Deck 10: The Substance of Justice

Question 1

In the case of Gitlow v.New York,the Supreme Court ruled that First Amendment protections of the U.S.Constitution applied to the states because of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Texas v.Johnson held that state laws prohibiting flag burning as a form of political protest do not violate the First Amendment.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Texas's pro-life position is evidenced by three recent laws passed by the legislature intended to discourage or obstruct women from having abortions.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Pro-life forces in the abortion debate argue that the courts should have the authority to intervene in abortion disputes because the judiciary is independent.

Question 5

The term "civil rights" refers to citizens' rights to be free of government regulation of their personal conduct.

Question 6

In the area of school segregation,the major problem today is that school districts deliberately separate students of differing ethnic backgrounds.

Question 7

The Supreme Court of Texas has ruled that the "Robin Hood" plan for school finance is a constitutional mechanism to achieve equity for poor school districts.

Question 8

The right to freedom of speech is included in the category of civil liberties.

Question 9

In Roe v.Wade a state district judge ruled that the state's system of financing its public schools violated its own constitution and laws.

Question 10

In Texas,Democrats are generally more supportive of capital punishment than are Republicans.

Question 11

In Ruiz v.Estelle a federal judge found that the Texas Department of Corrections was guilty of "cruel and unusual punishments" against prisoners.

Question 12

In November 2005,the Supreme Court of Texas declared the Robin Hood law unconstitutional on the grounds that the law forced school districts to assess a statewide property tax.

Question 13

The constitutionality of allowing prayer at football games as practiced by the Santa Fe,Texas School Board was affirmed by the U.S.Supreme Court in 2000.

Question 14

The cases of Tulia and Jasper show how far Texas has progressed in granting equal rights to all its citizens.

Question 15

In 2010,in McDonald v.Chicago,the Supreme Court for the first time held that the freedom of speech and press guarantees of the First Amendment were binding on state and local governments through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 16

Civil rights and civil liberties are identical concepts.

Question 17

In 2008,the U.S.Supreme Court for the first time recognized the "right to bear arms" as an individual right under the Second Amendment of the U.S.Constitution.

Question 18

The provision of the Texas Constitution requiring persons holding public office to "acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being" conflicts with the "free exercise" clause in the First Amendment.

Question 19

The Texas Constitution guarantees both equal rights and an "efficient" public school system.

Question 20

The judicial system is designed to protect rights in a democratic society and process a case in the event that one is accused of a crime.

Question 21

The U.S.Supreme Court has ruled that there is a constitutional right to keep and bear arms based on the

A) First Amendment.
B) Second Amendment.
C) Third Amendment.
D) Fourth Amendment.
E) Fifth Amendment.

Question 22

Punitive damages in tort cases are the actual economic value of damages incurred.

Question 23

Texas law permits the execution of people who commit murder at age seventeen.

Question 24

The term civil liberties refers to

A) the right to run for office and to vote in free elections.
B) the right to fair and equal treatment under the law.
C) the right for all citizens to carry a concealed handgun.
D) the individual freedoms from government interference needed to sustain democracy.
E) all of the above.

Question 25

In the 1989 decision of Texas v.Johnson,the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that

A) burning the flag is a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment.
B) public prayers at high school football games violate the First Amendment.
C) the First Amendment protects the right of antiabortion activists to picket abortion clinics.
D) Ku Klux Klan demonstrations are protected by the First Amendment.
E) the Second Amendment does not guarantee the right of private citizens to carry firearms.

Question 26

Federal courts have declared ____ as an officially sanctioned activity in public schools to be unconstitutional.

A) the use of a nondenominational prayer
B) the reading of the Bible
C) the recitation of the Lord's Prayer
D) the broadcast of a prayer over the public-address system before a football game
E) all of the above

Question 27

A majority of Texans oppose the death penalty for those convicted of murder.

Question 28

In law,a "secular" purpose means that

A) the rights of individuals to own guns shall not be infringed.
B) under the Constitution, rules must apply for reasons apart from religion.
C) police may not search your home without a search warrant.
D) there can be no abridgement of political speech.
E) the death penalty has to apply equally to all, without regard to race or gender.

Question 29

Which of the following was a U.S.Supreme Court case that arose in the Texas courts and was used to overturn antiabortion laws in all states?

A) Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
B) Roe v. Wade
C) Penry v. Lynaugh
D) Smith v. Allwright
E) Beare v. Smith

Question 30

As a result of the tort-reform movement,Texas civil courts are less important and have less discretion regarding tort cases.

Question 31

In the case of McDonald v.Chicago,the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that

A) the Texas Constitution gives citizens a right to keep and bear arms.
B) private citizens have no constitutional right to carry weapons.
C) citizen ownership and use of firearms is a fundamental civil liberty.
D) the right to keep and bear arms is a protected, federal right, but not a protected state right.
E) the ownership of assault weapons is protected under the Constitution.

Question 32

Why did the arrest of Gregory Lee Johnson violate the First Amendment rights and the arrest of fifty Austin anti-war protesters not violate the First Amendment?

A) The anti-war protesters were violent; Johnson was not.
B) Johnson did not have a microphone but the antiwar protesters did.
C) Johnson did not interfere with the rights of other people whereas the protesters disrupted the lives of others.
D) Austin police officers are better trained than Dallas police officers.
E) There is no difference in the actions; the Supreme Court was arbitrary.

Question 33

The 1st Amendment to the U.S.Constitution explicitly guarantees all of the following except

A) freedom of speech.
B) freedom of the press.
C) the right to assemble peaceably.
D) the right to own firearms.
E) the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.

Question 34

The option of "life without parole" will likely pass the legislature because of the wide support of prosecutors.

