Deck 7: Constitutional Protections of Civil Rights and Liberties

Question 1

The Supreme Court held that an individual cannot be sentenced to death when the death penalty in existence at the time the crime was committed is declared unconstitutional, even if a subsequent constitutional death penalty is enacted prior to the individual's conviction and sentencing.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

In the case of Plessy v.Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that

A)segregation was lawful as long as separate facilities were equal.
B)the practice of segregation was unconstitutional.
C)segregation was lawful under any circumstance.
D)segregation was unlawful, but only in schools.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The Supreme Court has held that a law restricting welfare benefits to individuals who resided in the state for less than one year violates the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Constitution.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In the Slaughter-House Cases, the Court held that the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment did not incorporate any of the Bill of Rights.

Question 5

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

A)was held constitutional as an exercise of congressional power to regulate interstate commerce.
B)was held constitutional as an exercise of congressional power under the Reconstruction Amendments.
C)applies only to state conduct.
D)was held unconstitutional.

Question 6

The case of Brown v.Board of Education outlawed school segregation.

Question 7

A law providing that property taxes are based on purchase price, thus resulting in situations where two people owning identical homes pay substantially different property taxes

A)violates the Equal Protection Clause.
B)violates the Due Process Clause.
C)does not violate any constitutional protection.
D)is an invalid use of state police power.

Question 8

The Bill of Rights

A)was added to the Constitution after the Civil War.
B)was part of the original Constitution.
C)consists of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
D)Both b and c.

Question 9

A document filed in court in which a prisoner (or other person in custody) requests that he or she be released from custody is called a

A)petition for writ of habeas corpus.
B)bill of attainder.
C)petition for writ of certiorari.
D)petition for writ of mandamus.

Question 10

The right to travel from one state to another is protected by the Due Process Clause of the
Constitution.

Question 11

Today, most of the rights found in the first 10 amendments pertain to state action.

Question 12

A petition for writ of habeas corpus was a fundamental English right; it did not originate in the United States.

Question 13

The statement "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness," is found in

A)the Articles of Confederation.
B)the Declaration of Independence.
C)the Preamble to the Constitution.
D)the Gettysburg Address.

Question 14

A law that punishes a specific individual or individuals for some act is known as

A)an ex post facto law.
B)a bill of attainder.
C)a bill of particulars.
D)a bill of rights.

Question 15

The notion that no state can deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process is found in

A)the Preamble to the Constitution.
B)Article V of the Constitution.
C)the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.
D)the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

Question 16

In the Dred Scott decision, the Supreme Court held

A)that slavery was legal.
B)that slavery was illegal.
C)that slaves were not citizens.
D)that slaves were not entitled to vote.

Question 17

All laws that discriminate against a group of individuals violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

Question 18

Today, the right to vote extends to eighteen-year-olds.

Question 19

Congress is allowed to regulate private conduct that discriminates because of

A)the Thirteenth Amendment.
B)the Fourteenth Amendment.
C)the Fifteenth Amendment.
D)All of the above.

Question 20

The original seven articles to the Constitution contain little mention of individual rights and freedoms.