Deck 14: The Courts

Question 1

Criminal offenses such as arson,theft,and murder are almost always the sole responsibility of which entity?

A)The state
B)The federal system
C)The appellate system
D)The district or local level
E)Both the local and federal system equally

Answer 1

A

Question 2

At stake in the Marbury v.Madison decision was whether William Marbury

A)was entitled to financial relief for damage to his reputation.
B)was eligible for election to the U.S. House of Representatives.
C)had been unjustly tried twice for the same offense.
D)had committed treason against the United States.
E)had a legal right to be hired as a justice of the peace in the District of Columbia.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Plea bargaining is the process by which

A)a defendant makes an emotional plea for mercy from the court.
B)a defendant pleads guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence.
C)jurors bargain among themselves to reach a verdict.
D)civil cases involving large sums of money are settled out of court.
E)the prosecuting attorney waives the jury process.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Judicial review is

A)the leading journal covering the actions and decisions of the courts.
B)the right of Congress to approve presidential nominations to the courts.
C)the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws invalid if they violate the Constitution.
D)the power of Congress to review the decisions of the courts.
E)the authority of a bureaucratic body to overrule judicial action that conflicts with its rules.

Question 5

Of all cases filed by litigants,_____ percent are filed in state courts rather than federal courts.​

A)​5
B)​25
C)​50
D)​75
E)​95

Question 6

Federal appellate courts review and can overturn

A)precedents set by the U.S. Supreme Court.
B)only federal criminal cases.
C)rulings made and procedures followed by the lower federal courts and administrative agencies.
D)guilt or innocence of defendants.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 7

Since the U.S.Constitution was ratified,the Supreme Court has used judicial review to invalidate about _________ national laws.

A)50
B)180
C)925
D)2,200
E)5,400

Question 8

With its ruling in the case Marbury v.Madison,the U.S.Supreme Court established

A)the right of federal courts to hear state disputes.
B)the power of Congress to create additional federal courts.
C)the authority of the president to use a line-item veto on appropriations.
D)that state courts could not apply federal laws.
E)that the courts could review laws to determine whether they conflicted with the Constitution.

Question 9

Which of the following can be used to overturn a Supreme Court decision declaring a federal law unconstitutional?

A)Congressional nullification
B)An amendment to the Constitution
C)Presidential veto
D)A national referendum
E)Judicial impeachment

Question 10

Which of the following statements concerning the Supreme Court's Brown v.Board of Education decision is correct?

A)Chief Justice Earl Warren died shortly before the Supreme Court took up the decision.
B)The Supreme Court postponed hearing the case until after the outcome of the 1952 presidential election.
C)It was a 5-4 decision.
D)Three justices disagreed with the majority's opinion, but agreed to make the opinion unanimous out of concern for the Court's public reputation.
E)In its decision, the Supreme Court only technically struck down segregated schools in the District of Columbia.

Question 11

A circuit is

A)a group of policymakers with whom a judge is friendly.
B)the procedural path along which an appeal must travel.
C)the geographical area over which a court of appeals hears cases.
D)the set of procedures that Supreme Court justices use to select cases for review.
E)a group of judges joining together to write an opinion.

Question 12

According to Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No.78,the power of judicial review

A)was an essential barrier to legislative oppression.
B)violates the principle of checks and balances.
C)is inconsistent with the Constitution.
D)is inherently antidemocratic.
E)implies the ability of the Supreme Court to usurp the power of other branches.

Question 13

​When an act of Congress conflicts with the Constitution,

A)the president is charged with revising the act to "cure the conflict."
B)​the act is invalid.
C)​the Congress is empowered to edit the constitutional provision in question.
D)​the Supreme Court is empowered to edit the act in question.
E)​an executive agency must draft regulations balancing the constitutional and legislative provisions to achieve the best result.

