Deck 14: The Courts

Question 1

When can the U.S. Supreme Court review a state supreme court decision?

A) If there are damages in excess of $50,000
B) If the solicitor general asks it to do so
C) In all cases
D) In cases in which the state is a party
E) Only if a federal question is involved

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Which of the following statements regarding U.S. district courts is true?

A) They are intermediate appellate courts.
B) They have final appellate jurisdiction to review cases.
C) They are state courts.
D) They are the trial courts of the federal system.
E) They are courts of limited jurisdiction.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The Supreme Court's power of judicial review was established by which of the following?

A) Article III of the U.S. Constitution
B) The Tenth Amendment
C) The Court's decision in Marbury v. Madison
D) The Court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson
E) The Court's decision in Kelo v. City of New London

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following statements describes the idea of precedents?

A) The common law changes very slowly to permit rational decision making in each branch of our government.
B) The Supreme Court is required to issue an opinion after a ruling.
C) Most citizens can know that the law will become consistent in its expectations for them.
D) Judges must abide by the decisions of earlier cases unless there is a clear reason to distinguish the current case from its predecessors.
E) The Supreme Court is able to promote judicial review through regularly scheduled reviews of case law.

Question 5

A lawsuit filed by one person on behalf of that person and all similarly situated individuals is known as which of the following kinds of suit?

A) Amicus curiae
B) Appeal
C) Plurality action
D) Class action
E) Writ of habeas corpus

Question 6

Judicial review is the process for deciding whether a law or action is contrary to which of the following?

A) Administrative laws
B) A Supreme Court decision
C) Lower court decisions
D) State law
E) The U.S. Constitution

Question 7

Statutes passed by cities, counties, and other local political bodies are known as which of the following?

A) Regulations
B) Ordinances
C) County rulings
D) Personal statutes
E) Martial law

Question 8

Which of the following occurs when the U.S. Supreme Court decides an issue?

A) All other courts consider the Supreme Court's opinion in their own decision making.
B) All other courts are obligated to follow the Supreme Court's ruling.
C) Each court can decide for itself whether the Supreme Court decision applies to cases in its jurisdiction.
D) Congress is obligated to pass laws that support that decision.
E) It is written into the Constitution as an amendment if it raised a constitutional question.

Question 9

Which of the following procedures does an appellate court use when it reviews a case?

A) It uses a panel of judges to review the records of a case.
B) It conducts another trial.
C) It relies on a jury to hear a new case.
D) It assesses only questions of fact associated with the case.
E) It presents the records of a case to the local government.

Question 10

Jurisdiction refers to which of the following?

A) The rules and principles announced in court decisions
B) The authority of a court to hear a particular class of cases
C) The constitutionality of a law
D) Statutory law
E) Common law

Question 11

The overwhelming majority of federal cases are resolved in which of the following courts?

A) Appeals courts
B) The U.S. Supreme Court
C) District courts
D) Article I courts
E) Administrative courts

Question 12

Which of the following statements regarding appeals courts is true?

A) Witnesses and testimony are presented to the jury.
B) Judges review lower court case records to determine if there is evidence of an error.
C) Grand juries decide if there is enough evidence to conduct a trial.
D) Attorneys from both sides try to work out an agreement.
E) All of these are correct.

Question 13

Which of the following statements regarding a precedent is true?

A) It means to reverse the decision of a lower court
B) It says the court does not have jurisdiction in a case.
C) It allows a court to refer the case to the next higher court.
D) It is the policy of following the law established by prior cases to decide other cases.
E) It means strict interpretation.

Question 14

Most American law is based on which of the following?

A) French philosophy based on the rights of man
B) The Bible
C) English common law tradition
D) Roman law
E) The writings of Thomas Jefferson

Question 15

In many cases, a third party to a court case will file which of the following to support a particular outcome?

A) An amicus curiae brief
B) A precedent
C) A question of standing
D) A litigation brief
E) A writ of certiorari

Question 16

Which of the following statements regarding state courts is true?

A) They are exact copies of the federal court system.
B) They do not have to follow common law.
C) They are supreme within their own borders, overriding the federal courts.
D) Their decisions are invalid, due to the supremacy clause.
E) They make decisions on state law, as long as these laws don't conflict with the U.S. Constitution.

Question 17

Which of the following is the term for a law enacted by a federal or state legislature?

A) A code
B) A precedent
C) An interpretation
D) An ordinance
E) A statute

Question 18

Which of the following statements regarding standing to sue is true?

A) It is determined by whether or not a court has jurisdiction over a matter.
B) It is determined by whether or not the Supreme Court will hear a case.
C) It is determined by whether or not a person or a group has suffered harm as a result of the action that led to the dispute in question.
D) It is the decorum that is expected in dealing with the Supreme Court during trial.
E) It is also known as stare decisis.

