Deck 4: Civil Liberties

Question 1

Which of the following is true of the Bill of Rights when it was ratified in 1791?

A) It was made up of fifteen amendments.
B) It was made up of ten amendments.
C) It did not include a provision protecting free speech.
D) It applied to the states but not to the national government.
E) It was intended to be temporary.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The PATRIOT Act allowed what constitutionally questionable law enforcement technique to combat terrorists?

A) National security letters to subpoena individuals to report for questioning
B) Roving wiretaps to track communication on all types of electronic devices
C) Torture of detainees suspected of having knowledge of criminal activity
D) Seizure of mobile phones of individuals expressing displeasure with the government
E) Jurisdictions to allow better oversight for monitoring suspects

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution collectively known as?

A) Articles of Confederation
B) Bill of Rights
C) Code of Rights
D) Magna Carta
E) Rules of law

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The Supreme Court applied the provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states through which of the following processes?

A) Emancipation
B) Dispersion
C) Incorporation
D) Ratification
E) Enumeration

Question 5

What did the ruling in the 1833 Supreme Court case of Barron v. Baltimore hold?

A) Barron, as a property owner, held full voting rights.
B) The Court did not have jurisdiction in cases involving personal property.
C) The city of Baltimore was part of the state of Maryland, not Virginia.
D) Each state's constitution was supreme over the Bill of Rights.
E) The Bill of Rights did not apply to state laws.

Question 6

When adopted, the Bill of Rights imposed limits on which of the following?

A) National government
B) State government
C) All levels of government
D) All levels of government except national
E) Individuals

Question 7

What did the Bill of Rights do as originally presented in the Constitution?

A) Limited only the power of the national government, not that of the states
B) Protected citizens from all forms of government
C) Protected citizens from the national and state governments, but not from local governments
D) Limited only the power of state governments
E) Contained no language on religion

Question 8

What does the incorporation doctrine do?

A) It provides for congressional oversight into multinational corporations.
B) It allows companies to incorporate through government application.
C) It provides for government oversight to corporations doing business with the government.
D) It is the view that the provisions of the Bill of Rights are extended to individuals for protection against action by states.
E) It holds the view that most of the protections of the Bill of Rights apply to foreign government activities through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 9

The view that most liberties and rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights are protected from state government actions through the due process clause is known as what?

A) Assimilation doctrine
B) Incorporation theory
C) State restrictions exclusion
D) Supremacy clause
E) Establishment clause

Question 10

Which of the following best describes campus speech codes at state universities?

A) Ruled unconstitutional and no longer exist in the United States
B) Usually ruled unconstitutional, but continue to exist in the United States
C) Constitutionally allowed and encouraged
D) Typically concerned only with symbolic speech
E) Allowed if they do not address the topic of religious speech

Question 11

Over time, the Supreme Court has used which of the following provisions of the Constitution to apply the specifics of the Bill of Rights to the states?

A) Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause
B) Fifth Amendment's double jeopardy clause
C) Tenth Amendment
D) Palko v. Connecticut precedent
E) Gideon's rule

Question 12

Which 1868 amendment's passage allowed the potential for the application of the Bill of Rights to the states which adds several restrictions on what the states can do?

A) Eleventh
B) Twelfth
C) Thirteenth
D) Fourteenth
E) Fifteenth

Question 13

Which of the following amendments has been construed to extend a constitutional limit on national power to state governments?

A) First Amendment
B) Ninth Amendment
C) Fifth Amendment
D) Fourteenth Amendment
E) Tenth Amendment

Question 14

The ratification of which of the following amendments prompted the Supreme Court to begin applying the Bill of Rights to the states?

A) Thirteenth
B) Fourteenth
C) Fifteenth
D) Nineteenth
E) Twenty-first

Question 15

As originally written, the Bill of Rights limited the activities of which level(s) of government?

A) Both national and state
B) Neither national nor state
C) National government, but not state
D) State government but not national
E) National, state, and local government

Question 16

States are now obligated to protect most provisions of the Bill of Rights as a result of the Supreme Court's interpretation of which Fourteenth Amendment clause?

A) Due process
B) Equal protection
C) Incorporation
D) Free exercise
E) Prior restraint

Question 17

Originally, the Bill of Rights limited only the power of which of the following?

