Deck 1: The American Legal System

Question 1

The United States legal system

A) follows the traditions inherited from England by the thirteen colonies
B) follows the inquisitorial system used in much of Europe.
C) follows the traditions of ancient Jewish law.
D) none of the above

Answer 1

follows the traditions inherited from England by the thirteen colonies

Question 2

In the American legal system

A) government is organized as a contract between the people and the government.
B) some individuals are above the law.
C) individual interests are not restrained although the interests of corporations and other entities are restrained.
D) unlimited powers are granted to the Federal Government

Answer 2

government is organized as a contract between the people and the government.

Question 3

The Constitution of the United States

A) increases the power of the federal government.
B) limits the power of federal government to insure that individual rights will be preserved.
C) only affects the power of state governments, not federal
D) does not affect the power of any government

Answer 3

limits the power of federal government to insure that individual rights will be preserved.

Question 4

Supreme authority is given to the federal government

A) in all cases
B) in cases that pertain to governing family and contractual relationships
C) only in specified cases
D) No government ever has supreme authority

Question 5

All of these are broad classes of government power in the United States except

A) sovereign powers
B) police powers
C) parens patriae ( parent of the nation)

Question 6

Government powers are separated into three branches. This is done in order to

A) give balance of power among the branches
B) allow each branch to check the actions of the other branches
C) model the branches after the system of government that existed in France at the time of the framing of the U.S. Constitution
D) Both a and b

Question 7

Administrative appeals

A) allow a person to go to court and ask a judge to review an agency's decision before exhausting the administrative appeals procedure
B) enable the court to sometimes refines the meaning of administrative laws by deciding whether the administrative issue is consistent with regulations
C) Have been deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court because they give too much power to the federal courts
D) Have been deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court because they give too much power to state courts

Question 8

All of these can be considered aspects of due process except

A) governments and government officials cannot act arbitrarily
B) "fundamental fairness" to justice and value assigned to individual rights and dignity
C) each court case deserves an ample or "due" processing period, or amount of time, to review facts and try individuals accused of a crime
D) All of these are examples of due process

Question 9

Under some circumstances, even basic rights may be restricted by law. When this is the case, the people whose interests are affected

A) are entitled to more procedural protections in a court of law than when a basic right is not at stake
B) are entitled to less procedural protection than when a basic right is not at stake
C) Procedural protections are not effected by this
D) Have the right to waive the accusations against them

Question 10

The Court of Last Resort is usually the last stop in the appeals process, and a court like this, which is comparable to the U.S. Supreme Court

A) is only found in some states
B) Is found in all states
C) Is not found in any states, but is a federal branch of government
D) Is a court that specifically focuses on capital punishment cases e.

Question 11

Criminal defendants

A) are entitled to a higher degree of due process than civil defendants
B) can waive the right to a trial by jury and either plea bargain or have a bench trial
C) must have a trial by jury
D) Both A and B
E) Both C and B

Question 12

When comparing criminal and civil trials, it can be noted that

A) in a criminal trial, the defendant can plead elect not to testify and no inference can be drawn about his or her guilt (responsibility) by this decision, whereas, in a civil trial this is not the case.
B) in both criminal and civil cases, the defendant can decide not to testify and the decision will not be used to infer the defendants guilt (responsibility).
C) In a civil trial, the defendant can refuse to testify and no inference can be drawn about his or her guilt (responsibility) by this decision, whereas, in a criminal court, this is not the case.
D) None of the above

Question 13

When the Supreme court establishes a constitutional interpretation

A) only congress can undo it.
B) only state legislatures can undo it
C) neither state legislatures nor the congress can undo it
D) A Supreme Court ruling can never be undone by anyone or in any circumstances

Question 14

The ultimate arbiter of the legal relationship between the states and the federal government is

A) the highest court in the state who is in conflict with the federal government.
B) the legislative body of the state in conflict with the federal government
C) The Congress
D) The Supreme Court

Question 15

Rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights

A) are absolute
B) can only be infringed when they conflict with another basic right
C) can only be infringed when there is compelling reason
D) can only be infringed by an act of Congress

Question 16

Tort law refers to

A) a civil dispute in which the government if seeking to exercise its parens patriae powers to confine someone against their will.
B) a civil suit in which a party is seeking monetary compensation for an injury.
C) a local law that dictates the ingredients in pastries.
D) dispute over the interpretation of a contract.

Question 17

Differentiate between police power and parens patriae power. Give examples of the use of each.

Question 18

Explain the importance of Marbury v Madison to the balance of powers at the federal level.

Question 19

What is meant by administrative law? Give two examples of the application of administrative law.

