Deck 14: The Courts: Judicial Power in a Democratic Setting

Question 1

Which of the following cases best represents a class action suit?

A) A customer sues a manufacturer on behalf of every consumer who bought a certain defective good.
B) A white man sues a public university because he believes that he was denied admission based on his race.
C) The federal government files charges against every member of an alleged criminal organization.
D) A private business sues the federal government on the grounds that its regulatory standards place an undue financial burden on the company.
E) A citizen sues the state in which she lives on the grounds that its public facilities do not adequately accommodate her individual physical needs.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following statements about the U.S. court system is LEAST accurate?

A) The United States possesses a "dual court system," placing citizens under the jurisdiction of both state and national courts.
B) American citizens who are found guilty in a federal court may appeal the decision in their state court system.
C) Appeals from the state system to the Supreme Court can only move in that direction, not the reverse.
D) Cases involving citizens from separate states may be begun in either a state court system or in the federal court system.
E) If a diversity suit is begun in a federal court, the case cannot be transferred to a state court.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In which case did the Supreme Court establish the principle of judicial review?

A) Dartmouth College v. Woodward
B) Gibbons v. Ogden
C) McCulloch v. Maryland
D) Marbury v. Madison
E) Barron v. Baltimore

Answer 3

Marbury v. Madison

Question 4

When Justice Scalia died in 2016, what was the initial response by high-ranking Republican senators that would be involved in the confirmation process of a new justice?

A) to proclaim that the Senate would either not confirm or not give a hearing to any Obama nominee that year
B) to call on President Obama to nominate a justice that would be acceptable to both parties
C) to lament that the next justice confirmed to the Supreme Court would not be as conservative as the one who had just passed
D) to proclaim that Senate Republicans would filibuster any Obama nominee that year
E) to make a vague promise that they would give any Obama nominee a fair confirmation hearing

Question 5

The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction in all of the following cases EXCEPT

A) cases involving violations of federal laws.
B) cases involving an ambassador of another country suing a state.
C) cases involving a citizen of one state suing a citizen of another state.
D) cases in which the federal government sues a state.
E) cases in which the federal government sues a company or group of citizens.

Question 6

Which of the following is true of Gorsuch's confirmation to the Supreme Court?

A) Many Republican senators surprisingly opposed the confirmation.
B) A surprising amount of Democratic senators crossed lines to help make the confirmation.
C) Senate Republicans had to change Senate rules to push through the confirmation.
D) The vice president had to step in and cast a tie-breaking vote to confirm Gorsuch.
E) Gorsuch's confirmation drew little public attention because it did not change the ideological makeup of the court.

Question 7

Most cases that begin in a state court system are resolved in

A) the U.S. Supreme Court.
B) that (the state) system.
C) U.S. district courts.
D) U.S. appellate courts.
E) specialty courts.

Question 8

The only way a case can move from a state court system to the national system is through

A) an appeal from the state's highest court to the U.S. Supreme Court.
B) a request from that state's U.S. senator.
C) an appeal from the state's lowest court to the U.S. district court.
D) an appeal from any state court to the U.S. appellate court.
E) a request from that state's governor.

Question 9

A U.S. district court would be LEAST likely to preside over a case involving

A) shoplifting.
B) antitrust violations.
C) civil rights.
D) labor relations.
E) truth-in-lending violations.

Question 10

In order for a suit to meet the standards of justiciability, the plaintiff must have

A) overwhelming evidence.
B) no direct interest or involvement in the proceedings.
C) a political agenda.
D) standing.
E) already successfully presented the case in a lower court.

Question 11

The two basic types of law under the American judicial system are criminal law and

A) business law.
B) tax law.
C) corporate law.
D) common law.
E) civil law.

Question 12

A case that begins in the national court system will be resolved

A) only in the national court system.
B) in any national or state court.
C) in any state supreme court.
D) only in U.S. district courts.
E) only in U.S. appellate courts.

Question 13

Which of the following statements about the U.S. district court system is LEAST accurate?

