Deck 12: The Federal Courts

Question 1

Original jurisdiction refers to:

A) the Constitution as the supreme law of the land
B) the court with the authority to hear a case first
C) the highest court with the power to overrule other courts
D) Congress's power to determine what cases the federal courts will hear
E) the president's power to appoint federal judges

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The area of authority possessed by a court,in terms of either subject area or geography,is called its:

A) appellate scope
B) judicial review
C) precedents
D) jurisdiction
E) mandate

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Trial courts in the federal judicial system are called:

A) grand juries
B) district courts
C) appellate courts
D) administrative courts
E) civil courts

Answer 3

B

Question 4

If a private individual brought a suit against a corporation for breaking a contract,what kind of law would this involve?

A) criminal
B) civil
C) public
D) plaintiff
E) common

Question 5

The party that brings a complaint in court is called the ______,and the one against whom the complaint is brought is called the ______.

A) defendant; plaintiff
B) plaintiff; precedent
C) plaintiff; defendant
D) litigator; juror
E) defendant; litigator

Question 6

What is the Uniform Commercial Code?

A) a federal law establishing common practices in each state regarding commercial affairs
B) a set of codes states may voluntarily adopt in order to reduce interstate differences in judicial opinions in contract law cases
C) judicial guidelines established by the Supreme Court explaining the meaning of federal economic regulations
D) a federal law regulating all forms of advertisements throughout the United States
E) a set of federal codes establishing common practices in each state regarding international commercial affairs

Question 7

A writ of habeas corpus declares that:

A) the government must show a legal cause for holding someone in detention
B) the government cannot send a defendant to stand trial in a geographically distant jurisdiction
C) a defendant in a felony trial must receive assistance from legal council
D) capital punishment can be neither cruel nor unusual
E) the government cannot search premises without a warrant issues by a judge

Question 8

The jurisdiction of each federal court is derived from:

A) the Constitution and federal law
B) the Supreme Court
C) state laws
D) the federal courts decide their own jurisdictions
E) the president

Question 9

Approximately what percentage of all court cases in the United States are heard in federal courts?

A) 1 percent
B) 5 percent
C) 10 percent
D) 30 percent
E) 55 percent

Question 10

All of the following are part of the official jurisdiction of the federal courts except:

A) treaties with other nations
B) federal statutes
C) cases involving the U.S. Constitution
D) cases involving citizens from the same state
E) any case in which the U.S. government is party

Question 11

Which of the following statements about federal courts is most accurate?

A) The federal government does not operate a court system.
B) Federal courts hear only a small fraction of all of the civil and criminal cases decided each year in the United States, and their decisions are rarely important because they are not allowed to interpret the Constitution or the federal laws that govern all Americans.
C) Although federal courts hear the vast majority of all civil and criminal cases decided each year in the United States, their decisions are rarely important because they are not allowed to interpret the Constitution or the federal laws that govern all Americans.
D) Federal courts hear the vast majority of all civil and criminal cases decided each year in the United States, and their decisions are extremely important because they interpret the Constitution and the federal laws that govern all Americans.
E) Although the federal courts hear only a small fraction of all of the civil and criminal cases decided each year in the United States, their decisions are extremely important because they interpret the Constitution and the federal laws that govern all Americans.

Question 12

When a case is resolved through a negotiated agreement before a full trial is completed,it is called:

A) a misdemeanor
B) a plea bargain
C) taking the Fifth
D) a writ of certiorari
E) mediation

Question 13

The doctrine of ______ requires courts to follow authoritative prior decisions when ruling on a case.

A) stare decisis
B) habeas corpus
C) lex talions
D) ex post facto
E) a priori

Question 14

In most circumstances,a supreme court is best described as a(n)______ court.

A) uniform
B) trial
C) advisory
D) appellate
E) elected

Question 15

The right of due process is best described as the right of:

A) everyone to appeal his trial
B) every citizen to vote
C) every person not to be treated arbitrarily by a government official or agency
D) every person to be a lawyer
E) every person to sue when they feel harmed in some way

Question 16

In what type of law is the government always the plaintiff?

A) public law
B) criminal law
C) civil law
D) common law
E) tort law

Question 17

If an individual is arrested because their home was searched by police without a legal warrant,they could argue in court that they had been denied:

A) a writ of habeas corpus
B) their Miranda rights
C) a writ of certiorari
D) judicial review
E) the due process of law

Question 18

Prisoners who are challenging their conviction are most likely to file a writ of:

A) habeas corpus
B) certiorari
C) jurisdiction
D) stare decisis
E) challenge

Question 19

The phrase stare decisis means:

A) "let the decision stand"
B) "the state will decide"
C) "the decision is void"
D) "the state must be decisive"
E) "the decision is made"

Question 20

Prior cases whose principles are used by judges to decide current cases are called:

A) public law
B) en blanc decisions
C) precedents
D) common law
E) ex post facto cases

Question 21

Why has partisan conflict surrounded federal judicial appointments in recent years?

