Deck 9: The Judiciary

Question 1

The authority to be the first court to hear a case is which type of jurisdiction?

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

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Federal district court judges are appointed to __________ terms.

A) three-year
B) ten-year
C) twenty-year
D) life

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Of all current federal judges,more were appointed by President __________ than by any other president.

A) Barack Obama
B) George W. Bush
C) Bill Clinton
D) George H. W. Bush

Answer 3

B

Question 4

How many tiers does the federal judiciary have?

A) three
B) six
C) 12
D) 15

Question 5

In which type of court do cases generally begin?

A) trial
B) appellate
C) legislative
D) circuit

Question 6

Which of the following is the authority vested in a particular court to hear and decide the issues in a particular case?

A) jurisdiction
B) judicial review
C) jurisprudence
D) stare decisis

Question 7

__________ is the power of the courts to review and overturn the actions of the executive and legislative branches.

A) Original jurisdiction
B) Stare decisis
C) Judicial review
D) Precedent

Question 8

A writ of __________ is a request submitted to the U.S.Supreme Court to review a lower court decision.

A) mandamus
B) prohibition
C) attachment
D) certiorari

Question 9

Who nominates judges to the U.S.district courts?

A) the president
B) the House of Representatives
C) the Senate
D) the Supreme Court

Question 10

Following oral arguments,the justices gather for a __________ during which they discuss the case and cast preliminary votes.

A) conference
B) moot court session
C) hearing
D) review

Question 11

A(n)__________ brief might be submitted by an interest group hoping to sway the Supreme Court's decision by providing the group's legal rationale for why the Court should rule a certain way.

A) amicus curiae
B) habeas corpus
C) outsider
D) coram nobis

Question 12

Courts established by Congress for specialized purposes are known as __________ courts.

A) appellate
B) constitutional
C) legislative
D) public

Question 13

Who represents the federal government in appeals to the Supreme Court?

A) attorney general
B) president
C) Speaker of the House
D) solicitor general

Question 14

The __________ Act of 1789 established the basic three-tiered structure of the federal court system.

A) Federal Courts
B) Appellate
C) Confirmation
D) Judiciary

Question 15

Which Article of the Constitution creates the federal judiciary?

A) Article I
B) Article II
C) Article III
D) Article IV

Question 16

Which of the following confirms all federal judges?

A) House of Representatives
B) Supreme Court
C) Senate
D) president

Question 17

For a case to be heard in the Supreme Court,a minimum of how many justices must vote to hear the case?

A) one
B) four
C) five
D) six

Question 18

In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court first claim the right of judicial review?

A) Chisholm v. Georgia
B) Brown v. Board of Education
C) United States v. Nixon
D) Marbury v. Madison

Question 19

How many justices currently serve on the Supreme Court?

A) five
B) six
C) eight
D) nine

Question 20

Recent presidents have increased the __________ of the federal courts.

A) size
B) salaries
C) experience level
D) diversity

Question 21

In an informal process known as __________,presidents generally allow senators from the state in which a judicial vacancy occurs to block the nomination.

A) advice and consent
B) presidential deference
C) judicial purview
D) senatorial courtesy

Question 22

The U.S.courts of appeals are divided into __________ numbered circuits and two unnumbered circuits.

A) six
B) nine
C) eleven
D) twelve

Question 23

The U.S.Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is an example of which type of court?

A) constitutional
B) Article III
C) legislative
D) ex officio

Question 24

The vast majority of all cases are tried in __________.

A) federal courts
B) the U.S. district courts
C) appellate courts
D) state courts

Question 25

Only a(n)__________ court can review the decisions of a lower court.

A) trial
B) legislative
C) administrative
D) appellate

Question 26

In 1987,the Senate refused to confirm the nomination of which of the following to the Supreme Court?

A) Antonin Scalia
B) Earl Warren
C) Robert Bork
D) John Roberts

Question 27

Of the following,who was appointed by President George W.Bush?

A) Justice Alito
B) Justice Kagan
C) Justice Thomas
D) Justice Ginsburg

Question 28

Which of the following is an opinion written by a justice in the majority that outlines additional considerations he or she thinks are important?

A) concurring
B) en banc
C) dissenting
D) per curiam

Question 29

Which of the following is within the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court?

A) federal criminal matters
B) tax disputes
C) military tribunals
D) cases involving the state governments

Question 30

How many courts of appeals are in the federal system?

A) two
B) six
C) five
D) thirteen

Question 31

According to Marbury v.Madison,which clause implies the right of the Supreme Court to exercise judicial review?

A) the necessary and proper clause
B) the supremacy clause
C) the faithful execution clause
D) the full faith and credit clause

Question 32

In which federal courts are trials conducted?

A) circuit courts
B) district courts
C) courts of appeals
D) state supreme courts

Question 33

According to Article III of the Constitution,__________ has/have the power to create inferior federal courts.

