Ch.15 Full Test Bank Judiciary Politics & Branch - Complete Test Bank | American Gov Stories of a Nation 2e by Scott F. Abernathy. DOCX document preview.
Chapter 15: The Federal Judiciary: Politics, Power, and the “Least Dangerous” Branch
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. The role of the federal judiciary is to ______.
a. execute and implement the laws of Congress
b. enforce and undertake ordinance law
c. interpret and apply the laws of the nation
d. act as the ultimate guardian of the Constitution
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.1: Explore the role of politics in modern Supreme Court nomination proceedings.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Introduction
Difficulty Level: Medium
2. The highest level of the federal judiciary, which also acts as the highest court in the land, is ______.
a. the U.S. District Court
b. the U.S. Specialty Court
c. the U.S. Court of Appeals
d. the U.S. Supreme Court
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.1: Explore the role of politics in modern Supreme Court nomination proceedings.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Introduction
Difficulty Level: Easy
3. According to the text, the two questions about the federal judiciary that arise at a deeper level are ______.
a. (1) how political is it? and (2) how powerful is it?
b. (1) how important is it? and (2) how necessary is it?
c. (1) what is its role? and (3) what authority should it have?
d. (1) what is its relationship to Congress? and (2) how should it exercise its authority?
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.1: Explore the role of politics in modern Supreme Court nomination proceedings.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Introduction
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. Which arm of the government interprets the Constitution and applies the laws of the nation?
a. judicial branch
b. executive branch
c. legislative branch
d. federal bureaucracy
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.1: Explore the role of politics in modern Supreme Court nomination proceedings.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Introduction
Difficulty Level: Easy
5. Sonya Sotomayor was considered by many to be the “riskiest choice” for Supreme Court nominee in 2009 because of her public remarks on the ______.
a. “conservative” court and its impact on the progressive movement
b. importance of identity and personal history in judicial decision making
c. need for more liberal decision makers in the U.S. Courts of Appeal
d. unbalanced and unfair justice system with regard to racial equity
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.1: Explore the role of politics in modern Supreme Court nomination proceedings.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Trial of Sonia Sotomayor: Lived Experience and Justices’ Approaches to Decision-Making
Difficulty Level: Medium
6. Which of the following was NOT a decisive factor for President Obama in nominating Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court?
a. her Democratic Party membership
b. not wanting to shift the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court
c. diversity on the Supreme Court
d. legal ability
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.1: Explore the role of politics in modern Supreme Court nomination proceedings.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: The Trial of Sonia Sotomayor: Lived Experience and Justices’ Approaches to Decision-Making
Difficulty Level: Hard
7. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention agreed that the judicial branch would be the ______ of the three branches of government.
a. weakest
b. least important
c. strongest
d. most important
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Constitution Casts the Judiciary as the Weakest Branch
Difficulty Level: Medium
8. The question of ______ for members of the judiciary remained unresolved until late in the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
a. apportionment
b. salary
c. appointment
d. term in office
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Constitution Casts the Judiciary as the Weakest Branch
Difficulty Level: Medium
9. Which of the following best describes the federal judicial selection process?
a. The president selects a nominee and the Senate votes to confirm the nomination.
b. A judicial selection committee recommends candidates to the Senate, which then confirms them.
c. The people vote for candidates in primaries and general elections, then the House confirms the election.
d. Candidates with extensive legal and judicial experience submit applications and then attend selection hearings in both houses of Congress.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Constitution Casts the Judiciary as the Weakest Branch
Difficulty Level: Medium
10. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the Constitution?
