Deck 15: The Judiciary

Question 1

When a court declares that a law passed by Congress and acts of executive branch are unconstitutional, it is exercising

A) judicial restraint.
B) judicial review.
C) judicial ordinance.
D) judicial oversight.
E) judicial impact.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

When a case is appealed, the court of appeals decides the case solely based upon

A) questions of fact.
B) questions of damages.
C) questions of law.
D) questions of importance.
E) questions of standing.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Policies that support greater equality, often by granting racial or gender preferences in hiring, education, or contracting, are known as

A) civil rights.
B) affirmative action.
C) civil liberties.
D) common law.
E) civil precedent.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

_________ of the Constitution establishes the judicial branch of government.

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

Question 5

_________ are federal trial courts at the bottom of the federal judicial hierarchy.

A) District courts
B) Civil courts
C) Traffic courts
D) Legislative courts
E) Intermediate appellate courts

Question 6

________ or "legislative courts," are courts whose purpose is to help Congress perform its constitutional duties .

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

Question 7

A confrontational legal process under which each party presents its version of events is referred to as a(n)

A) adversary process.
B) deposition.
C) disposition.
D) civil process.
E) judicial review.

Question 8

British royal judges developed the practice of reaching decisions based on _________, or the previous decisions of other royal judges.

A) discovery
B) equity
C) judicial activism
D) judicial restraint
E) precedents

Question 9

The right to _________, or the right of parties in a dispute to have their case determined by a group of ordinary citizens, dates back in England to the Magna Carta (1215).

A) certiorari
B) habeas corpus
C) judicial review
D) trial by jury
E) trial by ordeal

Question 10

_________ is where the courts have to determine what Congress meant by a statute.

A) Constitutional interpretation
B) Cases of equity
C) Precedent
D) Plain meaning
E) Statutory interpretation

Question 11

The overwhelming majority of federal cases are resolved in the

A) appeals courts.
B) Supreme Court.
C) district courts.
D) Article I courts.
E) administrative courts.

Question 12

What step did both Jennifer Gratz and Barbara Grutter take after getting rejected from admission to the University of Michigan?

A) They appealed to the board of trustees.
B) They contacted the local newspaper.
C) They sued the school.
D) They wrote their congressional representative.
E) They picketed the Supreme Court.

Question 13

In _________, the government prosecutes an individual for breaking the law.

A) appeals
B) civil suits
C) class action lawsuits
D) criminal cases
E) probate court

Question 14

The Supreme Court granted itself the power of judicial review in the case of

A) Brown v. Board of Education.
B) Gibbons v. Ogden.
C) Marbury v. Madison.
D) McCulloch v. Maryland.
E) Roe v. Wade.

Question 15

A decision made by an entire court of appeals circuit is called a(n) ________ decision.

A) per curiam
B) amicus
C) majority
D) en banc
E) concurring

Question 16

Jennifer Gratz and Barbara Grutter claimed that the affirmative action policies at the University of Michigan denied them their right to

A) assemble.
B) "due process."
C) "equal protection of the law."
D) freedom of expression.
E) separate but equal facilities.

Question 17

Intermediate federal courts that are above the district courts and below the Supreme Court are known as

A) common law courts.
B) courts of original jurisdiction.
C) courts of appeals.
D) civil suits.
E) precedent courts.

Question 18

When there are gaps in statutory law, courts rely on _________, or judge-made law.

A) royal precedents
B) common sense
C) judicial review
D) common law
E) trial by ordeal

Question 19

The lawful authority of a court to hear a case is its

A) case load.
B) mission.
C) standing.
D) jurisdiction.
E) precedent.

Question 20

_________ established the district courts and the circuit courts of appeal in the federal court system.

A) Article III
B) The Federal Court Act
C) The Judiciary Act of 1789
D) The Eleventh Amendment
E) The Fourteenth Amendment

Question 21

When you file a(n) ________, you are asking the Supreme Court to review a lower court decision.

A) petition for a writ of certiorari
B) writ of habeas corpus
C) appeal for en banc
D) amicus brief
E) standing motion

Question 22

Under the Constitution, accused criminals in federal courts have a right to indictment by a _________, a specially empanelled jury consisting of between sixteen and twenty-three citizens who determine whether the government has sufficient evidence to charge the suspect with a crime.

A) grand jury
B) judicial panel
C) judiciary committee
D) prosecutorial committee
E) supreme jury

Question 23

The majority of lawsuits filed in federal court ________ with a negotiated agreement between the plaintiff and defendant.

A) settle out of court
B) go to trial
C) mediate through judges
D) have a bench trial
E) have a jury trial

Question 24

Justices who disagree with the result reached by the majority can write a(n) _________ opinion explaining why they believe the Supreme Court's decision was in error.

A) affirming
B) concurring
C) disposing
D) dissenting
E) plurality

Question 25

If, due to a combination of concurring and dissenting justices, fewer than five justices join the opinion of the Supreme Court, that opinion becomes a(n) _________ rather than a majority opinion.

