Deck 3: The Judiciary: Its Role and Jurisdiction

Question 1

Which of the following best describes presidential nominations of justices to the Supreme Court?

A) Presidents tend to nominate individuals who they believe share their political opinions.
B) Most presidents have not considered the political views of prospective nominees.
C) Presidents delegate nominations to key senators of the same party as the president.
D) Presidents delegate nominations to the American Bar Association.

Answer 1

Presidents tend to nominate individuals who they believe share their political opinions.

Question 2

Which of the following best describes the Framers' intentions concerning the relationship between state and federal courts?

A) Federal courts were to be the primary courts under the Constitution, hearing all important cases, i.e., felony criminal proceedings.
B) State courts were to be the primary courts with the federal courts possessing jurisdiction over a select group of cases.
C) The Constitution created a system of federal courts to hear all cases and abolished the state court systems.
D) The Constitution did not create any federal courts and specifically acknowledged the jurisdiction of state courts over all cases, federal and state.

Answer 2

State courts were to be the primary courts with the federal courts possessing jurisdiction over a select group of cases.

Question 3

Which of the following is not a constraint on federal judicial power?

A) Lifetime appointment
B) Presidential nomination
C) Impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors
D) Congressional control of judicial jurisdiction

Answer 3

Lifetime appointment

Question 4

John was elected to the House of Representatives. However, the House refused to seat him due to allegations that he abused his wife ten years earlier. He filed suit in federal court. The judge decided in his favor and in her opinion she cited statements made during the Constitutional Convention and ratification debates in the states to support her interpretation of the Qualifications Clause (which governs eligibility to be a member of Congress). The judge's interpretive method is best characterized as:

A) Originalist.
B) Textualist.
C) Modernist.
D) Literalist.

Question 5

Which method of interpreting the Constitution argues that once the original intent has been declared, change can come only through the amendment process?

A) Originalism
B) Modernistm
C) Contemporary Literalism
D) Historical Literalism

Question 6

The power of judicial review extends to:

A) Congressional action.
B) Executive action.
C) State action.
D) All of the above

Question 7

In Marbury v. Madison the Court:

A) declared the power of judicial review and invalidated President Jefferson's decision to not deliver a commission of appointment.
B) declared the power of judicial review and invalidated an act of Congress extending to its original jurisdiction in contravention to Article III.
C) declared the power of judicial review, but did not exercise it.
D) both A and B are correct.

Question 8

Which method of constitutional interpretation is applied in a manner consistent with the framers' intentions?

A) Originalism
B) Modernistm
C) Contemporary Literalism
D) Historical Literalism

Question 9

A judge who follows an interpretive approach which focuses on the precise meaning of the text of the Constitution in 1787 is best described as:

A) Originalist.
B) Modernist.
C) Contemporary Literalist.
D) Historical Literalist.

Question 10

The Constitution provides generally for two forms of federal judicial jurisdiction. Those are:

A) Diversity and Certiorari.
B) Diversity and Federal Question.
C) Federal Question and Certiorari
D) Federal Question and Pendency

Question 11

Which of the following is not an element of the "capable of repetition yet evading review" doctrine (an exception to the mootness doctrine)?

A) A legal or factual issue that has become moot.
B) The harm is capable of reoccurring.
C) The harm is significant.
D) The harm evades review.

Question 12

For an organization to have standing, it must show:

A) that the majority of its members satisfies the standing test.
B) that it is capable of representing the members.
C) that it has a special interest and expertise in the subject of the litigation.
D) that is it registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Question 13

As a general matter, a person's status as a taxpayer:

A) establishes sufficient interest to challenge any law that is believed to be unconstitutional.
B) does not establish sufficient interest to challenge any law.
C) establishes sufficient interest to challenge expenditures of funds to which the taxpayer contributed, so long as the expenditure is unconstitutional.
D) none of the above are correct.

Question 14

Which of the following cases is most likely to be considered a political question and nonjudiciable?

A) Gerrymandering.
B) A congressional decision that an amendment has been ratified.
C) A congressional subpoena of presidential records.
D) A congressional decision to not seat an elected member of the House of Representatives.

Question 15

The Eleventh Amendment was ratified as a result of what Supreme Court decision?

A) Marbury v. Madison
B) Powell v. McCormick
C) Hans v. Louisiana
D) Chisholm v. Georgia

Question 16

The Younger Doctrine provides that federal courts:

A) shall abstain from interfering with state criminal proceedings in most instances.
B) shall abstain from interfering with state criminal proceedings in all instances.
C) shall abstain from interfering with state political question cases in all instances.
D) both B and C are correct

Question 17

Today, most cases heard by the Supreme Court come to it through:

A) writ of certiorari
B) appeal
C) original jurisdiction
D) notice of recall

Question 18

How many justices does it take to grant a Writ of Certiorari?

A) all justices
B) four
C) five
D) six

Question 19

The phrase "stare decisis" originates from a ________ phrase.

A) Greek
B) French
C) Latin
D) Russian

Question 20

What is the only federal court expressly created by the U.S. Constitution?

A) U.S. Supreme Court
B) U.S. Court of Appeal
C) U.S. District Court
D) U.S. Court of International Trade

Question 21

Who has the power to impeach federal court judges?

A) U.S. Senate
B) U.S. House of Representatives
C) U.S. Supreme Court
D) President

Question 22

Stare decisis refers to the process of ordering a lower court to send a case up for review.

Question 23

To sit on an Article III federal court, a person must be nominated by the President and confirmed by the House of Representatives.