a. establishing the Supreme Court
b. the position of Chief Justice
c. life terms for justices
d. the power of judicial review
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Constitution Casts the Judiciary as the Weakest Branch
Difficulty Level: Medium
11. A court’s authority to hear a case for the first time and find the facts of the case is called ______.
a. original jurisdiction
b. appellate jurisdiction
c. supreme jurisdiction
d. first jurisdiction
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Constitution Grants the Federal Judiciary Supremacy over Lower State Courts
Difficulty Level: Easy
12. When the Supreme Court issues a ruling, ______.
a. it only affects the laws in the states involved in the suit
b. each state’s supreme court will decide whether the Supreme Court decision should apply to that state
c. all states and courts in the United States must follow it
d. Congress has the power to override the Court’s decision
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: The Constitution Grants the Federal Judiciary Supremacy over Lower State Courts
Difficulty Level: Medium
13. Which of the following is the only part of the federal judiciary actually mentioned in the Constitution?
a. U.S. District Courts
b. U.S. Courts of Appeals
c. U.S. Specialty Courts
d. U.S. Supreme Court
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Constitution Grants the Federal Judiciary Supremacy over Lower State Courts
Difficulty Level: Easy
14. The ability to hear a case from its origin and to establish the facts pertaining to it, including conducting a trial and rendering a verdict, is known as ______.
a. original jurisdiction
b. appellate jurisdiction
c. intermediary jurisdiction
d. ultimate jurisdiction
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Constitution Grants the Federal Judiciary Supremacy over Lower State Courts
Difficulty Level: Easy
15. After trial, a defendant is NOT satisfied with the outcome of his/her case and hires an attorney to request a review of the case, its verdict, and its sentence. A higher court agrees to review the case. This court most likely has ______.
a. original jurisdiction
b. appellate jurisdiction
c. intermediary jurisdiction
d. ultimate jurisdiction
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Constitution Grants the Federal Judiciary Supremacy over Lower State Courts
Difficulty Level: Easy
16. Many anti-federalists feared ______.
a. a system whereby elites would be exempt from justice and the poor would be unfairly punished
b. a weak judiciary would be unable to defend the rights of the common citizen and the states
c. the lack of specificity in Article III of the Constitution might lead to an all-powerful court system
d. the subjugation of individual and states’ rights by an increasingly powerful judiciary
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: During Ratification, Concerns about Judicial Abuse of Power Were Addressed
Difficulty Level: Medium
17. In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton sought to reassure skeptical anti-federalists by arguing that the judiciary ______.
a. was designed to interpret and not make laws with weak oversight power
b. was a limited branch of government with no power to overturn a law
c. would be impartial and, compared to the other two branches, its power would be weak
d. would not use its law-enforcement powers against the people and would uphold and interpret laws
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: During Ratification, Concerns about Judicial Abuse of Power Were Addressed
Difficulty Level: Medium
18. In comparison to the president’s power of the sword and Congresses’ power of the purse, Hamilton saw the judiciary as exercising the power of ______.
a. judgment
b. enforcement
c. the law
d. tradition
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: During Ratification, Concerns about Judicial Abuse of Power Were Addressed
Difficulty Level: Medium
19. In order to flesh out the “nature and the organization” of the nation’s system of courts, Congress passed ______.
a. the Judicial Review Act of 1802
b. the District Courts Act of 1790
c. the Inferior Courts Act of 1787
d. the Judiciary Act of 1789
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Congress Filled in the Blanks with the Judiciary Act of 1789
Difficulty Level: Medium
20. All of the following were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789 EXCEPT ______.
a. adding five more justices to the Supreme Court
b. creating the office of Attorney General
c. creating the lower tiers of the federal judiciary
d. granting the Supreme Court power to propose amendments to the Constitution
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Congress Filled in the Blanks with the Judiciary Act of 1789
Difficulty Level: Medium
21. Who represents the government or the president before the Supreme Court?
a. Attorney General
b. Assistant Attorney General
c. Solicitor General
d. Inspector General
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Congress Filled in the Blanks with the Judiciary Act of 1789
Difficulty Level: Medium
22. Marbury v. Madison (1803) was the Supreme Court decision that established ______.
a. judicial review over federal laws
b. the U.S. District Court system
c. the authority of U.S. Courts of Appeal
d. the supremacy of U.S. laws over state laws
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.3: Explain John Marshall’s development of judicial review in the Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Marbury v. Madison Led to the Establishment of Judicial Review
Difficulty Level: Medium
23. The authority of the highest court in a political system to determine if a law is or is NOT in conflict with that government’s highest law (the Constitution) is defined as ______.
