Deck 4: Business and the Constitution

Question 1

In the United States, the power of the states to regulate is:

A) exclusive in the domain of intrastate commerce.
B) nonexistent over matters that affect interstate commerce.
C) limited only by its own state constitution.
D) exclusive in the domain of interstate commerce.

Answer 1

A
Explanation: State governments have very broad powers. They have the power to tax, to own and operate businesses, and to take private property for public purposes by the power of eminent domain. The states retain the exclusive power to regulate intrastate commerce-economic activities that have no significant effect on commerce outside their own borders.

Question 2

If the U.S. Congress enacts a federal statute regulating the sale of automatic weapons and Kentucky passes a state law that conflicts with the federal law, Kentucky's law is said to be:

A) impliedly preempted.
B) void-for-vagueness.
C) expressly preempted.
D) prevailing.

Answer 2

C
Explanation: In this scenario, Kentucky's law will be expressly preempted. The state law is said to be expressly preempted when Congress enacts valid legislation dealing with foreign or interstate commerce and state law conflicts with that legislation. In this situation, state law will be unconstitutional.

Question 3

If few citizens of Seattle seek permission for the use of loudspeakers for providing public speeches in a residential neighborhood, the government can impose reasonable restrictions on the time, place, or manner of its use if the restriction applies equally to all types of expression.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The courts have historically distinguished between noncommercial and commercial speech when reviewing the constitutionality of governmental restrictions.

Question 5

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government from depriving any person "of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."

Question 6

With the increase in federal regulation that followed the Civil War, the courts tended to focus on the Commerce Clause as a limitation on the federal government's power to regulate business.

Question 7

The U.S. Constitution, according to the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, prohibits the government from taking real or personal property for public use without paying just compensation.

Question 8

In the U.S. Constitution, the fundamental rights generally are those liberties spelled out for protection in the Bill of Rights (speech, religion, association, right to vote, privacy, etc.).

Question 9

The federal government has the exclusive right to regulate all _____ of the United States.

A) intrastate commerce
B) domestic commerce
C) private and government actions
D) foreign commerce

Question 10

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 applies to actions by state governments.

Question 11

According to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, the federal government may substantially burden a person's exercise of religion if the burden results from a rule of general applicability.

Question 12

The state law of Michigan issues a tax on commerce carried on with states outside Michigan. The Congress enacted legislation that did not involve any taxes on interstate commerce to chiefly promote national uniformity. This conflict between the federal law and the state law resulted in the state law to be treated as unconstitutional. Which of the following statements is true of this case?

A) The federal law is said to be expressly preempted.
B) The state law of Michigan is said to be expressly preempted.
C) The federal law has been impliedly preempted.
D) The state of Michigan has exclusive power on interstate commerce where there is a need for national uniformity.

Question 13

The Takings Clause is triggered by the power of adverse possession.

Question 14

When the government restricts the exercise of a fundamental right, like speech, courts evaluate the restriction using rational basis analysis.

Question 15

The states retain the exclusive power to regulate intrastate commerce.

Question 16

Government actions that are procedurally fair may still be unconstitutional if they are substantively unfair.

Question 17

In the United States, state power is restricted by:

A) procedural due process clause.
B) the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
C) the equal protection clause.
D) the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Question 18

The Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government the power to regulate commerce "with foreign nations" and "among the several states."

Question 19

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are examples of independent agencies.

Question 20

Independent agencies are a part of the executive branch of the government and are under the control of the president.

Question 21

The "dormant" Commerce Clause limits the authority of the states to interfere with the flow of interstate commerce by:

A) limiting the states from furthering only state interests.
B) limiting a state's ability to tax vendors.
C) prohibiting state legislation that unduly burdens intrastate commerce.
D) prohibiting state laws that openly discriminate against interstate commerce.

Question 22

Which of the following is a feature of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

A) It does not contain the substantive due process clause.
B) It prohibits any state from arbitrarily discriminating against persons.
C) It applies only to the federal government.
D) It does not contain the procedural due process clause.

Question 23

Mr. Gregg has made an inflammatory speech denouncing the action of the government in the recent war. In this scenario, the court will uphold the governmental restrictions on his speech only:

A) under the Fifth Amendment.
B) if the regulation is the least intrusive means to promote a compelling governmental interest.
C) if it is commercial speech, which will then receive protection under the Fifth Amendment.
D) under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 24

The states are prohibited from arbitrarily discriminating against persons by the _____ Clause of the _____ Amendment.

A) Equal Protection; Fourteenth
B) Equal Protection; Fifth
C) Due Process; Fourteenth
D) Due Process; Fifth

Question 25

Which of the following is a correct statement regarding the United States Constitution and freedom of religion?

A) The Free Exercise Clause specifically prohibits governmental sponsorship of religion.
B) The First Amendment has two clauses offering constitutional protection for religion.
C) When challenges to governmental actions affecting religion arise, courts generally resolve them by insisting that the government endorse a particular religious practice or belief.
D) The Establishment Clause specifically prohibits governmental interference with religion.

Question 26

Which of the following is true of the Takings Clause?

A) It is triggered by the power of eminent domain.
B) It requires the government not to pay private property owners any compensation.
C) It is triggered by the power of just compensation.
D) It requires the government to buy private property for private developers.

Question 27

Which of the following prohibits the federal government from depriving any person "of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law"?

A) The Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause
B) The Commerce Clause
C) The Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause
D) The Equal Protection Clause

Question 28

Under rational basis analysis, _____.

A) a government action will be upheld as long as it has a reasonable relationship to the achievement of a legitimate purpose, even if those provisions are foolish
B) discrimination on the basis of a suspect category will receive highest scrutiny and misdirected provisions are generally invalid if they are subject only to rational basis review
C) courts will deem a government action unconstitutional when the action impinges on a fundamental right
D) discrimination on the basis of economic interest will receive highest scrutiny

Question 29

Which of the following statements is true of Due Process and Equal Protection scrutiny?

