Chapter 14

In many cases, a third party to a court case will file which of the following to support a particular outcome?

An amicus curiae brief

The distinction between federal district courts and federal appellate courts can be summarized by the following statement

Federal district courts are trial courts that heat evidence, but appellate courts do not hear evidence

The most common occupational position heals by a Supreme Court justice before appointment has been

Federal judgeship

If an appeals court decides that a case is remanded, which of the following occurs?

It is sent back to the court that originally heard the case

Which of the following is true of the U.S. Constitution?

It is the supreme law of the land

Which of the following procedures does an appellate court use when it reviews a case?

It uses a panel of judges to review the records of a case.

Which of the following is true of judges and justices in the federal court system?

They are appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Which of the following statements regarding federal judges is true?

They are appointed for life.

Which of the following statements regarding U.S. district courts is true?

They are the trial courts of the federal system.

Which of the following is true of the Supreme Court's power to enforce its own decisions?

It is nonexistent.

Most American law is based on which of the following?

English common law tradition

Which of the following statements is true? Check all that apply.

-Bill Clinton made less than 300 appointments to District Courts. -Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton made equal numbers of Supreme Court appointments.

According to the author of the excerpt, who might find jury duty fun? Check all that apply.

-People employed by government or corporations that continue to pay salary during jury service -Individuals who are free to put work on hold while on jury duty

Which of the following is an accurate statement about judicial power or judicial restraint? Check all that apply.

-The case of Plessy v. Ferguson exemplifies judicial restraint because it finds that it is up to the discretion of the legislature of the state of Louisiana to regulate in such a way as to preserve public peace and good order. -The case of Brown v. Board of Education exemplifies judicial activism because the Court used the power of judicial review to overturn its own decision in Plessy v. Ferguson and laws in the South to find racial segregation to be an unconstitutional violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Which of the following is true of the federal courts? Check all that apply.

-There are 12 regional circuits; each has a U.S. Court of Appeals that operates with three-judge panels to hear appeals cases. -The federal judiciary is structured with three layers including, from bottom to top: district courts, U.S. Courts of Appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court. -Appeals made from the U.S. Courts of Appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court are often rejected. Points

Which of the following statements is true of a majority opinion?

.It is the decision of most of the justices and is the decision of the Court.

Which of the following statements regarding a precedent is true?

.It is the policy of following the law established by prior cases to decide other cases.

An opinion prepared by a judge who supports the court's decision, but wishes to in some way clarify, emphasize, or offer different reasons is known as which of the following?

A concurring opinion

A writ of certiorari by the U.S. Supreme Court orders which of the following to occur?

A lower court to send up the record of a case for review

Who made the following observation in the 1800s: "scarcely any political question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, into a judicial question"?

Alexis de Tocqueville

Which of the following occurs when the U.S. Supreme Court decides an issue?

All other courts are obligated to follow the Supreme Court's ruling.

Which of the following is the last step of the Supreme Court decision-making process?

Announcing its decision to the public and the reasons for it

Which act, passed in 1996, was a response to the Oklahoma City bombing and created alien removal courts?

Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act

Crimes are to be tried by juries in the state in which the crime was committed.

Article III of the U.S constitution

Which of the following presidents was the first to nominate a Latina to the U.S. Supreme Court?

Barack Obama

Judicial review allows the U.S. Supreme Court to undo which type of government decision?

Both legislation and executive orders

one important source of American law is

Case Law based in part on the common law tradition

Nations that rely solely on a statutory code use which law system?

Civil

When the U.S Supreme Court issues an opinion that has the support of the entire court, it is called a unanimous opinion. Otherwise, the court issues a majority opinion. Those justices in the minority who do not agree with the majority opinion often write a __________.

Dissenting opinion

The overwhelming majority of federal cases are resolved in which of the following courts?

District courts

What is the secret court Congress established to hear requests for warrants for the surveillance of suspected spies without having to reveal the information used to justify the warrant?

FISA court

Which of the following is true of someone's right to have their case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court?

It is almost entirely at the Court's discretion.

Which of the following statements regarding standing to sue is true?

It is determined by whether or not a person or a group has suffered harm as a result of the action that led to the dispute in question.

Which of the following statements describes the idea of precedents?

Judges must abide by the decisions of earlier cases unless there is a clear reason to distinguish the current case from its predecessors.

Which of the following statements regarding appeals courts is true?

Judges review lower court case records to determine if there is evidence of an error.

The doctrine that holds that the Supreme Court should actively check the other branches of government when they exceed their authority is known as which of the following?

Judicial activism

A doctrine holding that the courts defer to the decisions of elected officials is called which of the following?

Judicial restraint

The power of the courts to determine the constitutionality of a law or action is known as which of the following?

Judicial review

When a federal court declares that a federal or state Law or policy is unconstitutional, that court is engaging in:

Judicial review

Which U.S. Supreme Court case established that Obamacare was constitutional?

National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012)

Juries are to be composed of "honest men of the neighborhood."

Magna Carta

The opinion of a court laying out the official position of the court in the case is known as which of the following?

Majority opinion

Which U.S. Supreme Court case established the power of judicial review?

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

When can the U.S. Supreme Court review a state supreme court decision?

Only if a federal question is involved

What does the Supreme Court hear when considering a case?

