Deck 15: The Federal Courts

Question 1

Which of the following would provide the best thesis statement for the article on Justice Kennedy on page 289?

A)Kennedy is a strong supporter of liberal opinions as a Supreme Court justice.
B)The power of a Supreme Court justice may be enhanced if that justice is a swing voter.
C)Reagan appointments to the Supreme Court were overwhelmingly Republican.
D)Justice Kennedy has manipulated the Supreme Court process to achieve a liberal agenda.
E)Justices with clear agendas may be the most powerful on the Supreme Court.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

If the Supreme Court grants certiorari,what has the Court done?

A)Ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a case
B)Agreed to hear arguments and rule on a case appealed to the Court
C)Refused to hear a case appealed to the Court
D)Allowed an indigent defendant to file an appeal without paying full fees
E)Agreed to rehear a case decided a year ago

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Senatorial courtesy is most important in the appointment of judges to which of the following courts?

A)District court
B)Court of appeal
C)Supreme Court
D)Circuit court of appeals
E)It is equally important in all of the courts listed above.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In which of the following areas did the judicial appointees of Bill Clinton and George W.Bush differ significantly?

A)Ethnicity
B)Gender
C)Political affiliation
D)None of the above;the appointments were nearly the same.
E)All of the above

Question 5

How many members of the Supreme Court must agree before the Court will accept a case for review?

A)Four
B)Five
C)Six
D)Nine
E)One

Question 6

Someone who believes that judges should stick close to the literal meaning of the words in the Constitution is an advocate of which of the following?

A)Loose construction of the Constitution
B)Strict construction of the Constitution
C)Judicial reformism
D)Judicial activism
E)Reconstruction

Question 7

About what percentage of cases presented to the Supreme Court are granted cert?

A)1 percent
B)5 percent
C)10 percent
D)15 percent
E)All cases are granted cert.

Question 8

The Supreme Court votes six-to-three to decide a case.Justice A is a member of the majority but disagrees with the reasoning presented in the majority opinion.What action might Justice A take?

A)Justice A might write a concurring opinion.
B)Justice A might write a dissenting opinion.
C)Justice A might write a per curiam opinion.
D)Justice A might write an opinion in forma pauperis.
E)Justice A might write an amicus opinion.

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of a criminal case?

A)A man who was injured in an automobile accident files suit against the driver of the other vehicle to pay medical bills.
B)A woman sues her former husband to force him to pay child support.
C)Family members go to court to determine the distribution of a deceased relative's estate.
D)A man is the defendant in a trial in which the state claims he fatally injured a woman in an automobile collision due to his reckless driving while under the influence of alcohol.
E)A divorce suit involves a request for over $1 million in spousal support.

Question 10

Which of the following is an example of a civil case?

A)Theft
B)Burglary
C)Robbery
D)Embezzlement
E)Divorce

Question 11

The doctrine of constitutional interpretation holding that the Constitution should be interpreted broadly is known as which of the following?

A)Judicial restraint
B)Stare decisis
C)Strict construction of the Constitution
D)Loose construction of the Constitution
E)Passive reconstruction

Question 12

Assuming that the Supreme Court is fully staffed and that every member participates,how many justices must agree for the Court to reach a decision?

A)Four
B)Five
C)Six
D)Nine
E)Twelve

Question 13

The justices of the Supreme Court vote unanimously to decide a case.Who decides who will write the majority opinion?

A)The chief justice decides.
B)The justice with the most seniority on the Court decides.
C)The justices decide by majority vote.
D)It is decided by lot.
E)The decision is made by the most senior justice.

Question 14

What is the term of office of Supreme Court justices?

A)They serve four-year terms.
B)They serve until a new president takes office.
C)They serve until age 70,when they must retire.
D)They serve 10-year terms.
E)They serve for life.

Question 15

According to the Constitution,the Supreme Court includes how many justices?

A)Six
B)Nine
C)Ten
D)Twelve
E)The Constitution does not indicate the number of justices to serve on the Court.

Question 16

The Supreme Court's power of judicial review

A)is listed in Article III as one of the delegated powers.
B)was overturned by the president in 1950.
C)allows the Court to review legislation to determine if it is constitutional.
D)allows the Court to send a case back to the trial court.
E)is a power that the Court has never used.

Question 17

A lawsuit initiated to assess the constitutionality of a legislative or executive act is known as which of the following?

A)Friend of the court brief
B)Amicus brief
C)Appeal
D)Test case
E)Stare decisis

Question 18

The three levels of federal courts are the following:

A)District Court,State Court,Circuit Court.
B)Circuit Court,Municipal Court,Supreme Court.
C)Circuit Court,Supreme Court,County Court.
D)District Court,Circuit Court of Appeal,Supreme Court.
E)State Court,District Court,Supreme Court.

Question 19

Which of the following legal disputes would most likely be tried in a federal court?

A)A person is charged with burglarizing a home.
B)A person is charged with using the U.S.mail to commit fraud.
C)A person is charged with robbing a grocery store.
D)A person is charged with murder.
E)A person fails to pay child support.

Question 20

What is judicial restraint?