A) The judicial tests for examining Due Process and Equal Protection challenges fail to share a common premise.
B) The judicial oversight is strict when the intrusion into individual rights is slight.
C) Whenever regulatory programs discriminate, they trigger equal protection analysis.
D) When regulatory programs interfere with the exercise of individual rights, they are not subject to both substantive and procedural due process challenges.

Question 30

One of the factors considered in determining the state statute to be constitutional and allow the states to regulate aspects of interstate commerce that have not been preempted by the federal government is that the state statute must:

A) not further a legitimate local interest.
B) not discriminate in favor of local interests and against out-of-state interests.
C) allow only direct, not incidental, regulation of interstate commerce.
D) impose costs on interstate commerce that are more excessive than necessary to bring about the state interests.

Question 31

The_____ protects people from arbitrary government interference with their life, liberty, or property rights.

A) procedural due process
B) substantive due process
C) equal protection clause of the fifteenth amendment
D) due process clause of the sixth amendment

Question 32

If a person has been discriminated by the government on the basis of the fact that he or she is an illegitimate child, the regulation will be evaluated under _____.

A) strict scrutiny analysis
A a anal ana
B) rational basis analysis
C) intermediate scrutiny analysis
Anan
D) the Takings Clause

Question 33

Which of the following statements is true of rational basis analysis?

A) This analysis is an extremely lenient level of scrutiny that presumes the regulation is constitutional.
B) This analysis generally requires that the classification serves important governmental objectives and is substantially related to the achievement of those objectives.
C) Under this analysis, the statute is unconstitutional unless the government demonstrates that it is pursuing a compelling governmental interest in the least intrusive manner.
D) This analysis generally is used to evaluate restrictions on commercial speech or discrimination on the basis of certain suspect classifications.

Question 34

If the governmental action has a reasonable relationship to the achievement of a legitimate purpose, it is declared constitutional under:

A) strict scrutiny analysis.
B) intermediate scrutiny analysis.
C) rational basis analysis.
D) suspect classifications.

Question 35

The Takings Clause must have a taking:

A) for a compelling private purpose.
B) for a public purpose and the private property owner is entitled to just compensation.
C) that is justified by the supremacy clause while compensation is rarely required.
D) that prohibits private property owners from securing just compensation.

Question 36

Which of the following is a correct statement regarding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)?

A) It holds that the federal government may, as a statutory matter, substantially burden a person's exercise of religion.
B) It does not apply to actions by state governments.
C) In instances where a generally applicable federal law substantially burdens the exercise of religion, the government must satisfy the rational basis test.
D) It does not apply to actions by the federal government.

Question 37

In the case of a taking, just compensation includes the:

A) fair market value of the property plus its sentimental value.
B) current fair market value plus any expected future value from the taking.
C) current fair market value of the property involved in the taking.
D) fair market value of the property if it were to be sold to a developer.

Question 38

Under the First Amendment, commercial speech is:

A) subject to intermediate scrutiny unlike political speech.
B) completely suppressed regardless of it being misleading or truthful.
C) subject to strict scrutiny just like political speech.
D) completely unregulated unless it is put in writing.

Question 39

Under strict scrutiny analysis, to demonstrate that a government action is constitutional, the government must demonstrate that:

A) its action bears a rational relationship to its desired end.
B) it is pursuing a compelling government interest.
C) it is pursuing a governmental end in the most intrusive manner.
D) there is no restriction on commercial speech.

Question 40

Which of the following statements is true of state action?

A) The constitutional checks on governmental power do not apply to the Congress.
B) Private deprivation of individual liberties is permitted only if interference of state action is prohibited by statute.
C) The Constitution protects an individual only against governmental activity, usually called state action.
D) State action is not involved if policies are mandated by federal law.

Question 41

An agency's rule-making power is derived from:

A) judicial fiat
B) an institutional charter issued by either the Secretary of State of the United States government or the Secretary of State of the particular state in which the agency is to exercise its investigative and adjudicatory powers.
C) the enabling legislation enacted by Congress for the creation of the agency.
D) executive order

Question 42

Which of the following statements is true of agencies that exercise adjudicatory power?

A) People who are unhappy with the agencies' actions cannot appeal to the court of law.
B) Since they involve juries, rules of evidence are more strictly observed.
C) Their hearings are much more formal than court trials.
D) Some of them regulate primarily on a case-by-case basis through their decisions.

Question 43

Which of the following is true about administrative agencies?

A) They rarely have the power to both issue regulations and investigate when such regulations have been violated.
B) They may make regulations that are advisory in nature, but cannot make regulations that have the force of law.
C) They are, in theory, part of the executive branch of government, but they may also perform legislative and judicial functions.
D) They never adjudicate disputes involving the statutes they are charged with enforcing.

Question 44

What does preemption of state powers mean?

Question 45

Briefly discuss the constitutional safeguards of noncommercial speech.

Question 46

Describe the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Question 47

Briefly discuss state power.

Question 48

What are the three primary powers of independent administrative agencies?

A) investigative, nullification, and appellate
B) investigative, rule-making, and adjudicatory
C) rule-making, nullification, and appellate
D) rule-making, adjudicatory, and executive veto

Question 49

When is strict scrutiny analysis triggered?

Question 50

Administrative agencies _____.

A) cannot perform legislative and judicial functions
B) can investigate and prosecute violations of statutes and regulations
C) are better suited to using the slower, case-by-case approach followed by the courts and the cumbersome law-making process that frequently characterizes legislation
D) cannot adjudicate disputes involving alleged violations of their regulations