Question 19

The United States has a dual court system which means which of the following?

A) Civil and criminal courts
B) Misdemeanor and felony courts
C) State and federal courts
D) State and local courts
E) District and territorial courts

Question 20

If a judge rules a certain way on a case because prior cases of similar nature were subject to the same rule, that judge could be said to be relying on which of the following?

A) Precedent
B) Judicial review
C) Strict construction
D) Broad construction
E) Judicial activism

Question 21

An opinion prepared by a judge who supports the court's decision, but wishes to in some way clarify, emphasize, or offer different reasons is known as which of the following?

A) Majority opinion
B) Dissenting opinion
C) A plurality opinion
D) A concurring opinion
E) A unanimous opinion

Question 22

Federal judges serve until which of the following occurs?

A) They die.
B) They retire voluntarily.
C) They are impeached and found guilty.
D) They resign.
E) All of these are correct.

Question 23

The opinion of a court laying out the official position of the court in the case is known as which of the following?

A) Majority opinion
B) Dissenting opinion
C) Minority opinion
D) Primary jurisdiction
E) Prevailing jurisdiction

Question 24

How do the justices of the Supreme Court gain their position on the Court?

A) They are nominated by Congress.
B) They are elected by the people.
C) They are placed on the Court after serving as an appellate judge for at least 30 years.
D) They apply for the job, go through an interview process, and are hired.
E) They are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Question 25

Federal appellate courts review and can overturn which of the following?

A) Precedents set by the U.S. Supreme Court
B) Only federal criminal cases
C) Rulings made by the lower federal courts
D) Guilt or innocence of defendants
E) Only civil cases

Question 26

The concept of senatorial courtesy refers to which of the following?

A) The Senate approving judges only if they belong to the same party that controls the Senate
B) The practice of allowing senators to have the exclusive right to nominate candidates for the federal district courts in the state
C) The practice of allowing members of the House to participate in the nomination process
D) The practice of allowing senators to veto candidates for federal district courts in their state
E) The Senate's deferring to the president and routinely approving his or her nominee

Question 27

When a president nominates a candidate for a federal judgeship, which of the following factors does the president consider?

A) The candidate's political philosophy
B) The candidate's ethnicity
C) The candidate's competence
D) The candidate's gender
E) All of these are correct.

Question 28

The opportunity for the president to appoint members to the federal judiciary is valuable for which of the following reasons?

A) New justices help move long-term justices closer to mandatory retirement.
B) A majority of presidents have been able to make more than five appointments to the bench while in office.
C) Rulings related to redistricting and election laws will be altered to favor the president's political party.
D) The Court is able to move swiftly to begin ruling in favor of the president's ideology.
E) The political views of the president will continue to be institutionalized long after they have left the White House.

Question 29

Spoken presentations by an attorney to the appellate court laying out the reasons why the court should rule in his or her client's favor are known as which of the following?

A) Affirmation action
B) Briefs
C) Criminal defenses
D) Dissenting opinions
E) Oral arguments

Question 30

How long is the term of office for a federal judge?

A) A federal judge serves for life.
B) A federal judge must be reelected every four years.
C) Federal judges are replaced when a new president comes into office.
D) A federal judge can only serve for ten years.
E) A federal judge serves a one-year term.

Question 31

A writ of certiorari by the U.S. Supreme Court orders which of the following to occur?

A) Both of the parties in the case to reach agreement without further litigation
B) State courts to abide by the decision of the Supreme Court
C) A lower court to send up the record of a case for review
D) Congress to rewrite unconstitutional legislation
E) A prisoner to be brought before the court and the reasons for his detention to be provided

Question 32

Which of the following is true of someone's right to have their case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court?

A) It only exists in criminal cases.
B) It only exists in federal cases.
C) In only exists in cases where someone has been sentenced to death.
D) It exists in all cases.
E) It is almost entirely at the Court's discretion.

Question 33

If an appeals court decides that a case is remanded, which of the following occurs?

A) It is sent to the supreme court of the state in question.
B) It is sent back to the court that originally heard the case.
C) It has to be a civil case; criminal cases cannot be remanded.
D) It must be decided within the calendar year.
E) It is not subject to any further action by the courts.

Question 34

If a Supreme Court case is remanded, which of the following is true?

A) The case is affirmed.
B) The case is overturned.
C) The case is sent back to the court that originally heard it.
D) The case is given to the legislature for review
E) The case is not eligible for the rule of four.

Question 35

When a president nominates someone to the U.S. Supreme Court, what Senate committee holds hearings on whether to confirm the nominee?

A) The Senate Legal Committee
B) The Senate Judiciary Committee
C) The Senate Finance Committee
D) The Senate Ways and Means Committee
E) The Committee of the Senate Attorney

Question 36

Which of the following statements is true of a majority opinion?

