Deck 13: The Courts

Question 1

The law clerks of the Supreme Court justices create a discuss list on a given day.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Which one of the following was a part of the Judiciary Act of 1789?

A)It established every court throughout the nation, including all trial courts, city courts, county courts, state courts, and federal courts.
B)It specified the Supreme Court's power of judicial review.
C)It set the number of Supreme Court justices at nine.
D)It created both federal circuit and district courts.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Although appeals courts are between the district courts and the Supreme Court, in actuality it is in the appeals courts where the final decision is rendered in most federal appellate cases.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

When a court is the first one to interpret the application of law from a lower court, it is said to have original jurisdiction.

Question 5

Many criminal and civil cases are settled without a trial through plea bargaining.

Question 6

Written dissents do NOT typically serve any purpose in Supreme Court jurisprudence.

Question 7

Recent courts have been less willing to deviate from precedent than earlier courts.

Question 8

The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court includes those cases that go directly to the Court for a full hearing.As specified in Article III of the Constitution, this includes disputes involving foreign ambassadors, countries, or cases in which a state is a party in the case.

Question 9

The Supreme Court does NOT have any enforcement power.

Question 10

The Supreme Court justices typically hear about 18 percent of all cases submitted to them for appeal.

Question 11

The early details of the Supreme Court, including setting the number of justices at six and determining its internal organization, were established in

A)the preamble to the constitution.
B)the Judiciary Act of 1789.
C)Marbury v.Madison (1803).
D)Article II of the Constitution.

Question 12

Supporters of a living Constitution argue that other legal perspectives do NOT allow the legal system to adapt in response to changes in technology, values, and society that could not have been anticipated by America's founders.

Question 13

The Constitution is silent on the concept of judicial review.

Question 14

________ wrote that the Supreme Court would be "beyond comparison the weakest of the three departments of power."

A)John Marshall
B)James Madison
C)Alexander Hamilton
D)James Wilson

Question 15

The current Supreme Court is quite conservative but also activist.

Question 16

The Supreme Court tends to be responsive to the views of the public, Congress, and the president because of the nature and frequency of Supreme Court elections.

Question 17

The chief justice is responsible for assigning the majority opinion to another justice on the Court but only when the chief justice is in the voting majority at the conference meeting.

Question 18

Cases that have generated a lot of activity from interest groups are more likely to be heard by the Supreme Court justices than are others.

Question 19

In Marbury v.Madison, the Court asserted its power by forcing Secretary of State James Madison to deliver Justice William Marbury his commission so that Marbury could rightfully take his place as a justice of the peace.

Question 20

The most important political factor in Supreme Court decision making is the ideology of the justices or attitudes about certain issues.

Question 21

What was the justification for refusing to issue Marbury his commission in Marbury v.Madison (1803)?

A)The justices ruled that President Adams' appointment of Marbury was an abuse of executive power and therefore illegal.
B)The Supreme Court could not issue the order to someone holding federal office because it was not part of the Court's original jurisdiction outlined in the Constitution.
C)The justices ruled that President Adams' appointment of Marbury could not stand because it occurred after the election of 1800, which Adams lost.
D)The justices ruled that only the president, and not the Supreme Court, had the power to issue the order.

Question 22

By embracing the concept of dual federalism throughout the nineteenth century, the Supreme Court justices

A)demonstrated their willingness to use their power of judicial review to rule on the constitutionality of state laws.
B)showed that they were unwilling to use judicial review to overrule states.
C)failed to fulfill a key component of the Judiciary Act of 1789.
D)extended the power of the federal government by embracing an activist role for the Court in American politics.

Question 23

In its first 225 years, Congress has passed more than ________ laws.

A)10,000
B)30,000
C)60,000
D)500,000

Question 24

________ said that the Supreme Court would be the weakest branch of government at the national level.

A)James Madison
B)John Jay
C)George Washington
D)Alexander Hamilton

Question 25

It is possible for judges to face election in

A)constitutional courts.
B)legislative courts.
C)state courts.
D)the Supreme Court.

Question 26

What percentage of all U.S.Supreme Court justices have shared the nominating president's political party?

