Deck 9: The Judiciary

Question 1

The legal system used by the United States and other countries in which a judge plays a relatively passive role as attorneys battle to protect each side's interests is known as the __________ system.

A) adversarial
B) inquisitorial
C) dual court
D) common law

Answer 1

adversarial

Question 2

Separate systems of state and federal courts throughout the United States are known as the __________ system.

A) adversarial
B) inquisitorial
C) dual court
D) common law

Answer 2

dual court

Question 3

The highest appellate courts in the state and federal systems are known as __________.

A) courts of last resort
B) adversarial courts
C) inquisitorial courts
D) courts of common law

Answer 3

courts of last resort

Question 4

Which type of court has no original jurisdiction because no cases are first filed in these courts?

A) U.S. Supreme Court
B) U.S. district courts
C) U.S. courts of appeal
D) state trial courts

Question 5

Appellate courts have appellate jurisdiction, meaning they review specific __________ that allegedly occurred in trial court processes or in decisions of appellate courts beneath them in the judicial hierarchy.

A) pleas
B) errors
C) verdicts
D) briefs

Question 6

Which of the following can modify a decision of the Supreme Court?

A) an executive order from the president
B) the agreement of at least five justices that a prior decision was wrongly decided
C) a federal statute passed by the Senate
D) a writ of certiorari

Question 7

__________ courts do not use juries.

A) Constitutional
B) Trial
C) Appellate
D) District

Question 8

Trial courts are courts of __________ jurisdiction, meaning they receive cases first, consider the available evidence, and make the initial decision.

A) constitutional
B) original
C) appellate
D) district

Question 9

In addition to its appellate jurisdiction, the U.S. Supreme Court is also a court of __________.

A) constitutional rule making
B) original jurisdiction
C) common law
D) intermediate appeal

Question 10

If North Dakota sues South Dakota, the case will be heard by the __________.

A) annual joint session of Congress
B) President's Council on Interstate Affairs
C) court of appeals
D) U.S. Supreme Court

Question 11

Which of the following statements about the "rule of four" in the Supreme Court is accurate?

A) Any case hoping to be heard by the Supreme Court must be at least four years out from initial verdict.
B) For a case to be heard by the Supreme Court, at least four justices must vote to hear it.
C) Four states must sign on to support any writ of certiorari presented to the Supreme Court.
D) For a case to be heard by the Supreme Court, at least four writs of certiorari must be presented.

Question 12

Elected state and national legislators draft laws referred to as __________ that judges must interpret.

A) writs
B) briefs
C) decrees
D) statutes

Question 13

The power of American judges to nullify decisions and actions by other branches of government, if the judges decide those actions violate the U.S. Constitution or federal law, is known as __________.

A) judicial implementation
B) judicial review
C) common law
D) public trust

Question 14

Which president made an unsuccessful proposal known as the "court-packing plan," which would have permitted the appointment of additional justices to the U.S. Supreme Court?

A) Bill Clinton
B) James Madison
C) Thomas Jefferson
D) Franklin Roosevelt

Question 15

Which case showed the Supreme Court invalidating a portion of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002?

A) Marbury v. Madison
B) Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
C) McDonald v. City of Chicago
D) National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning

Question 16

In Federalist No. 78, why did Alexander Hamilton call the judiciary the "least dangerous" branch of government?

A) Its members all had law degrees and extensive legal experience.
B) It could force people to obey only constitutional laws.
C) It had no legitimate power.
D) It lacked the power of the "purse or sword."

Question 17

Which of the following did the Supreme Court invalidate in Dred Scott v. Sandford?

A) Connecticut Compromise
B) Virginia Compromise
C) Missouri Compromise
D) Great Compromise

Question 18

What is the name of the process in Congress that can remove the president, federal judges, and other high officials from office?

A) entrenchment
B) judicial review
C) the Judiciary Act
D) impeachment and conviction

Question 19

Members of the minority political party in the Senate may block a vote on the appointment of a judge through a __________.

