Chapter 4: Constitutional Law

Which of the following is correct with regard to the powers of state government in the United States? a. All powers not specifically enumerated to the federal government are reserved to the states. b. The power over crimes is reserved to the federal government. c. The power over militia is reserved to the states. d. The powers of the federal government are superior to every state power.

a. All powers not specifically enumerated to the federal government are reserved to the states.

Which clause of the U.S. Constitution provides that, within its own sphere, federal law is supreme and that state law must, in case of conflict, yield? a. Supremacy Clause. b. Superior Clause. c. The Necessary and Proper Clause. d. Federal Clause.

a. Supremacy Clause.

Assume that the company wanted to do some advertising in the states where the candidates were campaigning about the benefits of coal, but the ads were not of a political nature. Which of the following is true when it comes to advertising? a. Under the First Amendment, commercial speech is given less protection than non-commercial speech. b. Under the First Amendment, commercial speech is given no protection. c. Under the First Amendment, commercial speech is given the same protection as non-commercial speech. d. Under the First Amendment, commercial speech is given more protection than non-commercial speech.

a. Under the First Amendment, commercial speech is given less protection than non-commercial speech.

Procedural due process pertains to all but which of the following government actions? a. Where a college student is passed over for a private scholarship. b. Where a criminal is sent to a detention facility. c. Where a public school teacher is fired from his tenured position. d. Where a mother's food stamps are denied.

a. Where a college student is passed over for a private scholarship

The Contract Clause does NOT preclude a state from: a. exercising eminent domain. b. retroactively modifying public charters. c. changing contracts after they have been made. d. issuing a state currency.

a. exercising eminent domain.

An Idaho woman claiming sex discrimination when her brother was given preference in qualifying as an administrator of an estate, would have her case reviewed under the __________ test of the Equal Protection Clause. a. intermediate b. greater weight of the evidence c. strict scrutiny d. rational relationship

a. intermediate

Cook and Smith maintain a real estate practice solely within the state of Vermont. The real estate practice: a. may be subject to federal antitrust laws under the power granted by the Commerce Clause under certain circumstances. b. is subject only to state regulation. c. is subject to federal antitrust regulation under the federal police powers. d. cannot be subject to federal antitrust laws under the power granted by the Commerce Clause because the activities are conducted within one state.

a. may be subject to federal antitrust laws under the power granted by the Commerce Clause under certain circumstances.

The __________ case dealt with the issue of state action. a. Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association b. Brentwood Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association c. Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc. d. Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis

b. Brentwood Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association

Which one of the following activities is NOT regulated by the federal government? a. Immigration and naturalization of individuals. b. Educate children. c. Grant patents. d. provide bankruptcy protection.

b. Educate children.

On what basis did the U.S. Supreme Court conclude that non-profit and for-profit corporations had a right to political speech in the case of Citizens United? a. Corporations were denied a freedom to contract under the Contract Clause. b. The First Amendment prohibited Congress from suppressing political speech on the basis of the speaker's corporate identity. c. The Contract Clause prohibited Congress from regulating a corporation's monetary donations to federal political candidates. d. The Commerce Clause prohibited Congress from regulating a corporation's right to political speech.

b. The First Amendment prohibited Congress from suppressing political speech on the basis of the speaker's corporate identity.

What is defamation? a. the privilege to disgrace or diminish a person's reputation. b. a civil wrong or tort that consists of disgracing or diminishing a person's reputation through the communication of a false statement. c. expression related to the economic interests of the speak and his audience. d. the right to speak freely.

b. a civil wrong or tort that consists of disgracing or diminishing a person's reputation through the communication of a false statement.

The doctrine aimed at dividing the governing powers between the federal governments and the states is: a. judicial review. b. federalism. c. separation of powers. d. preemption.

b. federalism.