Question 14

In the years immediately after ratification of the ​constitution,the Supreme Court

A)​was seen as a fully co-equal branch of government.
B)​accepted so many cases that they couldn't handle them, and quickly created the certiorari petition to cut down on their workload.
C)​was not a particularly powerful branch of government.
D)​met and heard cases year round, unlike today.
E)​was immediately, as the highest and most influential court, able to recruit the best legal minds in the nation.

Question 15

The Supreme Court has reversed its previous decisions _________ times in its history.

A)only 10
B)90
C)240
D)​575
E)over 900

Question 16

Alexander Hamilton argued that the judicial branch was the __________ branch of national government.

A)most legitimate
B)most reliable
C)weakest
D)wisest
E)least flexible

Question 17

State judges are obligated to follow the U.S.Constitution whenever state law conflicts with it under the Constitution's

A)judicial review clause.
B)supremacy clause.
C)federalism clause.
D)uniformity clause.
E)None of these choices is true.

Question 18

To determine how a statute should be applied,judges look for the legislature's intent,reading reports of committee hearings and debates,and this is known as

A)judicial review.
B)statutory construction.
C)Roman legal tradition.
D)the rule of four.
E)parliamentary review.

Question 19

Which justice famously wrote in the Marbury v.Madison decision,"It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is"?

A)Thomas Jefferson
B)John Jay
C)Oliver Ellsworth
D)John Marshall
E)James Madison

Question 20

To appeal means to

A)make a plea on national television.
B)take a case to a higher court.
C)submit a "friend of the court" brief.
D)argue a case before a judge or a court.
E)ask for a reduction in the sentence imposed.

Question 21

Most cases reach the U.S.Supreme Court through its __________ jurisdiction.

A)appellate
B)concurrent
C)original
D)secondary
E)spatial

Question 22

The judicial principle of tending to honor precedents in similar cases is known as_____________.

A)​plea bargaining
B)voir dire​
C)jurisdiction
D)​equity
E)stare decisis

Question 23

About how many requests for review does the U.S.Supreme Court receive each year?

A)1,500
B)9,000
C)4,000
D)400
E)12,500

Question 24

To enter the federal court system,litigants in state cases must

A)first have had their case decided by the highest court in the state.
B)​​present a valid constitutional question to be decided by the justices.
C)​simply pay the required fee and file appropriate paperwork.
D)have a case to which the federal government is a party.
E)​argue before and be approved by a special master.

Question 25

Approximately how many cases does the Supreme Court select each year as worthy of review?

A)More than 500
B)Fewer than 100
C)Fewer than 50
D)More than 1,000
E)Around 600

Question 26

A litigant may appeal a district court verdict if

A)​they lose and are unhappy with that outcome.
B)​the case is of significant public interest.
C)​another person was believed to be as guilty as the person convicted by the court, but was not charged and tried.
D)​rulings made by the judge during the trial are at odds with supreme court precedent.
E)the defendant was from a different state than the person making the complaint.

Question 27

The Supreme Court's original jurisdiction extends to cases involving

A)ambassadors.
B)disputes between citizens of different states.
C)disputes where the federal government is a defendant.
D)racial discrimination.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 28

The appellate jurisdiction of the U.S.Supreme Court can be changed by

A)Congress.
B)no one.
C)the president.
D)the Justice Department.
E)the Supreme Court itself.

Question 29

​Cases involving _____________ heard before the Supreme Court actually impact more people lives than other types of cases.

A)​foreign governments
B)​social issues
C)​litigants in different states
D)​businesses
E)​constitutionality of state legislation

Question 30

Judicial interpretation of the law means that judges,in effect,

A)make policy.
B)are truly independent.
C)are not influenced by their own individual values and beliefs.
D)will rarely disagree when writing their opinions.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 31

By most accounts,the justices of the U.S.Supreme Court disapprove of attorneys that

A)attempt to summarize the major points of an argument.
B)try to be "conversational."
C)are new to the federal system.
D)argue aggressively.
E)read from a prepared text.

Question 32

Supreme Court review is granted to a case

A)at the discretion of the chief justice.
B)only by a unanimous vote of all justices.
C)at the request of any one justice.
D)when the district and appellate court rulings disagree.
E)by the permission of any four justices.