a. judicial authority
b. judicial appointment
c. judicial review
d. judicial jurisdiction
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.3: Explain John Marshall’s development of judicial review in the Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Marbury v. Madison Led to the Establishment of Judicial Review
Difficulty Level: Medium
24. When a court examines a law and applies the Constitution to determine whether the law or any part of it is in conflict with the Constitution, the process is best described as ______.
a. judicial review
b. constitutional interpretation
c. judicial implementation
d. constitutional examination
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.3: Explain John Marshall’s development of judicial review in the Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Marbury v. Madison Led to the Establishment of Judicial Review
Difficulty Level: Medium
25. The dual systems of federal and state court share in common which of the following traditions?
a. judicial supremacy
b. constitutional authority
c. an adversarial system of justice
d. ultimate authority over the laws within their jurisdiction
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The American Legal System Is Defined by Federalism
Difficulty Level: Medium
26. In an adversarial system of justice, the person who brings the case is known as the ______.
a. plaintiff
b. petitioner
c. defendant
d. respondent
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The American Legal System Is Defined by Federalism
Difficulty Level: Medium
27. In an adversarial system of justice, the person or group against whom a case is brought in court is known as the ______.
a. plaintiff
b. petitioner
c. defendant
d. respondent
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The American Legal System Is Defined by Federalism
Difficulty Level: Medium
28. In a criminal case, the plaintiff is always ______.
a. the state or federal government
b. the injured party
c. the petitioner
d. the offending party
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Cases Are Divided into Criminal and Civil Types
Difficulty Level: Medium
29. Actions determined to harm the community itself, such as committing an act of violence against another person, are considered the jurisdiction of ______.
a. civil law
b. constitutional law
c. criminal law
d. appellate law
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Cases Are Divided into Criminal and Civil Types
Difficulty Level: Medium
30. As of 2018, in several states, an adult may lawfully use marijuana recreationally according to state law. In the federal courts, this would be considered ______.
a. a civil tort
b. a criminal offense
c. a matter for the state
d. a constitutional matter
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Cases Are Divided into Criminal and Civil Cases Types
Difficulty Level: Medium
31. Most criminal cases are resolved through ______.
a. trial and punishment
b. admission of guilt
c. plea bargaining
d. civil settlements
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Cases Are Divided into Criminal and Civil Types
Difficulty Level: Medium
32. Amendment VIII to the Constitution protects against ______.
a. double jeopardy
b. self-incrimination
c. unreasonable search and seizure
d. cruel and unusual punishment
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Cases Are Divided into Criminal and Civil Types
Difficulty Level: Medium
33. The category of law that covers cases involving private rights and relationships between individuals and groups is ______.
a. civil law
b. constitutional law
c. criminal law
d. appellate law
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Cases Are Divided into Criminal and Civil Types
Difficulty Level: Easy
34. Cases that make their way from the state courts to the federal courts generally involve questions arising under ______.