A) State government
B) Regional government
C) Executive branch
D) Supreme Court
E) National government

Question 18

Beginning in 1897, the Supreme Court slowly began to use the protection of "life, liberty, or property" in what clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to incorporate some of the provisions of the Bill of Rights as binding on the states?

A) Due process
B) Equal protection
C) Full faith and credit
D) Establishment
E) Elastic

Question 19

What did the USA PATRIOT Act do?

A) It gave government increased power over who is allowed to run for office.
B) It empowered the president to ban social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram in an attempt to maintain public order.
C) It expanded the government's ability to tap phones and monitor Internet traffic.
D) It extended the requirement that one be a "native-born American" to run for president, to all federal elective offices.
E) It created a universal gun owner registration list.

Question 20

Which of the following is required to obtain a warrant for wiretapping?

A) Absolute certainty
B) Overwhelming evidence
C) Probable cause
D) Reasonable cause
E) Reasonable suspicion

Question 21

Which legal concept would yelling "Fire" in a crowded theater violate?

A) Bad tendency rule
B) Strict scrutiny test
C) Lemon test
D) Prior restraint
E) Clear and present danger test

Question 22

Which of the following terms is used for certain types of nonverbal activities, such as flag burning or students wearing black armbands to school that the Supreme Court has ruled were protected under the First Amendment?

A) Symbolic speech or expression
B) Direct speech
C) Fighting words
D) Hate speech
E) Public speech

Question 23

Inciting a crowd to violence is not protected speech because it can lead to which of the following?

A) Imminent lawless action
B) Prior restraint
C) Extra spending by police forces on crowd control
D) Obscenity
E) Evil

Question 24

The case of New York Times v. United States was responsible for which of the following?

A) Affirming the no-prior-restraint doctrine in the Pentagon Papers case
B) Upholding the government's right to control what information the public could have about Vietnam
C) Punishing the New York Times for publishing secret documents
D) Affirming the free speech of students in public schools
E) Affirming the no-prior-restraint doctrine in the Pentagon Papers case while punishing the New York Times for publishing secret documents

Question 25

Which of the following tests did the Supreme Court create in 1971 to determine if a law violated the establishment clause?

A) Clear and present danger
B) Miller
C) Establishment
D) Religious liberty
E) Lemon

Question 26

Which part of the First Amendment prevents Congress from supporting one religion as the nation's official religion?

A) Establishment
B) Free exercise
C) Full faith and credit
D) Impartiality
E) Elastic

Question 27

For states to pass a law that also happens to restrict religious practices, the law must have what type of aim or purpose?

A) Nonpartisan
B) Reasonable
C) Rational
D) Law enforcement
E) Secular

Question 28

What did the Supreme Court find in Lemon v. Kurtzman?

A) Government assistance to religious institutions must advance religious activities.
B) Government programs may advance one particular religion over another.
C) The government must avoid excessive entanglement with religion.
D) Government aid may be used to purchase prayer books and religious music.
E) Government funding may support religious (non-secular) activities.

Question 29

What is the constitutional protection that ensures unqualified religious freedom?

A) Freedom of association
B) Symbolic speech
C) Free exercise clause
D) Clear and present danger test
E) Elastic clause

Question 30

To what does prior restraint refer?

A) Closed sessions of hearings by Congress
B) Methods used by the government to get terrorists to talk
C) Prohibition of judges from legislating from the bench
D) Restraining an activity, such as expression, before that activity has actually occurred
E) Ability of police to detain people when riots appear imminent

Question 31

Which clause of the Constitution is the basis for the separation of church and state?

A) Free exercise
B) Supremacy
C) Establishment
D) Due process
E) Necessary and proper

Question 32

The establishment clause of the First Amendment does which of the following?

A) Prohibits government from sponsoring or supporting religious activity
B) Establishes Protestantism as the official religion of the United States
C) Prevents the government from interfering with the exercise of religion
D) Forbids the establishment of restrictions on free speech
E) Keeps Congress from making other amendments official without a Supreme Court ruling

Question 33

The basis of freedom of religion is found in which two principles in the Bill of Rights?

A) The establishment clause and the general welfare clause
B) The general welfare clause and the supremacy clause
C) The supremacy clause and the free exercise clause
D) The establishment clause and the free exercise clause
E) The free exercise clause and the general welfare clause

Question 34

Which of the following terms refers to either knowledge of a defamatory statement's falsity or a reckless disregard for the truth?