A) There is no state that does not have its own district court.
B) Every district court serves in only one state.
C) District courts require trials by jury.
D) District courts provide an entryway into the federal court system.
E) District courts are much more likely to follow existing legal precedents than to establish new ones.

Question 14

In which of the following instances would the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction?

A) if a U.S. senator from Alaska were charged with a federal crime
B) if the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, were charged with a federal crime
C) if the government of Indiana were to sue the government of Kentucky over the pollution of the Ohio River
D) if the president of the United States were charged with high crimes and misdemeanors
E) if a citizen of Indiana were to sue a company based in Kentucky over the pollution of the Ohio River

Question 15

The primary basis of American common law is

A) the legislative acts of Congress.
B) the accepted customs of a given community.
C) precedent established within the court system.
D) acts of Parliament that remained in effect after the United States established its independence.
E) the collective legislative acts of all the state governments.

Question 16

Which of the following statements about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) is LEAST accurate?

A) In the last two decades, Congress has placed greater restrictions on the powers of the FISC to grant warrants to obtain evidence that can be used in criminal trials.
B) The FISC meets in secret to determine whether the U.S. government can legally spy on suspected foreign spies.
C) The FISC hears evidence presented on behalf of the U.S. government, but not on behalf of suspected foreign agents.
D) The FISC rarely meets because the government almost always obtains a warrant.
E) When the FISC refuses to grant the U.S. government a warrant, the government can appeal the case with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review.

Question 17

How did candidate Donald Trump construct his publicly-released list of potential nominees for the Supreme Court should he win the presidency?

A) The lists were made through consultation with prominent conservative groups like the Federalist Society.
B) The lists were made of individuals who were Trump friends or campaign contributors.
C) Trump allowed Twitter users to make recommendations and constructed the lists from the responses.
D) The lists were constructed from the most senior federal district court judges without partisan considerations.
E) The Senate Republicans provided Trump with a list of justices they would consider approving.

Question 18

Which of the following statements about the federal appeals court system is LEAST accurate?

A) The losing side in a federal district court trial must file special requests to receive permission to appeal their case.
B) There are currently thirteen U.S. courts of appeals.
C) The original decision in a case will be overturned if two out of three judges on the appellate court disagree with it.
D) While there are two courts of appeals located in the District of Columbia, every other court of appeals serves no fewer than three states.
E) Particularly important appeals might be decided by all of the judges in a given circuit sitting together en banc.

Question 19

The principle of judicial review allows the Supreme Court to

A) hear appeals of cases originally decided in lower courts.
B) assess the constitutionality of congressional acts.
C) bypass Congress and create national laws directly.
D) decide legal cases involving disputes between state governments.
E) decide legal cases involving disputes between a state and a foreign government.

Question 20

A case CANNOT proceed directly to the Supreme Court from which of the following types of courts?

A) U.S. Federal Court of Appeals
B) Court of International Trade
C) Court of Federal Claims
D) local trials court
E) a state's highest court of appeals

Question 21

An opinion written by a justice who disagrees with the decision of the majority is known as a

A) majority opinion.
B) plurality opinion.
C) dissenting opinion.
D) concurring opinion.
E) per curiam opinion.

Question 22

Which of the following was a watershed event that greatly enhanced the power and prestige of the Supreme Court?

A) the appointment of John Jay as the first Chief Justice
B) the 1803 Marbury v. Madison decision
C) the 1857 Dred Scott decision
D) the Court's response to President Franklin Roosevelt's court-packing plan
E) the appointment of Roger Taney as Chief Justice

Question 23

Andrew Jackson's famous (if perhaps apocryphal) comment that, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it," illustrates the fact that

A) only the president can decide whether or not Supreme Court decisions will be enacted.
B) the Supreme Court lacks any institutional means to implement its decisions.
C) the decisions of the Supreme Court have little relevance outside the cloistered world of the legal profession.
D) elected officials can safely ignore the decisions of the Supreme Court, because few offices experience as much turnover as that of the Supreme Court justice.
E) the Supreme Court did not always have the institutional power to enforce its decisions that it enjoys today.