a. the criminal law system
b. the civil law system
c. the U.S. Constitution
d. the direct appeals process
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: State Courts Handle the Majority of Cases in the United States
Difficulty Level: Medium
35. Legislative courts are created under Congress’s authority in ______ of the Constitution.
a. Article I
b. Article II
c. Article III
d. Article IV
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Most of the Impactful Cases Are Handled by the Federal Judiciary
Difficulty Level: Easy
36. Constitutional courts refer to courts Congress was authorized to create under ______ of the Constitution.
a. Article I
b. Article II
c. Article III
d. Article IV
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Most of the Impactful Cases Are Handled by the Federal Judiciary
Difficulty Level: Easy
37. At the bottom level of the constitutional court system are the ______.
a. legislative courts
b. federal district courts
c. federal courts of appeal
d. U.S. Supreme Court
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Federal District Courts
Difficulty Level: Easy
38. Which court(s) deliver a verdict through a jury trial?
a. federal district courts
b. courts of appeal
c. both district courts and courts of appeal
d. both courts of appeal and the Supreme Court
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: The Federal District Courts
Difficulty Level: Medium
39. The middle level of the constitutional courts is occupied by the ______.
a. legislative courts
b. federal district courts
c. federal courts of appeal
d. U.S. Supreme Court
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Appellate Courts
Difficulty Level: Easy
40. How many courts of appeals are in the federal judicial system?
a. 6
b. 8
c. 13
d. 25
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Appellate Courts
Difficulty Level: Easy
41. At the top of the federal judicial system is/are the ______.
a. legislative courts
b. federal district courts
c. federal courts of appeal
d. U.S. Supreme Court
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Supreme Court
Difficulty Level: Easy
42. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over which of the following cases?
a. appeals filed in state courts making their way from state supreme courts
b. all civil cases (both state and federal) regardless of court of origin
c. all cases affecting ambassadors, ministers, and consuls or when a state is a party
d. all federal appellate cases must be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court at some point
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court
Difficulty Level: Medium
43. Which of the following cases may begin in the federal judiciary?
a. those in which the federal government is a party in a dispute
b. civil suits involving parties from two different states in which the money in question exceeds $75,000
c. cases that involve a federal question that includes cases involving an alleged violation of civil rights
d. all of these
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Cases Involving Federal Questions Proceed through the Federal Judiciary
Difficulty Level: Medium
44. The federal district courts are responsible for ______.
a. finding facts and delivering opinions on a case
b. determining questions of constitutionality
c. analyzing the appropriateness of criminal punishments
d. how the decision of the court was rendered within the context of the law
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Cases Involving Federal Questions Proceed through the Federal Judiciary
Difficulty Level: Medium
45. An appellate court focuses on ______.
a. finding facts and delivering opinions on a case
b. determining questions of constitutionality
c. analyzing the appropriateness of criminal punishments
d. how the decision of the court was rendered within the context of the law
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Cases Involving Federal Questions Proceed through the Federal Judiciary
Difficulty Level: Medium
46. After hearing a case, an appeals court may ______.
a. confirm the original court’s ruling, reverse the decision, or remand the case to a lower court
b. decide to hear new testimony, reverse the decision of the lower court, or institute a new decision
c. overturn the lower court’s ruling, confirm the court’s decision, or allow for new evidence
d. hear direct testimony, make a judicial decision, or determine appropriate punishment
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Cases Involving Federal Questions Proceed through the Federal Judiciary
Difficulty Level: Medium
47. The side that loses in a federal appellate court has the right to petition ______ for a possible appeal.
a. an appeals court in another circuit
b. the U.S. Supreme Court
c. state supreme courts
d. the legislative courts
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Cases Involving Federal Questions Proceed through the Federal Judiciary
Difficulty Level: Medium
48. Your attorney in your civil rights case has just heard back from the Second Circuit Court of Appeal, who have decided against you in your appeal. Your attorney is ______.
a. finished with you because there are no longer any courts to which to appeal
b. despondent but slightly hopeful, as there’s a small chance the Supreme Court will hear your case
c. largely happy, because there’s a very good chance the Supreme Court will hear your case
d. thrilled, because now the case is assured to be heard at the Supreme Court
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Hard
49. Almost all petitions from the lower courts to have their cases heard by the Supreme Court are ______.
a. approved
b. reviewed
c. denied
d. retried
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
50. The modern Supreme Court receives, on average, between ______ and ______ petitions from lower courts per year.
a. 1,000; 3,000
b. 5,000; 7,000
c. 8,000; 9,000
d. 10,000; 12,000
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
51. About what percentage of all petitions does the Supreme Court hear per year?
a. less than 1%
b. between 5 and 10%
c. between 15 and 30%
d. between 50 and 75%
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
52. In addition to certain technical requirements, a petitioner to the Supreme Court must demonstrate that he/she has ______, which involves demonstrating an actual imminent harm from a law or action in question.
