Deck 3: Civil Liberties

Question 1

Civil liberties are concerned with

A) freedom of expression and freedom from arbitrary arrest and prosecution.
B) the right to vote.
C) freedom from unjust discrimination.
D) citizenship rights.
E) abortion rights.

Answer 1

freedom of expression and freedom from arbitrary arrest and prosecution.

Question 2

The rights protected by the Constitution cannot be infringed on by

A) either the government or private individuals.
B) either the government or business corporations.
C) the government and generally do not apply to private individuals.
D) private individuals but generally do not apply to the government.
E) private individuals except where specified by the Bill of Rights.

Answer 2

the government and generally do not apply to private individuals.

Question 3

The amendment that is probably the most important in terms of having the Bill of Rights apply to the states is the

A) Tenth.
B) Twelfth.
C) Fourteenth.
D) Twentieth.
E) Twenty-second.

Answer 3

Fourteenth.

Question 4

The Fourteenth Amendment provides for

A) equal protection only.
B) due process and equal protection.
C) states' rights.
D) due process only.
E) habeas corpus and the elimination of ex post facto laws.

Question 5

The process of incorporation means that

A) private individuals are not required to obey the Bill of Rights.
B) most provisions of the Bill of Rights also govern the states.
C) the southern states were absorbed back into the Union after the Civil War.
D) the provisions of the Bill of Rights apply to the federal government but not to the states.
E) the original amendments to the Constitution are applicable to state governments and all others to the federal government.

Question 6

The fact that Americans go to court to sue one another indicates that

A) the Constitution is a flawed document that does not protect enough rights.
B) a second civil war could easily occur in the United States over racial issues.
C) the people do not trust the national government to treat them fairly.
D) rights are in conflict.
E) power is more centralized in presidential systems.

Question 7

All the following are addressed in the First Amendment except

A) free exercise of religion.
B) due process of law.
C) establishment of religion.
D) freedom of assembly.
E) freedom of the press.

Question 8

The right of free expression, although not absolute, enjoys a higher status than the other rights granted by the Constitution. This is known as the doctrine of

A) prior restraint.
B) inevitable discovery.
C) neutrality and clarity.
D) least means.
E) preferred position.

Question 9

The Supreme Court's landmark decision in New York Times v. Sullivan focused on

A) fundamental liberties.
B) clear and present danger.
C) libel.
D) obscenity.
E) flag burning.

Question 10

The Supreme Court's landmark decision in Miller v. California focused on

A) fundamental liberties.
B) clear and present danger.
C) libel.
D) obscenity.
E) flag burning.

Question 11

The Supreme Court's landmark decision in Texas v. Johnson focused on

A) fundamental liberties.
B) clear and present danger.
C) libel.
D) obscenity.
E) flag burning.

Question 12

In free expression, neutrality refers to which of the following?

A) The utterance of inflammatory, dangerous statements
B) The absolute nature and unconditional status of speech
C) The restriction of press coverage
D) The government not favoring one group over another
E) Political speech not being symbolic

Question 13

In general, you may make false and defamatory statements about public officials so long as you lack

A) actual malice.
B) presumed competence.
C) provocative motivation.
D) venal motivation.
E) exceptional motive.

Question 14

Symbolic speech, as defined by the text, is

A) speech that relies on a written message.
B) an act that conveys a political or social message.
C) speech that relies on an oral message.
D) an act that destroys something sacred.
E) speech that is politically neutral but offensive.

Question 15

The reason that symbolic speech does not have the same protection as actual speech is that

A) the First Amendment allows restrictions on speech when it harms society.
B) the First Amendment does not mention such speech.
C) symbols cannot convey political or social messages.
D) symbols do not require use of the spoken word, as required by the First Amendment.
E) any illegal action could be excused as meaning to send a message.

Question 16

In the Des Moines "student-black-armband" case, the Supreme Court ruled that the wearing of the armbands was

A) a form of protected speech.
B) clearly unconstitutional.
C) illegal when deemed so by local school authorities.
D) proper for citizens over age twenty-one, but not for students.
E) proper for citizens on private property.

Question 17

One reason the Nazi Party was allowed to parade through Skokie, Illinois, is that

A) the group held an elderly man hostage and threatened to murder him.
B) a political party is always free to march.
C) the provocation of the march was neither severe nor person-to-person.
D) the Nazis had promised to parade in a nonviolent fashion.
E) freedom of speech is absolute in the United States.

Question 18

Which Supreme Court justice took the unusual position that the First Amendment protected all publications, even wholly obscene ones?

