Deck 1: Constitutionalism and Rule of Law

Question 1

Which of the following Chief Justices of the Supreme Court was responsible for writing the majority opinion in Marbury v. Madison, wherein the power of judicial review was announced?

A) Jay
B) Marshall
C) Warren
D) Rehnquist

Answer 1

Marshall

Question 2

Under the leadership of which of the following Chief Justices did the Supreme Court render many decisions advancing civil liberties, especially in the criminal context?

A) Jay
B) Marshall
C) Warren
D) Rehnquist

Answer 2

Warren

Question 3

What was William Marbury seeking from the Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison?

A) Writ of Certiorari
B) Writ of Mandamus
C) Temporary Restraining Order
D) Money Damages

Answer 3

Writ of Mandamus

Question 4

During what era of the Court did the justices dramatically expand the liberty protections afforded to individuals under the Fourth Amendment?

A) Taney Court
B) Warren Court
C) New Deal Era
D) Rehnquist Court

Question 5

In which era did the U.S. Supreme Court begin to expand the powers of the federal government?

A) Marshall Court
B) Taney Court
C) Pre-New Deal Era
D) Rehnquist Court

Question 6

In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court assert the power of judicial review over the decisions of the states' high courts?

A) Marbury v. Madison
B) United States v. Nixon
C) Martin v. Hunter's Lessee
D) Dred Scot v. Sandford

Question 7

What document governed the United States prior to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution?

A) Articles of Confederation
B) U.S. Code
C) Declaration of Independence
D) Contract with America

Question 8

During the early years of the Constitution, which group championed a stronger centralized government?

A) Federalists
B) Anti-Federalists
C) Tea Party
D) Confederates

Question 9

Each of the following contributed to the need for drafting a new Constitution in 1787 EXCEPT:

A) Shays Rebellion.
B) Fear of foreign invasion.
C) State competition over taxes.
D) U.S. government too strong.

Question 10

A legislative act that inflicts capital punishment upon named persons without a judicial trial is called a(n):

A) Ex post facto law.
B) Bill of Attainder.
C) Act of Sedition.
D) Habeas Corpus.

Question 11

A law that makes someone criminally liable for an act that was not criminal at the time it was committed is called a(n):

A) Ex post facto law.
B) Bill of Attainder.
C) Act of Sedition.
D) Habeas Corpus.

Question 12

A writ whose purpose is to obtain immediate relief from illegal imprisonment by having the "body" (that is, the prisoner) delivered from custody and brought before that court is called:

A) Ex post facto law.
B) Bill of Attainder.
C) Act of Sedition.
D) Habeas Corpus.

Question 13

Today, a series of eighty-five articles that were published under the pseudonym Publius in magazines and newspapers urging the ratification of the new Constitution are known as the:

A) Federalist Papers.
B) Communist Manifesto.
C) Articles of Confederation.
D) Declaration of Statehood.

Question 14

A term referring to the concept that there exists, independent of manmade law, a law laid down (depending upon one's beliefs) by God or by nature, which human society must observe in order to be happy and at peace is referred to as:

A) Divine Province.
B) Natural Law.
C) Manifest Destiny.
D) Aaron's Law.

Question 15

In U.S. v. Nixon, the Supreme Court considered what item of evidence?

A) Iran Contra Affair
B) Watergate tapes
C) William Marbury's commission
D) Vietnam information

Question 16

The landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education occurred during which judicial era?

A) Taney Court
B) Rehnquist Court
C) New Deal Era
D) Warren Court

Question 17

What is the name of the official publication for U.S. Supreme Court cases published by the federal government?

A) Supreme Court Reporter
B) Lawyer's Edition
C) Federal Reporter
D) United States Reports

Question 18

What is the name of the publication for cases from the United States Courts of Appeals?

A) Supreme Court Reporter
B) Lawyer's Edition
C) Federal Reporter
D) United States Reports

Question 19

What is the name of the publication for cases from the United States District Courts?

A) Federal Supplement
B) Northeast Reporter
C) Federal Reporter
D) Federal Appendix

Question 20

The mandate of the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 from their states was to draft a new constitution.

Question 21

The national government under the Articles of Confederation did not have the power to directly tax citizens.

Question 22

A federalist was a person who supported creating a strong, centralized government.