a. clearance
b. standing
c. authority
d. jurisdiction
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
53. Legal documents presented by plaintiffs, defendants, and, at times, other interested parties outlining their arguments in writing are best described as ______.
a. memos
b. petitions
c. briefs
d. writs
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
54. If the Supreme Court decides to hear a case, it issues a(n) ______.
a. brief of understanding
b. writ of certiorari
c. petition for habeas corpus
d. announcement of decision
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
55. While the Constitution offers little guidance on which cases the Supreme Court does or does not take, justices have adopted the custom of ______.
a. judicial accommodation
b. the band of six
c. the rule of four
d. judicial necessity
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
56. the process of ordering the records of a case from the lower court is nicknamed ______.
a. “granting cert”
b. “initiating appeal”
c. “exerting authority”
d. “wielding the gavel”
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
57. The most important factor in the decision to grant or deny a writ of certiorari in a case is whether the case presents a ______.
a. challenge to the Constitution or the Bill of Rights
b. federal question
c. confusion about or alternate presentation of the law
d. risk to civil liberties
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
58. An interested party (such as an interest group) may submit its opinions to the Court in the form of a(n) ______.
a. habeas corpus writ
b. amicus curiae brief
c. mandamus petition
d. corpus juris memo
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
59. An especially important filer of amici curiae is the United States’ ______.
a. attorney general
b. president
c. Congress
d. solicitor general
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
60. A judicial decision that guides future courts in handling similar cases is known as ______.
a. precedent
b. jurisdiction
c. mandamus
d. corpus juris
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
61. When the plaintiffs and defendants in a case appear before the Supreme Court, they must present ______.
a. direct testimony
b. oral arguments.
c. official witnesses
d. important evidence
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: Considering and Deciding upon Cases
Difficulty Level: Medium
62. Following oral arguments, cases in the Supreme Court proceed to ______.
a. stare decisis
b. legal discussion
c. judicial conference
d. public debate
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: Considering and Deciding upon Cases
Difficulty Level: Medium
63. Once decided, the Court issues its decision in the form of a(n) ______.
a. written opinion
b. oral briefing
c. public forum
d. national debate
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: Considering and Deciding upon Cases
Difficulty Level: Medium
64. Which of the following decisions is considered binding?
a. the minority opinion
b. the majority opinion
c. the concurring opinion
d. the dissenting opinion
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: Considering and Deciding upon Cases
Difficulty Level: Medium
65. Those justices that voted with the minority and who disagree with the majority opinion may wish to issue a(n) ______.
a. amicus curiae brief
b. concurring opinion
c. dissenting opinion
d. minority opinion
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: Considering and Deciding upon Cases
Difficulty Level: Medium
66. Federal judges serve for ______, assuming good behavior.
a. 4 years
b. 6 years
c. 8 years
d. life
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Appointment to the Federal Judiciary Is Often Political
Difficulty Level: Medium
67. Which of the following are more apt to witness direct presidential involvement in the nomination process?
a. legislative courts
b. bankruptcy courts
c. district courts
d. courts of appeal including the Supreme Court
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Appointment to the Federal Judiciary Is Often Political
Difficulty Level: Medium
68. Which of the following is a Constitutional requirement for becoming a Supreme Court justice?
a. prior legal argument and trial experience
b. prior experience in the federal district courts
c. prior experience in the federal appeals courts
d. There are no requirements for a Supreme Court justice.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Presidents Balance Legal and Political Considerations in Making Supreme Court Nominations