A) affirming
B) concurring
C) disposing
D) dissenting
E) plurality

Question 26

Once a case is assigned to a judge, the next step in a civil suit is _________, when each side gets access to information relevant to its suit held by the other side.

A) deposition
B) discovery
C) plea bargain
D) reapportionment
E) trial

Question 27

_________ are the parties bringing the suit in civil suits, often requesting monetary damages to compensate for harms done to them, such as by a broken contract or a defective product.

A) Prosecutors
B) Appellants
C) Defendants
D) Plaintiffs
E) Respondents

Question 28

During an arraignment, the accused individual is

A) asked to enter into plea bargaining.
B) assigned an attorney by the court.
C) sentenced according to statutory law.
D) informed of the official charges.
E) released on their own recognizance.

Question 29

_________ is an agreement by a criminal defendant to plead guilty in return for a reduced sentence.

A) Criminal plea
B) Plea bargain
C) Indictment
D) Guilt without fault
E) Appeal

Question 30

Where in the Constitution is the equal protection clause?

A) Article I
B) Article III
C) Article IV
D) Fourteenth Amendment
E) Fifteenth Amendment

Question 31

Most of the justices' chambers have joined the ________, which splits the cert petitions among the clerks of the justices.

A) cert pool
B) amicus pool
C) work pool
D) divided pool
E) judicial union

Question 32

The Supreme Court rule that grants review to a case as long as four justices agree to support review is known as the

A) system of four.
B) rule of four.
C) majority opinion.
D) rule of review.
E) cert system.

Question 33

In the Gratz and Grutter cases, the Supreme Court

A) found a constitutional violation in the affirmative action plan of both the law school and the undergraduate university.
B) found a constitutional violation in the law school affirmative action plan.
C) found no constitutional violation.
D) upheld the affirmative action plan as practiced by the law school.
E) upheld the affirmative action plan as practiced by the undergraduate university.

Question 34

The official in the Justice Department who represents the president in federal court is known as the

A) executive attorney. 
B) attorney general.
C) courtroom general.
D) solicitor general.
E) provost.

Question 35

Overall, the Supreme Court grants only about _________ percent of certiorari petitions, leaving the lower court decision as final in all other cases.

A) 1
B) 3
C) 7
D) 15
E) 22

Question 36

The federal court of appeals has _______, which means that if a losing party from the district appeals, the court must hear the case.

A) contemplative jurisdiction 
B) selective jurisdiction
C) competitive jurisdiction
D) total jurisdiction
E) mandatory jurisdiction

Question 37

A lawsuit filed by one person on behalf of that person plus all similarly situated individuals is referred to as a(n)

A) amicus curiae .
B) appeal.
C) class action.
D) plurality action.
E) writ of habeas corpus .

Question 38

Outside interests can file _____ ___ briefs, stating their concerns in a case.

A) guardian ad litem
B) amicus curiae
C) certiorari
D) appellate
E) diem

Question 39

The opinion of a court laying out the official position of the court in the case is known as the

A) minority opinion.
B) dissenting opinion.
C) majority opinion.
D) primary jurisdiction.
E) prevailing jurisdiction.

Question 40

How long does each party get to speak during oral argument at the Supreme Court?

A) 15 minutes
B) 30 minutes
C) 45 minutes
D) 60 minutes
E) 90 minutes

Question 41

In _________, the Court took an expansive view of national power, declaring that the commerce clause, which granted the national government the authority to regulate commerce "among the several states," would be broadly defined.

A) Brown v. Board of Education
B) Dred Scott v. Sandford
C) Gibbons v. Ogden
D) Marbury v. Madison
E) Roe v. Wade

Question 42

What was an outcome of the Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) ruling?

A) The Court outlawed slavery from this period forward.
B) The Court declared no black was an American citizen.
C) The Court found that providing separate but equal public accommodation was constitutional.
D) The Court indicated that Congress had the authority to regulate slavery in the territories.
E) The Court restored full and proper rights to all Americans, including adult male blacks.

Question 43

Following the Civil War, Congress passed and the states ratified the _________ Amendment, which made "all persons born in the United States citizens of the United States." The amendment further prevented states from denying any person due process of law or the equal protection of the laws and from abridging the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.

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

Question 44

The idea that judges would not be removed from office due to partisan disagreements is a crucial component of

A) judicial relief.
B) judicial power.
C) judicial independence.
D) judicial impeachment.
E) judicial restraint.

Question 45

The term "__________" created by Alexander Bickel describes the tension that exists for a representative government when unelected judges have power to strike down laws passed by elected representatives.

A) countermajoritarian difficulty
B) majoritarian difficulty
C) representative difficulty
D) democratic difficulty
E) opposition difficulty

Question 46

Justice Sonia Sotomayor was nominated to the Supreme Court by ________, and received her district court nomination from the ________ administration.