A) Members of Congress do not want the president to have so much power that he can place anyone he wants on the federal bench.
B) The people recent presidents have chosen to nominate are often unqualified to be federal judges.
C) Public opinion has not been favorable to most of the people recent presidents have chosen to nominate.
D) There have not been enough minority nominees, including women.
E) The federal courts play an important role in shaping American law and politics.

Question 22

In 2009,President Obama's first appointment to the U.S.Supreme Court was:

A) David Souter
B) Samuel Alito
C) John Roberts
D) Sonia Sotomayor
E) Anthony Kennedy

Question 23

Why did many Republicans oppose President Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court?

A) She supported affirmative action.
B) She supported upholding Roe v. Wade.
C) She was the first Hispanic nominee to the Supreme Court.
D) She had never served as a judge in any capacity prior to nomination.
E) She supported overturning Roe v. Wade.

Question 24

How many justices currently serve on the Supreme Court?

A) seven
B) nine
C) ten
D) eleven
E) fifteen

Question 25

Senatorial courtesy describes the practice of:

A) senators from a president's party approving of a judicial nominee from their home state
B) including home-state senators in the formal vetting of district and circuit court judges
C) allowing any senator to place a hold on the consideration of a judicial nominee
D) permitting senators to officially swear in home-state district court judges
E) allowing senators to nominate members to the federal judiciary

Question 26

What is the most frequent and best-known action of Supreme Court justices in their role as circuit justices?

A) vetting cases for the Supreme Court
B) hearing challenges to state laws
C) writing writs of habeas corpus
D) reviewing requests for stays of execution
E) overturning laws passed by Congress

Question 27

What was known as the "court packing" plan?

A) the decision in the early nineteenth century that all federal courts should be guarded by members of the armed forces
B) the attempt by the Republican-dominated Senate of the 1990s to confirm as many conservative judges as possible
C) the attempt by Franklin Roosevelt to add sympathetic justices to the Supreme Court in order to get New Deal laws upheld as constitutional
D) the desire in Congress during the 1890s to expand the number of federal courts to ease the workload of the Supreme Court
E) the attempt by the Democratic-dominated Senate of the 1980s to confirm as many liberal judges as possible

Question 28

Which of the following statements best describes the Supreme Court?

A) The Court has no discretion whatsoever to decide which cases it will hear because its jurisdiction is defined entirely by the Constitution.
B) The Court has limited discretion to decide which cases it will hear and it is forced to hear many cases that address only narrow, technical issues of federal law.
C) The Court has limited discretion to decide which cases it will hear and it is forced to hear only those cases that raise the most important issues of federal law.
D) The Court has broad latitude to decide which cases it will hear and generally listens only those cases it deems to raise the most important issues.
E) The Court has broad latitude to decide which cases it will hear and generally avoids those cases that it deems to raise the most important issues.

Question 29

Through the exercise of ______,the Supreme Court has held actions or laws of the executive and legislative branches unconstitutional.

A) stare decisis
B) writs of certiorari
C) judicial review
D) clemency
E) writs of habeas corpus

Question 30

In which type of case does the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction?

A) any case involving the Constitution
B) any case involving an ambassador
C) any case involving the president
D) any case it wants to take up
E) any case involving a member of Congress

Question 31

The power of the Supreme Court to review state actions and legislation comes from:

A) the judicial review clause of Article III
B) the supremacy clause of Article VI
C) the Tenth Amendment
D) Marbury v. Madison
E) Congress

Question 32

In recent years,federal court appointments have:

A) been characterized by strict neutrality on the part of Congress
B) attracted very little attention from the media and special interest groups
C) been characterized by intense partisan and ideological efforts to support or defeat the candidate
D) been unaffected by ideological concerns
E) been confirmed very quickly

Question 33

Approximately how many judges currently sit on the federal district courts?

A) 9
B) 50
C) 75
D) 700
E) 2,500

Question 34

There are ______ U.S.district courts.

A) 50
B) 94
C) 100
D) 200
E) 434

Question 35

The Court's power to review acts of Congress has not been seriously questioned because:

A) the Court only overturns laws that are unpopular with a majority of voters
B) Congress granted the power of judicial review to the Court in the Federal Judicial Review Act of 1798
C) Congress and the President always agree with the decisions made by the Court
D) the Constitution explicitly grants this power to the Court in the "judicial review" clause of Article III
E) the Court has been reluctant to strike down congressional laws and has overturned only a small number over the last 200 years

Question 36

Why is the Supreme Court case of Marbury v.Madison important?