A) Hugo Black
B) William Rehnquist
C) John Marshall
D) Potter Stewart
E) Clarence Thomas

Question 19

Under the current standard, the Supreme Court insists that obscenity convictions be based on contemporary __________ standards.

A) religious
B) regional
C) statewide
D) national
E) community

Question 20

Which one of the following sorts of speech is protected by the Constitution?

A) Libel
B) Advocacy of an illegal act that is in imminent danger of being committed
C) Publication of indecent material
D) The use of fighting words that are highly provocative and personal
E) Incitement

Question 21

In 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that an advertisement by a corporation, labor union, or nonprofit organization that backed or opposed a candidate

A) could not be run at any time during an election period.
B) could be run up to 30 days before an election.
C) could be run at any time.
D) could be run up to 60 days before an election.
E) could be run if approved by a non-partisan committee.

Question 22

The text suggests that "an overwhelming majority" of American support freedom of speech

A) in concrete cases.
B) in the abstract.
C) during a time of war.
D) during times of international crises.
E) for unpopular groups who speak out in their communities.

Question 23

Under the free exercise clause, a man

A) can have more than one wife if his religion encourages it.
B) cannot have more than one wife even if his religion encourages it.
C) can have more than one wife if he is able and willing to support both of them.
D) can have more than one wife if he lives within his church compound.
E) can have more than one wife if all the wives agree and are of the same religion.

Question 24

The draft laws

A) have always exempted conscientious objectors from military duty.
B) exempt conscientious objectors only if they believe in a Supreme Being.
C) exempt conscientious objectors only if they belong to a religious tradition.
D) did not exempt conscientious objectors during WWI and WWII.
E) exempted conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War.

Question 25

In many countries which have state-supported churches, attendance

A) is strongly encouraged by the government.
B) requires mandatory contributions.
C) is mandatory.
D) is higher than the United States.
E) is lower than in the United States.

Question 26

The historical source for the metaphor of a "wall of separation" between religion and the state is

A) the Bill of Rights.
B) debates in the First Congress.
C) the first meeting of the Continental Congress.
D) twentieth-century Supreme Court decisions.
E) the writings of Thomas Jefferson.

Question 27

The Supreme Court's first interpretation of the establishment clause did not occur until the

A) 1840s.
B) 1870s.
C) 1890s.
D) 1920s.
E) 1940s.

Question 28

In 1989 Pittsburgh was allowed to display a menorah in the front of a county courthouse because it sat next to

A) a nativity scene.
B) a creche.
C) a Christmas tree.
D) a dancing bear.
E) Santa Clause.

Question 29

Since the First Congress in 1789, the House and the Senate have opened each session with

A) a prayer.
B) a Bible reading.
C) a brief sermon.
D) a hymn.
E) a reading of religiously inspired poetry.

Question 30

Opponents of excluding illegally obtained evidence from trial argue that

A) nobody should be convicted of a crime on tainted evidence.
B) a guilty person should not go free because the police blundered.
C) the Supreme Court has reversed itself and now permits all such evidence in trials.
D) the police should be allowed to sue criminals for their injuries using such evidence.
E) the exclusionary rule was rejected by the Constitutional Convention.

Question 31

In the Mapp v. Ohio decision, the Supreme Court ruled that

A) an accused individual must be informed of her or his rights before a police interrogation.
B) the protections against self-incrimination may be waived in particularly heinous crimes.
C) the right to habeas corpus can be suspended for certain individuals under certain conditions.
D) to produce evidence acceptable in court, a search must be conducted in accordance with certain standards.
E) juveniles are afforded the same rights as adults in the criminal process.

Question 32

One reason for adopting the exclusionary rule was

A) pressure from police officers to do so.
B) public complaints about criminals getting off easy.
C) to deter police from using illegal means to gather evidence.
D) to make trials more speedy to deal with the backlog of cases.
E) to allow juries to consider all the evidence.

Question 33

During an arrest, the police may legally search

A) the suspect only.
B) the suspect, things in plain view, other rooms in a house.
C) the suspect, things in plain view, things or places under the suspect's immediate control.
D) the suspect and things in plain view.
E) things in plain view only.

Question 34

The constitutional ban on being forced to give evidence against oneself was originally intended to

A) inform people of the right to remain silent in the police station.
B) prevent biased information from being introduced.
C) prevent the use of torture or "third-degree" police tactics.
D) prevent irrelevant information from being introduced.
E) inform people of the right to remain silent.