Question 24

An opinion written on behalf of the largest bloc of justices, if that bloc numbers fewer than five members, is known as a

A) majority opinion.
B) plurality opinion.
C) dissenting opinion.
D) concurring opinion.
E) per curiam opinion.

Question 25

In which of the following instances is the Supreme Court most likely to agree to hear a case?

A) if the case involves an issue over which the Court is internally divided
B) if the case involves an issue that has received little attention from the lower courts
C) if the case consists primarily of a dispute over facts
D) if the case involves an issue that has been decided differently by separate lower courts
E) if the case does not involve a weighty issue of jurisprudence

Question 26

Which of the following statements about Franklin Roosevelt's "court-packing" proposal is most accurate?

A) It succeeded in increasing judicial support for Roosevelt's New Deal programs.
B) It was accepted by the majority of Congress as a reasonable means of countering the entrenched conservatism of the Supreme Court.
C) It would have forced every Supreme Court justice over the age of 70 to retire or face impeachment proceedings.
D) It inspired a judicial backlash that effectively brought the New Deal era to an end.
E) It was unconstitutional, because the Constitution stipulates that the Supreme Court should consist of exactly nine justices.

Question 27

Unsigned opinions that outline the reasoning behind a nearly unanimous Supreme Court decision are known as

A) majority opinions.
B) plurality opinions.
C) dissenting opinions.
D) concurring opinions.
E) per curiam opinions.

Question 28

An opinion written by one justice on behalf of at least five members of the Court is known as

A) a majority opinion.
B) a plurality opinion.
C) a dissenting opinion.
D) a concurring opinion.
E) a per curiam opinion.

Question 29

Generally speaking, how did the decisions of the Taney Court differ from those of the Marshall Court?

A) Unlike Taney, Marshall was much more concerned with protecting the civil liberties of racial minorities.
B) Unlike Marshall, Taney tended to advocate a states' rights position.
C) Unlike Taney, Marshall tended to take the side of the southern slave interests.
D) Unlike Marshall, Taney tended to take the side of northern industrial interests.
E) Unlike Marshall, Taney avoided making any controversial or landmark decisions.

Question 30

Which federal office is known as the "tenth justice" because of the Supreme Court's high receptivity to its petitions?

A) attorney general
B) president of the United States
C) solicitor general
D) Speaker of the House
E) Secretary of Justice

Question 31

Which of the following statements about the early history of the Supreme Court is most accurate?

A) The Supreme Court was one of the few effective national institutions to originate under the Articles of Confederation.
B) From its first year, the Supreme Court was inundated with landmark cases.
C) John Marshall was the first chief justice of the Supreme Court.
D) The Supreme Court was created largely because the American people demanded a national court to preserve their liberties.
E) Appointments to the Supreme Court initially carried such little prestige that many appointees declined to accept their seats.

Question 32

Which of the following occurs first in a legal case?

A) decision by a judge
B) appeal to a state supreme court
C) appeal to a court of appeals
D) decision by a jury
E) determination of facts

Question 33

When presenting a case before the Supreme Court, lawyers are permitted

A) as much time as necessary, within reason, to present their cases effectively.
B) one day to present their initial argument, and a subsequent half day to respond to the argument of the opposing side.
C) one day to present their initial argument, and a subsequent full day to respond to the argument of the opposing side.
D) exactly thirty minutes to present their entire argument.
E) only one day to present their entire argument.

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT one of the means by which Congress has traditionally expressed its disapproval with a Supreme Court decision?

A) voting to remove offending justices from the Court
B) drafting amendments to ensure the constitutionality of desired policies
C) modifying the Court's appellate jurisdiction
D) refusing to fund programs required to put Court decisions into effect
E) rewriting overturned laws so that the Supreme Court must either readdress them or leave them be

Question 35

Which of the following is among the small number of nations whose citizens are nearly as litigious as those of the United States?

