Deck 16: The Judicial Branch

Question 1

Appellate courts hear cases from the

A) Supreme Court.
B) lower courts.
C) courts of dual jurisdiction.
D) courts of upper jurisdiction.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

According to Alexander Hamilton, the weakest of the three branches of government was

A) Congress.
B) the presidency.
C) the judiciary.
D) the bureaucracy.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The annual U.S. criminal caseload is _______ cases.

A) 25 million
B) 35-40 million
C) 200-300 million
D) 10 million

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Federal cases equal about what percentage of the volume in state courts?

A) 1 percent
B) 5 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 75 percent

Question 5

Most industrial nations rely on mediation in

A) criminal cases.
B) nonlegal cases.
C) noncriminal cases.
D) foreign policy cases.

Question 6

The use of a third party to solve a legal dispute most likely refers to the process called

A) litigation.
B) mediation.
C) civic relations.
D) adjudication.

Question 7

Today there are more than _______ lawyers in the United States.

A) 5 million
B) 10 million
C) 1.1 million
D) 12 million

Question 8

According to Alexis de Tocqueville, "There is hardly any political question in the United States which does not, sooner or later, turn into a _______."

A) judicial one.
B) Congressional battle.
C) Supreme Court case.
D) party platform.

Question 9

The case involving the halting of a presidential ballot count was

A) Bush v. Gore.
B) Brown v. Board.
C) McCullough v. Maryland.
D) Mendez v. Westminster.

Question 10

The original Supreme Court had how many justices?

A) Five
B) Seven
C) Nine
D) Eleven

Question 11

One of the unusual things about the courts is that

A) the number of Supreme Court justices has remained the same.
B) the Constitution did not specify the number of Supreme Court justices.
C) Congress has very little role in shaping the courts.
D) the president has very little role in influencing who is on the courts.

Question 12

The concept of judicial federalism means that

A) the United States has one main court system.
B) the courts should be judicious in making relevant decisions.
C) there is both a federal and a state court system in the United States.
D) state courts are stronger than federal courts.

Question 13

The ultimate arbiter of all cases is the

A) trial court.
B) superior court.
C) United States Supreme Court.
D) federal court.

Question 14

Today, the Supreme Court hears roughly _______ cases a year.

A) 200?-300
B) 70-80
C) 1,000
D) 10,000

Question 15

In what year was the number of Supreme Court justices set at nine?

A) 1797
B) 1812
C) 1869
D) 1962

Question 16

The high-profile cases Bush v. Gore and Roe v. Wade were similar in that

A) both addressed welfare concerns.
B) both began in state courts.
C) both addressed election concerns.
D) both focused on the right to privacy.

Question 17

Most state judges

A) are appointed for life.
B) are selected by state legislatures.
C) are elected by the public.
D) have terms that are not renewable.

Question 18

How are judges selected?

A) By public vote
B) By governor's appointment
C) By presidential appointment
D) All of the above

Question 19

Cases involving acts of terror, insider trading, and immigration would be heard by

A) state trial courts.
B) federal trial courts.
C) state appeals courts.
D) state supreme courts.

Question 20

A district court is a

A) state appellate court.
B) state trial court.
C) federal trial court.
D) federal appellate court.

Question 21

Today there are _______ district courts.

A) five
B) ten
C) ninety-four
D) two hundred

Question 22

Texas and California have _______ than other states.

A) fewer district courts
B) more district courts
C) more powerful district courts
D) weaker district courts

Question 23

District court judges are appointed by

A) Congress.
B) the governor.
C) the president.
D) the state legislature.

Question 24

The role of the circuit courts is to

A) review the trial record of cases decided in district court.
B) review the trial record of cases decided in state trial courts.
C) review the trial record of cases decided in state appellate courts.
D) review the record of cases decided in mediation.

Question 25

There are _______ federal appellate courts.

A) ninety-four
B) ten
C) thirteen
D) seventy-five

Question 26

A significant difference between federal appellate courts and federal district courts is that

A) there are more federal appellate courts.
B) federal appellate courts are more interested in examining new evidence.
C) federal appellate courts do not impanel juries or examine witnesses.
D) federal district courts do not impanel juries or examine witnesses.

Question 27

Circuit courts review cases decided in

A) small-claims courts.
B) district courts.
C) bankruptcy courts.
D) military courts.

Question 28

Specialized courts hear cases on

A) immigration.
B) tax disputes.
C) treason.
D) civil rights.

Question 29

Specialized court judges differ from regular federal judges in that

A) they are older on average than federal judges.
B) they are not appointed for life.
C) they do not require Senate confirmation.
D) they must be appointed by a governor.

Question 30

If there were a breach of justice by a member of the military, the case would be heard by

A) a district court judge.
B) a military judge.
C) an appellate court.
D) a state judge.

Question 31

Specialized courts are often referred to as the

A) first judiciary.
B) second judiciary.
C) third judiciary.
D) gang of four.

Question 32

Which of the following is true?

A) There is great diversity among federal judges.
B) More than three-quarters of federal judges are white.
C) Federal judges must be natural-born citizens.
D) Most federal judges are female.

Question 33

The longest-serving chief justice in U.S. history was

A) John Jay.
B) John Marshall Harlan.
C) John Marshall.
D) Earl Warren.

Question 34

The principle that enables the courts to check the other two branches of government is known as

A) legal authority.
B) judicial autonomy.
C) judicial review.
D) statutory relief.

Question 35

The principle of judicial review is traced back to the case of

A) McCullough v. Maryland.
B) Gibbons v. Ogden.
C) Marbury v. Madison.
D) Plessy v. Ferguson.

Question 36

Judicial review allows the courts to

A) check only Congress, if it has exceeded constitutional authority.
B) check the executive and legislative branches, if they have exceeded constitutional authority.
C) check only the executive branch, if it has exceeded constitutional authority.
D) check the military.

Question 37

Judicial review is _______ in the Constitution.

A) clearly mentioned
B) vaguely mentioned
C) not mentioned
D) reflected through the Judiciary Act of 1789

Question 38

The statement "When there is doubt about what the Constitution holds or implies, the Supreme Court makes the call" refers to the principle of

A) stare decisis.
B) judicial review.
C) certiorari.
D) senatorial courtesy.

Question 39

After Marbury v. Madison, which of the following occurred?

A) The Court frequently invalidated acts of Congress.
B) The Court frequently invalidated executive decisions.
C) The Court did not overrule an act of Congress until the Missouri Compromise in 1854.
D) The Court supported African American rights in the Dred Scott decision.

Question 40

The issue of whether enemy combatants could get a fair trial was decided by

A) the president.
B) the Supreme Court.
C) Congress.
D) a state court.

Question 41

Cases in which the Supreme Court has struck down statutes that supported segregation policy show

A) judicial activism.
B) legal rationalism.
C) judicial restraint.
D) strict constructionism.

Question 42

Which describes the idea that the Supreme Court can take a vigorous or active approach when reviewing the other governmental branches?

A) Judicial activism
B) Judicial restraint
C) Legal activism
D) Common law practice

Question 43

Which describes the idea that the Supreme Court should be reluctant to overturn the elected branches of government?

A) Judicial reproach
B) Judicial restraint
C) Judicial activism
D) Loose constructionism

Question 44

The early English legal system was known as

A) majority rule.
B) the Magna Carta.
C) the common law.
D) common precedent.

Question 45

Judicial cases today may be important tomorrow because they establish

A) a principle of judicial review.
B) a precedent.
C) a legal consequence.
D) a civil law.

Question 46

In making a legal decision on a case, a judge may follow the _______ set in past case law.

A) precedent
B) civil law
C) criminal law
D) home rule

Question 47

A person charged with theft will face the rules and consequences under

A) criminal law.
B) civil law.
C) business law.
D) common law.

Question 48

The person bringing the action in a lawsuit is called the

A) prosecutor.
B) litigator.
C) defendant.
D) plaintiff.

Question 49

The person being sued in a civil case is known as the

A) respondent.
B) plaintiff.
C) defendant.
D) petitioner.

Question 50

The chief justice during the Brown v. Board of Education case was

A) Oliver Wendell Holmes.
B) Louis Brandeis.
C) Hugo Black.
D) Earl Warren.

Question 51

Federal court judges differ from members of the executive and legislative branches of government in that they

A) are above politics.
B) serve for shorter periods.
C) are all from the same political party.
D) do not have an electoral base.

Question 52

The Supreme Court is in session

A) all year round.
B) for nine months of the year.
C) for six months of the year.
D) for eleven months of the year.

Question 53

A brief submitted to a court by a person or group that is not a direct party to the case is called

A) an amicus curiae brief.
B) a third-party brief.
C) a legal extension.
D) case law.

Question 54

Which of the following plays a role in the Supreme Court's selection of cases to hear?

A) The gang of four
B) The rule of four
C) The process of advise and consent
D) The rule of twelve

Question 55

Which of the following is essential for having a case heard by the Supreme Court?

A) Standing to bring the case
B) Legitimate controversy
C) No moot cases
D) All of the above

Question 56

Standing to bring a case refers to which of the following?