Question 33

The __________ represents the federal government before the Supreme Court.

A)attorney general
B)solicitor general
C)secretary of justice
D)chief justice
E)assistant chief litigator

Question 34

Most requests for cases to be heard by the Supreme Court take the form of petitions for

A)stare decisis.
B)lex legis.
C)oyez.
D)concordance.
E)certiorari.

Question 35

Whether or not the Supreme Court should permit flag burning as a form of political protest can be seen as a tradeoff between

A)freedom and order.
B)freedom and equality.
C)equality and order.
D)freedom and pluralism.
E)majoritarianism and order.

Question 36

Supreme Court oral arguments are typically conducted

A)year round.
B)from July through September.
C)from January through March.
D)from October through April.
E)from May through August.

Question 37

The Supreme Court's decisions in two flag-burning cases have

A)held that flag burning is a punishable desecration of a sacred national symbol.
B)​been at odds with each other, leaving uncertainty about this symbolically important area of the law.
C)​held that flag burning is legally protected political expression.
D)​both sent the cases back to lower courts for rehearing, where the litigants settled, so there is no final decision to point to.
E)​been decided on narrow procedural grounds, with no decision on the main legal issue.

Question 38

In a case between a large grocery vendor and the Federal Trade Commission,entities sympathetic to the vendor who are not official parties to the suit file supporting briefs for the vendor's position.This is known as

A)stare decisis.
B)a writ of mandamus.
C)certiorari.
D)amicus curiae.
E)infringement.

Question 39

Supreme Court cases must

A)pass through district courts.
B)involve a constitutional issue.
C)resolve a dispute between different state laws.
D)begin in state courts.
E)raise a federal question.

Question 40

Appellate court proceedings may include

A)witnesses.
B)juries.
C)cross-examination.
D)presentation of new evidence.
E)oral argument.

Question 41

​About ____ percent of cases,either criminal or civil,in federal district courts are tried rather than being disposed of through plea bargaining.

A)​10
B)25
C)​50
D)​75
E)​90

Question 42

Agreement with a judgment for different reasons from those set forth in the majority opinion is known as

A)dissent.
B)judicial activism.
C)judicial restraint.
D)concurrence.
E)judicial review.

Question 43

One exception to the general rule,which the Supreme Court does not rule out of line with popular opinion,concerns the Court's decisions on

A)gay marriage.
B)federalism.
C)capital punishment.
D)gun control.
E)prayer in public schools.

Question 44

When judges adjudicate cases and present explanations justifying their rulings,they publish them in the form of

A)writs.
B)precedents.
C)opinions.
D)briefs.
E)treatises.

Question 45

The most common background experience among recent Supreme Court nominees is judicial experience,and this can be explained by the fact that

A)a judge's previous opinions serve as good predictors of his or her future opinions on the High Court.
B)all Senators confirming or rejecting nominees are lawyers.
C)a Supreme Court justice must have passed the bar exam.
D)all Senators confirming or rejecting nominees are lawyers and a Supreme Court justice must have passed the bar exam.
E)None of these choices is true.

Question 46

Despite concerns about diversity on the federal bench during the administrations of George H.W.Bush and Bill Clinton,__________ remained the dominant motivating force behind judicial appointments.

A)ideology
B)activism
C)restraint
D)regionalism
E)patronage

Question 47

​A group of citizens around the country believe they have been victimized by poor design of a car's braking system.They might combine their interests in a(n)___________ claim.

A)​group solicitation
B)​amicus
C)class action​
D)​de novo
E)group damages​

Question 48

The American system in which almost all state judges are elected is mirrored by ______________ other countries around the world.​

A)almost all
B)more than half of
C)roughly half of
D)​less than half of
E)​almost no

Question 49

Within eight months of the _________ Supreme Court decision,more than two dozen constitutional amendments had been introduced in Congress,although none passed.

A)Roe v. Wade
B)Brown v. Board of Education
C)Marbury v. Madison
D)Bush v. Gore
E)None of these choices is true.