A) Congress
B) the president
C) the Supreme Court
D) the states

Question 34

The Supreme Court provides a statement of the legal reasoning behind its decisions in written __________.

A) briefs
B) arguments
C) opinions
D) regulations

Question 35

Proponents of which of the following believe that judges should use their power broadly to further justice?

A) judicial restraint
B) strict constructionism
C) judicial activism
D) originalism

Question 36

As of 2014,how many African Americans have served on the U.S.Supreme Court?

A) zero
B) one
C) two
D) five

Question 37

In __________ the Supreme Court demonstrated its policy-making power by overruling its own prior decision in Plessy v.Ferguson.

A) Gideon v. Wainwright
B) McCulloch v. Maryland
C) Brown v. Board of Education
D) Marbury v. Madison

Question 38

Who presides over trials for presidential impeachment?

A) the vice president
B) the Speaker of the House
C) the chief justice
D) the president of the Senate

Question 39

How and whether judicial decisions are translated into actual policy is known as judicial __________.

A) implementation
B) execution
C) legislation
D) intention

Question 40

According to Figure 9.1,How Is the American Judicial System Structured?,which of the following has no original jurisdiction?

A) Supreme Court
B) U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
C) U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
D) U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Question 41

The Supreme Court's annual term begins on the first Thursday in April.

Question 42

Litigants have an automatic right of appeal to the Supreme Court.

Question 43

Article III of the Constitution contains the provisions related to the Supreme Court.

Question 44

All federal judicial nominations are first referred to which of the following for a hearing?

A) House Committee on the Courts
B) Senate Nominations Committee
C) attorney general
D) Senate Judiciary Committee

Question 45

The selection of federal judges is a highly political process.

Question 46

Strict constructionists believe that the Constitution should be interpreted in light of modern values.

Question 47

The U.S.Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is a constitutional court.

Question 48

When the U.S.Supreme Court agrees to hear a case appealed to it from a circuit court,it is exercising its __________ jurisdiction.

A) original
B) legislative
C) mandatory
D) appellate

Question 49

The Supreme Court only has original jurisdiction.

Question 50

Of the following presidents,who had the greatest influence on the composition of the federal judiciary as measured by the percentage of judgeships filled by that president?

A) Jimmy Carter
B) Ronald Reagan
C) George W. Bush
D) Bill Clinton

Question 51

The federal district courts are appellate courts.

Question 52

The Judiciary Act of 1789 established the federal circuit courts and district courts.

Question 53

If a judge believes that she should only strike down laws that clearly violate the Constitution,she likely believes in which of the following?

A) judicial activism
B) original intent
C) strict constructionism
D) judicial restraint

Question 54

A court that hears and weighs evidence in order to reach the first decision in a civil or criminal case is a court of __________ jurisdiction.

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

Question 55

A dissenting opinion is written by a justice who agrees with the final outcome of a case but disagrees with the rationale.

Question 56

Justice Elena Kagan did not have any judicial experience prior to her appointment to the Supreme Court.

Question 57

Of the more than 100 people who have been Supreme Court justices,a majority have been Catholic.

Question 58

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

A) an executive order
B) a district court
C) a constitutional amendment
D) a writ of certiorari

Question 59

The conference of the U.S.Supreme Court is __________.

A) limited to the justices and other court staff
B) limited to the justices themselves
C) open to the justices and the public
D) open to the justices and the media

Question 60

The Supreme Court regularly exercises its original jurisdiction.

Question 61

Article III guarantees that the __________ of federal judges will not be reduced during their service on the bench.

Question 62

Rotating three-judge panels typically decide cases in the federal courts of appeals.

Question 63

Justices who do not agree with the outcome of a case write __________ opinions.

Question 64

The president appoints federal judges with the advice and consent of the __________.

Question 65

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

Question 66

The courts of appeals hear appeals from the __________ courts.

Question 67

Describe the different types of federal constitutional courts.

Question 68

A lawyer's spoken presentation to the Court of the legal reasons why his or her client should win is called the __________.

Question 69

How are nominees to the federal district courts selected?

Question 70

Explain the "Rule of Four" and its relationship to the decision of the Supreme Court to hear a case.

Question 71

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

Question 72

__________ believe that courts should interpret the Constitution as the Framers wrote and originally intended it.

Question 73

Of the federal courts,only the __________ is explicitly mentioned in the Constitution.

Question 74

Judicial __________ is a philosophy of judicial decision making that posits judges should use their power broadly to further justice.

Question 75

Describe the strict constructionist judicial philosophy.Give an example of how it might be used.

Question 76

The solicitor general handles all appeals on behalf of the __________ before the Supreme Court.

Question 77

Describe the difference between original and appellate jurisdiction.

Question 78

Define an implementing population and a consumer population in the implementation of judicial decisions.Provide an example for each population.

Question 79

Marbury v.Madison significantly expanded the power of the federal judiciary.

Question 80

When is the Supreme Court most likely to hear a case?