A) It means all justices unanimously agree on the decision.
B) It is sent back to the court that originally heard the case.
C) It means the decision of the District Court must stand.
D) It will result in a new trial for the defendant.
E) It is the decision of most of the justices and is the decision of the Court.

Question 37

Which of the following is the last step of the Supreme Court decision-making process?

A) Announcing its decision to the public and the reasons for it
B) Assigning a justice to write the decision
C) Deciding if the Court will hear the case
D) Hearing oral arguments in the case
E) Asking the lower court to send the records of the case for review

Question 38

Which of the following is true of judges and justices in the federal court system?

A) They  are appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the House of Representatives.
B) They are appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate.
C) They are appointed by the president with the advice and consent of both houses of Congress.
D) They are part of a seniority system that gradually moves them toward the Supreme Court.
E) They are elected by the people every ten years.

Question 39

Which of the following statements regarding federal judges is true?

A) They are chosen in a secret process.
B) They are elected by the people.
C) They are appointed for life.
D) They are chosen by Congress.
E) They are appointed for a six-year term.

Question 40

President Obama's final nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Merrick Garland, was never confirmed to the Court because of which of the following reasons?

A) He died before the Senate hearings.
B) There were questions about his character.
C) He removed himself from consideration.
D) The Senate Judiciary Committee refused to schedule hearings on his nomination.
E) All of these are correct.

Question 41

A doctrine holding that the courts defer to the decisions of elected officials is called which of the following?

A) Broad construction
B) Conservative activism
C) Strict construction
D) Judicial restraint
E) Judicial activism

Question 42

Passing a new constitutional amendment or refusing to fund a decision are examples of which of the following?

A) Presidential limits placed on the courts
B) Congressional limits placed on the courts
C) Citizens' limits placed on the courts
D) Bureaucratic limits placed on the courts
E) State limitations placed on the courts

Question 43

Strict construction is most closely associated with what type of political views?

A) Conservative
B) Liberal
C) Libertarian
D) Socialist
E) Oligarchical

Question 44

The doctrine that holds that the Supreme Court should actively check the other branches of government when they exceed their authority is known as which of the following?

A) Judicial restraint
B) Strict construction
C) Judicial activism
D) Broad construction
E) Conservative activism

Question 45

After joining the Court during the Reagan administration, Sandra Day O'Connor appeared to change her views on which of the following issues?

A) One person, one vote
B) Immigration laws
C) Abortion
D) The Affordable Care Act
E) Presidential succession

Question 46

Based on President Obama's two appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court, what happened to the balance of the Court's ideology?

A) It became much more liberal.
B) It became much more conservative.
C) It remained about the same.
D) It became much more libertarian.
E) It was unable to be determined.

Question 47

The power of the courts to determine the constitutionality of a law or action is known as which of the following?

A) Appellate review of fact
B) Judicial review
C) Precedent
D) The writ of judicial appeal
E) Habeas corpus

Question 48

Which of the following was the first female member of the U.S. Supreme Court?

A) Nancy Pelosi
B) Elena Kagan
C) Sandra Day O'Connor
D) Sonia Sotomayor
E) Ruth Bader Ginsberg

Question 49

When Presidents Reagan and George H. W. Bush had appointed almost 75% of all federal judges by 1993, it meant that the federal courts were which of the following?

A) More liberal
B) More libertarian
C) More open to extending the rights of gay Americans
D) More conservative
E) Less open to business interests

Question 50

Which of the following is a power that puts a check on Congress's lawmaking authority?

A) Dissenting opinion
B) Habeas corpus
C) Judicial review
D) Precedent
E) National supremacy

Question 51

President Obama was the first president to appoint which of the following to the U.S. Supreme Court?

A) A black man
B) Two women
C) No justices
D) An Asian American
E) A Mexican American man

Question 52

Judicial implementation refers to which of the following?

A) Decisions made at both the state and federal levels
B) The enforcement powers of the Supreme Court
C) The legislative review of Supreme Court decisions
D) Elevating a judge at a lower federal court to a higher federal court when there is a vacancy
E) The execution of court decisions into policy

Question 53

The civil rights movement was propelled forward when racial segregation was seen as violating the equal protection clause when the Supreme Court was headed by which of the following judges?

A) Warren
B) Marshall
C) Roberts
D) Burger
E) Rehnquist

Question 54

The executive and legislative branches are responsible for judicial implementation for which of the following reasons?

A) The Supreme Court has a low approval rating from the public.
B) The Supreme Court doesn't have enough funding to follow up on rulings.
C) The Supreme Court has limited manpower to carry out its decisions.
D) The Supreme Court does not have enforcement powers.
E) The judiciary is the weakest of all three branches.

Question 55

Public opinion can serve as a check on the judiciary in which of the following ways?