Mary, a prominent local public accountant and politician, was the subject of a newspaper article concerning a business sale in which he was involved as auditor. In that article, Mary was reported to have been professionally disciplined in another state five years previously. It is not true of Mary, but instead of her cousin, Larry. Mary will win a suit for defamation against the newspaper: a. only if Larry was not disciplined. b. only if she can prove that the paper acted with actual malice. c. only if she can show harm to her character resulted from the statement. d. simply by proving the falsity of the statement.

b. only if she can prove that the paper acted with actual malice.

State Y passes legislation that requires that unless a father of children over the age of 5 is found to be unfit, custody in divorce proceedings should be awarded to the father and not the mother. If this statute is challenged, the court will: a. only require that the legislation conceivably bears some rational relationship to a legitimate governmental interest. b. review the legislation to see if the preference to fathers bears a substantial relationship to an important governmental objective. c. determine that fundamental rights and suspect classification are involved in this legislation. d. defer to the legislature and will not determine whether such a classification of persons is constitutionally permissible.

b. review the legislation to see if the preference to fathers bears a substantial relationship to an important governmental objective. (This intermediate test has been applied to governmental action based on gender and legitimacy.)

The First Amendment protects most speech by using a __________ standard. a. separation of powers b. strict scrutiny c. rational relationship d. intermediate test

b. strict scrutiny

Jerry is a Chinese-born individual who has obtained U.S. citizenship. State X passes a law that all Chinese-born U.S. citizens must submit to HIV testing. The courts will review this law based on: a. deferring to the legislature to determine whether such a classification of persons is constitutionally permissible. b. the strict scrutiny test. c. clear and convincing evidence that there is no reasonable basis for the legislation. d. the rational relationship test.

b. the strict scrutiny test.

In National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, the Supreme Court held that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"): a. was a permissible regulation by Congress pursuant to the Commerce Clause because it regulated health care commerce. b. was an impermissible regulation by Congress under the Commerce Clause because the Commerce Clause presupposes the existence of commercial activity to be regulated, and to hold otherwise would open a new and potentially vast domain to congressional authority. c. was an impermissible regulation by Congress pursuant to Congress's power to tax. d. was an impermissible regulation by Congress usurping the states' rights to regulate healthcare.

b. was an impermissible regulation by Congress under the Commerce Clause because the Commerce Clause presupposes the existence of commercial activity to be regulated, and to hold otherwise would open a new and potentially vast domain to congressional authority.

If Congress passes a law that directly injures Daniel's business, and Daniel believes the law is unconstitutional, by what means can Daniel seek to invalidate the action? a. Daniel has no means to challenge Congress' law. b. Exercising a citizen's veto of the law. c. Filing suit and seeking judicial review by the courts. d. Filing a grievance with the state agency in charge of regulating businesses.

c. Filing suit and seeking judicial review by the courts.

Dr. Alice Wright is a professor at Union State University. One day she has an argument with a vice president of the University over the upcoming political election. The next day, Dr. Wright is fired for incompetence. She sues, claiming the firing is arbitrary and that she was denied an opportunity to respond to the charges. a. The U.S. Constitution does not apply to this case. b. Dr. Wright appears to have been denied the equal protection of the law. c. The firing by a state university is state action involving a property right that would entitle Dr. Wright to a hearing and an opportunity to respond to the allegations against her. d. This is not a criminal case, so Dr. Wright has no right to a hearing.

c. The firing by a state university is state action involving a property right that would entitle Dr. Wright to a hearing and an opportunity to respond to the allegations against her.

The executive branch's primary check on both the judicial and legislative branches is the power to: a. interpret the law or declare legislation unconstitutional. b. confirm appointments to the courts and executive branch. c. appoint judges and veto legislation. d. use executive privilege.

c. appoint judges and veto legislation.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's individual mandate provision requires most Americans to maintain "minimum essential" health insurance coverage or make a "shared responsibility payment" to the federal government. In deciding the constitutionality of the provision, the Court: a. refused to hear the case. b. overturned the Act. c. did not strike down this taxing power, finding it Constitutionally permissible. d. applied the rational relationship test.

c. did not strike down this taxing power, finding it Constitutionally permissible.

In the Brentwood Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association case, the U.S. