Deck 10: Constitutional and Civil Rights in the Government Workplace

Question 1

Challenges to minimum height and weight restrictions for police departments have survived in court, due to:

A) Fourteenth Amendment considerations
B) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Equal Employment Opportunities)
C) Hatch Act
D) none of the above

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Police officers can be held civilly liable when a wrong is undertaken for personal gain if the officer is on duty and wearing a uniform but not purporting to be acting as a police officer when the wrong is committed.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Police departments can be held liable for sexual harassment in which of the following situations:

A) when the harasser is a supervisor and no tangible employment harm results
B) when the harasser is a coworker but the supervisor is unaware of the situation
C) when the harasser is a supervisor and tangible employment harm results
D) all of the above

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Police officers cannot be required to reside in the jurisdictions in which they work.

Question 5

Detective Jones sent a memorandum to his supervisor stating that he believed that a detective on his drug investigation task force had tipped the target of the investigation off about an impending drug bust. Jones was subsequently demoted and transferred. He filed suit claiming his First Amendment rights were violated. The most likely outcome is that:

A) his claim will fail because the memorandum was written pursuant to his official duties.
B) his claim will fail because the police officers have no First Amendment protection got speech that occurs while on duty.
C) his claim will fail because the subject Jones addressed was of no interest to individuals outside the department.
D) his claim will succeed because his interest in disclosing serious misconduct by a fellow officer outweighed the department's interest in suppressing the speech to avoid a disturbance in the workplace.

Question 6

The police department's need for diversity cannot be met by taking a job from a white male and giving it to a woman or a member of a minority group.

Question 7

The following are legitimate discrimination claims, except for:

A) affirmative action
B) harassment
C) disparate treatment
D) disparate impact

Question 8

Challenges to police department regulations establishing maximum weight restrictions have been unsuccessful in court.

Question 9

Police officers have the same First Amendment protections as ordinary citizens.

Question 10

In Griggs v. Duke Power Company, the Supreme Court recognized:

A) disparate treatment discrimination
B) qualified immunity
C) property rights to a job
D) disparate impact discrimination

Question 11

Police officers can be compelled to answer questions pertaining to criminal activity without resulting in a violation of the Fifth Amendment, as decided in:

A) Garrity v. New Jersey
B) Kelley v. Johnson
C) Ricci v. DeStefano
D) Johnson v. Cannon

Question 12

When an officer cannot be fired without cause, that officer is said to have:

A) quid pro quo
B) a right under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Equal Employment Opportunities)
C) a property right in his or her job
D) none of the above

Question 13

The following Supreme Court ruling set the standard for First Amendment protection for public employees:

A) Nixon v. City of Houston
B) Garcetti v. Ceballos
C) City of San Diego, California v. Roe
D) O'Connor v. Ortega

Question 14

Police officers are entitled to First Amendment protections in which of the following situations:

A) they criticize the actions of the police department to the media while wearing the uniform
B) they report to their supervisors that they believe that members of their taskforce are tipping off suspects
C) they contact outside agencies to report problems in the workplace
D) they circulate questionnaires without authorization to see if a grievance committee should be formed

Question 15

The justification for heightened regulation for police departments is that they are:

A) paramilitary organizations
B) civil service bureaucracies
C) both a & b
D) none of the above

Question 16

Title 42 U.S.C. §1983 is a widely used federal statute that:

A) imposes civil liability
B) imposes criminal liability
C) provides a due process remedy
D) addresses equal protection

Question 17

"Under color of state law" refers to:

A) quid pro quo
B) regulations police officers submit to as officers of the law
C) an appearance or pretense of authority used to deprive individuals of constitutional rights
D) discrimination found unconstitutional under Ricci v. DeStefano