A) judicial election
B) partisan election
C) judicial implementation
D) filibuster

Question 20

Which of the following represents an approach to understanding judicial decision-making that emphasizes the importance of courts' structures and processes as well as the courts' role in the governing system?

A) new institutionalism
B) strategic voting model
C) judicial intention
D) flexible interpretation

Question 21

Atkins v. Virginia used which type of interpretive approach to conclude that execution of those with mental and developmental disabilities was an unconstitutional punishment?

A) originalist
B) flexible
C) institutional
D) attitudinal

Question 22

When the Supreme Court decided that the Eighth Amendment prohibition on "cruel and unusual punishments" forbids the application of the death penalty to offenders who commit murder before the age of 18 (Roper v. Simmons, 2005), the majority of justices used __________ approach as a basis for their decision.

A) an attitudinal
B) a flexible interpretation
C) a new institutionalism
D) a judicial intention

Question 23

A legal rule established by a judicial decision that guides subsequent decisions in court rulings is known as which of the following?

A) per curiam
B) case precedent
C) coram nobis
D) amicus curiae

Question 24

The attitudinal model analyzes judicial decision making by looking at the decision __________ of individual judges to identify attitudes and values guiding those decisions.

A) outcomes
B) reasoning
C) patterns
D) style

Question 25

Which of the following justices on the Roberts Court believes that constitutional interpretation must follow original intent in order to avoid judicial activism?

A) John Roberts
B) Elena Kagan
C) Ruth Bader Ginsburg
D) Clarence Thomas

Question 26

What is the primary reason a judge may go against case precedent?

A) The personal view of the judge is contrary to the decision in the precedent case.
B) The precise issues in the case at hand are distinguishable from issues in prior cases.
C) Prevailing public opinion is contrary to the decision in prior cases.
D) A judge in a common law system would never go against case precedent.

Question 27

__________ interpretation is an approach to interpreting the U.S. Constitution that permits the meaning of the document to change with evolving values, social conditions, and problems.

A) Attitudinal
B) New institutional
C) Flexible
D) Strict constructionist

Question 28

An alternative theory of judicial decision-making, known as the __________ model, states that Supreme Court justices' opinions are driven by their preferences and values.

A) attitudinal
B) strict constructionist
C) flexible
D) constitutional

Question 29

New __________ is an approach that emphasizes understanding courts as institutions and seeing the role of courts in the larger political system.

A) flexibility
B) constructionist
C) attitudinal
D) institutionalism

Question 30

Judicial __________ encourages deference to the policy judgments of elected branches of government.

A) flexibility
B) institutionalism
C) activism
D) restraint

Question 31

Which of the following statements characterizes how the strategic voting model of judicial decision-making differs from the legal and attitudinal models?

A) In the strategic voting model, judges see themselves as strategic actors in a larger political environment.
B) In the legal model, judges are concerned with how the other branches of government will react to their decisions.
C) In the strategic voting model, judges follow their personal policy preferences.
D) In the attitudinal model, judges are concerned only with case precedent.

Question 32

For effective advocacy in interest group litigation, __________ is essential.

A) the strategic voting model
B) expertise
C) dissenting opinions
D) judicial restraint

Question 33

Because of the country's __________ court system, a choice often must be made about whether state or federal courts are more likely to produce outcomes favorable to a group's interests.

A) strategic voting
B) judicial restraint
C) dual
D) case-precedent

Question 34

An interest group may sponsor or present a __________ case in the court pathway to influence public policy.

A) curiae
B) test
C) grassroots
D) jurisdictional

Question 35

The ruling in which of the following cases declared racial segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional but did not desegregate schools?

A) Gideon v. Wainwright
B) McCulloch v. Maryland
C) Brown v. Board of Education
D) Plessy v. Ferguson

Question 36

Which of the following supports the policymaking role of the judiciary?

A) The need to protect the rights of individuals under the Bill of Rights demonstrates that the majority should necessarily control policy decisions.
B) The judiciary is designed to have the independence and the insulation from politics necessary to make courageous decisions on behalf of minority group members.
C) Federal judges never go against the wishes of the majority.
D) The Constitution facilitates citizen participation and accountability through elections.