Deck 12: The Judiciary

Question 1

____________ is the authority to hear and decide cases.

A) Nullification
B) Jurisprudence
C) Jurisdiction
D) Litigation

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following would likely fall under the jurisdiction of a state court?

A) a criminal trial
B) a maritime trial
C) a constitutional question
D) a trial in which one litigant is the U.S. government

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The Supreme Court will grant a writ of certiorari if __________ agree to do so.

A) all of the judges
B) six judges
C) a majority of the judges
D) four judges

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In determining whether laws or actions are constitutional, judges need to ____________.

A) understand the Constitution
B) understand the actions
C) interpret the Constitution
D) know the law

Question 5

Whose nomination to the Supreme Court resulted from the planned push by Latino leaders for President Barack Obama to appoint a Latino justice?

A) Bill Richardson
B) Sonia Sotomayor
C) John Roberts
D) Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Question 6

The number of federal district courts is based on ____________.

A) circuits
B) population
C) the Constitution
D) crime rates

Question 7

With greater resources than most individuals have, __________ help(s) some individuals gain access to the courts by sponsoring their cases.

A) presidential appointees
B) interest groups
C) the American Bar Association
D) the Department of Justice

Question 8

District courts differ from courts of appeals and the Supreme Court in that district courts ____________.

A) conduct trials
B) are part of the federal judicial system
C) are composed of judges
D) decide cases within their jurisdictions

Question 9

The tradition of senatorial courtesy allows for ____________.

A) senators to privately lobby Supreme Court justices
B) senators from either party to recommend candidates for judgeships in their state
C) senators in the president's party to recommend or veto candidates for judgeships in their state
D) senators to question nominees during the hearing process

Question 10

Litigants who appeal to the Supreme Court normally file a petition for ______________.

A) a writ of certiorari
B) standing to sue
C) a writ of habeas corpus
D) the right of appeal

Question 11

Congress has successfully impeached fifteen judges and has removed __________.

A) none
B) eight
C) ten
D) fifteen

Question 12

Because the Supreme Court hears nearly all of its cases on appeal, it is sometimes called the ______________.

A) supreme high judge
B) international criminal court
C) ultimate appellate court
D) last court of resort

Question 13

Who was the first woman on the Supreme Court?

A) Ruth Bader Ginsburg
B) Sonia Sotomayor
C) Sandra Day O'Connor
D) Elena Kagan

Question 14

Once appointed, judges serve ____________.

A) nonrenewable terms of ten years
B) renewable terms of six years
C) for life, unless they commit "high crimes and misdemeanors"
D) renewable terms of four years

Question 15

During the Kennedy administration, in deference to southern senators, Kennedy appointed judges who supported __________.

A) segregation
B) space policy
C) healthcare
D) civil rights

Question 16

Which of the following can hear cases and conduct trials?

A) district courts
B) courts of appeals
C) the Supreme Court
D) military courts

Question 17

The primary expense in gaining access to the courts is paying for __________.

A) expert witnesses
B) attorneys
C) court filings
D) juror summonses

Question 18

After nomination and confirmation, judges can be removed from the bench by ____________.

A) the president
B) Congress
C) congressional impeachment
D) the Department of Justice

Question 19

What do liberal interest groups use as a primary tactic?

A) bureaucratic policy
B) litigation
C) media coverage
D) fundraising

Question 20

In which year did Congress establish the lower courts?

A) 1789
B) 1793
C) 1800
D) 1860

Question 21

What rule helps to bring stability to the American legal system?

A) amicus curiae
B) stare decisis
C) habeas corpus
D) certiorari

Question 22

When the courts decided to hear Marbury v. Madison, ____________ became furious.

A) the Federalists
B) John Jay
C) the Jeffersonians
D) George Washington

Question 23

The Americans with Disabilities Act is an example of ____________.

A) a well-written law that required little judicial interpretation
B) a law that has required the courts to determine its scope
C) judicial reluctance to make law
D) the limitations of the Supreme Court

Question 24

The fact that the Constitution is short and ambiguous means that __________.

A) its provisions are comprehensive
B) the courts must interpret it to apply it
C) there is little room for judicial interpretation
D) it quickly became dated

Question 25

Judicial review is ____________.

A) a legal journal
B) the power to declare laws or governmental actions unconstitutional
C) not an element of governmental checks and balances
D) unconstitutional and was never intended to be part of the American legal system

Question 26

When judges make law, they ____________.

A) usually tell government what it cannot do
B) often start with no principles or rules to guide them
C) usually tell government what it must do
D) are indifferent to criticism and political reaction

Question 27

Court briefs that identify issues and marshal evidence are __________.

A) friend-of-the-court briefs
B) discoveries
C) written arguments
D) writs of certiorari

Question 28

Restrained judges __________.

