Question 1

Justice William O. Douglas was the first to make the case for heightened judicial scrutiny under the equal protection clause of legislation affecting fundamental rights in _____, where the Supreme Court struck down a state law providing for the compulsory sterilization of criminals.

Accepted Answer

Justice William O. Douglas argued in his opinion that compulsory sterilization affected a fundamental right and therefore called for heightened judicial scrutiny under the equal protection clause. This marked the first time the Supreme Court used this framework in a case involving legislation affecting fundamental rights. The other options either did not involve the equal protection clause or did not establish the precedent for heightened judicial scrutiny.

Question 2

In the Civil Rights Cases (1883), the Supreme Court reasoned that _____.

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits state discrimination but not discrimination by private individuals or entities. This decision severely limited the federal government's ability to protect the civil rights of African Americans.

Question 3

In _____, the Supreme Court struck down segregated schools in the District of Columbia, noting that the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause incorporated the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection guarantee and was thus applicable to the federal government.

Accepted Answer

The case described is Bolling v. Sharpe, as it deals with segregated schools in the District of Columbia and the application of the equal protection guarantee to the federal government. Milliken v. Bradley, Alexander v. Holmes County, and Cooper v. Aaron all dealt with issues related to desegregation, but not specifically in the District of Columbia or the applicability of the Fourteenth Amendment to the federal government.

Question 4

The difference between de facto segregation and de jure segregation is that _____.

Accepted Answer

De jure segregation is segregation that is enforced by law or government policy, while de facto segregation occurs as a result of societal factors such as residential patterns, economic inequality, and cultural norms. Therefore, option B, which states that de jure segregation is instituted by law, while de facto segregation occurs in practice, is the correct answer. The other options are incorrect as they either misrepresent the definitions of these terms or make false claims about the Constitution's stance on segregation.

Question 5

In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), the Supreme Court held that _____.

Accepted Answer

In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), the Supreme Court held that while racial quotas were impermissible, race could still be considered as one factor in a holistic admissions policy to promote diversity. This decision established the principle of affirmative action, which sought to address past discrimination by considering race, gender, and other factors in admissions policies.

Question 6

In _____, the Supreme Court in a plurality opinion declared gender discrimination to be a _____ category for applying the Equal Protection Clause.

Accepted Answer

In Frontiero v. Richardson (1973), the Supreme Court in a plurality opinion declared gender discrimination to be a suspect category for applying the Equal Protection Clause.

Question 7

In Plessy v. Ferguson, Justice Harlan insisted that the Constitution _____.

Accepted Answer

Justice Harlan argued that the Constitution was "color-blind" and should not tolerate any form of racial segregation or discrimination in the law.

Question 8

Loving v. Virginia (1967) involved ______.

Accepted Answer

Loving v. Virginia was a Supreme Court case that involved a Virginia law prohibiting interracial marriage. The ruling of the case struck down anti-miscegenation laws in the United States.

Question 9

When Loving v. Virginia (1967) was decided, the Supreme Court divided 5‒4. ____

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court's decision in Loving v. Virginia (1967) was unanimous, resulting in a 9-0 vote to strike down laws banning interracial marriage.

Question 10

When Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2016) was decided, the Supreme Court divided 5‒4. ____

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court decided Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2016) with a 4-3 vote, not 5-4.

Question 11

Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2016) was the Supreme Court's first decision on affirmative action in higher education since Regents v. Bakke (1978). _____

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court's first decision on affirmative action in higher education after Regents v. Bakke (1978) was Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003, not Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2016).

Question 12

According to Justice Kennedy's majority opinion in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2016) the admissions plan challenged in that case had been adopted by the university specifically in response to the Supreme Court's decision in _____.

Accepted Answer

Justice Kennedy's majority opinion in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2016) stated that the admissions plan challenged in that case had been adopted by the university specifically in response to the Supreme Court's decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, which allowed the consideration of race as a factor in admissions decisions to achieve diversity in higher education.

Question 13

Considering the positions of the justices who took part in deciding Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2016), one would expect these members of the Court to vote to uphold public university affirmative action programs that might be challenged in future cases: ____.

Accepted Answer

Justices Breyer and Ginsburg were part of the majority in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2016), which upheld the affirmative action program at issue, indicating their support for such programs.

Question 14

How did contrasting views of "state action" affect the votes and opinions of Chief Justice Burger (for the majority) and Justice Marshall (for the dissenters) in Milliken v. Bradley? Discuss.

Accepted Answer

The answer of How did contrasting views of "state action"...

Question 15

A city council enacts an employment policy that requires firefighters on the municipal payroll to retire at age 52. While such a policy is not necessarily invalid under federal age discrimination laws, a 55-year-old firefighter adversely affected by the new rule files suit against the city on Fourteenth Amendment equal protection grounds.
a. Faced with a claim of a constitutionally impermissible classification, a judge may choose among three tests, or levels of scrutiny, that have been developed by the U.S. Supreme Court. Identify and explain each of these tests.
b. On the basis of his separate opinion in Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, how would Justice Stevens go about evaluating the validity of the firefighter's claim?

Accepted Answer

The answer of A city council enacts an employment policy...

Question 16

Concurring in the result in Lawrence v. Texas (2003), Justice O'Connor stated that the case should have been decided on equal protection grounds, and not on the basis of a due process right to privacy that the rest of the majority preferred. In what sense might Lawrence be seen as an equal protection case?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Concurring in the result in Lawrence v....

Question 17

How do Justice Brennan's plurality opinion in Frontiero v. Richardson and the same justice's majority opinion in Craig v. Boren illustrate distinctly different ways of responding to allegations of unconstitutional gender discrimination? Explain. (Make sure that your essay demonstrates a thorough understanding of both cases.)

Accepted Answer

The answer of How do Justice Brennan's plurality opinion in...

Question 18

Aside from the issue of jurisdiction-present in every case before the Supreme Court-what two questions were presented to, and answered by, the Court in Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center (1985)? Explain. Which party won the case? Why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Aside from the issue of jurisdiction-present in...

Question 19

What important impact (by way of expansion) did Shapiro v. Thompson (1969) have on the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause? Explain.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What important impact (by way of expansion)...

Question 20

Justice Breyer wrote the principal dissent in Parents Involved v Seattle School District No.1 (2007). What were his main points in that dissent? Explain.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Justice Breyer wrote the principal dissent in...

Quiz 15: Equal Protection of the Laws