Question 35

Miranda has been extended to mean that one has a right to a lawyer

A) when appearing in a post indictment police lineup only.
B) when riding in a squad car to a police station and during the fingerprinting process.
C) when one is questioned by a psychiatrist to determine competency for trial only.
D) during the finger-printing process only.
E) when appearing in a post indictment police lineup and when questioned by a psychiatrist to determine competency for trial.

Question 36

Lately the courts seem to be taking the position on the exclusionary rule of

A) modifying it to make more evidence admissible.
B) abandoning it to make any evidence admissible.
C) continuing it as before.
D) making it stricter to discourage police misconduct.
E) applying to a greater variety of circumstances.

Question 37

The Supreme Court has ruled that enemies who appear on our shores without military uniforms for the purpose of committing hostile acts are

A) government agents.
B) merely citizens.
C) prisoners of war.
D) civilian soldiers.
E) unlawful combatants.

Question 38

In 2004 the Supreme Court decided that enemy combatants

A) must be tried in civilian courts.
B) must be tried in civilian courts
C) have no right to appeal.
D) have the right to appeal.
E) do not have the right to see evidence.

Question 39

A right to a job and a decent standard of living are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Question 40

The Bill of Rights was applied to the states effective on the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 41

According to the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Bill of Rights applies only to the federal government.

Question 42

Americans' propensity for lawsuits indicates that "rights are in conflict."

Question 43

In America, the freedom of religion is absolute.

Question 44

Throughout history, American courts generally have broadened the area of free expression.

Question 45

The right to a trial by jury can be found in the Bill of Rights.

Question 46

Libel is protected speech.

Question 47

The wearing of black armbands to protest war is an example of illegal action, not symbolic speech.

Question 48

The Supreme Court has ruled that laws prohibiting "fighting words" must have narrow applications.

Question 49

From the Supreme Court's perspective, nudity and sex are, by definition, obscenity.

Question 50

A book banned in Boston could not be sold in Chicago under current interpretations of obscenity laws.

Question 51

Corporations have all the same rights of expression as individuals.

Question 52

High school students do not have exactly the same rights as adults.

Question 53

The free-exercise clause protects polygamy when its practice is part of a religious faith.

Question 54

A person can refuse to obey a compulsory vaccination law for religious reasons.

Question 55

Draft laws only recently have made exceptions for conscientious objectors.

Question 56

An individual must believe in a supreme being to qualify for conscientious objector status.

Question 57

The "wall of separation" between church and state is stated explicitly in the Bill of Rights.

Question 58

The Court's first interpretation of the establishment clause did not appear until the 1940s.

Question 59

Federal aid is not permitted for building construction on a church-supported college campus.

Question 60

Some forms of public aid to religious schools are permissible.

Question 61

A voucher system that allows students to choose to attend religious schools is constitutional.

Question 62

The Supreme Court recently ruled against the display of the Ten Commandments among over thirty historical markers around a state capitol.

Question 63

The Supreme Court recently ruled against the display of the Ten Commandments in courthouses.

Question 64

In the United States, improperly gathered evidence is excluded from a trial even if it is relevant to determining guilt.

Question 65

The exclusionary rule weakens the guarantees of the Bill of Rights.

Question 66

The right to be free from unreasonable searches or seizures is set forth in the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 67

In Mapp v. Ohio the Supreme Court used the exclusionary rule as a way of enforcing a number of constitutional guarantees.

Question 68

A search warrant must describe what is to be searched for and seized.

Question 69

The police can require a driver to take a breathalyzer test to determine intoxication.

Question 70

Supervisors can search the desk of an employee without a warrant if the search involves something related to the employee's work.

Question 71

The case against Ernesto Miranda was complicated by the fact that he consistently denied having committed a crime.

Question 72

Once the Supreme Court overturned his conviction, Ernesto Miranda never served time for the crime of which he was originally charged.

Question 73

Under the USA Patriot Act, the government can tap telephones without a court order.

Question 74

The USA Patriot Act allows the government to tap Internet communications without a court order.

Question 75

Military trials can be conducted in secret.

Question 76

In contrast to civilian courts, conviction in a military trial requires the vote of two-thirds of the tribunal.

Question 77

Explain what incorporation means and how it became a part of the Supreme Court's jurisprudence.

Question 78

Summarize the considerations in the Court's current test for deciding establishment-clause cases.

Question 79

Explain the characteristics and conditions of a search warrant.

Question 80

Explain where the police can search and seize without a warrant if you have been arrested.