A) The Supreme Court typically polls the public as a basis for its decisions.
B) People have the ability to vote federal judges out of office if they do not approve of the rulings of the courts.
C) Judges often believe they have an obligation to rule consistent with public opinion.
D) The president will veto a Supreme Court decision if it is unpopular.
E) Congress will override a decision of the Supreme Court with a majority vote in both houses.

Question 56

Chief Justice John Roberts has been seen as fairly conservative, but he surprisingly voted in favor of which major statute during the Obama administration?

A) The Guantanamo Bay Treaty
B) The Federal Election Act of 2010
C) The Affordable Care Act
D) The Civil Rights Act of 2011
E) All of these are correct.

Question 57

A temporary appointment of a federal judge to avoid a difficult confirmation hearing is known as which of the following?

A) A political appointment
B) A recess appointment
C) A courtesy appointment
D) A limited appointment
E) A reviewable appointment

Question 58

Which of the following is true of the Supreme Court's power to enforce its own decisions?

A) It is derived from the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution.
B) It is called justiciable authority.
C) It makes it one of the strongest courts in the world.
D) It is significantly stronger than that of lower federal courts.
E) It is nonexistent.

Question 59

Approximately what percentage of presidential nominations to the Supreme Court have been either rejected, or not acted upon by the Senate?

A) 20%
B) 5%
C) 40%
D) 50%
E) 75%

Question 60

Chief Justice Roberts' role in Supreme Court decisions on issues like environmental protection and partial-birth abortion indicate that he had what type of views at the time?

A) He believed in judicial activism.
B) He leaned toward more conservative ideologies.
C) He strictly interpreted the Constitution.
D) He supported the rights of the individual over the rights of the states.
E) He put states' rights ahead of the rights of the federal government.

Question 61

Describe the ways in which our courts can be checked by other branches of government.

Question 62

Compare and contrast the legal and extralegal approaches to judicial decision making.  Be specific.

Question 63

Which of the following presidents refused to execute a Supreme Court decision into policy, saying, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it"?

A) Thomas Jefferson
B) Richard Nixon
C) Andrew Jackson
D) John F. Kennedy
E) Teddy Roosevelt

Question 64

Discuss how the U.S. Supreme Court can impact many of the nation's political policies through its decisions on which cases to hear or to not hear.  Is this a proper use of the Court's discretion? Why or why not?

Question 65

Describe how the U.S. Supreme Court decides what cases to accept.  Describe some of the factors that impact these decisions.

Question 66

If Congress disagrees with a decision of the Supreme Court concerning the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, what can Congress do to address the situation?

A) Ignore the decision
B) Request that the president veto the decision
C) Propose an amendment to the Constitution that would negate the Court's ruling
D) Pass a new law that would negate the Court's ruling
E) Do nothing because the Court has the final say

Question 67

Explain the concept of precedents and how they are used within the federal court system.

Question 68

Detail the levels of the federal court system, being sure to note the types of cases they hear and the forms of jurisdiction they possess.

Question 69

Explain how the U.S. Supreme Court decides cases and explains its decisions.

Question 70

Discuss some of the reasons that almost 20% of presidential nominations to the Supreme Court are either rejected by the Senate or not acted upon.  Is the process working the way the Founding Fathers intended?  Explain your reasoning.

Question 71

President Eisenhower's decision to send National Guard troops to Arkansas to force the state to comply with the Supreme Court decision to desegregate public schools is an example of which of the following concepts?

A) Judicial implementation
B) A court of general jurisdiction
C) Diversity of citizenship
D) Judicial precedent
E) Stare decisis

Question 72

How is the U.S. solicitor general selected?

A) Appointed by the president
B) Nominated by Congress
C) Elected by the public
D) Selected by members of the U.S. Supreme Court
E) Chosen by the attorney general

Question 73

Compare and contrast the concepts of judicial restraint and judicial activism.

Question 74

Explain judicial review and the constitutional and judicial origins of the power.

Question 75

Explain the process by which the U.S. Supreme Court decides to hear cases.

Question 76

Describe the controversial opinions handed down by the Robert's Court, and explain how this relates to the hopes for Roberts as a moderate leader of the Court.

Question 77

Discuss how Supreme Court nominees are selected and the confirmation process.  After the Brett Kavanaugh hearings and the lack of hearings for Merrick Garland, is this a fair process? Explain your answer.

Question 78

Explain the procedure that is followed once the U.S. Supreme Court decides to hear a case.  Discuss the different types of opinions that can be written.

Question 79

Presidents have the power to change the direction of the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary by doing which of the following?

A) Firing judges and justices on the grounds of incompatibility
B) Appointing new judges who have philosophies consistent with that of the president
C) Forcing Congress to consider impeachment of specific judges
D) Declaring martial law, which limits judicial decision making
E) Limiting the jurisdiction of the federal courts with an executive order

Question 80

Discuss the roles of presidential and congressional party and ideological preferences in the judicial appointment process.