Deck 9: Law and Executive Power

Question 1

Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon was in violation of the Constitution.

Answer 1

False
Explanation:Article II, Section 2 gives the president the power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. Nixon resigned before his likely eventual impeachment, so Ford's act was well within constitutional bounds.

Question 2

In total, American presidents have issued pardons or amnesties less than 100 times.

Answer 2

False
Explanation:Although recent presidents have been stingy with their use of the pardon power, there are several examples when presidents have issued amnesties to many people at once. For example, Presidents Lincoln and Johnson issued amnesties to about 200,000 people before and after the Civil War, and Presidents Ford and Carter did the same for over 10,000 individuals who had taken steps to avoid the draft for military service in Vietnam.

Question 3

Impoundment is the act of refusing to spend money Congress has already appropriated.

Answer 3

True
Explanation:Impoundment became a controversial issue during the Nixon years, when he attempted to spend less than what the Congress had appropriated on school funding.

Question 4

Democrats who wanted peace during the Civil War were colorfully referred to as Copperheads by Republicans.

Question 5

Richard Nixon's controversial behavior at the end of his term was exacerbated by his decision to pardon the key members of his administration who had helped him engage in the Watergate cover-up.

Question 6

Which political theorist's ideas about the consent of the governed informed the creation of the presidency in the United States?

A) Plato
B) Socrates
C) Hobbes
D) Locke

Question 7

Which president infamously suspended habeas corpus?

A) Andrew Jackson
B) Abraham Lincoln
C) Richard Nixon
D) Bill Clinton

Question 8

What is the formal term for the legal concept that a government is required to produce a prisoner in a court of law and give legal reasons for the prisoner's detention?

A) Quo vadis
B) Post hoc ergo propter hoc
C) Habeas corpus
D) In loco parentis

Question 9

Which Supreme Court case provided a strong affirmation of the legal limits on presidential power during times of national emergency?

A) Ex parte Merryman
B) Ex parte Vallandigham
C) Ex parte Milligan
D) Ex parte Lincoln

Question 10

What is the name of the legal protocol that requires the government to obtain a warrant from a special court before conducting electronic surveillance in the United States aimed at gathering foreign intelligence?

A) NSA
B) FISA
C) TSP
D) TIA