A) are concerned with rejecting laws and actions
B) enforce "government by judiciary"
C) are concerned with showing appropriate deference
D) are careless about laws from the statute books

Question 29

The Supreme Court claimed the authority of judicial review in ____________.

A) Marbury v. Madison
B) United States v. Nixon
C) McCulloch v. Maryland
D) Gideon v. Wainwright

Question 30

When an opinion does not command the support of some justices in the majority, what might they do?

A) write a concurring opinion
B) write a dissenting opinion
C) vote against the chief justice
D) join the minority

Question 31

In McCulloch v. Maryland, the Supreme Court ____________.

A) applied the establishment clause
B) interpreted the necessary and proper clause
C) applied the three-fifths compromise
D) violated the supremacy clause

Question 32

The Supreme Court's term extends from ____________.

A) January through June
B) January through November
C) October through August
D) October through June

Question 33

Judges who prefer an active approach argue that ____________.

A) getting results is key
B) the courts should accept fewer cases from the states
C) judicial review should be used sparingly
D) dissenting opinions actually hinder court rulings

Question 34

On the Supreme Court, the judges in the minority write a(n) __________.

A) amendment
B) concurring opinion
C) dissenting opinion
D) pending statute

Question 35

Who was originally responsible for enforcing one written opinion for the entire Supreme Court?

A) Roger Taney
B) John Marshall
C) John Jay
D) George Washington

Question 36

Whose portrait presides over weekly Supreme Court conferences?

A) Chief Justice John Marshall
B) President George Washington
C) President Abraham Lincoln
D) the current chief justice

Question 37

The most time-consuming stage in the Supreme Court's decision process is the __________.

A) oral argument
B) judicial conferences
C) written argument
D) production of the opinion

Question 38

Stare decisis refers to court decisions based on ____________.

A) the Founders' intentions
B) judicial notions of right and wrong
C) previous cases
D) the pressing need of litigants

Question 39

Statutes are laws ____________.

A) passed by legislatures
B) outlined in the Constitution
C) written by judges
D) written by the president

Question 40

When judges interpret the Constitution, they may ____________.

A) follow presidential wishes
B) disregard discretion
C) make law
D) forget their political preferences

Question 41

List and describe the three types of written court opinions.

Question 42

Briefly describe the process of accessing the federal court system.

Question 43

The appointment of Rehnquist as chief justice __________.

A) reflected Reagan's conservative ideology
B) preserved the Warren Court's gains for minorities
C) reflected Clinton's liberal ideology
D) prevented the Court from swinging to the right

Question 44

How would you characterize the Marshall Court?

Question 45

Why is it important for presidents to appoint women to the Supreme Court?

Question 46

What is the difference between civil cases and criminal cases?

Question 47

What is the significance of McCulloch v. Maryland?

Question 48

Describe why judicial review is important for strengthening the power of the judiciary.

Question 49

How does one become a member of the federal courts?

Question 50

Describe three instances in which the courts have "made law."

Question 51

What was John Marshall's impact on the history of the Supreme Court and federalism?

Question 52

How can the president check judicial power?

A) by enforcing court rulings through executive orders
B) by appointing new judges when vacancies occur
C) by impeaching judges when accused of high crimes
D) by invalidating laws passed through the courts

Question 53

Describe the issues of concern to the Warren Court.

Question 54

The threat of judicial review ____________.

A) has little impact on legislative action
B) influences legislative content
C) is a concern at the federal level but not the state level
D) can be overridden by presidential mandate

Question 55

Adopting constitutional amendments is one check the __________ has on the federal courts.

A) executive branch
B) military
C) bureaucracy
D) legislative branch

Question 56

Which of the following courts in the 1970s and 1980s eroded some Warren Court doctrine, but left most intact?

A) Brandeis
B) Rehnquist
C) Burger
D) Warren

Question 57

The Roberts Court era began in ____________.

A) 1986
B) 2000
C) 2005
D) 2012

Question 58

Discuss the problems inherent in interpreting statutes and the Constitution. How do the courts try to resolve these problems?

Question 59

Traditionally, the federal courts have been ____________ to intervene in U.S. foreign policy.

A) unable
B) reluctant
C) disallowed
D) willing

Question 60

In which court case did the Supreme Court advance the supremacy of the national government by broadly construing congressional power?

A) Marbury v. Madison
B) United States v. Nixon
C) McCulloch v. Maryland
D) Gideon v. Wainwright

Question 61

How are judges, especially Supreme Court justices, selected? How political is the process? What can be done, if anything, to fix the process?

Question 62

Should there be term limits for Supreme Court justices?

Question 63

In what ways did the Supreme Court answer the legal questions in the 2012 healthcare law decision? Were there any dissenting opinions? For what reasons?

Question 64

Identify the major checks on judicial power. Are they effective or ineffective in limiting judicial action?

Question 65

How does the Americans with Disabilities Act demonstrate the law-making ability of the court system?