A)55
B)76
C)91
D)100

Question 27

When the Supreme Court resolves conflicts among lower courts in the interpretation of the law, the principal effect is to

A)support the importance of judicial review as its main power.
B)ensure consistent application of the law across the United States.
C)put judicial activism into practice.
D)put the supremacy clause of the Constitution into practice.

Question 28

What is a court's appellate jurisdiction?

A)the types of cases that originate in that court
B)the power to review the constitutionality of cases
C)cases in which the court must make rulings on the facts of a case
D)the authority of a court to review decisions from lower courts and change or uphold them

Question 29

Cases heard by the Supreme Court under its appellate jurisdiction arrive there because

A)they involve foreign ambassadors and nations.
B)the justices have been asked to issue a writ of certification and to clarify a case for a lower appeals court.
C)a litigant who lost in a lower appellate court has convinced the justices to hear the case.
D)the solicitor general has determined it worthy of a hearing in the Supreme Court.

Question 30

Which one of the following correctly orders courts from lowest to highest?

A)district courts, circuit courts, appeals courts
B)circuit courts, district courts, Supreme Court
C)district courts, special courts, circuit courts
D)district courts, appeals courts, Supreme Court

Question 31

Common law is a system by which a court

A)ensures that both parties to a case have lawyers and share evidence.
B)makes legal decisions on the basis of earlier decisions by other courts.
C)provides a detailed codification of the law.
D)hears special cases involving enemy combatants and matters related to national security.

Question 32

If a neighbor accidentally backed her or his car into the fence that divides your properties, destroying a large section of it, and you sued your neighbor in court for damages, you would be the

A)plaintiff.
B)defendant.
C)respondent.
D)dissenter.

Question 33

The significance of the Court asserting its power to review the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress is that it

A)allowed the Court to become an equal partner in the institutional balance of power.
B)ensured the survival of dual federalism.
C)ensured that the rights of the majority would prevail.
D)allowed the Court to have the final say on all national laws and policies.

Question 34

What was the principal effect of Marbury v.Madison (1803) on the Supreme Court?

A)It gave the Court the ability to rule on whether laws violated the Constitution.
B)It expanded the Court's appellate jurisdiction.
C)It established the system of circuit courts to take some burden off of the Supreme Court.
D)It forced the creation of today's lower federal courts.

Question 35

Why is standing an important criterion for the Supreme Court?

A)It can only be used if the mootness criterion is also used.
B)It allows the Supreme Court to duck hearing politically sensitive cases by ruling that the plaintiff does not have standing.
C)It helps interest groups know whether or not they can submit an amicus curiae brief.
D)It supports the Rule of Four in helping Supreme Court justices decide which cases to hear.

Question 36

What is precedent?

A)a rule passed by Congress that the courts must follow
B)a person's right to bring a case to the judicial system
C)a previously decided case that other courts use as a guide
D)the ability to review the constitutionality of laws

Question 37

When the Supreme Court justices interpret a law passed by Congress, they are engaged in

A)constitutional review.
B)judicial review.
C)statutory interpretation.
D)congressional oversight.

Question 38

There are a total of ________ federal district courts today.

A)12
B)94
C)389
D)677

Question 39

What is an example of a class-action lawsuit?

A)Bush v.Gore, which ruled on the Florida recount process in the 2000 presidential election
B)Chisholm v.Georgia, which ruled that a citizen of one state could sue another state in federal court
C)Citizens United v.Federal Election Commission, which ruled that corporations were entitled to use treasury funds for independent spending in campaigns
D)the 1.5 million current and former female Walmart employees who sued Walmart for sex discrimination

Question 40

Although judicial review is an accepted part of the U.S.political system, critics of judicial review contend that it

A)provides too much power to the majority.
B)is undemocratic because it gives nine unelected judges enormous power.
C)is undemocratic because a minority of the Court can affect national policy.
D)creates liberal bias in the system because most justices are former lawyers from Ivy League universities.

Question 41

How are judges selected under the Missouri Plan?

A)They are nominated by the governor from a list approved by a nonpartisan committee.
B)through direct nonpartisan election by the population
C)They are nominated by the governor and confirmed by the legislature.
D)through direct partisan election by the population

Question 42

Which one of the following statements is accurate?

A)Per curiam opinions cannot have dissents.
B)Plurality opinions occur when all of the justices agree on the legal reasoning of a case.
C)A concurring opinion generally agrees with the outcome of the case but not with at least part of the legal reasoning.
D)A majority opinion must get at least six votes under Supreme Court rules.

