Deck 8: the Judiciary

Question 1

In the Fletcher v.Peck case the Supreme Court ____________________.

A) first declared a federal law invalid under the U.S. Constitution
B) first declared a state law invalid under the U.S. Constitution
C) set precedents for defining the appropriate powers of Congress to regulate commerce
D) first asserted its supremacy over state courts
E) ruled that a Montana law banning corporate and union campaign contributions violated the interpretation of federal law given in Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which constitutional provision establishes the federal judiciary?

A) Article I
B) Article II
C) Article III
D) Article IV
E) Article V

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Courts' ability to enforce contracts may create incentives for two parties to uphold an agreement when they otherwise would have preferred to defect.By doing so,courts prevent the contracting parties from facing a/an _________________________.

A) principal-agent problem
B) coordination problem
C) Prisoner's Dilemma
D) unstable coalition
E) collective-action problem

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Federal courts are sometimes called upon to decide whether,in a given circumstance,it is appropriate to overturn state courts' decisions.Generally ____________________.

A) federal courts would rather overturn state court decisions because of federal court supremacy provision
B) federal courts would rather defer to the state courts if the matter is internal to the states and does not obviously violate national law
C) federal courts would rather defer to the state courts if the matter is internal to the states despite violating national law
D) federal courts cannot overturn state court decisions because of the confederal court supremacy provision
E) federal courts would rather defer to the state courts if the matter is external to the states and does not obviously violate state law

Question 5

What is the least democratic branch of the American national government?

A) the House of Representatives
B) the Senate
C) the Presidency
D) the Supreme Court
E) the Bureaucracy

Question 6

____________________ is the authority of courts to decide whether a law or government action is constitutionally permissible.

A) Judicial review
B) Judicial restraint
C) Judicial activism
D) Judicial independence
E) Veto power

Question 7

In the Marbury v.Madison case the Supreme Court ____________________.

A) first declared a federal law invalid under the U.S. Constitution
B) first declared a state law invalid under the U.S. Constitution
C) set precedents for defining the appropriate powers of Congress to regulate commerce
D) first asserted its supremacy over state courts
E) ruled that a Montana law banning corporate and union campaign contributions violated the interpretation of federal law given in Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

Question 8

How many justices currently sit on the Supreme Court?

A) 5
B) 7
C) 9
D) 11
E) 13

Question 9

The courts are centrally important in democratic societies.The U.S.Constitution ____________________.

A) devotes multiple articles explaining the role of the judicial branch
B) never mentions the judicial branch
C) says that the judicial branch is to be part of Congress
D) says remarkably little about the role of the judicial branch
E) forbids the creation of a judicial branch; however, the Marbury v. Madison decision allowed for the creation of this branch of government

Question 10

Which institution must give "advice and consent" to presidential appointments to the federal judiciary under the terms of the U.S.Constitution?

A) Supreme Court
B) Senate
C) House of Representatives
D) American Bar Association
E) Judicial Conference of the United States

Question 11

By providing and enforcing an authoritative interpretation of the Constitution and federal laws,the federal courts help resolve ____________________ that arise when lower level governments act under different interpretations of the law.

A) principal-agent problems
B) coordination problems
C) Prisoner's Dilemmas
D) unstable coalitions
E) collective-action problems

Question 12

Which of the following provisions is NOT found in Article III of the U.S.Constitution?

A) Judicial power shall be ?Òvested?1Ó in the federal courts.
B) The Supreme Court is the head of the federal courts.
C) Supreme Court justices and lower-court judges are appointed and can hold their offices contingent upon good behavior.
D) The salaries of Supreme Court justices and lower-court judges cannot be reduced while they are in office.
E) The Supreme Court and lower-courts have the power of judicial review, the power to determine if a law or an act of government conforms to the Constitution

Question 13

What is necessary for the rule of law to be beneficial to society?

A) Judges must follow the legal model of judicial decision making.
B) People must have faith that the courts will be unbiased and rule fairly based on the law.
C) Courts must decide in favor of one side or the other in a case because of that side's political support for particular judges.
D) Judges must be strict constructionists.
E) People must be able to elect judges that best represent the public good.

Question 14

In most modern democracies,the judiciary is independent of the elected branches and serves to check the authority of the government.By "independent" we mean ____________________.

A) the courts are free to decide cases on their merits, with limited or no pressure from public opinion
B) the courts are free to decide cases on their merits, with limited or no pressure from lobbyists
C) the courts are free to decide cases on their merits, with limited or no pressure from the legislative or executive branches
D) the courts are free to decide cases on their merits, with limited or no pressure from bureaucratic agencies
E) the courts are free to decide cases on their merits, with limited or no pressure from lower level courts

Question 15

The "switch in time that saved nine" refers to ____________________.

