Deck 15: The Federal Judiciary

Question 1

New judgeships are

A) Necessary because of growing caseloads
B) Insulated from partisan politics
C) Regularly approved by the President
D) Not subject to Congressional action

Answer 1

Necessary because of growing caseloads

Question 2

The Supreme Court nomination process

A) Operates independently of partisan politics
B) Is firmly established to last no longer than two months
C) Is subject to votes in both the House and Senate
D) None of the above

Answer 2

None of the above

Question 3

Courts of original jurisdiction

A) are trial courts that hear cases for the first time.
B) review decisions of the lower courts.
C) have jurisdiction in cases involving ambassadors.
D) review case that have been appealed.

Answer 3

are trial courts that hear cases for the first time.

Question 4

Courts of appellate jurisdiction

A) hear cases for the first time.
B) review the decisions of lower courts.
C) have original jurisdiction in cases involving ambassadors.
D) are trial courts.

Question 5

The Supreme Court asserted its power of judicial review in which of the following court cases?

A) Roe v. Wade
B) Marbury v. Madison
C) Brown v. Board of Education
D) Plessy v. Ferguson

Question 6

_________ has the power to establish lower courts, determine what cases courts can hear, and regulates which matters decided in lower courts the Supreme Court can review.

A) The Senate
B) A panel of three judges
C) The president
D) Congress

Question 7

Which court represents the highest level to which a case involving a question of state law can be carried?

A) The U.S. Supreme Court
B) A state court of last resort or state Supreme Court
C) The Judicial Conference
D) A U.S. circuit court

Question 8

The attitudinal model suggest that judicial decision making is driven by

A) legal criteria.
B) a judge's personal preferences.
C) public opinion.
D) public ideology.

Question 9

The authority of a criminal or appeals court to hear and decide cases is called

A) standing.
B) judicial discretion.
C) jurisdiction.
D) a mandate.

Question 10

Presidential nominations to the federal courts must be approved by

A) both chambers of Congress.
B) the House of Representatives.
C) the Senate.
D) the Executive Office of the President (EOP).

Question 11

Judges who believe that the making of public policy should be left to the more democratic branches of government exercise a(n) ______ approach to jurisprudence.

A) activist
B) partisan
C) restrained
D) independent

Question 12

What is the most important consideration in the selection of Supreme Court justices?

A) Party affiliation and political philosophy
B) Age
C) Judicial experience
D) Geography

Question 13

The power of judicial review

A) was established by an act of Congress.
B) is explicitly provided for in Article III of the Constitution.
C) was established by the supreme court in Marbury v Madison (1803).
D) was implied in the 19th Amendment.

Question 14

The number of Supreme Court justices is:

A) set at 9 by the Article III of the Constitution.
B) determined by Congress.
C) limited to not more than 9 by the 24th Amendment.
D) determined by the formula found in the 11th Amendment.

Question 15

Who sets the jurisdictional boundaries of the federal courts?

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

Question 16

Which of the following federal courts can hear appeals made from the state supreme courts?

A) Federal district courts
B) Federal circuit courts of appeals
C) The U.S. Supreme Court
D) All of the above

Question 17

The Supreme Court formally exercises it discretionary power to hear a case by

A) issuing a writ of certiorari.
B) claiming the right of stare decisis.
C) issuing a writ of mandamus.
D) none of the above.

Question 18

The power of judicial review conflicts with which of the following basic democratic values?

A) Economic equality and majority rule
B) Political equality and popular sovereignty
C) Economic equality and popular sovereignty
D) Majority rule and popular sovereignty

Question 19

Cases in U.S. Courts of Appeal are usually decided by

A) juries.
B) a panel of three judges.
C) the solicitor general .
D) the Judicial Conference.

Question 20

The qualifications set by the Constitution to serve as a Supreme Court justice include

A) being at least 35 years old.
B) being a member of the bar.
C) being a qualified trial lawyer.
D) there are no qualifications set by the Constitution.

Question 21

The Supreme Court's exercise of judicial review is

A) very infrequent.
B) more common when the judge is liberal .
C) mainly preoccupied with issues of business-government relations.
D) mainly concerned with civil rights.

Question 22

A justice who interprets the Constitution by weighing the original concerns of the Founders is using

A) the slot machine theory.
B) a legal realist view.
C) judicial restraint.
D) none of these choices.

Question 23

Based on evidence presented in class, which of the following is true regarding judicial activism?

A) Liberals are much more activist in overturning laws than conservatives.
B) Conservatives are much more activist in overturning laws than liberals.
C) Strongly ideological Justices more activist than moderates.
D) None of the above.