A) Germany
B) Spain
C) Japan
D) Italy
E) England

Question 36

An opinion written by a justice who agrees with the decision of the majority, but not with its reasoning, is known as a

A) majority opinion.
B) plurality opinion.
C) dissenting opinion.
D) concurring opinion.
E) per curiam opinion.

Question 37

Petitions for writs of certiorari are an important part of the process by which

A) the Supreme Court decides which cases to hear.
B) the Supreme Court decides which justice will author the majority's decision.
C) the president decides whom to appoint when a vacancy appears on the Court.
D) the Senate decides whether or not to approve a presidential appointee to the Supreme Court.
E) the Supreme Court decides whether the argument of a disputant in a given case has a strong factual basis.

Question 38

Which of the following statements best captures the current condition of the Supreme Court?

A) Supreme Court justices are a close-knit group who meet regularly to discuss the latest court cases and the fine details of the law.
B) Supreme Court justices' demanding caseload leaves them little time to review the latest law reviews, and they have been frequently criticized for their failure to keep abreast of legal developments.
C) The Supreme Court is in perpetual session and hears cases throughout the entire year.
D) Supreme Court justices rarely interact on a personal level and depend upon their clerks to assist them with many of their functions.
E) Each Supreme Court justice is expected to review appellants' cases personally and to write their legal opinions without assistance.

Question 39

How many of the nine justices must vote to grant certiorari in order for a case to be heard by the Supreme Court?

A) one
B) four
C) five
D) six
E) nine

Question 40

The only type of Supreme Court decision that can establish a precedent is a

A) majority opinion.
B) plurality opinion.
C) dissenting opinion.
D) concurring opinion.
E) per curiam opinion.

Question 41

Describe the manner by which justices are appointed to and retain their seats on the Supreme Court. Is this procedure too undemocratic, or does it provide a necessary curb to democratic excesses? Should justices be openly selected on the basis of their ideological stances, or should the president and the Senate strive to find well-informed but impartial candidates?

Question 42

How did Democratic senators attempt to deal with extreme delays in getting Senate confirmation for President Obama's lower court judicial nominees in 2013?

A) formally reducing the number of cloture votes for judicial confirmations in the Senate
B) requesting that the House pass legislation to reduce the number of confirming votes required to approve nominees
C) appealing to the president to nominate justices more acceptable to Republican senators
D) appealing to the president to nominate justices more acceptable to the public
E) appealing Senate rejection of lower court nominees to the Supreme Court

Question 43

Which president appointed Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female Supreme Court justice, to the court?

A) Franklin Roosevelt
B) Woodrow Wilson
C) Lyndon Johnson
D) Jimmy Carter
E) Ronald Reagan

Question 44

Who among the following was NOT a member of the liberal bloc of the Supreme Court in 2018?

A) Elena Kagan
B) Stephen Breyer
C) Sonia Sotomayor
D) Clarence Thomas
E) Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Question 45

To his chagrin, President Eisenhower discovered that Earl Warren, Eisenhower's nominee as chief justice, did not meet the

A) professional qualifications expected by the Senate.
B) representational qualifications demanded by the American people.
C) longevity he expected when he appointed him.
D) doctrinal qualifications expected by the president himself.
E) interpersonal qualifications needed to work with other members of the Court.

Question 46

Who among the following was NOT a member of the conservative bloc of the Supreme Court in 2018?

A) Sonia Sotomayor
B) Neil Gorsuch
C) Samuel Alito
D) John Roberts
E) Clarence Thomas

Question 47

Which of the following statements about the dynamics of the Supreme Court is LEAST accurate?

A) The known ideological preferences of certain justices can make it easy to predict their opinions.
B) Since they do not need to face popular election, justices rarely consider public opinion when reaching their decisions.
C) Although some justices subscribe to the principle of judicial activism, others prefer the principle of judicial restraint.
D) In the course of deliberations, one might reasonably expect individual justices to change not only their decision but their reasoning several times.
E) Some justices work strategically, trying to please others or achieve a majority, while others may base decisions on an attempt to influence colleagues.