A) a change in the ideological direction of the Supreme Court decisions in response to a proposal by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to expand the size of the Supreme Court
B) a change in the makeup of the Supreme Court proposed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that expanded the court from seven to nine members
C) a change of heart by President Franklin D. Roosevelt regarding his proposed court-packing plan
D) President Franklin D. Roosevelt's plan to expand the size of the court to 15 justices to change the Court's composition so that it would be more sympathetic to his policies
E) Congress's reaction to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's court-packing plan

Question 16

Suppose Bob agrees to sell his car to Mary for $5,000.They draw up a contract stating that Mary will pay Bob the money on May 1 and that Bob will give the car to Mary on May 2.In the absence of a court of law,Bob might be tempted to "defect" from the agreement by taking Mary's money and then denying her possession of the car.A court,however,enables Mary to sue Bob if he does not honor his obligations under the contract.The relationship between Bob and Mary is a type of ____________________.

A) collective-action problem
B) coordination problem
C) Prisoner's Dilemma
D) unstable coalition
E) principle-agent problem

Question 17

Article VI of the Constitution declares that all laws of the United States,and the Constitution itself,shall be ____________________.

A) "the supreme Law of the Land"
B) "the sole Law of the Land"
C) "the official Law of the Land"
D) "the standing Law of the Land"
E) "the secondary Law of the Land"

Question 18

The constitutional requirements of presidential appointment and senatorial advice and consent for federal judges are examples of ____________________.

A) federalism
B) the separation of powers
C) checks and balances
D) bureaucracies
E) bicameralism

Question 19

The Supreme Court has an aura of invincibility and independence,of being "above" politics,because ____________________.

A) Justices are appointed for life rather than being elected, and their decisions are not formally accountable to either the voters or the other branches of government
B) Court decisions have enormous political consequences and the courts are often subject to strong political pressures
C) the Court is critical for solving certain kinds of collective dilemmas and allowing for productive interactions among people
D) the Court coordinates people's interpretations of the law and the actions they take as a result
E) Justices' decisions are determined by the facts of the case at hand in conjunction with the plain meaning of the relevant and constitutional provisions, the intent of the framers of the Constitution, and legal precedent

Question 20

United States Supreme Court Justices are ____________________ for ____________________.

A) elected; six-year terms
B) elected; four-year terms
C) elected; life (conditional on good behavior)
D) appointed; six-year terms
E) appointed; life (conditional on good behavior)

Question 21

____________________ is the official status of a litigant who is entitled to have his or her case decided by a court.

A) Certification
B) Indemnity
C) Standing
D) Privilege
E) Merit

Question 22

Why is the Supreme Court referred to as the court of last resort?

A) There can be no further legal appeals after a hearing at this level.
B) It is better to have your decision settled at a lower court; going to the Supreme Court is an undesirable outcome.
C) Supreme Court Justices tend to be less sympathetic to the plight of defendants than lower-court judges and thus you are more likely to win your case at a lower level.
D) It rarely settles political disputes between the states and national government effectively, thus it is better to have a political case tried in a lower-level court.
E) Like in the Bush v. Gore decision, the Supreme Court rarely settles political disputes between major political parties or candidates in the way the public prefers.

Question 23

How many votes are required for the Supreme Court to grant certiorari?

A) three
B) four
C) five
D) six
E) seven

Question 24

Which institution determines which cases will be heard by the Supreme Court?

A) Supreme Court
B) Senate Judiciary Committee
C) Department of Justice
D) American Bar Association
E) Federal Judicial Center

Question 25

Which is a system of jurisprudence in which courts have the authority to determine how laws are interpreted?

A) common law
B) interpretive law
C) natural law
D) fundamental law
E) civil law

Question 26

What is the standard of proof in a civil case?

A) Judges or juries merely decide which party's side is better supported by the evidence.
B) A judge or jury must find a defendant innocent unless the evidence shows that she or he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
C) Judges or juries must find a defendant guilty unless the evidence shows that she or he is clearly innocent of the crime.
D) A judge or jury merely decides whether the defendant seems to be guilty of the crime.
E) Judges or juries must find a defendant innocent unless there is some incriminating evidence.

Question 27

The Supreme Court does not typically hear appeals for cases in which the issue is ____________________,that is,for cases in which a decision would have no effect for the parties involved in the dispute.

A) meaningless
B) moot
C) mirandized
D) marginal
E) mortal

Question 28

Currently,there are 13 federal ____________________,which act as intermediate courts of appeals in the federal judiciary.

A) circuit courts
B) district courts
C) courts of last resort
D) civil courts
E) administrative magistrates

Question 29

The standard of proof in a criminal case at any level,except for military tribunals,is ____________________.