Question 43

Which one of the following would submit an amicus curiae brief ?

A)defendant
B)prosecution
C)interest group
D)plaintiff

Question 44

How much detail does the Constitution provide about the requirements for federal judicial service compared to the requirements to serve as president or in Congress?

A)It provides more detail about federal judicial service.
B)It provides the same amount of detail about both.
C)It provides less detail about federal judicial service.
D)It provides no details for federal judicial service.

Question 45

Currently the justices hear about ________ cases per year.

A)30
B)75
C)150
D)260

Question 46

One of the surest signs that the Supreme Court justices are going to agree to hear a specific case is

A)if it involves an appeal from the Sixth District.
B)if the chief justice has ruled on similar cases in the past.
C)if the solicitor general is a party to the case.
D)if a member of Congress is involved in the lawsuit.

Question 47

Which one of the following is a case that would bypass the appeals courts and go directly to the Supreme Court?

A)a case involving illegal immigration
B)a case involving a foreign ambassador
C)a search and seizure case
D)a case involving a capital offense

Question 48

Why do the justices only hear a small fraction of all cases appealed to them?

A)Many of the submitted cases are frivolous.
B)to show proper respect to the rulings made in the lower courts
C)to show proper respect to the other branches of government, and to fend off charges that the Court takes an activist role in policy making
D)The justices are too divided to agree on cases.

Question 49

The election of state judges can make courts more ________, but it potentially undercuts their role in ________.

A)responsive to special interests; looking after the public
B)responsive to public opinion; protecting minority rights
C)representative of different constituencies; standing up for the majority
D)political; being fair

Question 50

Why does a president typically use partisanship as a criterion in selecting nominees to the Supreme Court?

A)Moderate judges tend to be less decisive.
B)The norm of senatorial courtesy requires the president to do so.
C)The leaders in the president's party put tremendous pressure on the president to choose a loyal party member.
D)The president wants to choose a nominee with similar political views to advance the president's legacy.

Question 51

The person responsible for litigating on behalf of the federal government is the

A)attorney general.
B)chief justice.
C)solicitor general.
D)federal chief procurator.

Question 52

While the number of cases submitted to the Supreme Court has ________, the number of opinions issued by the justices has ________.

A)stayed the same; increased
B)stayed the same; declined
C)increased; declined
D)increased; also increased

Question 53

What is an advantage of using the Missouri Plan?

A)It protects and safeguards judicial independence.
B)It prevents fraud and corruption in judicial elections.
C)It ensures that the public has no voice in choosing their judges.
D)It mitigates the effects of partisanship in judicial selection and holds judges accountable to the people.

Question 54

The term senatorial courtesy refers to

A)the Senate deferring to the president in making appointments to the Supreme Court.
B)the Senate focusing on merit criteria in the appointment process.
C)the president deferring to members of the president's party from each state in choosing nominees to district courts.
D)the president focusing on the political preferences of the Senate in selecting Supreme Court nominees.

Question 55

At least 95 percent of cases that arrive to the Supreme Court come through

A)a writ of certiorari.
B)certification.
C)original jurisdiction.
D)the requirement of mootness.

Question 56

Which one of the following is the most severe restriction on the Supreme Court's policy-making role?

A)The Court has only nine members.
B)The justices cannot set the judicial agenda and can only choose from cases appealed to it.
C)The president can change the size of the Court if the president disagrees with its decisions.
D)The Court is required to follow the dictates of precedent even when its justices disagree with those precedents.

Question 57

Which one of the following includes criteria for determining when the Supreme Court justices will hear a case?

A)Rule of Four
B)collusion, mootness, and standing
C)standing and origination
D)jurisdiction and origination

Question 58

Which one of the following statements is accurate?

A)No presidential nomination to the federal judiciary has been filibustered in U.S.history.
B)The nuclear option was invoked by the Republicans during Bill Clinton's presidency.
C)Both major parties have been willing to use the filibuster to block judicial nominees.
D)Presidential nominations to the federal courts have not been very controversial for the past 25 years.

Question 59

Before nominating someone for an open seat on a federal district court in Michigan, the president consults with the senator from Michigan who shares the president's party label.This is an example of

A)senatorial courtesy.
B)precedent.
C)amicus curiae.
D)judicial activism.

