Ground laws are being debated because

A) of the shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2012.
B) of the shooting death of Jordan Davis.
C) it can be argued that one perception of threat may be different than another.
D) these laws may result in the deaths of innocent people.
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 10

Which constitutional amendment specifically places limits on Congress?

A) First Amendment
B) Third Amendment
C) Fifth Amendment
D) Seventh Amendment
E) Eighth Amendment

Question 11

Which of the following Bill of Rights protections has/have NOT been extended to the state level?

A) prohibition of quartering of soldiers in citizens' homes
B) a provision for a grand jury indictment in criminal cases
C) provision of a jury in a civil trial
D) freedom of worship
E) prohibition of quartering of soldiers in citizens' homes, right to a grand jury indictment in criminal cases, and right to a jury in a civil trial

Question 12

Which of the following forms of opinion-based communication is/are protected by the Constitution?

A) political participation
B) blogs and e-mail
C) rallies and speeches
D) letters and pamphlets
E) blogs and e-mail, letters and pamphlets, and rallies and speeches

Question 13

The Supreme Court has selectively incorporated some of the Bill of Rights and applied them to state action through the

A) First Amendment.
B) Second Amendment.
C) Fifth Amendment.
D) Thirteenth Amendment.
E) Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 14

Which city's gun control laws were overturned in a 2008 Supreme Court decision that hinged on an interpretation of the Second Amendment?

A) New York, NY
B) Newark, NJ
C) Philadelphia, PA
D) Atlanta, GA
E) Washington, D.C

Question 15

Which means of political expression is guaranteed under the Constitution?

A) speech
B) assembly
C) petition
D) the press
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 16

A legal safeguard that prevents the government from arbitrarily depriving citizens of life, liberty, or property is a

A) First Amendment right.
B) habeas corpus.
C) bill of rights.
D) Second Amendment right.
E) due process protection.

Question 17

Which of the following pairs of terms are considered interchangeable?

A) interstate compacts and extraditions
B) enumerated powers and implied powers
C) civil rights and civil liberties
D) liberties and freedoms
E) horizontal federalism and conflicted federalism

Question 18

The first ________ amendments to the Constitution explicitly limited the power of legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the national government.

A) seven
B) nine
C) ten
D) twelve
E) fifteen

Question 19

Which level or levels of government did the framers of the Constitution seek to restrict in power with the Bill of Rights?

A) national government
B) state government
C) local government
D) national and state government
E) national, state, and local government

Question 20

The freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights are

A) incontrovertible.
B) broad principles.
C) easily interpreted.
D) specific rules.
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 21

Which of the following are permissible in public schools?

A) banning the teaching of evolution
B) requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments
C) requiring all students to say the Pledge of Allegiance
D) official graduation ceremony prayers
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 22

Which of the following was most important in the Supreme Court's shift from the clear and probable danger test to the imminent lawless action test?

A) the declining fear of a communist overthrow of the United States
B) the fact that the United States was not engaged in a major war in Europe
C) a large increase in public support for unlimited freedom of expression
D) direct pressure from the president of the United States
E) a more nuanced examination of what the Founding Fathers thought about freedom of speech

Question 23

Which case saw the Supreme Court rule against formalized prayer in schools?

A) Virginia v. Black
B) Engel v. Vitale
C) Loving v. Virginia
D) Lemon v. Kurtzman
E) Griswold v. Connecticut

Question 24

In 1973 the Supreme Court developed a test by which a book, film, or other form of expression would be considered legally obscene. Which of the following was among the measures of that test?

A) The work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, a form of sexual conduct specifically prohibited by an antiobscenity law.
B) The average person, applying historical standards, finds specific aspects of the work to appeal to the prurient interest.
C) The work has a verifiable history of having inspired additional works of an obscene nature or demands, in some manner, that obscenities be created.
D) The work's literary, artistic, political, or scientific value can be shown to be against the common good.
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 25

What do the religion clauses of the First Amendment achieve?

A) bar the government from establishing a national religion
B) bar the government from favoring one religious group over another
C) ensure that individuals are not hindered in exercising their religion
D) bar the practicing of religion on public property
E) bar the government from establishing a national religion, from favoring one group over another, and from interfering with individual religious practices

Question 26

Which legal case concerned the burning of the American flag and led to a series of legal challenges?

A) Dennis v. United States
B) Gitlow v. New York
C) Texas v. Johnson
D) Brandenburg v. Ohio
E) Tinker v. Des Moines

Question 27

________ established the bad tendency test, which made it easier to punish citizens for speech content.

A) Gitlow v. New York
B) United States v. Lopez
C) Schenck v. United States
D) Lochner v. Ellison
E) Marbury v. Madison

Question 28

Which case saw the Supreme Court develop a three-part test to legally define obscenity, or indecent or offensive speech?

A) Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire
B) Dennis v. United States
C) Virginia v. Black
D) Miller v. California
E) United States v. O'Brien

Question 29

All of these groups tend to be involved in cases that involve the free exercise clause EXCEPT

A) Mormons.
B) Jehovah's Witnesses.
C) the Roman Catholic Church.
D) the Amish.
E) Christian Scientists.

Question 30

Spoken words that are known to be false and harmful to a person's reputation are an example of

A) obscenity.
B) slander.
C) libel.
D) fighting words.
E) slander and fighting words.

Question 31

False written statements that harm the reputation of another person are known as

A) obscenity.
B) slander.
C) libel.
D) fighting words.
E) slander and fighting words.

Question 32

According to the Lemon test, for a state law to not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment, it must

A) give equal time to the value of all major world religions.
B) not entangle the government excessively in religion.
C) have the enhancement of religion as its major goal.
D) not have any substantial secular purpose.
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 33

A city ordinance that prohibits the use of bullhorns after midnight in residential neighborhoods would be

A) an unconstitutional prohibition of the freedom of assembly.
B) constitutional as long as it did not apply to protest speech.
C) unconstitutional, unless it dealt specifically with fighting words.
D) constitutional as long as it was content neutral.
E) a matter of state and local law, not subject to the federal Constitution.

Question 34

The principle of prior restraint, established in the case of Near v. Minnesota, relates to

A) freedom of speech.
B) libel.
C) slander.
D) freedom of assembly.
E) censorship.

Question 35

Most Americans believe in ________ between religious organizations and the government.

A) complete separation
B) some degree of separation
C) minor connections
D) major connections
E) a permanent supportive relationship

Question 36

Which case saw the Supreme Court rule against the subsidization of parochial schools through cigarette taxes?

A) Virginia v. Black
B) United States v. O'Brien
C) Loving v. Virginia
D) Lemon v. Kurtzman
E) Griswold v. Connecticut

Question 37

Which piece of legislation barred individuals from advocating or teaching the overthrow of the United States?

A) Alien and Sedition Acts
B) Morrell Act
C) Smith Act
D) USA PATRIOT Act
E) Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

Question 38

Which 1969 legal case marked a reversal of the Supreme Court's traditional position and also saw the establishment of the imminent lawless action test?

A) Dennis v. United States
B) Gitlow v. New York
C) Schenck v. United States
D) United States v. Lopez
E) Brandenburg v. Ohio

Question 39

Picketing, flag burning, or wearing an armband are all examples of

A) pure speech.
B) symbolic speech.
C) commercial speech.
D) unprotected speech.
E) political speech.

Question 40

Which legal case established the clear and present danger test in relation to free speech?

A) Gitlow v. New York
B) United States v. Lopez
C) Schenck v. United States
D) Lochner v. Ellison
E) Marbury v. Madison

Question 41

Miranda v. Arizona legally established which of the following personal liberties?

A) protection against cruel and unusual punishment
B) protection against harassment and persecution
C) the right to counsel and information on charges against oneself
D) protection against unlawful detention or imprisonment without charge
E) protection against unlawful search and seizure

Question 42

Which four amendments are known together as criminal due process rights?

A) Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh
B) Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth
C) Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Tenth
D) Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth
E) Sixth, Eighth, Tenth, and Fourteenth

Question 43

What did the Supreme Court rule in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby with regard to the Affordable Care Act's requirement that family-owned corporations pay for insurance coverage of birth control for employees?

A) The requirement burdened the religious liberty of the companies in the case.
B) The Affordable Care Act was wholly unconstitutional.
C) Companies must provide access to birth control.
D) Religion and commercial activity cannot be linked together.
E) The requirement was not a burden on the religious liberty of the companies in the case.

Question 44

Which organization showed its criticism of the government's recent domestic surveillance program by filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the 2008 FISA Amendment Act, which increased the federal government's warrantless surveillance abilities?

A) Anti-Defamation League
B) American Civil Liberties Union
C) Amnesty International
D) Human Rights Watch
E) Citizens Against Warrantless Surveillance

Question 45

The Supreme Court has ruled that the right to refuse further medical treatment that could prolong a life is

A) not one found in the Constitution.
B) is available to an individual competent to make such a decision.
C) up to each individual state to determine.
D) a right that can be exercised by any doctor, relative, or friend of a sick person.
E) only permissible with a court order from a state or federal judge.