A)It is the U.S.Supreme Court declaring a state legislature act unconstitutional.
B)It is the concept that judges should restrain from legislating from the bench and only rule against a law if it is a clear violation of the Constitution.
C)It is the doctrine of separate-but-equal.
D)It is the legislature restraining itself from passing laws.
E)It is state judges not ruling and passing the case to the Supreme Court.

Question 21

Which of the following forms of law does a legislative body,such as Congress,write?

A)Common law
B)Statutory law
C)Equity
D)Administrative law
E)Juridical

Question 22

Judicial review is the power exercised by the courts over the executive and legislative branches.

Question 23

What is the difference between a civil case and a criminal case? Give an example of each type of case.

Question 24

Arguments against the lifetime appointment to the federal bench include all except the following:

A)The founders could not have foreseen the effect of lifetime appointments.
B)The Court is not accountable to the American people.
C)Giving them lifetime appointments does not remove them from the political process.
D)The longer justices serve together the better they get at making decisions.
E)Partisan fights have led to more ideological appointees.

Question 25

Civil cases involve persons accused of a crime.

Question 26

Certiorari is the term used for the Supreme Court's decision to hear a case and issue a ruling.

Question 27

The concept of certiorari is that judges do what is fair regardless of the law and regardless of precedent.

Question 28

Presidents generally appoint individuals to the federal judiciary who share their political party affiliation.

Question 29

In which of the following issue areas has the Supreme Court had the greatest impact on policymaking?

A)Economic policy
B)Regulatory policy
C)Foreign and defense policy
D)Civil liberties and civil rights
E)Welfare policy

Question 30

Does the chief justice of the United States enjoy more authority than the eight associate justices? If so,what particular power does the chief justice have?

Question 31

What is judicial review? On what constitutional basis do courts exercise the power of judicial review?

Question 32

A remand is the decision of a court to hear an appeal from a lower court.

Question 33

The U.S.Supreme Court rules that an act of Congress is unconstitutional.How might that decision be overturned?

A)It cannot be reversed.
B)Congress could pass the law again by majority vote.
C)Congress could pass the law again by a two-thirds vote.
D)Congress and the states could amend the Constitution.
E)The president could reverse the decision.

Question 34

The Constitution sets the size of the Supreme Court at one chief justice and eight associate justices.

Question 35

The Supreme Court must depend on other branches of government to enforce its rulings.

Question 36

According to the text,Brown v.Board of Education illustrates,among other things,that

A)the impact of a Supreme Court decision is lessened by dissension among justices.
B)a concurring opinion can make a Supreme Court decision a dead letter.
C)when a dissenting opinion is written in a Supreme Court decision,it has no impact on the final decision.
D)only the majority opinion in a Supreme Court decision counts.
E)unanimity among justices can make the impact of a Supreme Court decision much greater.

Question 37

Congress passes a law outlawing the burning of the American flag.Critics of the law believe that it violates First Amendment guarantees of freedom of expression.You are a justice on the Supreme Court,and you believe firmly in the principle of judicial restraint.Would you rule the anti-flag-burning law constitutional or unconstitutional? Why?

Question 38

District courts handle criminal cases involving violations of federal law.

Question 39

Under the rules of procedure of the Supreme Court,only the actual litigants in a case may submit briefs for the Court's consideration.

Question 40

You are a senator from Florida and a member of the president's political party.What influence do you have on the judicial selection process? Be sure to explain fully whether you have influence over all judicial appointments or just over certain appointments. )

Question 41

Should the Constitution be interpreted using strict or loose construction? Write an essay in which you describe each of these approaches to interpreting the Constitution.Examine the arguments supporting each position.Conclude with your assessment of the appropriate approach to constitutional interpretation.

Question 42

You are a federal court of appeals justice.You are called on to decide a case raising issues similar to those dealt with in the case of Roe v.Wade.In making your decision,would you pay closest attention to the majority opinion in Roe,the concurring opinions,or the dissenting opinions? Why?

Question 43

The judiciary is the only branch of American national government whose members are not elected.Moreover,federal judges enjoy life tenure,and their pay may not be reduced.This does not mean,however,that there are no checks on the judicial branch.Write an essay in which you consider the checks and balances that exist on the power of the federal courts.

Question 44

What are amicus curiae or friend of the court briefs? What role do they play in the judicial policymaking process?

Question 45

What checks are placed on the power of the Supreme Court,especially from other branches of the U.S.government?

Question 46

What factors combine to increase the influence of the Supreme Court?

Question 47

Who decides which cases the Supreme Court will decide? How is that decision made?

Question 48

One piece of evidence that the courts are political as well as legal institutions is that they are the targets of interest group activity.Write an essay outlining and discussing the ways interest groups attempt to influence judicial decision making.Use examples to illustrate your points.

Question 49

You are a member of the U.S.Supreme Court,and you want to accept a particular case for review.How many other justices must agree with you before the Court will review the case and make a ruling? Why?

Question 50

What are the ideological differences you might expect to see in Supreme Court justices appointed by Republican presidents and Democrat presidents?