Question 23

Of the thirteen original states, only Massachusetts was not represented at the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention.

Question 24

James Madison wrote the Virginia Plan, which would be the working document of the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention.

Question 25

The decision of the delegates to the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention to have the President of the United States elected through the electoral college is known as the Great Compromise.

Question 26

The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware.

Question 27

There are two methods to amend the Constitution and both have been used.

Question 28

Having a written constitution that recognizes individual rights guarantees that the rule of law exists in all countries.

Question 29

The rule of law is the principle that all people and the government itself are obliged to follow legitimately enacted and fairly enforced laws.

Question 30

During the Taney Court area, the U.S. Supreme Court's philosophy changed from strongly nationalist to one favoring states' rights.

Question 31

During the Rehnquist Court area, the U.S. Supreme Court took a very liberal approach to economic and states' rights.

Question 32

In Marbury v. Madison, the U.S. Supreme Court used judicial review to nullify an act of Congress.

Question 33

The U.S. Supreme Court does not have the authority to declare an act of the President unconstitutional.

Question 34

The higher the court is, the more likely it is that its decisions will be published.

Question 35

A(n) ________ is a person who supports a strong, centralized government.

Question 36

The Federalist ________ written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, are a series of eighty-five articles under the pseudonym Publius making forceful arguments in support of the Constitution.

Question 37

The concept that there exists, independent of manmade law, a law laid down by God or by nature, which human society must observe in order to be happy and at peace is known as the ________ law.

Question 38

Philosophers, such as John Locke and Charles Montesquieu, advanced the theory that sovereignty rests not with the monarch but with the ________.

Question 39

American constitutional law is commonly divided into two fields of study: one focusing on governmental authorities and structures and another examining ________ liberties.

Question 40

Judicial ________ is the power of the judiciary, as the final interpreter of the law, to declare an act of a coordinate governmental branch of state unconstitutional.

Question 41

The first case where the U.S. Supreme Court used judicial review to invalidate federal action was ________ v. Madison.

Question 42

The ________ Court is known for establishing the supremacy of the national government over the state governments.

Question 43

During the Warren Court era, the U.S. Supreme Court held that ________ is protected by the Constitution in Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965).

Question 44

Some of the important federalism cases decided during the era of the ________ Court are United States v. Lopez, 115 S. Ct. 1624 (1995), and Morrison v. United States, 529 U.S. 598 (2000), both limiting Congress's power over interstate commerce

Question 45

Match the term its description .

-ex post facto law

A) a person who supports a strong, centralized government
B) a legislative act that inflicts capital punishment upon named persons without a judicial trial
C) a right existing under natural law, independent of manmade law
D) four federal laws enacted in 1798 in anticipation of war with France that required alien registration, empowered the president to deport all aliens from nations that were at war with the United States
E) a law making a person criminally liable for an act that was not criminal at the time it was committed
F) a person who opposes establishment of a strong, centralized government in favor of local control
G) principle that all people and the government itself are obliged to follow legitimately enacted and fairly enforced laws
H) the power of the judiciary, as the final interpreter of the law, to declare an act of a coordinate governmental branch of state unconstitutional
I) a writ whose purpose is to obtain immediate relief from illegal imprisonment by having the "body" (i.e., the prisoner) delivered from custody and brought before that court
J) the concept that there exists, independent of manmade law, a law laid down by God or by nature, which human society must observe in order to be happy and at peace

Question 46

Match the term its description .

-rule of law

A) a person who supports a strong, centralized government
B) a legislative act that inflicts capital punishment upon named persons without a judicial trial
C) a right existing under natural law, independent of manmade law
D) four federal laws enacted in 1798 in anticipation of war with France that required alien registration, empowered the president to deport all aliens from nations that were at war with the United States
E) a law making a person criminally liable for an act that was not criminal at the time it was committed
F) a person who opposes establishment of a strong, centralized government in favor of local control
G) principle that all people and the government itself are obliged to follow legitimately enacted and fairly enforced laws
H) the power of the judiciary, as the final interpreter of the law, to declare an act of a coordinate governmental branch of state unconstitutional
I) a writ whose purpose is to obtain immediate relief from illegal imprisonment by having the "body" (i.e., the prisoner) delivered from custody and brought before that court
J) the concept that there exists, independent of manmade law, a law laid down by God or by nature, which human society must observe in order to be happy and at peace

Question 47

Match the term its description .