A) In this case, the Court declared the authority of Congress to regulate the economy of the United States.
B) In this case, the Court nationalized the Bill of Rights.
C) In this case, the Court authorized itself to exercise judicial review over laws passed by Congress.
D) In this case, the Court declared the secession of the Confederate states to be in violation of the Constitution.
E) In this case, the Court declared the segregation of schools based on race illegal.

Question 37

The size of the U.S.Supreme Court is set by:

A) the U.S. Constitution
B) Congress
C) a national convention
D) the American Bar Association
E) the president

Question 38

Which of the following statements about the U.S.Courts of Appeals is incorrect?

A) The appeals courts were created by Congress, not by the Constitution.
B) The appeals courts are able to hear all cases involving federal law, but not constitutional law.
C) About 20 percent of federal cases are heard by the appeals courts.
D) There are more than ten appeals courts in the United States.
E) Except for cases selected for review by the Supreme Court, decisions made by an appeals court are final.

Question 39

In what year was Marbury v.Madison decided?

A) 1789
B) 1803
C) 1861
D) 1929
E) 1967

Question 40

What is the main function of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?

A) The chief justice decides what cases will be heard by the full Court each term.
B) The chief justice always writes the Court's majority opinions.
C) The chief justice presides over the Court's public sessions and private conferences.
D) The chief justice is also the constitutional adviser to the president.
E) The chief justice is the constitutional adviser to Congress.

Question 41

Under normal rules of oral argument,each lawyer has ______ to present his or her case before the Supreme Court.

A) thirty minutes
B) an hour
C) ninety minutes
D) two hours
E) unlimited time

Question 42

Cases between two or more states are originally heard by:

A) both state supreme courts simultaneously
B) the federal district court in the state that initiates the lawsuit
C) the federal circuit court of appeals
D) the Supreme Court
E) the federal district court in the state that serves as the defendant in the lawsuit

Question 43

Which of the following is part of the Miranda rule?

A) Arrested people have the right to remain silent.
B) Arrested people have the right to sue the police for police brutality.
C) Arrested people have the right to a fair trial.
D) Arrested people have the right to face their accuser.
E) Arrested people have the right to a reasonable bail.

Question 44

When interest groups involved in litigation pursue a pattern-of-cases strategy,they are:

A) using legal arguments that have won in the past
B) bringing the same type of suit into multiple circuits, hoping that a contradiction in rulings will bring about a Supreme Court review
C) shopping around for the district where the likelihood of a favorable decision is highest
D) filing multiple friend of the court briefs, in the hope of influencing the legal arguments of the Supreme Court
E) filling cases in different courts on the same subject

Question 45

The assignment of the opinion in a Supreme Court case is:

A) unimportant because the final vote of the justices is the only statement that carries any weight in future cases
B) important because differences in wording and emphasis can have important implications for how the decision is interpreted in future litigation
C) unimportant because all justices usually describe their decisions in exactly the same way
D) important because every word of a decision is legally binding
E) unimportant because they are rarely, if ever, read by anyone involved in the legal process

Question 46

The case Baker v.Carr concerns:

A) desegregation of schools
B) apportionment of legislative seats
C) unwarranted searches and seizures
D) the separation of church and state
E) state restrictions on carrying handguns in public

Question 47

A person,agency,or interest group not directly a party to a case but with an interest in its outcome may file a(n)______ brief.

A) certiorari
B) per curiam
C) amicus curiae
D) standing
E) accompaniment

Question 48

Each year,the Supreme Court receives about ______ appeals and hears about ______ of them in full court.

A) 1,000; 500
B) 200; 10
C) 9,500; 80
D) 12,000; 300
E) 5,000; 100

Question 49

The number of cases filed in the Supreme Court has:

A) increased dramatically since 1940
B) decreased dramatically since 1940
C) remained the same since 1940
D) increased between 1940 and 1965 but decreased since 1965
E) decreased between 1940 and 1965 but increased since 1965

Question 50

A "certiorari pool" describes the:

A) computerized lottery system by which the Supreme Court selects its cases each year
B) practice by which Supreme Court law clerks work together to evaluate each petition
C) the method used to appoint the chief justice
D) the nickname for the water fountain in the courtyard of the Supreme Court building
E) the pool of applicants seeking appointment to the federal judiciary

Question 51

The written document in which attorneys explain why the court should rule in favor of their client is called a(n):

A) intervention
B) writ of certiorari
C) brief
D) writ of habeas corpus
E) argument

Question 52

Each Supreme Court justice is assigned ______ clerk(s).

A) one
B) four
C) eight
D) ten
E) fifteen

Question 53

Which of the following best describes the role of the solicitor general?

A) the chief legal counsel for the White House
B) the lawyer who represents the United States before the Supreme Court in cases where the federal government is a party
C) the chief lawyer for Congress who makes advisory opinions on the constitutionality of legislative proposals
D) the head of the Department of Justice
E) the chief legal counsel to the U.S. military

Question 54

Aside from the justices themselves,who or what has the greatest power in shaping the flow of cases to the Supreme Court?