Difficulty Level: Medium
69. The problem of countermajoritarianism occurs when ______.
a. the Supreme Court exercises judicial control against the prevailing majority
b. Congress passes a law that is then upheld by the Supreme Court
c. the president is unable to get his/her nominee through the Senate confirmation process
d. the people appeal to the courts through briefs and arguments but are not given standing
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Judicial Review Raises Questions of Constitutional Interpretation and Judicial Decision Making
Difficulty Level: Medium
70. Many argue that by acting as a safety valve against poor, factious, or tyrannical legislation, the Supreme Court might actual make unwanted legislative outcomes more likely. This is described as the problem of ______.
a. ethical constraint
b. moral hazard
c. unforeseen security
d. adapted judicialism
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Judicial Review Raises Questions of Constitutional Interpretation and Judicial Decision Making
Difficulty Level: Medium
71. According to public law scholar Alexander Bickel, judicial review acts as a ______ force in our system.
a. countermajoritarian
b. superminority
c. ultramodern
d. antidemocratic
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Judicial Review Raises Questions of Constitutional Interpretation and Judicial Decision Making
Difficulty Level: Medium
72. The first and potentially biggest worry in considering the power and use of judicial review derives from the fact that Supreme Court justices ______.
a. often lack judicial experience
b. are not elected
c. do not have legislative authority
d. are allowed to make policy
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Judicial Review Raises Questions of Constitutional Interpretation and Judicial Decision Making
Difficulty Level: Medium
73. By upholding the constitutionality of laws and adding legitimacy in the minds of the American public to those laws passed by Congress, the Court risks ______.
a. allowing the exercise of powers not granted to it in the Constitution
b. asserting undue influence over the people themselves
c. confirming and implementing the tyranny of the minority
d. giving a stamp of approval to the tyranny of the majority
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Judicial Review Raises Questions of Constitutional Interpretation and Judicial Decision Making
Difficulty Level: Medium
74. The legal doctrine that requires justices to follow precedents set before them is called ______.
a. amicus curiae
b. corpus juris
c. stare decisis
d. habeas corpus
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Legal Model
Difficulty Level: Medium
75. The legal model focuses on ______.
a. considering the impact of a judicial decision on all parties involved
b. focusing on applying law to the facts of a case, including past decisions
c. negating past decisions and attempting to set a new legal precedent
d. evaluating both sides of a case and determining the optimal decision
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Legal Model
Difficulty Level: Medium
76. The process through which the political and policy preferences of individual justices shape their votes on cases rather than a neutral weighing of the facts and the law is described as the ______.
a. strategic model
b. classical model
c. legal model
d. attitudinal model
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Attitudinal Model
Difficulty Level: Medium
77. The model that focuses on the political actions of individual justices as they try to make the best use of personal and official resources in order to obtain a specific set of policy objectives is called the ______.
a. strategic model
b. classical model
c. legal model
d. attitudinal model
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Strategic Model
Difficulty Level: Medium
78. Those who argue that justices should be willing to step in and overturn laws when they see a need to are described as supporting ______.
a. judicial restraint
b. countermajoritarianism
c. judicial activism
d. legal policymaking
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Justices Exercise Degrees of Judicial Restraint and Judicial Activism
Difficulty Level: Medium
79. Those who argue that the Court should use the power of judicial review only rarely and, when possible, defer to the judgment of the legislative and executive branches in decisions they have made are considered proponents of ______.
a. judicial restraint
b. countermajoritarianism
c. judicial activism
d. legal policymaking
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Justices Exercise Degrees of Judicial Restraint and Judicial Activism
Difficulty Level: Medium
80. Congress can limit the judiciary’s power through all of the following actions EXCEPT ______.
a. passing constitutional amendments
b. impeaching and convicting federal judges
c. not advising and consenting to new judges
d. closing down the Supreme Court
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Limitations on the Power of the Supreme Court
Difficulty Level: Medium
81. While the Supreme Court and the rest of the federal judiciary cannot act as unilateral policy makers, their unique position in the nation and the federal government gives them a unique ability to aid in ______.