A) Libel
B) Actual malice
C) Slander
D) Symbolic speech
E) Prior restraint

Question 35

What First Amendment test requires the state to prove there is a high likelihood that the speech in question would lead to a danger that Congress has the right to prevent?

A) Necessary and proper test
B) Lemon test
C) Clear and present danger test
D) Miller test
E) Equal protection test

Question 36

The free exercise clause, protecting freedom of religious practice, is found in which amendment to the Constitution?

A) 1st
B) 2nd
C) 5th
D) 8th
E) 10th

Question 37

Tinker v. Des Moines School District established constitutional protection for which of the following?

A) Silent prayer in public school
B) Transgendered choice in public restroom facilities
C) Right to symbolic speech in schools
D) Representational speech
E) Censorship of high school newspapers

Question 38

Which constitutional clause prevents the government from interfering with religious practice?

A) Establishment
B) Equal protection
C) Nondiscrimination
D) Free exercise
E) Miranda

Question 39

What does the constitutional doctrine of prior restraint prohibit?

A) The government from censoring obscene material
B) The government from trying to prevent publication of material by the press except under extraordinary circumstances
C) Free speech accompanied by marches, demonstrations, or assembly
D) A judge from withholding information about a court case from release to the public or press
E) Flag burning as a form of protest

Question 40

What must be proved for a public figure to obtain a damage award under libel laws?

A) That he or she has access to the public medium to disprove the charge
B) That the person making the claim cannot prove it
C) That the statement in question contained a reckless disregard for the truth
D) That he or she suffered from the falsehood just as much as a private person
E) That the statement caused damage, regardless of its truth

Question 41

What is the notification that police must give a person being arrested that she or he has a right to remain silent and a right to legal counsel commonly known as?

A) Taking the fifth
B) First amendment protection
C) Miranda rights
D) Gideon's Trumpet
E) Griswald rights

Question 42

What limitation does the exclusionary rule put in place?

A) A court can order or constrain an action by an individual.
B) Evidence obtained from an illegal search and seizure cannot be used in a trial.
C) Fighting words can be excluded from constitutional protection.
D) People who are biased against a defendant may be excluded from serving on a jury.
E) Evidence wrongly excluded at trial may not be used in appellate court later.

Question 43

The case of Gideon v. Wainwright affirmed that the state must provide which of the following to criminal defendants?

A) Trial by a jury of peers
B) Legal counsel
C) Information about their constitutional rights
D) Opportunity to confront their accuser
E) A sentence without cruel and unusual punishment

Question 44

Which of the following amendments protects the rights of the criminally accused?

A) Third
B) Fifth
C) First
D) Ninth
E) Tenth

Question 45

Following the 2012 tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Congress took which of the following actions?

A) Passed a law requiring criminal background checks for gun purchases
B) Passed a law banning all assault weapons
C) Passed a law limiting the number of rounds that ammunition magazines could hold
D) Failed to pass any laws restricting gun rights
E) Passed a law making it easier to obtain firearms

Question 46

Which of the following best exemplifies the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution?

A) The prosecution of criminals under religious legal jurisprudence
B) The establishment of a free public education system
C) Separation of church and state
D) Protection of hate speech
E) The application of civil liberties to the states

Question 47

Opponents of gun rights base their belief in limits on the right to own a gun in which of the following clauses?

A) Clear and present danger
B) Due process
C) Well-regulated militia
D) Establishment
E) Free exercise

Question 48

What is the state required to ensure that criminals have according to Gideon v. Wainwright?

A) Free speech rights
B) Freedom of assembly
C) Privacy
D) Counsel
E) Right to bear arms

Question 49

Which of the following clauses or doctrines prohibits the national government from supporting an official religion?

A) Establishment clause
B) Free exercise clause
C) Religious conviction
D) Incorporation clause
E) Separation doctrine

Question 50

The Lemon test includes determining whether a law does which of the following?

A) The government or individuals face harm.
B) The government has a compelling state interest.
C) Government involvement meets the standards of rational basis review.
D) Government involvement advances a particular religion.
E) The government has the ability to tax religious property.

Question 51

What legal requirement is established in Gideon v. Wainwright?