Question 24

Trial courts that hear cases for the first time and determine issues of fact and law are

A) courts of appellate jurisdiction.
B) courts of original jurisdiction.
C) civil courts.
D) the Supreme Court.

Question 25

Courts that review the decisions of lower courts are

A) courts of appellate jurisdiction.
B) courts of original jurisdiction.
C) civil courts.
D) the Supreme Court.

Question 26

The 1803 case in which the Court asserted the power of judicial review was

A) McCulloch v. Maryland.
B) Plessy v. Ferguson.
C) Baker v. Carr.
D) Marbury v. Madison.

Question 27

Courts in which groups of judges decide cases based on a review of the record of the lower-court trial are

A) civil courts.
B) courts of original jurisdiction.
C) collegial courts.
D) intramural courts.

Question 28

An opinion written by a Supreme Court justice who agrees with the ruling of the Court but not the reason behind it is a

A) majority opinion.
B) concurring opinion.
C) plurality opinion.
D) dissenting opinion.

Question 29

A decision of the Supreme Court in which a majority of the Court agrees on the decision, but there is no majority agreement on the decision is a

A) majority opinion.
B) concurring opinion.
C) plurality opinion.
D) dissenting opinion.

Question 30

An opinion written by a Supreme Court justice who is in the minority that presents the logic and thinking of the justices who opposed the majority opinion is a

A) majority opinion.
B) concurring opinion.
C) plurality opinion.
D) dissenting opinion.

Question 31

The practice that allows senators from states with federal district courts to recommend individuals for the president to nominate is known as

A) senatorial courtesy.
B) presidential courtesy.
C) the "nuclear option".
D) "home cooking".

Question 32

The view of judicial decision making in which judges set aside their own values and make decisions based solely on legal criteria is called

A) neutral competence.
B) the legal model.
C) active liberty.
D) the sociological model.

Question 33

An approach to judicial decision making in which a judge sets a constitutional provision alongside a statute in order to "decide whether the latter squares with the former" is known as

A) the roulette theory.
B) the square deal theory.
C) the slot machine theory.
D) the inter-ocular theory.

Question 34

Scholars who argue that the decision making of judges is influenced by personal values and ideology favor which of the following models?

A) The legal model
B) The legal realist model
C) The strategic model
D) The originalist model

Question 35

The theory of judicial decision making that suggests judges sometimes vote against their own personal preferences in order to reach a compromise acceptable to other institutional actors is

A) the attitudinal model.
B) the legal realist model.
C) the institutionalist model.
D) the strategic model.

Question 36

The idea that Supreme Court justices should interpret the Constitution in terms of the original intentions of the framers is

A) originalism.
B) active liberty.
C) textualism.
D) libertarianism.

Question 37

A Supreme Court justice who believes that the Court should defer policy making decisions to elected branches of government is a proponent of

A) judicial activism.
B) judicial restraint.
C) judicial incrementalism.
D) judicial apathy.

Question 38

A Supreme Court justice who believes that the Court has a responsibility to use its rulings to articulate new policy when other branches fail to do so is practicing

A) judicial activism.
B) judicial restraint.
C) judicial incrementalism.
D) judicial apathy.

Question 39

All of the following are potential constraints on judicial power EXCEPT:

A) constitutional amendments.
B) impeachment.
C) re-election concerns.
D) the Court's inability to initiate policy making.

Question 40

By law, the Supreme Court must always include at least one woman, one African American, and one Jewish person.

Question 41

There is no court in the federal courts system that possesses both original and appellate jurisdiction.

Question 42

Roughly 50% of district court verdicts end up being appealed to the circuit courts.

Question 43

Federal appeals are typically heard "en banc," meaning that all of the judges in the circuit hear the case.

Question 44

The Supreme Court is the only federal court that can hear appeals from state courts.

Question 45

Like the elected branches of government, partisan polarization seems to have grown on the Supreme Court as well, with a marked increase in cases decided by one vote.

Question 46

A "plurality opinion" is written when there is majority agreement on the outcome of a case, but disagreement regarding the reasons for that outcome.

Question 47

The Constitution prohibits elected politicians from being nominated as Supreme Court justices.

Question 48

The "legal model" of judicial decision making is based on sociological theories of the different professional roles played by lawyers and judges.

Question 49

"Legal realism" is a model of judicial decision making that requires a rigid adherence to the letter of the law.

Question 50

Probably the most common form of judicial restraint is the self-restraint of the judges themselves, who follow well-established professional norms of objectivity.