a. setting the national agenda
b. determining the course of future laws
c. examining the current political context
d. reviewing the authority of the legislative branch
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Agenda-Setting Power of the Supreme Court
Difficulty Level: Medium
82. The Supreme Court tackles controversial issues such as abortion and gay marriage before Congress does. This exemplifies ______.
a. its agenda-setting power
b. judicial restraint
c. the legal model of jurisprudence
d. the strategic model of jurisprudence
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: The Agenda-Setting Power of the Supreme Court
Difficulty Level: Hard
True/False
1. Since World War II, all presidential nominees to the Supreme Court have received at least a confirmation vote in the Senate, unless those nominees rescinded their nominations.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.1: Explore the role of politics in modern Supreme Court nomination proceedings.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: One Nominee Gets His Trial, the Other Does Not: Merrick Garland and Neil Gorsuch
Difficulty Level: Medium
2. The federal court system as we know it today is specifically outlined and described in the U.S. Constitution.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Constitution Grants the Federal Judiciary Supremacy over Lower State Courts
Difficulty Level: Medium
3. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention were in general agreement that the judicial branch would be the weakest of the three branches of government.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Constitution Casts the Judiciary as the Weakest Branch
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. Anti-Federalists argued that by granting the power to overturn legislation in the Supreme Court, the nation would run the risk of unconstrained justices imposing their own views of what is constitutional and what is not.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: During Ratification, Concerns about Judicial Abuse of Power Were Addressed
Difficulty Level: Medium
5. In order to establish “inferior courts” in the federal judiciary, the first Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Congress Filled in the Blanks with the Judiciary Act of 1789
Difficulty Level: Medium
6. When it first met, the Supreme Court had a total of six justices, per the Judiciary Act of 1789.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Congress Filled in the Blanks with the Judiciary Act of 1789
Difficulty Level: Medium
7. With the Judiciary Act of 1801, the Federalists increased the size of the Supreme Court from six to nine justices and reorganized the federal courts so as to create more vacancies.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.3: Explain John Marshall’s development of judicial review in the Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Election of 1800 Gave Rise to a Federalist Judicial Strategy
Difficulty Level: Medium
8. The Supreme Court decision that established judicial review over federal laws was Marbury v. Madison (1803).
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.3: Explain John Marshall’s development of judicial review in the Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Marbury v. Madison Led to the Establishment of Judicial Review
Difficulty Level: Medium
9. Judicial review is the authority of a court to create new laws and actions over other branches and levels of government so as to become the highest law in the land.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.3: Explain John Marshall’s development of judicial review in the Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Marbury v. Madison Led to the Establishment of Judicial Review
Difficulty Level: Medium
10. After the landmark decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803), the Marshall Court used the power of judicial review numerous times to strike down an act of Congress.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.3: Explain John Marshall’s development of judicial review in the Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Marbury v. Madison Led to the Establishment of Judicial Review
Difficulty Level: Medium
11. The American legal system is based on dual systems of federal and state courts that share the tradition of the adversarial system of justice.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The American Legal System Is Defined by Federalism
Difficulty Level: Medium
12. The legal process in which the plaintiff and defendant agree to an outcome prior to the handing out of a verdict is known as plea bargaining.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Cases Are Divided into Criminal and Civil Types
Difficulty Level: Medium
13. State courts are structured much differently than the federal courts.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: State Courts Handle the Majority of Cases in the United States
Difficulty Level: Medium
14. While the majority of cases are handled in the state courts, many of the cases that have the greatest impact on large numbers of Americans happen in the federal court system.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Most of the Impactful Cases Are Handled by the Federal Judiciary
Difficulty Level: Medium
15. The federal district courts are at the top of the nation’s federal court pyramid.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Federal District Courts