A) A lawyer does not have to be provided in a state case, only in federal cases.
B) Search warrants are always needed to gather evidence.
C) Lawyers only need to be appointed in death penalty cases.
D) There can be no cruel and unusual punishment.
E) If one cannot afford an attorney, the government must provide one.

Question 52

Cruel and unusual punishment is prohibited by which of the following?

A) Separation of powers
B) Judicial review
C) Fifth Amendment
D) Eighth Amendment
E) First Amendment

Question 53

What legal principle holds that evidence collected during a search found to be unconstitutional cannot be used in trial?

A) Exclusionary rule
B) Incorporation clause
C) Fifth Amendment
D) Full faith and credit clause
E) Seventh Amendment

Question 54

What did Thomas Jefferson call the purpose of the establishment clause?

A) Public accommodation of religion
B) A wall of separation
C) A bridge of acceptance
D) Balance between freedom and restraint
E) Protection against religious tyranny

Question 55

What did the Supreme Court determine in 2008 regarding gun ownership rights?

A) There is no right to own or possess a gun unless under extraordinary circumstances.
B) Noncitizens and naturalized citizens do not possess any gun ownership rights.
C) There is an individual right to possess a gun in one's own home.
D) Strict regulations and restrictions on gun ownership are constitutional.
E) There is a natural right to possess a gun for any given purpose.

Question 56

What does the Fourth Amendment prohibit?

A) Cruel and unusual punishment
B) Involuntary quartering of soldiers
C) Double jeopardy
D) Unreasonable searches and seizures
E) Speedy and public trials

Question 57

Where did the phrase "wall of separation between church and state" originate?

A) First Amendment
B) Bill of Rights
C) Declaration of Independence
D) Thomas Jefferson
E) Ben Franklin

Question 58

What does the exclusionary rule prohibit?

A) Arresting officers from serving as a character witness at a hearing or trial
B) Detention of a suspect for more than forty-eight hours without the suspect being charged
C) The admission of illegally seized evidence at trial
D) Juries knowing the possible punishments if the defendant is convicted
E) None of these actions are prohibited.

Question 59

Which of the following has the state of New York done in response to recent mass shootings?

A) Banned all handguns
B) Banned hunting rifles
C) Banned assault weapons
D) Allowed school teachers to carry weapons
E) Allowed firearms in bars and restaurants

Question 60

What are the statements that police are required to make to a person before that person may be subjected to in-custody questioning known as?

A) Cross-examination
B) Exclusionary rules
C) Interrogations
D) Jailhouse rights
E) Miranda warnings

Question 61

The guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment is found in which of the following constitutional amendments?

A) First
B) Second
C) Fourth
D) Sixth
E) Eighth

Question 62

Which of the following best describes the constitutional status of the claimed right to choose physician-assisted suicide?

A) Determined by the Supreme Court to be an issue best handled by each state
B) Deemed constitutional when a living will exists
C) Allowed only in the state of Missouri
D) Left unaddressed by the Supreme Court
E) Deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court under the Fourteenth Amendment

Question 63

Where can the right to privacy be found in the Constitution?

A) Article X
B) The Preamble
C) Article I, Section 8
D) First Amendment
E) Not explicitly referenced in the Constitution

Question 64

Which of the following was the ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright that led to significant expansion of the rights of accused persons?

A) An individual had to be warned that they had the constitutional right to remain silent.
B) Law enforcement officers needed to obtain a warrant before conducting a search of an individual's property, including automobiles.
C) People accused of a felony without the means to hire an attorney had to have court-appointed attorneys made available at government expense.
D) Individuals accused of a crime had the right to one phone call.
E) Only criminal defendants charged with murder had the right to legal counsel.

Question 65

Which of the following is true of the decision in Roe v. Wade?

A) The decision has not been challenged or redefined by subsequent cases.
B) It forced states to allow abortions under some circumstances at any point in pregnancy.
C) It limited abortion to the first trimester of pregnancy.
D) State legislatures have the right to decide if abortions will be performed.
E) It requires states to allow abortions to be performed by licensed nurse practitioners.

Question 66

Which of the following is an exception to the exclusionary rule supported by the Supreme Court?