Question 50

If the chief justice is not in the majority when a case is decided,the responsibility for opinion assignment rests with the

A)most junior justice on the Court.
B)most senior associate justice in the majority.
C)chief justice, as in other cases.
D)most senior associate justice in the minority.
E)justice assigned by the chief justice.

Question 51

The idea that the courts are a policymaking branch of government and that the individual values and interests of judges should reflect the different values and interests of the population at large is most consistent with

A)majoritarian democracy.
B)direct democracy.
C)the elite model of the American system.
D)pluralist democracy.
E)liberal democracy.

Question 52

_______________ is a Supreme Court justice's most critical function.

A)Public speaking to explain the law to the public, thereby building support for the American legal system,
B)Arguing persuasively in the Court's weekly conferences
C)​Asking probing questions during oral arguments
D)Consulting with lawyers who subsequently submit briefs to the Court
E)​​Opinion writing

Question 53

In a 2013 opinion,the Supreme Court _____________ the Defense of Marriage Act.​

A)​upheld
B)​failed to rule on
C)​struck down a portion of
D)​declared unconstitutional
E)​declined to hear arguments regarding

Question 54

The current justice most likely to cast the "deciding vote" in a 5-4 split Supreme Court case is

A)Clarence Thomas.
B)Ruth Ginsburg.
C)Anthony Kennedy.
D)John Roberts.
E)Stephen Breyer.

Question 55

​The view that judges should generally defer to the decisions of elected officials in their decisions is known as

A)​stare decisis.
B)​​judicial restraint.
C)amicus curiae.
D)​solicitation​.
E)judicial activism.

Question 56

​The text suggests that the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v.Gore provides evidence for the proposition that

A)​liberal justices are more activist than conservative justices.
B)​justices tend not to display partisanship in their legal decisions.
C)​conservative justices can be judicial activists.
D)​liberal justices frequently support conservative decisions, but not vice versa.
E)​judicial activism comes almost exclusively from liberal justices.

Question 57

The U.S.Supreme Court has decided that warrantless searches of curbside garbage​

A)​violate the constitutional prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure.
B)​are a matter for state legislatures to decide.
C)​have not been frequent enough to justify a decision by the highest court in the land.
D)​do not violate the Constitution.
E)​are not a contributor to the war on terror.

Question 58

A 2013 Senate rule change allows debate on judges other than Supreme Court justices ​to be cut off by

A)​a 60-vote majority.
B)presidential proclamation.
C)​a simple majority.
D)​an agreement of the Senate Majority Leader and Ranking Minority Member.
E)​a vote of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Question 59

A decision disagreeing with the majority opinion's argument is known as a

A)concordium.
B)certiorari.
C)dissent.
D)concurrence.
E)rebuttal.

Question 60

One critical thing to remember about such terms as activism and restraint is that they are

A)the creations of members of Congress.
B)irrelevant to models of democracy.
C)excellent predictors of judicial decisions.
D)not tied to any particular ideology.
E)generally static in meaning.

Question 61

Summarize the Supreme Court's ruling in the case Marbury v.Madison.

Question 62

Discuss what factors tend to make an oral argument before the Supreme Court more successful.

Question 63

Describe Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren's tactics in convincing all of his fellow Supreme Court justices to rule unanimously that public school segregation was unconstitutional in the Brown v.Board of Education case.

Question 64

Discuss the process through which judges are appointed to the federal judiciary.​

Question 65

How may state courts write opinions in a way that can impact the likelihood of federal court review?

Question 66

Explain the difference between a civil and a criminal case.

Question 67

What is the principle of stare decisis?

Question 68

Discuss judicial activism and judicial restraint,and explain what role political ideology plays,if any,in whether an opinion is considered to be representative of either.

Question 69

Explain the difference between the Supreme Court's original and appellate jurisdiction.

Question 70

What was Alexander Hamilton's defense of judicial review in his essay Federalist No.78?

Question 71

Explain the relationship between public opinion and Supreme Court decisions.​