A) judges or juries merely decide which party's side is better supported by the evidence
B) a judge or jury must find a defendant innocent unless the evidence shows that she or he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt
C) judges or juries must find a defendant guilty unless the evidence shows that she or he is clearly innocent of the crime
D) a judge or jury merely decides whether the defendant seems to be guilty of the crime
E) judges or juries must find a defendant innocent unless there is some incriminating evidence

Question 30

In 2004,the Supreme Court dismissed a First Amendment challenge to a California public school's leading students in the Pledge of Allegiance since the individual who filed the lawsuit was not the custodial parent of a child in the school and,therefore,was not entitled to have his complaint decided by a federal court.In essence,the case was dismissed due to the parent's lack of ____________________.

A) certiorari
B) authority
C) mootness
D) standing
E) justiciability

Question 31

In most states,judicial elections are nonpartisan.What does this mean?

A) Judges or prosecutors follow the legal model and do not affiliate with a political party.
B) Judges and prosecutors follow the legal model and run unbiased elections.
C) Judges and prosecutors do not indicate on the ballot their political party affiliation.
D) Judges and prosecutors promise to avoid partisan politics if elected to office.
E) Judges and prosecutors follow the attitudinal model but do not indicate on the ballot their political party affiliation.

Question 32

Nearly all felonies,such as murder,rape,robbery,burglary,and car theft are prosecuted at the ____________________ level.Felonies related to drug offenses have increasingly been heard by ____________________ courts.

A) federal; state
B) national; state
C) national; federal
D) state; federal
E) state; local

Question 33

Which is a system of jurisprudence in which laws are interpreted according to authoritative documents created by legislatures and/or executives?

A) common law
B) interpretive law
C) natural law
D) fundamental law
E) civil law

Question 34

____________________ cases involve the government prosecuting a person for a crime against society,while ____________________ cases involve one person suing another person for violating the civil code of conduct.

A) Civil; criminal
B) Criminal; civil
C) Criminal; social
D) Civil; social
E) Criminal; non-criminal

Question 35

Which is a lawsuit in which the plaintiff is a group of individuals pressing a common claim?

A) plural suit
B) class action
C) primary action
D) collective suit
E) multiple suit

Question 36

The principle of stare decisis requires that judges make decisions in accordance with ____________________.

A) the Constitution
B) international law
C) United Nations declarations
D) prior decisions of their courts
E) advisory opinions from attorneys general

Question 37

A distinctive feature of state courts in the United States,which sets them apart from the federal courts and from most courts around the world,is ____________________.

A) a sizable proportion of their judges and prosecutors are elected by voters, rather than appointed by elected officials
B) a sizable proportion of their judges and prosecutors are appointed by elected officials, rather than elected by voters
C) their judges are elected by voters, while their prosecutors are appointed by elected officials
D) their prosecutors are elected by voters, while their judges are appointed by elected officials
E) a sizable proportion of their judges and prosecutors are appointed by the Supreme Court

Question 38

Which norm of judicial behavior is most closely related to the common law system in the United States?

A) judicial restraint
B) stare decisis
C) judicial activism
D) caveat emptor
E) de lege lata

Question 39

Each state has its own hierarchy of courts.At the bottom level are ____________________.In the middle are ____________________.And at the top of the hierarchy are the ____________________.

A) state trial courts; state appellate courts; court of last resort/state supreme court
B) state appellate courts; state trial courts; court of last resort/state supreme court
C) court of last resort/state supreme court; state trial courts; state appellate courts
D) court of last resort/state supreme court; state appellate courts; state trial courts
E) state tribunal courts; state appellate courts; court of last resort/state supreme court

Question 40

In Brown v.Board of Education,the Supreme Court invalidated the "separate but equal"doctrine articulated in its 1896 decision in Plessy v.Ferguson.The Court's decision in Brown was,therefore,a violation of ____________________.

A) Certiorari
B) class action
C) civil law
D) stare decisis
E) fundamental rights

Question 41

A student suspended from a public school for wearing a T-shirt promoting drug use appeals her suspension to a federal district court on First Amendment grounds.The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)files a brief with the court in support of the student's appeal.In this case,the ACLU is a/an ____________________.

A) petitioner
B) defendant
C) respondent
D) amicus curiae
E) plaintiff

Question 42

A Supreme Court justice who votes strategically to join a majority to control the opinion assignment process for a given case is acting in accord with the ____________________ of judicial behavior.

A) attitudinal model
B) rational choice model
C) extralegal model
D) legal model
E) objectivist model

Question 43

In the early twentieth century,Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote several historic ____________________ in which he disagreed with the majority,laying the groundwork for expanding freedom of speech in later Court majority decisions.

A) concurrences
B) debates
C) dissents
D) ancillaries
E) advisories

Question 44

Judges said to exercise ?Òjudicial restraint?1Ó and not enter into the policy-making process,are most likely ____________________.