Question 60

Franklin Roosevelt's court-packing plan was designed to

A)modernize the federal court system.
B)force the Supreme Court to rule in favor of his New Deal legislation.
C)help the Supreme Court process more cases.
D)strengthen the court system to help crack down on the rise of organized crime in the 1930s.

Question 61

Describe how the process of assigning opinion writing works in the Supreme Court.

Question 62

Unlike the first hundred years of the Supreme Court's history, more recent time periods have displayed an increased tendency toward

A)making unanimous decisions.
B)employing political justifications for overturning precedent.
C)expressing minority views through dissents.
D)ruling in favor of the side with public opinion behind it.

Question 63

What is the purpose of submitting an amicus curiae brief ?

A)Amicus curiae briefs are written to show support for the lower court's ruling.
B)Amicus curiae briefs allow interest groups and other organizations to convey their opinions to the justices of the High Court.
C)Amicus curiae briefs designate that the federal government has an interest in the outcome of the case.
D)Amicus curiae briefs are often written anonymously and then leaked to the press in an effort to influence public opinion.

Question 64

Most proponents of strict constructionism argue that if the text of the Constitution is ambiguous, then a judge should

A)use his or her best judgment to make a ruling that seems fair and just.
B)take into account evolving national attitudes and circumstances.
C)side with the defendant because of insufficient information.
D)figure out what the words generally meant to people at the time they were written.

Question 65

What is the Missouri Plan?

Question 66

What is the strategic model to understanding Supreme Court decisions?

Question 67

Under what conditions is the chief justice more likely to set aside her or his own policy views and assign an opinion to a justice with different ideological views?

A)when there is very little interest in the case from outside groups
B)when there is fragile support for a majority position favored by the chief justice
C)when the federal government is a party to the case
D)when public opinion seems to demand it

Question 68

What is senatorial courtesy and why is it important?

Question 69

Which one of the following lists accurately describes the order of activities of the Supreme Court justices?

A)writ of certiorari, oral argument, submission of briefs, conference
B)conference, oral argument, writ of certiorari, submission of briefs
C)submission of briefs, oral argument, conference, writing of opinion
D)submission of briefs, writ of certiorari, writing of opinion, conference

Question 70

An opinion written by a Supreme Court justice who agrees with a case but does not agree with its legal logic is called a

A)concurring opinion.
B)plurality opinion.
C)per curiam opinion.
D)writ of mandamus.

Question 71

What can you report since 1980 concerning the number of applications for judicial review at the Supreme Court level and the number of cases that are actually approved for judicial scrutiny?

Question 72

Who is responsible for enforcing most court decisions?

A)the court itself
B)the president
C)the secretary of state
D)the solicitor general

Question 73

Which one of the following factors influences which justice will be assigned the task of writing a majority opinion?

A)the input of the attorney general
B)the input of both the solicitor general and the attorney general
C)the seniority of each justice, with new justices getting more important cases
D)political factors, such as how others might respond to the opinion

Question 74

What does the strategic model of Supreme Court decision making emphasize?

A)the political views of individual Supreme Court justices
B)how the justices account for the views of other justices when deciding how to act
C)the need for activist judges if the Court is to be an important political institution
D)the role of the Constitution and how it is interpreted

Question 75

In Brown v.Board of Education (1954), the Warren Court moved aggressively to protect minority rights even though its actions were opposed by many state legislatures.The Warren Court's ruling in Brown is an example of

A)strict constructionism.
B)the strategic model.
C)judicial activism.
D)originalism.

Question 76

Explain why Marbury v.Madison (1803) was a case involving judicial review.

Question 77

The Supreme Court justices waited two years to issue their opinion in Brown v.Board of Education because

A)they worried that the president would not enforce their decision.
B)they were sensitive to how the public would react to their decision.
C)it was a complicated ruling that illustrates how much legal research is often needed to reach a decision.
D)the chief justice wanted at least one dissenting opinion to make the Court appear to be even-handed and balanced.

Question 78

What is a writ of certiorari and why is it so important in Supreme Court politics?

Question 79

Describe how oral argument works in the Supreme Court.

Question 80

What is the jurisdiction of a court?