A) the attorney general
B) the solicitor general
C) the Senate judiciary committee
D) the state supreme courts
E) Congress

Question 55

When the Supreme Court refuses to review a lower-court decision,announcing this decision through a brief unsigned opinion,it is called ______ opinion.

A) a per curiam
B) an ex parte
C) a concurrence
D) an amicus curiae
E) an ex post facto

Question 56

What is the significance of dissenting opinions?

A) They are made to appeal to a justice's constituency groups.
B) They have as much weight of law as the majority's opinion does.
C) Dissents are signs that the Court is in disagreement on an issue and could change its ruling.
D) Dissents are meant to confuse lawyers and government officials as to the true meaning of a decided case.
E) They are meant to appease the losing side in a case.

Question 57

When justices agree with the ruling of a court majority but not all of its reasoning,they may often write a(n):

A) dissent
B) concurring opinion
C) ex parte
D) per curiam
E) writ of certiori

Question 58

Cases such as Loving v.Virginia and Griswold v.Connecticut illustrate that:

A) the Supreme Court will rarely strike down laws passed directly by voters through the initiative process
B) the Supreme Court has the authority to overturn state statutes that contravene rights and privileges guaranteed under the Constitution
C) the Supreme Court does not have the authority to overturn state statutes
D) the Supreme Court does not have the authority to strike down sections of state constitutions
E) the Supreme Court will only overturn state laws when the President and Congress agree with the Court's decision

Question 59

Most cases reach the Supreme Court through the:

A) writ of appeal
B) writ of certiorari
C) writ of habeas corpus
D) writ of amicus curiae
E) state courts

Question 60

Which of the following kinds of cases are not likely to be accepted by the Supreme Court?

A) cases in which the federal government is an appellant
B) cases that address state laws but that do not raise constitutional issues
C) cases that raise important questions about civil rights
D) cases that involve conflicting decisions by federal circuit courts
E) cases that raise important questions about civil liberties

Question 61

The doctrine of stare decisis compels judges to use precedents to decide current cases.

Question 62

The Supreme Court has no discretion over the cases it hears each term.

Question 63

Congress has created a single federal appellate court for each of the fifty states.

Question 64

In 2000,the Supreme Court ignored stare decisis by overturning its own Miranda rule.

Question 65

The process of confirming federal court appointments has recently become contentious.Describe the steps to becoming a federal judge.Why has this process become so controversial in recent years? Describe some examples of this conflict in the confirmation process.

Question 66

The role of the judiciary has gotten narrower and weaker since World War II.

Question 67

Since the New Deal,the majority of litigation in the United States is found in federal courts.

Question 68

The Supreme Court is established under Article III of the U.S.Constitution.

Question 69

The process of judicial confirmations is a low-key and uncontroversial affair.

Question 70

Many interest groups have used the federal courts to pursue their policy goals.

Question 71

Earl Warren is known as a judicial activist.

Question 72

Activist judges believe that the courts should:

A) always overrule state legislatures and governors when making decisions
B) interpret the U.S. Constitution according to the intentions of its framers and defer to the views of Congress when interpreting federal statutes
C) be more aggressive and ideological than the president when vacancies occur on the court
D) go beyond the words of a constitution or statute to consider the broader societal implications of its decisions
E) always defer judgment to precedents set by previous courts

Question 73

Fifty percent of lower federal court cases are accepted for review by the courts of appeals.

Question 74

If someone is an advocate of judicial restraint,he or she believes:

A) in looking only at the words of the Constitution in order to understand its meaning
B) that the Court should beware of overturning the judgments of popularly elected legislatures
C) that judges should limit their interpretations to the intention of the law's framers
D) the Court should go beyond the words of the Constitution or a statute to consider the broader societal implications of its decisions
E) that judges should consider legal questions rather than deciding political matters

Question 75

Only the solicitor general is permitted to file amicus curiae briefs in a case involving the Constitution.

Question 76

Explain the basic structure of the federal judicial system.Describe the three different levels of federal courts.How are the lower courts created? What is the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court?

Question 77

______ is an example of a justice who advocated judicial restraint.

A) Harry Blackmun
B) Earl Warren
C) John Marshall
D) Felix Frankfurter
E) Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Question 78

Write an essay analyzing the exercise of judicial review.What is judicial review,what are its origins,and why is it often so controversial? What is the significance of Marbury v.Madison? Give some examples of notable uses of judicial review in Supreme Court history.

Question 79

Judicial review over acts of Congress was established by Marbury v.Madison.

Question 80

Dissenting opinions can be signed only by the chief justice or the most senior dissenting justice.