A) naturalists
B) pragmatists
C) judicial activists
D) strict constructionists
E) textualists

Question 45

Which model of judicial behavior reflects the idea that judges decide cases based on the objective application of legal rules to the facts presented to the court?

A) attitudinal model
B) rational choice model
C) extralegal model
D) legal model
E) objectivist model

Question 46

Compare and contrast the legal,attitudinal,and strategic models of judicial behavior.Identify and explain the models.What assumptions do they make about judges' values and preferences? What implications does each set of assumptions have for how judges are understood to decide cases? Which model is,in your opinion,the most accurate representation of the behavior of judges? Explain your answer.

Question 47

Explain the importance of the Marbury v.Madison Supreme Court decision.What were the facts of the case? What legal and constitutional issues did it present? How was the case decided by the Supreme Court? Why was this result significant? How did this result relate to the long-term political development of judicial power in the United States?

Question 48

A/an ____________________ is an individual or organization that is not party to a given case that submits a brief to a court in support of one side or another in pending litigation.

A) amicus curiae
B) stare decisis
C) Certiorari
D) caveat emptor
E) de lege lata

Question 49

Historically,strict constructionists have tended to be ideologically ____________________,while judicial activists have tended to be ideologically ____________________.

A) liberal; conservative
B) conservative; liberal
C) conservative; moderate
D) moderate; conservative
E) moderate; liberal

Question 50

What provision or provisions of the U.S.Constitution establish and empower the federal judiciary? What important institutions and grants of authority are explicitly defined in the Constitution? What aspects or practices of federal judicial power are not explicitly supported by the Constitution's text? To what extent is the practice of judicial power in the United States consistent with the intents of the Constitution's framers?

Question 51

Compare the method of selecting federal judges with judicial selection methods used in the American states and with those used in other countries.Which system or systems promote the greatest democratic accountability? Which systems promote the greatest judicial independence? Should the U.S.Constitution be amended to alter the method of selecting federal judges? If so,which alternative systems would you propose to replace the current one? Why? If not,why is the current system favorable to the alternatives?

Question 52

Which model of judicial behavior reflects the idea that judges decide cases on the basis of their personal policy preferences?

A) attitudinal model
B) rational choice model
C) extralegal model
D) legal model
E) objectivist model

Question 53

Judges who examine how the law as written should be applied to contemporary affairs are ____________________.

A) strict constructionists
B) texualists
C) judicial activists
D) pragmatists
E) naturalists

Question 54

In the Escola v.Coca-Cola Bottling Co.(1944)California Supreme Court case,Justice Roger Traynor was a member of the majority,but wrote an opinion arguing that rather than deciding the case on grounds of negligence,a rule of strict liability should be imposed on manufacturers whose products cause injury to consumers.This is an example of a ____________________.

A) majority opinion
B) dissenting opinion
C) concurring opinion
D) advisory option
E) ancillary opinion

Question 55

Which legal philosophy prescribes that judges should use the intentions of those who wrote the law or the Constitution as guides for how to interpret the law?

A) textualism
B) strict constructivism
C) judicial activism
D) pragmatism
E) naturalism

Question 56

Chief Justice John Roberts commented that a judge's job is like that of a baseball umpire who calls balls and strikes-that is,to decide neutrally based on how one sees the facts.This is an example of the ____________________ model of judicial behavior.

A) attitudinal model
B) rational choice model
C) extralegal model
D) legal model
E) objectivist model

Question 57

The pattern of partisan voting among Supreme Court justices in the case of Bush v.Gore-with the Democratic justices supporting Gore's position and the Republican justices supporting Bush's-is most consistent with the ____________________ model of judicial behavior.

A) attitudinal
B) rational choice
C) textualist
D) legal
E) objectivist

Question 58

Which is an opinion written by a member of the majority of the Supreme Court in a given case that offers alternative legal reasoning for reaching the same result in the case?

A) majority opinion
B) dissenting opinion
C) concurring opinion
D) advisory opinion
E) ancillary opinion

Question 59

Which model of judicial behavior reflects the idea that judges decide cases based on their strategic assessments of the likely behavior of other judges,political institutions,and the public?

A) attitudinal model
B) rational choice model
C) extralegal model
D) legal model
E) objectivist model

Question 60

Which is an opinion written by a member of the Supreme Court offering legal reasons why the Court's majority erred in its resolution of a case?

A) majority opinion
B) dissenting opinion
C) concurring opinion
D) advisory opinion
E) ancillary opinion

Question 61

What is the legal principle of stare decisis? Why is it important in a common law system? Why is stare decisis somewhat less important in a civil law system? Are federal courts strictly bound by stare decisis? What might be the cost or downside of making stare decisis mandatory? What might be the cost or downside of eliminating the principle of stare decisis?