Difficulty Level: Medium
16. The Supreme Court can exercise both original and appellate jurisdiction.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court
Difficulty Level: Medium
17. The Supreme Court must hear all cases brought before it.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
18. The order issued from the Supreme Court after four justices concur that the body should hear the case is known as a writ of certiorari.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
19. Any interested party (such as an interest group) may submit its opinions to the Court through a document called an amicus curiae brief.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
20. The Supreme Court has the power to set a precedent that acts as a basis for deciding cases in the future.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: The Decision to Take Cases on Appeal
Difficulty Level: Medium
21. When a case is granted “cert,” the next step is to schedule it for oral arguments.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Supreme Court: Considering and Deciding upon Cases
Difficulty Level: Medium
22. The “countermajoritarian difficulty” occurs when the Court exercises control NOT on behalf of the prevailing majority but against it.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Judicial Review Raises Questions of Constitutional Interpretation and Judicial Decision Making
Difficulty Level: Medium
Short Answer
1. The largest margin of defeat for a Supreme Court nominee (58-42) occurred in 1987 over the nomination of ______.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.1: Explore the role of politics in modern Supreme Court nomination proceedings.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Ghosts of Trials Past: Robert Bork
Difficulty Level: Easy
2. In the federal court system, ______ handle most of the work.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Federal District Courts
Difficulty Level: Easy
3. The power of ______ lies as much in its power to affirm a law as in its power to overturn a law.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Judicial Review Raises Questions of Constitutional Interpretation and Judicial Decision Making
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. When a justice follows precedent, he or she is said to be employing the doctrine of ______.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Legal Model
Difficulty Level: Medium
5. The ______ model focuses on applying the law to the facts of a case, including past decisions on similar cases.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Legal Model
Difficulty Level: Medium
6. Proponents of ______ argue that the Court should use its power to overturn laws and actions of the other two branches of government very rarely.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Justices Exercise Degrees of Judicial Restraint and Judicial Activism
Difficulty Level: Medium
7. Proponents of ______ argue that justices should be willing to step in and overturn laws when they see the need to, especially when they perceive those laws as trampling on individual rights and liberties.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Justices Exercise Degrees of Judicial Restraint and Judicial Activism
Difficulty Level: Medium
Essay
1. What factors have led to federal judicial proceedings becoming so politically charged? Why should these proceedings be so politically divided?
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.1: Explore the role of politics in modern Supreme Court nomination proceedings.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: The Trial of Sonia Sotomayor: Lived Experience and Justices’ Approaches to Decision-Making; The Ghosts of Trials Past: Robert Bork; One Nominee Gets His Trial, the Other Does Not: Merrick Garland and Neil Gorsuch
Difficulty Level: Medium
2. What does the Constitution say about the structure and the power of the federal judiciary? What does it leave out? What holes did the Judiciary Act of 1789 fill in that structure?
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.2: Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Congress Filled in the Blanks with the Judiciary Act of 1789
Difficulty Level: Medium
3. Explain the impact and influence of the Marbury v. Madison case as it relates to the modern judiciary.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.3: Explain John Marshall’s development of judicial review in the Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Marbury v. Madison Led to the Establishment of Judicial Review
Difficulty Level: Hard
4. Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.4: Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Most of the Impactful Cases Are Handled by the Federal Judiciary
Difficulty Level: Medium
5. Do you feel that the use of judicial review and the concepts of judicial activism and judicial restraint have had a positive or negative impact on the modern judiciary?
TOP: Learning Outcome: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.
KEY: Learning Objective: 15.5: Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.
REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Justices Exercise Degrees of Judicial Restraint and Judicial Activism
Difficulty Level: Medium
Document Information
Connected Book
Complete Test Bank | American Gov Stories of a Nation 2e
By Scott F. Abernathy