Question 46

In 1878 the Supreme Court upheld what type or types of capital punishment method in Utah?

A) lethal injection
B) hanging
C) electrocution
D) firing squad
E) lethal injection and electrocution

Question 47

Since September 11, 2001, the federal government's powers of surveillance and observance have

A) grown significantly.
B) grown marginally.
C) stayed the same.
D) declined marginally.
E) declined significantly.

Question 48

Which case, decided in 1965, first firmly established the right to privacy?

A) Griswold v. Connecticut
B) Employment Division, Department of Human Resources v. Smith
C) Lemon v. Kurtzman
D) Loving v. Virginia
E) Engel v. Vitale

Question 49

In which of the following places has the Court ruled that there is no expectation of privacy?

A) private homes
B) cars and one's trash
C) hotels
D) parks and stores
E) cars and one's trash, and parks and stores

Question 50

The recent development of online networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube has civil libertarians worried about the easy accessibility of people's ________ history.

A) financial
B) personal
C) employment
D) legal
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 51

Which 1972 legal case saw the Supreme Court suspend the use of the death penalty?

A) Miranda v. Arizona
B) Furman v. Georgia
C) Baze v. Rees
D) Miller v. California
E) Mapp v. Ohio

Question 52

Which 1961 decision extended exclusionary rules of search and seizure to state court proceedings?

A) Griswold v. Connecticut
B) Engel v. Vitale
C) Employment Division, Department of Human Resources v. Smith
D) Mapp v. Ohio
E) Miranda v. Arizona

Question 53

Following September 11, 2001, the ________ has/have been accused by the media and civil liberties groups of spying on Americans without their knowledge or judicial authorization.

A) National Security Agency
B) Federal Bureau of Investigation
C) Central Intelligence Agency
D) Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
E) National Security Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Question 54

Since the ________, the U.S. Supreme Court has expanded the situations in which there is no reasonable expectation of privacy and thus no need for a search warrant.

A) 1950s
B) 1960s
C) 1970s
D) 1980s
E) 1990s

Question 55

After the ruling on Employment Division, Department of Human Resources v. Smith, members of which church were excluded from several states' controlled-substance laws?

A) Mormons
B) the Native American Church
C) Roman Catholic Church
D) the Amish
E) Christian Scientists

Question 56

Which year saw the passage of Roe v. Wade, which first established abortion rights in the United States?

A) 1962
B) 1963
C) 1971
D) 1973
E) 1978

Question 57

The right to privacy

A) is explicitly mentioned in Article IV of the Constitution.
B) is explicitly mentioned in the Bill of Rights.
C) was first affirmed by the Supreme Court in 1925.
D) is inherent in many of the other constitutional guarantees.
E) has been, overall, quite easy for the Supreme Court to interpret.

Question 58

Which piece of legislation passed in 2007 legally empowers the NSA to wiretap any communications that begin or end in a foreign country?

A) Protect America Act
B) USA PATRIOT Act
C) FISA Amendment Act
D) Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
E) NSA Empowerment Act

Question 59

Which of the following religious affiliations has the greatest number of adherents in the United States?

A) Catholic
B) Protestant
C) Mormon
D) Jewish
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 60

The Fifth Amendment establishes

A) freedom of speech.
B) freedom of assembly.
C) protection against search and seizure.
D) protection against compelled self-incrimination.
E) the right to counsel.

Question 61

Discuss the creation of the clear and present danger test, and explain the government powers established under this standard.

Question 62

Outline and explain key features of the three interpretations of the establishment clause.

Question 63

Which piece of legislation renewed expired elements of the USA PATRIOT Act until 2019?

A) Protect America Act
B) Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
C) Affordable Care Act
D) USA Freedom Act
E) USA PATRIOT Act II

Question 64

Compare and contrast the Court's interpretations and treatments of symbolic and commercial speech.

Question 65

Identify the reasons the Anti-Federalists argued for a separate, written bill of rights.

Question 66

The use of body cameras for police officers has become a widely used policy as a response to which of the following?

A) public outcry against perceived unjustified killings of civilians
B) the Black Lives Matter movement
C) cell phone videos made public over social media
D) a perceived disproportionate pattern of officers killing persons of color
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 67

Explain and discuss the difference between civil liberties and civil rights.

Question 68

Identify and discuss the impact of time, place, and manner restrictions on freedom of assembly and political expression.

Question 69

Discuss the implications of Griswold v. Connecticut for the Court's interpretation of privacy rights.

Question 70

Outline the course of public discussion on the balance between freedom and public safety since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Question 71

Identify important features of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments.

Question 72

Define selective incorporation and discuss its historical development.