Question 35

The term civil rights refers to

A) treating members of all groups equally with the members of other groups.
B) protecting individual liberty.
C) permitting unpopular groups to be discriminated against.
D) the laws of the land.
E) protecting an individual's right to religious belief.

Question 36

Torts are defined in civil law rather than criminal law.

Question 37

Which of the following statements regarding abortion is correct?

A) Until 1973 there was no national abortion policy, and the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade was based on the right to privacy.
B) The Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade was based on the right to privacy, and Texas repealed its strict "parental notification law."
C) The Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade was based on the right to privacy, and the Texas Democratic Party has had an uncompromising pro-life plank in its party platform since 1994.
D) Until 1973 there was no national abortion policy, and Texas repealed its strict "parental notification law."
E) The Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade was based on the right to privacy, and the Texas Republican Party has had an uncompromising pro-life plank in its party platform since 1994.

Question 38

The process of applying the First Amendment freedoms of the U.S.Constitution to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment is known as

A) prior restraint.
B) due process of law.
C) civil action.
D) nullification.
E) incorporation.

Question 39

Among the state restrictions that violated the civil rights of blacks and Mexican Americans were

A) Jim Crow laws.
B) Black Codes.
C) poll taxes.
D) the white primary.
E) all of the above.

Question 40

Which of the following is false?

A) Parents can refuse to have their children vaccinated against smallpox on the grounds that it violates their religious convictions.
B) Parents who refuse to salute the flag as a matter of religious conviction cannot be deprived of custody of their child.
C) Members of a church are not denied their religious freedom by a zoning law that restricts the use of property around the church building to single-family dwellings.
D) The freedom to worship requires the freedom not to worship
E) States can provide school lunches and public facilities for church-run schools as long as government agencies do not show a preference for one church over another.

Question 41

A ____ is a civil wrong or injury resulting from a breach of a legal duty that exists by reason of society's expectations about appropriate behavior.

A) felony
B) misdemeanor
C) white-collar crime
D) tort
E) civil rights violation

Question 42

Under tort reform legislation passed in 2003,"pain and suffering" awards in medical malpractice suits are capped at ____.

A) $250
B) $5,000
C) $100,000
D) $250,000
E) $1 million

Question 43

In a Ben Sargent cartoon that appears in the text,the Statue of Liberty is shown gagged by an American flag.Explain how this cartoon illuminates the meaning of the First Amendment.Cite examples to support your arguments.

Question 44

Opponents of the death penalty argue all but which one of the following?

A) Innocent people are sometimes executed.
B) Capital punishment is racially biased.
C) Social science studies are inconclusive as to whether the death penalty deters criminal behavior.
D) It costs more to execute a criminal than to imprison someone for life.
E) Two wrongs do not make a right.

Question 45

The brutal death of James Byrd,Jr.in Jasper and the events following his death illustrate that

A) racism in Texas is still acceptable and prevalent.
B) racism in Texas is neither dominant nor respectable.
C) Texas public officials are unable to administer justice.
D) no progress has been made in racial relations in Texas.
E) all of the above are true.

Question 46

The "equal protection of the laws" clause,which was the basis of the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling declaring racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional,is part of the ____ Amendment.

A) First
B) Fifth
C) Tenth
D) Fourteenth
E) Sixteenth

Question 47

In the case of ____,a state district court judge declared that the system of public education financing in Texas violated the state's constitution.

A) Edgewood Independent School District v. Kirby
B) Brown v. Board of Education
C) Smith v. Allwright
D) Beare v. Smith
E) Texas v. Johnson

Question 48

Discuss the general lessons that can be drawn concerning civil rights in Texas from the text's account of the events in Tulia and Jasper.Take and defend a position regarding the following statement: "Texas,after a long struggle,has finally attained the goal of assuring equal protection of the laws."

Question 49

Which of the following is a result of the tort reform movement?

A) Citizens have less ability to file class-action suits.
B) The fees of trial lawyers are limited in some cases.
C) Companies whose products meet government standards are immune from suits.
D) Civil courts are less important and have less discretion.
E) All of the above are a result of the tort reform movement..

Question 50

In 1972,the U.S.Supreme Court temporarily stopped the states from carrying out capital punishment in large part because of its finding that the death penalty

A) invariably violated the Eighth Amendment ban on "cruel and unusual punishment."
B) violated the Fifth Amendment's due process clause.
C) was applied in a racially biased manner.
D) could not be shown to deter crime.
E) violated U.S. obligations under international human rights treaties.

Question 51

Discuss the relationship between democratic governance and civil liberties.Explain how the liberties of freedom of expression,freedom of religion,and the right to keep and bear arms are protected in Texas.

Question 52

Texas executed ____ murderers between 1982 and the end of 2011.

A) 32
B) 97
C) 112
D) 470
E) 684

Question 53

In the case of ____,a federal court found the Texas Department of Corrections (TDC)guilty of cruel and unusual punishment in the administration of the state's prison system.

A) Ruiz v. Estelle
B) Edgewood v. Kirby
C) Engel v. Vitale
D) Smith v. Allwright
E) Roe v. Wade

Question 54

Discuss the impact the tort reform movement has had on Texas consumers,businesses,and courts.Describe one scenario where citizens might be affected adversely by tort reform and another where they might benefit from tort reform.

Question 55

Discuss the role played by Texas in the movement to extend civil rights in the United States.Explain how the state has responded to federal court rulings pertaining to rights of convicted criminals and school segregation.

Question 56

Historically,inequities in the amount of money available to local school districts in Texas have been the result of

A) discrepancies in the level of state aid allocated to each district.
B) discrepancies in the level of federal aid allocated to each district.
C) wide variations in the value of taxable property among districts.
D) discriminatory policies implemented by the State Board of Education.
E) different financial investment strategies employed by local school boards.