Question 20

Identify how, despite the limitations of Congress to impose legislation on the states, it can nevertheless affect state policies. Give one example.

Question 21

Explain what a class action suit is and how it is used to bring about institutional reform. Give one example.

Question 22

The nine members of the U.S. Supreme Court are called

A) Justices
B) judges
C) legislators
D) elected officials

Question 23

Of all cases brought before them,, the nine members of the U.S. Supreme court fully review

A) almost every one
B) a very small proportion of cases
C) only the most interesting ones
D) only those where there is no conflict of law

Question 24

Of all criminal cases, most are settled by

A) a jury as a matter of right
B) a waiver to civil court
C) a plea bargain
D) an adversarial bench trial

Question 25

In all civil cases,

A) The state is necessarily a party
B) Losing defendants pay heavy fines to the government
C) Plaintiffs represent the government
D) The dispute is between private parties

Question 26

Criminal defendants

A) are entitled by the Constitution to a high degree of procedural protection
B) must be tried by a jury of their peers
C) are often tried in civil court where they can more easily be found guilty
D) are charged with breaking unwritten laws

Question 27

Our Constitution and governmental system is designed to

A) Give the government unlimited power over people
B) Give people the freedom to pursue their legitimate interests within limits necessary to have a functioning society
C) Allow wise individuals of integrity and good faith to govern despite the laws
D) Help people develop contracts that govern relationships between private parties

Question 28

The U.S. Constitution

A) Gives the federal government unlimited powers
B) Has a Bill of Rights, but these are unenforceable recommendations
C) Provided for state sovereignty in many areas of government
D) Is the "Supreme law of the land" and does not allow states to have their own constitutions.

Question 29

Government powers are divided into two broad classes, those governing

A) voluntary and involuntary behaviors
B) health and private economic transactions
C) what parents can do (parens patriae) and what people in authority can do (police powers)
D) health and safety (police power), and welfare of all its people (parens patriae)

Question 30

Because of our system of federalism, laws about the same subject

A) can be different in different states
B) must be the same in all states
C) can readily be imposed on the states by the Congress
D) are determined by a libertarian viewpoint in most states

Question 31

The Constitution contains a system of separation of powers and checks and balances because the founders

A) had faith in the wisdom and personal integrity of the leaders of their day
B) wanted to guard against arbitrary actions by any one branch of government
C) had a mechanical and engineering model for government in mind
D) had faith in the judiciary but not in the legislature

Question 32

Due process of law means

A) The judiciary has a special role in government
B) That rules and laws are of secondary importance to what administrative agencies do
C) That government actions have to be consistent with law and fundamentally fair
D) That "enemy combatants" do not have fundamental rights

Question 33

Procedural due process and substantive due process

A) both refer to government methods for limiting individual rights
B) both have legal meaning only for state appellate court cases
C) both refer to exactly the same kind of rights
D) None of the above

Question 34

Appeals courts

A) hold hearings to decide matters of law and legal procedure
B) redo trials and hear receive new evidence
C) have an easy job because matters of law and procedure are precise and clear
D) are always courts of last resort

Question 35

In a class action suit, a group of people are allowed to bring one suit when

A) they all suffer different wrongs but have the same lawyer
B) the same facts and considerations of law affect all similarly
C) a mental hospital and a prison are the named defendants
D) legally the burden of proof is the lenient one of beyond a reasonable doubt

Question 36

Stare decisis means

A) the appellate justices hearing a case are paying very close attention
B) that double jeopardy does not apply because different legal interests are involved
C) that courts try to follow precedents or principles established in previous cases
D) that judges will make radical changes in the law when they follow this principle

Question 37

When it comes to constitutional interpretations

A) the federal legislature can override decisions it doesn't like
B) the executive doesn't have to follow decisions he or she doesn't like
C) the U.S. Supreme Court must follow stare decisis and can't overrule its own previous constitutional decisions
D) only the U.S. Supreme Court has the final say, unless the constitution is amended

Question 38

State legislators can respond to Supreme Court decisions striking down a state law

A) by passing a new law that meets the Supreme court's objections
B) by ignoring the Supreme Court because they are elected by the people and the members of the Court are not
C) by voting in new justices with opinions closer to their own.
D) Amending their own state constitutions to meet the Court's objections to the state law

Question 39

Members of the U.S. Supreme Court are supposed to be insulated from the political process

A) because they have lifetime appointments
B) because only highly respected men and women are acceptable for appointment to the Court
C) because they try to be faithful to the language and meaning of the constitution, and to our form of government and traditions
D) all of the above