Deck 1: Law, Courts, and Politics

Question 1

Social, economic and political forces influence:

A) all aspects of the legal system
B) lawmakers
C) law interpreters
D) law consumers

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Lawyers are primarily involved in:

A) consuming the law
B) interpreting the law
C) making the law
D) cheating the law

Answer 2

B

Question 3

S. courts are both legal and political institutions.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The outer ring of the legal system includes:

A) lawyers
B) judges
C) victims
D) courts

Question 5

Political scientists believe not enough emphasis is placed on the judiciary being distinctive.

Question 6

Examples of social policies that involve the courts include:

A) racial segregation in public schools
B) the application of the death penalty
C) excessive jury verdicts
D) a and b
E) a, b, and c

Question 7

In the context of law, politics is best understood as:

A) partisan affairs
B) undue personal influence
C) the authoritative allocation of values
D) corruption

Question 8

Courts decide disputes based on:

A) law
B) balancing interests
B) politics
C) a whim

Question 9

Are courts political or legal institutions, or both? Explain your answer.

Question 10

A decreasing number of controversial issues are being brought to the American judiciary.

Question 11

One of the ways in which courts are the same as other branches of government is that they:

A) are required to act
B) engage in discretion
C) must follow Tocqueville procedures
D) are always responsive to public opinion

Question 12

How do courts interact with the other institutions of government?

Question 13

Political science is:

A) the philosophy of government and politics
B) the Congress, the president and the judiciary
C) the systematic study of government and politics
D) how government and politics are the same

Question 14

Courts are passive institutions.

Question 15

The term "legal system" refers to the:

A) Senate Judicial Affairs Committee
B) power of judges to rule laws unconstitutional
C) importance of original intent
D) the many governmental institutions that address legal rules

Question 16

Law is often the best starting point for explaining what courts do.

Question 17

Law is:

A) rules enacted by public officials
B) the study of jurisprudence
C) rules enacted by civic associations
D) a and b

Question 18

Define politics and explain why knowing a definition of politics is important for understanding our judicial system?

Question 19

Lawyers are part of which ring of the legal system?

A) inner ring
B) middle ring
C) outer ring
D) environment

Question 20

One of the ways in which courts differ from other branches of government is that courts:

A) have the ability to set their own agenda
B) can refuse to act
C) are passive
D) are very responsive to public opinion

Question 21

Provide three examples of how discretion is a key element of court decisions.