Question 24

U.S. Bankruptcy judges are examples of Article III judges.

Question 25

Article III provides for eight associate justices and one Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Question 26

The Constitution has been amended on two occasions in order to reverse a Supreme Court decision.

Question 27

One role courts perform in the U.S. is interpretation of law.

Question 28

It has been discovered through empirical research that there is little correlation between their political ideology (liberal to conservative) and voting patterns on cases.

Question 29

Stare decisis refers to a Larn phrase that means "on the bench."

Question 30

Originalists hold that the Constitution should be interpreted to mean what the framers originally intended it to mean.

Question 31

Originalism is an approach to interpreting the Constitution that allows courts to consider changes in social, economic, and political forces.

Question 32

One canon of statutory construction holds that if part of a statute is held unconstitutional, the remaining parts are to remain viable as long as it is logical to do so.

Question 33

One canon of statutory construction holds that a court will decide a case without addressing a constitutional issue if possible alternative grounds exist.

Question 34

By statute, all federal judges are required to recuse from cases where "his/her impartiality might reasonably be questioned."

Question 35

Article I of the U.S. Constitution provides that the "judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish."

Question 36

Mootness, ripeness, standing, political question, and case-or-controversy requirements all limit the authority of the judiciary.

Question 37

Since 1869, there have been ________ justices that sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Question 38

The authority of one court to review the proceedings of another court or of an administrative agency is known as ________ jurisdiction.

Question 39

There are ninety-four ________ courts in the United States which are the federal trial courts.

Question 40

A ________ institution is one whose members are not elected by, or directly accountable to, the people.

Question 41

Once confirmed, federal court judges receive ________ tenure.

Question 42

A(n) ________ opinion is a judicial interpretation of a legal question requested by the legislative or executive branch of government.

Question 43

Federal judicial jurisdiction is limited by Article III, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution to cases that involve federal legal issues or where ________ of citizenship exists.

Question 44

If a suit is filed before a harm has occurred or before the threat of harm is imminent, the case is said to be ________.

Question 45

A case for which the disputed issues have been resolved or dissipated during litigation is ________.

Question 46

Modernists view the Constitution in light of ________ life.

Question 47

If part of a statute is held unconstitutional, the remaining ________ are to remain viable as long as it is logical to do so.

Question 48

Stare decisis is the doctrine that judicial decisions stand as ________ for cases arising in the future.

Question 49

Match the description With the constitutional interpretation method.

-Constitution is interpreted and applied by focusing on its terms, syntax, and other linguistic features that were in use at the time of adoption/ratification

A) originalism
B) historical literalism
C) democratic reinforcement
D) contemporary literalism
E) modernism

Question 50

Match the description With the constitutional interpretation method.

-Constitution is interpreted and applied in a manner consistent with the framers' intentions

A) originalism
B) historical literalism
C) democratic reinforcement
D) contemporary literalism
E) modernism

Question 51

Match the description With the constitutional interpretation method.

-Constitution is interpreted and applied by focusing on its terms, syntax, and other linguistic features that are currently in use

A) originalism
B) historical literalism
C) democratic reinforcement
D) contemporary literalism
E) modernism

Question 52

Match the description With the constitutional interpretation method.

-Constitution is interpreted and applied in contemporary terms

A) originalism
B) historical literalism
C) democratic reinforcement
D) contemporary literalism
E) modernism

Question 53

Match the description With the constitutional interpretation method.

-Constitution is interpreted and applied in a manner that reinforces the document's underlying democratic themes

A) originalism
B) historical literalism
C) democratic reinforcement
D) contemporary literalism
E) modernism

Question 54

Match the description its term.

-the jurisdiction of the federal courts based upon the judicial powers granted by Article III of the Constitution and by federal statutes

A) Appellate Jurisdiction
B) Original Jurisdiction
C) en banc
D) Diversity Jurisdiction
E) Federal Jurisdiction

Question 55

Match the description its term.

-French term for "on the bench" A court, particularly an appellate court, with all the judges sitting together in a case

A) Appellate Jurisdiction
B) Original Jurisdiction
C) en banc
D) Diversity Jurisdiction
E) Federal Jurisdiction

Question 56

Match the description its term.

-the authority of one court to review the proceedings of another court or of an administrative agency

A) Appellate Jurisdiction
B) Original Jurisdiction
C) en banc
D) Diversity Jurisdiction
E) Federal Jurisdiction

Question 57

Match the description its term.

-the jurisdiction of a federal court arising from diversity of citizenship, when the jurisdictional amount has been met

A) Appellate Jurisdiction
B) Original Jurisdiction
C) en banc
D) Diversity Jurisdiction
E) Federal Jurisdiction

Question 58

Match the description its term.

-the jurisdiction of a trial court, as distinguished from the jurisdiction of an appellate court

A) Appellate Jurisdiction
B) Original Jurisdiction
C) en banc
D) Diversity Jurisdiction
E) Federal Jurisdiction

Question 59

What are the main courts in the federal court system?

Question 60

How is a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court filled?

Question 61

What are the requirements for diversity jurisdiction?

Question 62

What is the standing requirement?

Question 63

Describe the four primary methods of interpreting the U.S. Constitution.

Question 64

Describe the different canons of statutory construction.

Question 65

Explain which method of interpreting the U.S. Constitution you think is the best approach.

Question 66

Discuss whether you think the amount in controversy in federal diversity of citizenship cases should increase from $75,000 to $100,000.