Question 48

Before the appointment of Justice Sonia Sotomayor in 2009, there had been, in the history of the Supreme Court, ________ female justice(s) and ________ black justice(s).

A) one; one
B) two; one
C) two; two
D) two; three
E) one; four

Question 49

A Supreme Court justice who believes that the Court should make public policy and vigorously review the policies of Congress and the president follows the philosophy of

A) judicial interpretation.
B) judicial restraint.
C) judicial conservatism.
D) judicial cooperation.
E) judicial activism.

Question 50

Which of the following is NOT one of the trends evident in the judiciary over the past sixty years?

A) The court system has grown increasingly accessible to private citizens.
B) The Supreme Court has expanded its role in shaping public policy.
C) The Supreme Court has demonstrated a willingness to investigate a broader range of judicial questions.
D) Interest groups have increasingly relied on lawsuits rather than elections to achieve their goals.
E) The court system has grown less accessible to business groups and other private interests.

Question 51

Because of the insight it gives into their doctrinal views, presidents tend to prefer Supreme Court nominees who have

A) served on an appellate court.
B) served on a district court.
C) taught at prominent law schools.
D) spent their careers engaged in private practice.
E) published extensively in legal journals.

Question 52

Edward White, Harlan Stone, and William Rehnquist are exceptional for being the only Supreme Court justices

A) to die in office.
B) to be removed from office through impeachment.
C) to be appointed chief justice while serving as an associate justice.
D) to be appointed to the Court despite being marked as "not qualified" by the ABA.
E) who were close friends of the president who nominated them.

Question 53

Describe the manner in which the Supreme Court decides which cases to hear and reaches a decision about the merits of the case. Are the Court's current procedures in these regards adequate to meet the needs of the American people? Should the Court be expected to take on more cases or to allow disputants more time to present their cases? Should they rely less on law clerks?

Question 54

What functions does the Supreme Court serve today? How have its functions changed since the founding of the republic? Should the Supreme Court wield more or less power than it currently does?

Question 55

Discuss the changing role and ideology of the Supreme Court. During what periods of time has it seemed to be most active? When has it retreated into the shadows? How has it helped to shape American history? Is the Court more likely to react to or to set historical trends?

Question 56

Since the late nineteenth century (with a brief interruption in the mid-twentieth century), at least one Supreme Court seat has been held by a(n)

A) person affiliated with the opposite party from the president who nominated him or her.
B) Catholic.
C) African American.
D) woman.
E) political appointee with no legal training.

Question 57

How has the appointment and approval of lower federal courts changed in the past three decades?

A) Since most important decisions are made by the Supreme Court, few government officials express much interest in who sits in the lower courts.
B) Senators have increased their ability to select the lower court judges who will operate in their states.
C) The tradition of "senatorial courtesy" has disappeared completely.
D) The confirmation of lower court judges has become more hotly contested.
E) The Senate and the presidency have come to agree that partisan factors should not intrude on judicial concerns, and that nominees should be judged solely on their professional qualifications.

Question 58

Which of the following entities has the LEAST direct role in deciding who will fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court?

A) the president
B) the FBI
C) the ABA
D) the Senate
E) the American public

Question 59

Who was the first Jewish justice on the Supreme Court?

A) Arthur Goldberg
B) Abe Fortas
C) Louis Brandeis
D) Ruth Bader Ginsburg
E) Stephen Breyer

Question 60

Which president appointed Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court justice, to the Court?

A) Franklin Roosevelt
B) Woodrow Wilson
C) Lyndon Johnson
D) Jimmy Carter
E) Ronald Reagan

Question 61

What factors affect a president's decision to nominate someone to the Supreme Court? Once the decision is made, what is the Senate's role and how does it fulfill that role?

Question 62

What is the relationship between the citizenry and the judicial system? How much access does the average citizen have to the courts? What factors have helped to expand this access in recent years?