Chapter 15 Post Test

A  Trial courts have appellate jurisdiction over constitutional cases.

B  The Supreme Court has granted original jurisdiction to 94 district courts.

C  State courts have jurisdiction over cases involving treaties with other nations or the U.S. Constitution.

D  Congress has created several specialized courts that have nationwide original jurisdiction in certain types of cases.

A  judicial review clause of Article III of the Constitution.

B  supremacy clause of Article VI of the Constitution.

C  Declaration of Independence.

D  Seventh Amendment of the Constitution.

A  decisions of state courts

B  judicial philosophy

C  institutional interest

D  ideology

A  judicial liberalism

B  judicial restraint

C  judicial activism

D  judicial conservatism

A  judicial liberalism

B  judicial activism

C  judicial conservatism

D  judicial restraint

A  write a concurring opinion.

B  write a dissenting opinion.

C  recuse herself from the case.

D  ask Chief Justice Roberts if she may write an opinion on the issue in the Supreme Court’s next term.

E    

A  unimportant because all justices usually describe their decisions in exactly the same way.

B  important because every word of a decision is legally binding.

C  important because differences in wording and emphasis can have important implications for how the decision is interpreted in future litigation.

D  unimportant because lawyers and judges in lower courts rarely read Supreme Court opinions.

A  are written documents in which attorneys explain why the Court should rule in favor of their clients.

B  contain public statements of a jury’s deliberation process.

C  never rely on precedent.

D  are short summaries of an attorneys’ qualifications to represent their clients.

A  standing

B  amicus curiae

C  certiorari

D  per curium

A  four justices must vote in favor of certiorari.

B  the law clerks must vote unanimously in favor of certiorari.

C  the chief justice must vote in favor of certiorari.

D  all justices must vote unanimously in favor of certiorari.

A  state courts.

B  a writ of amicus curiae.

C  a writ of mandamus.

D  a writ of certiorari.

A  appointment, arbitrary and capricious, and standing.

B  case and controversy, delegation, and oversight.

C  delegation, standing, and mootness.

D  case and controversy, standing, and mootness.

A  state courts must provide legal counsel to defendants who could not afford their

B  the police cannot undertake a warrantless search of the digital contents of a cell phone.

C  the police can undertake a warrantless search of the digital contents of a cell phone if its officers believe there is probable cause.

D  corporations have free speech rights under the First Amendment.

A  10

B  110

C  160

D  60

A  senators filibuster a nominee to the Supreme Court.

B  senators draw extensively on excerpts from a judicial nominee’s speeches and writings in order to paint the nominee as an extremist who is unqualified to serve in the federal judiciary.

C  the Senate ends a filibuster of a federal court nominee through a cloture vote.

D  a president chooses to rescind an existing nomination for the Supreme Court and nominates a new candidate.

A  cannot be used against any presidential appointments to the judiciary.

B  can only be used against federal district court appointments.

C  can only be used against executive branch appointments.

D  can only be used against Supreme Court appointments.

A  the nominee is automatically appointed for a probationary term of five years.

B  the nominee is automatically appointed for life and can only be removed from office through

C  the nominee must be confirmed by a unanimous vote in the full Senate.

D  the nominee must be confirmed by a majority vote in the full Senate.

A  The chief justice always writes the Court’s majority opinions.

B  The chief justice presides over the Court’s public sessions and private conferences.

C  The chief justice decides what cases will be heard by the full Court each term.

D  The chief justice is the constitutional adviser to the president.

A  federal district court system

B  Supreme Court

C  federal circuit court system

D  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

A  All federal and state courts must have the same number of jurors on a trial jury and require a unanimous verdict.

B  While federal courts vary in terms of the number of jurors on a trial jury and whether a unanimous jury verdict is required, all state courts must follow the same procedures.

C  Neither federal nor state courts are required to follow the same procedures.

D  While state courts vary in terms of the number of jurors on a trial jury and whether a unanimous jury verdict is required, all federal courts must follow the same procedures.

A  Federal courts interpret the laws that govern all Americans and render decisions on the powers and limitations of the national government.

B  Federal courts hear a large fraction of all of the civil and criminal cases decided each year in the United States.

C  Most federal litigation involves “citizen suits” brought by taxpayers who challenge the authority of the state and federal agencies.

D  Federal court judges are indirectly elected by citizens of the United States through the Electoral College.

A  demonstrate that the they are not guilty of the accused crime beyond a “reasonable doubt.”

B  receive amicus briefs from at least three civil liberties organizations.

C  show that they have exhausted all available state remedies and must raise issues not previously raised in their state appeals.

D  hire the solicitor general to represent them.

A  Mootness

B  Due process of law

C  Plea bargaining

D  Original jurisdiction

A  stare decisis

B  granting a writ of certiorari

C  original jurisdiction

D  appellate jurisdiction

A  may be heard in either the federal or the state courts, usually depending on the preference of the plaintiff.

B  must always be heard in a state court.

C  must always be heard in federal district court.

D  must always be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court.

A  a case related to an accusation of sexual harassment in the workplace

B  a case involving the citizens of more than one state and in which $150,000 is at stake

C  a case related to a drunk-driving accident

D  a case involving the state of New York suing the state of New Hampshire over state highway maintenance

A  amicus curiae.

B  pro bono settlement.

C  plea bargain.

D  writ of certiorari.