A) Probable cause does not need to be established in civil matters.
B) Potential death penalty cases may disregard all standard evidence rules.
C) Good faith exceptions may be made for officers utilizing the incorrect search warrant form.
D) The homes of witnesses to a crime may be searched without a warrant.
E) Good intention exceptions may be made for veteran officers in felony matters.

Question 67

What is the requirement that persons under arrest be informed of their legal rights, including right to counsel known as?

A) Equal representation policy
B) Exclusionary rule
C) Sphere of privacy
D) Miranda rule
E) Mapp rule

Question 68

In which case did the Supreme Court void laws against married couples using birth control?

A) Brandenburg v. Ohio
B) Gideon v. Wainwright
C) Griswold v. Connecticut
D) Powell v. Alabama
E) Schenck v. United States

Question 69

In Griswold v. Connecticut, the Court invalidated a state law that did which of the following?

A) Required women to seek the permission of their husbands before obtaining an abortion
B) Banned pornographic literature
C) Made the use of birth control devices a crime
D) Forbid the purchase of alcohol on Sunday afternoons
E) Regulated gambling that took place within private residences

Question 70

What was the decision in the case of Roe v. Wade?

A) It upheld the right of couples to use birth control devices.
B) It upheld the right of gay Americans to consenting sexual relationships.
C) It denied the right of gay Americans to consenting sexual relationships.
D) It upheld the right of women to have abortions.
E) It ruled that state laws criminalizing adultery were unconstitutional.

Question 71

Which of the following changes occurred with capital punishment from 1972 to 1976?

A) It was prohibited because the Supreme Court deemed laws too vague and wanted more precise laws enacted to ensure consistency.
B) It was prohibited because the Innocence Project determined that 17 innocent individuals were serving time on death row.
C) It was prohibited because Congress removed the power of juries to impose the death penalty in capital cases.
D) Executions were limited to only those enacted by means of electrocution or firing squad.
E) It was expanded to all fifty states and to Puerto Rico by executive order.

Question 72

What did the right to privacy apply to in Griswold v. Connecticut?

A) The use of contraceptives
B) Information collected by federal agencies
C) Online communication
D) Same-sex relations
E) Physician-assisted suicide

Question 73

How free should you be to criticize the government? Should you be less free in wartime? What about after the attacks on 9/11?

Question 74

Compare and contrast the deprivation of rights during wartime and after conflict has ended.

Question 75

Which constitutional right(s) inferred by the Court has been used to protect unlisted rights such as reproductive rights?

A) Right to privacy
B) Right against self-incrimination
C) Wall of separation rights
D) Due process rights
E) Right to assembly

Question 76

According to the Supreme Court, a woman's right to seek an abortion is based on which of the following?

A) Due process clause
B) Right of privacy
C) Equal protection clause
D) Zone of privacy explicitly guaranteed in the Constitution
E) Right of states to enact police powers

Question 77

Which of the following was the basis for the Supreme Court's 1965 decision, in Griswold v. Connecticut, a case involving the legality of contraceptives?

A) The law violated the right to privacy.
B) Laws against contraceptives were legal as public health regulations.
C) Laws against abortion were illegal.
D) A right does not exist unless it is specifically mentioned in the Constitution.
E) State laws against contraceptives violated the interstate commerce clause.

Question 78

Which of the following best captures the Supreme Court's ruling in regard to physician-assisted suicide?

A) The liberty interest protected by the Constitution does not include a right to commit suicide.
B) States must prosecute those who assist in suicides.
C) States must provide counseling to those who wish to commit suicide.
D) If an individual wishes to commit suicide, a physician must be present with family members.
E) The federal government is the final authority regarding laws on physician-assisted suicide.

Question 79

What did the Court rule in Roe v. Wade that states could do regarding abortion?

A) Place significant restrictions on a woman's right to seek an abortion without her partner's consent
B) Outlaw all abortions
C) Outlaw abortions in the second trimester of pregnancy
D) Place any restrictions on abortions
E) Cannot limit a woman's right to seek an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy

Question 80

According to the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, which of the following restrictions may the state place on abortions?

A) During the first trimester, the state can prevent some abortions for reasons relating to the mother's health.
B) From the second trimester on, the state can prevent all abortions.
C) During the third trimester, the state cannot regulate abortion except to require that it be performed by a doctor.
D) During the third trimester, the state may regulate or prevent abortions.
E) The states may place no restrictions on abortions.