A) Due process concerns
B) A party's actual harm
C) The court that will hear the case
D) The justiciability of the matter

Question 57

Supreme Court clerks are usually

A) first-year law students.
B) lawyers between firms.
C) recent law school graduates.
D) Harvard law professors.

Question 58

The official statement of the Court at the conclusion of a case is known as

A) the dissenting opinion.
B) the majority opinion.
C) the concurrent opinion.
D) the remand.

Question 59

A justice that agrees with the majority opinion but for different reasons may write a

A) differing opinion.
B) concurrent opinion.
C) dissenting opinion.
D) circulatory opinion.

Question 60

The statement on behalf of the justices voting in the minority is called the

A) dissenting opinion.
B) concurrent opinion.
C) differing opinion.
D) legal treatise.

Question 61

Justices are guided by the concept of _______ in making legal decisions.

A) the common law
B) stare decisis
C) devolution
D) the rule of four

Question 62

"Stand by the things decided" is the definition for which Latin term?

A) Certiorari
B) Mandamus
C) Habeas corpus
D) Stare decisis

Question 63

Political scientists have generally found that justices' decisions are most closely tied to

A) their political ideologies.
B) the facts in the case at hand.
C) the involvement of Congress.
D) the role of publicity in the case.

Question 64

A judge who considers the Constitution a living and changing document is known as a

A) theorist.
B) pragmatist.
C) rationalist.
D) legalist.

Question 65

A judge who interprets the Constitution literally is known as

A) a legalist.
B) a loose constructionist.
C) an originalist.
D) a pragmatist.

Question 66

The idea that judges are influenced by their peers in making legal decisions reflects the principle of

A) originalism.
B) pragmatism.
C) collegiality.
D) legalism.

Question 67

The principle of judicial review was set forth by which Supreme Court justice in the case of Marbury v. Madison?

A) Robert Taney
B) John Marshall
C) Hugo Black
D) John Marshall Harlan

Question 68

McCulloch v. Maryland was important to court development because

A) it allowed the federal government to tax the states.
B) it evoked the full faith and credit clause to block the state of Maryland from taxing the bank of the United States.
C) it advanced the "dual federalist" balance.
D) it allowed the states to create complex interstate compacts.

Question 69

The outcome of McCulloch v. Maryland affirmed the principle that

A) the federal government is superior to state governments.
B) state governments are superior to the federal government in most instances.
C) state governments and the federal government have equal power.
D) states can use state mandates to trump federal power.

Question 70

The court ruled in Santa Clara Co. v. Southern Pacific Railroad that corporations

A) were entitled to Fourteenth Amendment protection.
B) should be taxed differently than persons.
C) were not entities separate from the stockholders.
D) must pay income tax.

Question 71

The famous case that denied civil rights to former slaves was

A) Plessy v. Ferguson.
B) Dred Scott v. Sandford.
C) Marbury v. Madison.
D) Guinn v. United States.

Question 72

A key principle in the Dred Scott case was that slaves could not sue because

A) they did not have enough money.
B) they lacked standing to sue.
C) their cases were common law concerns.
D) their cases were not federal.

Question 73

Santa Clara Co. v. Southern Pacific Railroad was significant because

A) it was the first case about the transcontinental railroad.
B) the courts treated corporations as legal persons.
C) the state of California wanted to tax a federal railroad.
D) the state of Nevada wanted to tax a California railroad.

Question 74

The idea that a corporation was a legal person meant that

A) corporations did not have to pay federal taxes.
B) corporations were protected under the equal protection clause of the Thirteenth Amendment.
C) corporations were protected under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
D) corporations could use their own lawyers during trials.

Question 75

Black equality was promoted through which amendments?

A) Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth
B) Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth
C) First, Second, and Third
D) Fifth, Eighth, and Ninth

Question 76

In Plessy v. Ferguson, the dissenting justice stated that the Constitution was

A) not applicable in this case.
B) color blind.
C) for all people.
D) silent on separation issues.

Question 77

The outcome of Plessy v. Ferguson was

A) fair and equal treatment for all people.
B) the promotion of desegregation with all deliberate speed.
C) the separate but equal policy.
D) the return of escaped slaves to the South.

Question 78

The sole dissenting voice in Plessy v. Ferguson was

A) John Marshall.
B) John Marshall Harlan.
C) Oliver Wendell Holmes.
D) Robert Taney.

Question 79

Lochner v. New York addressed concerns over

A) immigration.
B) workers' rights.
C) health care.
D) national security.

Question 80

The Lochner era (1905-1937) was an era in which the courts

A) promoted workers' rights.
B) addressed civil rights.
C) denied individual economic liberty.
D) denied workers' rights.