-anti-Federalist

A) a person who supports a strong, centralized government
B) a legislative act that inflicts capital punishment upon named persons without a judicial trial
C) a right existing under natural law, independent of manmade law
D) four federal laws enacted in 1798 in anticipation of war with France that required alien registration, empowered the president to deport all aliens from nations that were at war with the United States
E) a law making a person criminally liable for an act that was not criminal at the time it was committed
F) a person who opposes establishment of a strong, centralized government in favor of local control
G) principle that all people and the government itself are obliged to follow legitimately enacted and fairly enforced laws
H) the power of the judiciary, as the final interpreter of the law, to declare an act of a coordinate governmental branch of state unconstitutional
I) a writ whose purpose is to obtain immediate relief from illegal imprisonment by having the "body" (i.e., the prisoner) delivered from custody and brought before that court
J) the concept that there exists, independent of manmade law, a law laid down by God or by nature, which human society must observe in order to be happy and at peace

Question 48

Match the term its description .

-habeas corpus

A) a person who supports a strong, centralized government
B) a legislative act that inflicts capital punishment upon named persons without a judicial trial
C) a right existing under natural law, independent of manmade law
D) four federal laws enacted in 1798 in anticipation of war with France that required alien registration, empowered the president to deport all aliens from nations that were at war with the United States
E) a law making a person criminally liable for an act that was not criminal at the time it was committed
F) a person who opposes establishment of a strong, centralized government in favor of local control
G) principle that all people and the government itself are obliged to follow legitimately enacted and fairly enforced laws
H) the power of the judiciary, as the final interpreter of the law, to declare an act of a coordinate governmental branch of state unconstitutional
I) a writ whose purpose is to obtain immediate relief from illegal imprisonment by having the "body" (i.e., the prisoner) delivered from custody and brought before that court
J) the concept that there exists, independent of manmade law, a law laid down by God or by nature, which human society must observe in order to be happy and at peace

Question 49

Match the term its description .

-bill of attainder

A) a person who supports a strong, centralized government
B) a legislative act that inflicts capital punishment upon named persons without a judicial trial
C) a right existing under natural law, independent of manmade law
D) four federal laws enacted in 1798 in anticipation of war with France that required alien registration, empowered the president to deport all aliens from nations that were at war with the United States
E) a law making a person criminally liable for an act that was not criminal at the time it was committed
F) a person who opposes establishment of a strong, centralized government in favor of local control
G) principle that all people and the government itself are obliged to follow legitimately enacted and fairly enforced laws
H) the power of the judiciary, as the final interpreter of the law, to declare an act of a coordinate governmental branch of state unconstitutional
I) a writ whose purpose is to obtain immediate relief from illegal imprisonment by having the "body" (i.e., the prisoner) delivered from custody and brought before that court
J) the concept that there exists, independent of manmade law, a law laid down by God or by nature, which human society must observe in order to be happy and at peace

Question 50

Match the term its description .

-Federalist

A) a person who supports a strong, centralized government
B) a legislative act that inflicts capital punishment upon named persons without a judicial trial
C) a right existing under natural law, independent of manmade law
D) four federal laws enacted in 1798 in anticipation of war with France that required alien registration, empowered the president to deport all aliens from nations that were at war with the United States
E) a law making a person criminally liable for an act that was not criminal at the time it was committed
F) a person who opposes establishment of a strong, centralized government in favor of local control
G) principle that all people and the government itself are obliged to follow legitimately enacted and fairly enforced laws
H) the power of the judiciary, as the final interpreter of the law, to declare an act of a coordinate governmental branch of state unconstitutional
I) a writ whose purpose is to obtain immediate relief from illegal imprisonment by having the "body" (i.e., the prisoner) delivered from custody and brought before that court
J) the concept that there exists, independent of manmade law, a law laid down by God or by nature, which human society must observe in order to be happy and at peace

Question 51

Match the term its description .

