Deck 1: Introduction to Law and Legal Systems

Question 1

"Critical legal studies" scholars accept the premise that law is objectively fair in distributing goods among members of society.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

State and federal statutes that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race or gender are essentially legislative exceptions to the common-law employment-at-will rule.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Substantive legal rules tell us how to act with one another, and how to act with regard to the government.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Which school of thought holds that law is "the command of a sovereign"?

A) Positive-law school of legal thought
B) Natural-law school of legal thought
C) Legal realist school of thought
D) Critical legal studies school of thought
E) Eco-feminist school of legal thought

Question 5

Which of the following is a perspective that influences the Critical Legal Studies school of legal thought?

A) Precedent is more important than moral arguments
B) Distributive justice theory
C) Dominator culture and patriarchy
D) The social context of law

Question 6

The Constitution prescribes that the president has the veto power to over-ride any legislation, but the House and Senate can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds vote in each chamber.

Question 7

According to the legal realist school of thought,

A) precedent was more important than moral arguments
B) law is politics, and is thus not neutral
C) wives, children, land, and animals are valued as economic resources
D) the social context of law is critically important
E) there is preeminence of man and his dominance of both nature and women

Question 8

"Common law" originated with decisions by judges in England.

Question 9

The positivist school of legal thought relies on social context and the actual behavior of the principal actors who enforce the law.

Question 10

One alternative to the common-law legal system is the civil law system based in Roman and Napoleonic law.

Question 11

Dominator culture is _____.

A) one in which man is charged with making all that he controls economically productive
B) dominated by those with power, wealth, and influence
C) influenced by the economist Karl Marx
D) more important to legal realists than the formal application of precedent to current or future legal disputes

Question 12

According to contract law, promise-breaking without a legal excuse would be unethical.

Question 13

If a competitor lies about your product, your remedy would be in contract, not tort.

Question 14

Common law consists of decisions by courts that involve interpretation of statutes, regulations, and treaties.

Question 15

When Congress delegates authority to an administrative agency, it can leave guidelines for agency action so vague that the agencies can do almost anything they want.

Question 16

According to natural law theory, a citizen would be morally justified in demonstrating civil disobedience of a positive law that violates natural law.

Question 17

__________ would use the law to overturn the hierarchical structures of domination in the modern society.

A) historical school of law
B) critical legal studies school of thought
C) legal realist school
D) natural law school of thought

Question 18

According to the case Harris v. Forklift Systems, the Supreme Court, an employee need not prove severe psychological injury in order to win a Title VII sexual harassment claim.

Question 19

Civil law systems are typically seen in countries that were once under British colonial rule.

Question 20

A holding is the court's complete answer to an issue that is critical to deciding the case and thus gives guidance to the meaning of the case as a precedent for future cases.

Question 21

Tort law deals with _____.

A) the rights and duties of those who can legally own land
B) what kinds of promises courts should enforce
C) how ownership can be legally confirmed and protected
D) cases that involve dispute over illegally owned property
E) cases that involve some kind of harm between plaintiff and defendant when no contract exists

Question 22

Which of the following is true of criminal cases?

A) Guilty defendants are punished.
B) Proof depends upon preponderance of evidence.
C) Defendant must answer or lose by default.
D) a and b
E) b and c

Question 23

What is the meaning of the Latin expression de minimis non curat lex?

A) What the law should be
B) Let the decision stand
C) The law does not deal in trifles
D) The rationale for the decision
E) A matter settled by judgment

Question 24

Which of the following is true about statutes?

A) They are more important than treaties or conventions.
B) Under most treaties, the President of the United States may end the treaty whenever s/he chooses.
C) Statutes generally take precedence over case law.
D) A and b
E) B and c

Question 25

According to contract law _____.

A) harming others is considered unethical
B) private ownership of property is socially useful
C) anarchy is caused if people are not restrained by law
D) promise-breaking is seen as unethical
E) compensation is provided when serious injuries or harms occur

Question 26

In Virginia Rulon-Miller's case, the court gave the judgment based on which source or sources of law?

A) Federal statutory law
B) A state Constitution
C) A Supreme Court decision
D) A and b
E) B and c

Question 27

A code-law system _____.

A) is used to resolve particular cases, usually by judges and a jury
B) recognizes the use of precedents in judicial cases
C) is one where all the legal rules are in one comprehensive legislative enactment
D) a and b
E) a and c

Question 28

Explain the main sources of law in the United States.

Question 29

What are the functions of law?

Question 30

Which of the following is true of civil cases?

A) Plaintiff brings the case and defendant must answer
B) Their purpose is to maintain order in society.
C) Their purpose is to deter serious wrongdoing
D) Proof must be beyond reasonable doubt
E) Remedies include fines, jail, and forfeitures

Question 31

In the Harris v. Forklift Systems case, the Supreme Court _____.

A) ruled that whether an environment is hostile or abusive can be determined solely by the rule of 72
B) ruled that an employee had to prove severe psychological injury in order to win a Title VII sexual harassment claim
C) ruled that Title VII comes into play only if the harassing conduct has led to a serious nervous breakdown
D) raised the bar and made hostile-working environment claims under Title VII more difficult to win
E) reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals that a plaintiff had to show severe psychological injury to prevail in a hostile work environment claim under Title VII.