A) Bill Clinton; Barack Obama
B) George W. Bush; George H.W. Bush
C) Jimmy Carter; Bill Clinton
D) Barack Obama; George H.W. Bush
E) Ronald Reagan; Jimmy Carter

Question 47

If the Supreme Court's decision is based on the meaning of a statute, __________ can simply overturn it.

A) the president
B) district courts
C) state courts
D) the Senate
E) Congress

Question 48

The Warren Court established a right to ___________ that is not explicitly in the Constitution.

A) petition
B) trial by jury
C) affirmative action
D) privacy
E) property

Question 49

An opinion that agrees with the Court's majority opinion, but sets out a separate rationale is known as a(n)

A) dissenting opinion.
B) disposing opinion.
C) concurring opinion.
D) affirming opinion.
E) plurality.

Question 50

_________ refers to judges who go beyond what the law requires and seek to impose their own policy preferences on society through their judicial decisions.

A) Affirmative action
B) Initiative
C) Judicial activism
D) Judicial restraint
E) Judicial review

Question 51

Decisions by judges respecting decisions of other branches or, through precedent, the decisions of earlier judges, is considered

A) judicial restraint.
B) judicial activism.
C) a dissenting opinion.
D) a plurality.
E) a concurring opinion.

Question 52

When a justice bases his or her decision on the intent of the framers of the law instead of personal preference, this is a demonstration of ________ in judicial policy making.

A) the legal approach
B) the extralegal approach
C) legally irrelevant factors
D) judicial activism
E) partisanship

Question 53

The Roberts Court has ruled in favor of business by

A) slashing all provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
B) establishing that corporations have the same speech rights as citizens.
C) ensuring that private businesses do not have to recognize same-sex marriages.
D) ruling that corporations has the same privacy rights as individual citizens.
E) creating an extensive network of protected tax havens for Wall Street insiders.

Question 54

Reliance on _______ creates stability in law.

A) precedent
B) gerrymandering
C) extralegal factors
D) partisanship
E) lawmakers' intent

Question 55

Many, if not most, of the Supreme Court justices decide cases using __________, basing it on their own preferences.

A) a legal approach
B) an extralegal approach
C) popular opinion
D) judicial restraint
E) judicial opposition

Question 56

The first African American Supreme Court Justice was _________, who also argued  Brown v. Board of Education  before the court.

A) Medgar Evers
B) Clarence Thomas
C) Marcus Garvey
D) Thurgood Marshall 
E) Martin Luther King, Jr.

Question 57

Following the president's nomination, the _________ conducts hearings on nominees for district court.

A) American Bar Association
B) House of Representatives
C) Senate Judiciary Committee
D) solicitor general
E) Supreme Court

Question 58

The decision in _________ expanded national power in two ways: by granting the national government the right to create a bank through the necessary and proper clause, and by limiting state power by denying states the authority to tax the national government.

A) Brown v. Board of Education
B) Dred Scott v. Sandford
C) Gibbons v. Ogden
D) Marbury v. Madison
E) McCulloch v. Maryland

Question 59

The Judiciary Committee sends out _____ to the senators of the president's party of a Supreme Court justice's home state to see if they approve of the choice.

A) Miranda warnings
B) writs of certoriari
C) pocket vetos
D) amicus briefs
E) blue slips

Question 60

In interpreting the law with an extralegal approach, judges often actively engage in

A) policy making.
B) gatekeeping.
C) environmental activism.
D) judicial restraint.
E) procedure making.

Question 61

Compare and contrast the legal and extralegal approaches to judicial decision making. Be specific.

Question 62

Explain how the Court reaches and issues decisions.

Question 63

Describe the appointment process of federal judges and why this power is important to the  legacy of individual presidents.

Question 64

Describe the lasting impact of Supreme Court appointments.

Question 65

Describe the process of oral argument in the Supreme Court.

Question 66

Explain why the Constitution provides lifetime appointments for all federal judges.

Question 67

Why are people who initiate lawsuits required to have standing?

Question 68

How are court decisions enforced? Would government work better if the courts had the power of enforcement?

Question 69

Should the federal government be allowed to try to influence a court decision? Explain your answer.

Question 70

Is judicial review a problem for democracy? Explain your answer.

Question 71

Summarize the U.S. legal traditions derived from English legal traditions.

Question 72

Discuss the Supreme Court's  ruling in Marbury v. Madison and how this ruling impacted the  role of the Supreme Court in our system of government.

Question 73

Discuss the differences between Article I and Article III courts.

Question 74

Discuss the role of district courts. Where do they fall in the U.S. judicial system?

Question 75

Restate what the Constitution says about the organization and powers of the federal judiciary.

Question 76

Explain the rule of four .

Question 77

Explain the opinion writing process. Include in your discussion the different types of opinions the court can issue.

Question 78

Give an overview of the responsibilities and procedures in courts of appeals.

Question 79

Discuss the use of amicus curiae briefs. Who files them, and why is it important?

Question 80

Discuss the court-packing plan proposed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.