-natural law

A) a person who supports a strong, centralized government
B) a legislative act that inflicts capital punishment upon named persons without a judicial trial
C) a right existing under natural law, independent of manmade law
D) four federal laws enacted in 1798 in anticipation of war with France that required alien registration, empowered the president to deport all aliens from nations that were at war with the United States
E) a law making a person criminally liable for an act that was not criminal at the time it was committed
F) a person who opposes establishment of a strong, centralized government in favor of local control
G) principle that all people and the government itself are obliged to follow legitimately enacted and fairly enforced laws
H) the power of the judiciary, as the final interpreter of the law, to declare an act of a coordinate governmental branch of state unconstitutional
I) a writ whose purpose is to obtain immediate relief from illegal imprisonment by having the "body" (i.e., the prisoner) delivered from custody and brought before that court
J) the concept that there exists, independent of manmade law, a law laid down by God or by nature, which human society must observe in order to be happy and at peace

Question 52

Match the term its description .

-judicial review

A) a person who supports a strong, centralized government
B) a legislative act that inflicts capital punishment upon named persons without a judicial trial
C) a right existing under natural law, independent of manmade law
D) four federal laws enacted in 1798 in anticipation of war with France that required alien registration, empowered the president to deport all aliens from nations that were at war with the United States
E) a law making a person criminally liable for an act that was not criminal at the time it was committed
F) a person who opposes establishment of a strong, centralized government in favor of local control
G) principle that all people and the government itself are obliged to follow legitimately enacted and fairly enforced laws
H) the power of the judiciary, as the final interpreter of the law, to declare an act of a coordinate governmental branch of state unconstitutional
I) a writ whose purpose is to obtain immediate relief from illegal imprisonment by having the "body" (i.e., the prisoner) delivered from custody and brought before that court
J) the concept that there exists, independent of manmade law, a law laid down by God or by nature, which human society must observe in order to be happy and at peace

Question 53

Match the term its description .

-natural right

A) a person who supports a strong, centralized government
B) a legislative act that inflicts capital punishment upon named persons without a judicial trial
C) a right existing under natural law, independent of manmade law
D) four federal laws enacted in 1798 in anticipation of war with France that required alien registration, empowered the president to deport all aliens from nations that were at war with the United States
E) a law making a person criminally liable for an act that was not criminal at the time it was committed
F) a person who opposes establishment of a strong, centralized government in favor of local control
G) principle that all people and the government itself are obliged to follow legitimately enacted and fairly enforced laws
H) the power of the judiciary, as the final interpreter of the law, to declare an act of a coordinate governmental branch of state unconstitutional
I) a writ whose purpose is to obtain immediate relief from illegal imprisonment by having the "body" (i.e., the prisoner) delivered from custody and brought before that court
J) the concept that there exists, independent of manmade law, a law laid down by God or by nature, which human society must observe in order to be happy and at peace

Question 54

Match the term its description .

-Alien and Sedition Acts

A) a person who supports a strong, centralized government
B) a legislative act that inflicts capital punishment upon named persons without a judicial trial
C) a right existing under natural law, independent of manmade law
D) four federal laws enacted in 1798 in anticipation of war with France that required alien registration, empowered the president to deport all aliens from nations that were at war with the United States
E) a law making a person criminally liable for an act that was not criminal at the time it was committed
F) a person who opposes establishment of a strong, centralized government in favor of local control
G) principle that all people and the government itself are obliged to follow legitimately enacted and fairly enforced laws
H) the power of the judiciary, as the final interpreter of the law, to declare an act of a coordinate governmental branch of state unconstitutional
I) a writ whose purpose is to obtain immediate relief from illegal imprisonment by having the "body" (i.e., the prisoner) delivered from custody and brought before that court
J) the concept that there exists, independent of manmade law, a law laid down by God or by nature, which human society must observe in order to be happy and at peace

Question 55

What were the arguments against ratification of the U.S. Constitution?

Question 56

The ideas of which philosophers served as a basis for the founding of the U.S. constitution?

Question 57

How has the U.S. legal concepts of judicial review and a written constitution provided a basis for other countries to follow?

Question 58

What impact did the Warren Court era leave on modern constitutional law?

Question 59

If you were living at the time of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, explain which political party you would support more: the Federalists or Anti-Federalists.

Question 60

Which U.S. Supreme Court chief justice has left the greatest impact on the laws in the United States? Explain your position.