A  the jury did not find a witness credible.

B  interest groups are involved in the case.

C  the trial court made a legal error in deciding the case.

D  judicial review is unconstitutional.

A  entitled to appeal the verdict only if the case raises an important constitutional question.

B  entitled to appeal the verdict only if it files an amicus curiaebrief.

C  entitled to appeal the verdict only if it files a writ of habeas corpus.

D  not entitled to appeal the verdict.

A  contract

B  federal

C  international

D  state

A  Precedents established in previous cases guide courts’ decisions in new cases.

B  Courts apply precedents using the legal principle of stare decisis.

C  Attorneys for both sides of a case try to find compelling precedents to support their arguments.

D  Constitutional law rarely involves legal arguments over precedent.

A  statutes.

B  precedents.

C  public law.

D  ex post facto cases.

A  habeas corpus

B  amicus curiae

C  due process

D  tort

A  Contracts; habeas corpus

B  Torts; habeas corpus

C  Contracts; torts

D  Administrative; habeas corpus

A  defendant; plaintiff

B  judge; plaintiff

C  plaintiff; defendant

D  jury; defendant

A  Dissenting opinion

B  En banc opinion

C  Majority opinion

D  Concurring opinion

A  ignore the preferences of the justices and focus on persuading Congress.

B  advocate persuasively for one’s client in oral argument.

C  capitalize on inconsistent rulings across the circuits.

D  show that all district courts interpret the law in the same way.

A  submit amicus curiae briefs in every case that addresses their organizations’ primary issues in the hopes that their framing of the legal questions raised in each case will persuade the justices.

B  avoid filing any lawsuits until the composition of the court changes in a way that makes their preferred ruling more likely.

C  bring the same type of suit in more than one circuit in the hopes that inconsistent treatment by two different courts will improve the chance of a Supreme Court review.

D  attempt to prevent federal court nominees who are likely to oppose their agendas from being confirmed by the Senate.

A  The solicitor general is the chief lawyer for Congress who makes advisory opinions on the constitutionality of legislative proposals.

B  The solicitor general is the head of the Department of Justice.

C  The solicitor general is the chief legal counsel for the White House.

D  The solicitor general is the lawyer who represents the United States before the Supreme Court in cases where the federal government is a party.

A  nickname for the water fountain in the courtyard of the Supreme Court building.

B  method used to appoint the chief justice.

C  practice by which Supreme Court law clerks work together to evaluate each petition.

D  computerized lottery system by which the Supreme Court selects its cases each year.

A  Case and controversy

B  Precedent

C  Stare decisis

D    

E  Standing

A  recess appointments.

B  original jurisdiction.

C  judicial review of executive power.

D    

E  judicial review of state legislation.

A  violated the separation of powers.

B  ceded too much power to the federal government.

C  were too vague to be appropriately interpreted.

D  denied citizens equal protection of the law.

A  In this case, the justices authorized the Supreme Court to exercise judicial review over laws passed by Congress.

B  In this case, the justices recognized the authority of Congress to regulate the economy of the United States.

C  In this case, the justices declared the secession of the Confederate states to be in violation of the Constitution.

D  In this case, the justices nationalized the Bill of Rights.

A  alternate between selecting a Republican and Democratic justice.

B  select justices who are unpredictable.

C  select justices who used to work in Congress.

D  select justices who share their political philosophies.

A  There are no formal requirements to serve as a federal court judge.

B  Federal court judges must have a degree from an accredited law school.

C  Federal court judges must be members of the American Bar Association.

D  Federal court judges must be at least 35 years of age.

A  Congress.

B  the American Bar Association.

C  state legislatures.

D  the Constitution.

A  a range of permanent judgeships depending on the workload of the circuit.

B  one permanent judge.

C  a few state court judges who also serve as circuit court judges.

D  50 permanent judges and 100 part-time judges.

A  always appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

B  never appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

C  appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court about 80% of the time.

D  appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court about 15% of the time.

A  capital punishment can be neither cruel nor unusual.

B  the government cannot send a defendant to stand trial in a geographically distant jurisdiction.

C  the government must show a legal cause for holding someone in detention.

D  a defendant in a felony trial must receive assistance from legal counsel.

A  the due process of law.

B  his Mirandarights.

C  judicial review.

D  a writ of certiorari.

A  in which more than $1 million is at stake

B  involving foreign ambassadors

C  between the United States and one of the 50 states

D  brought by one state against citizens of another state or against a foreign country

A  heard in a state court if the other party files a special request to have the case heard

B  always heard in a federal court.

C  heard in a state court only if a state government is the other party.

D  always heard in a state court.

A  A writ of certiorari

B  A plea bargain

C  Mediation

D  A misdemeanor

A  trial court; court of appeals

B  supreme court; court of appeals

C  court of appeals; supreme court

D  court of appeals; trial court

A  in federal courts.

B  by state supreme courts.

C  in state courts.

D  by the United States Supreme Court.

A  habeas corpus

B  ex post facto

C  stare decisis

D  a priori

A  civil

B  tax

C  habeas corpus

D  criminal

A  the defendant is not allowed to appeal the verdict if he or she loses.

B  the government immediately appeals the verdict if it loses.

C  one individual charges that he or she has been injured by another’s negligence or malfeasance.

D  the plaintiff is not allowed to appeal the verdict if he or she loses.

A  public

B  common

C  criminal

D  tort