Oral arguments and abstracts

If a judge rules a certain way on a case because prior cases of similar nature were subject to the same rule, that judge could be said to be relying on which of the following?

Precedent

What is one way the legislative branch can limit the activism of the courts?

Refuse to authorize necessary funds to carry out a court's ruling

Which president made the most appointments to the Supreme Court?

Ronald Reagan

Federal appellate courts review and can overturn which of the following?

Rulings made by the lower federal courts

Why were Stake and Burke sentenced to time in a federal prison, according to the article?

Stake and Burke plead guilty and were sentenced by a federal court.

to bring a lawsuit, party must show that he or she suffered an actual harm or is threatened by an actual harm as a result of the action that led to the dispute. If so then that party has ________.

Standing to sue

The United States has a dual court system which means which of the following?

State and federal courts

Which constitutional power of Congress was used to establish the individual mandate under Obamacare?

Taxation

The Supreme Court's power of judicial review was established by which of the following?

The Court's decision in Marbury v. Madison

"I'll take it all the way to the Supreme Court" A lawyer cannot truthfully promise this b/c

The Supreme Court hears only a limited number of cased in which a federal question is involved

Judicial review is the process for deciding whether a law or action is contrary to which of the following?

The U.S. Constitution

Jurisdiction refers to which of the following?

The authority of a court to hear a particular class of cases

The concept of senatorial courtesy refers to which of the following?

The practice of allowing senators to veto candidates for federal district courts in their state

The opportunity for the president to appoint members to the federal judiciary is valuable for which of the following reasons?

The political views of the president will continue to be institutionalized long after they have left the White House.

Due process protections guaranteed to those accused of crimes include the right to a speedy and public trial and the right to be confronted with witnesses.

The six amendment

The Supreme Court will often hear a case if asked to by which of the following?

The solicitor general

Which of the following statements regarding state courts is true?

They make decisions on state law, as long as these laws don't conflict with the U.S. Constitution.

The supreme law of the land in the United States is the

United States Constitution

Jury service is required of citizens who are selected from lists of residents, registered voters, or recipients of driver's licenses or state identification.

Various state laws

StylistCorp, which makes a line of hair curlers, is being sued by an individual who claims that the hair curling product was defective and caused harm to a large group of people. This is an example of

a class-action lawsuit

If a justice feels strongly about emphasizing a particular point that is not accentuated in the unanimous written opinion, then he or she may clarify that specific issue by writing

a concurring opinion.

The Supreme Court has refused to rule on whether or not women in the military should be allowed to serve in combat units, preferring instead to defer to the executive branch's decisions on the matter because the Court believes the issue is

a political question.

Case law includes judicial interpretations of common law principles and doctrines, interpretations of constitutional provisions, statutes, and

administrative agency regulations.

Federal judges serve until which of the following occurs? a. They resign. b. They die. c. They retire voluntarily. d. They are impeached and found guilty. e. All of these are correct.

e. All of these are correct.

A nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court will face difficulty in getting Senate approval in which of the following cases? a.Their approval will change the conservative/liberal balance of the Court. b. There are questions about the judge's character. c.There is an upcoming presidential election that would allow the opposition party to possibly make the nomination. d.The appointee is very conservative in a Democratically controlled Senate. e. All of these are correct.

e. All of these are correct.

An example of a statutory question is when a person claims that her right to free speech has been violated.

false

It is the sole responsibility of Congress to decide which people will fill vacant judicial seats.

false

President Trump did not mention banning Muslims from entering the United States during his campaign.

false

President Trump's first travel ban was upheld by lower courts.

false

The policy originated in the House of Representatives.

false

The power of judicial review is outlined in the U.S. Constitution

false

The civil rights movement was propelled forward by the Supreme Court through the use of

judicial activism

the doctrine of _____ ________ rests on the conviction that the federal judiciary should use its powers to check the laws passed by congress and state legislatures

judicial activism

The enforcement of judicial decisions in such a way that those decisions are translated into policy is referred to as

judicial implementation

Jamal believes that the courts should defer to the decisions made by the legislative and executive branches because they are elected by the people. He believes in

judicial restraint.

Once appointed to a federal judgeship, a person holds that job for

life.

A court that only try cases involving bankruptcy petitions has

limited jurisdiction.

A lower court within the state of Arizona must rule on a case involving licensed gun sellers. This court looks to similar cases within the state in order to make its decision. This is an example of

precedent

If the D.C. Circuit Court holds that a party was not entitled to bring a lawsuit under a particular labor law and the Supreme Court holds to the contrary, it will send the case back to the trial court. In this situation, the case is

remanded.

The Republican senator from Maine does not agree with the Republican president's choice for a federal district judge, so she vetoes the judicial appointment in her state. This reflects the practice of

senatorial courtesy

The tradition of ______ ________ gives U.S senators considerable power over federal judicial appointments in each senators own state

senatorial courtesy

The doctrine that obligates judges to follow the precedents set by their own courts or by higher courts that have authority over them is known as

stare decisis.

The judicial philosophy that looks to the "letter of the law" when interpreting the Constitution or a particular statute is called

strict construction.

In order to grant a writ of certiorari, four Supreme Court justices must consent to hear a case.

true

Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a dissent in the Court's decision.

true

The ban upheld by the Supreme Court barred individuals from some non-Muslim countries.

true

The body of law developed from judicial decisions in English and U.S. courts is known as common law.

true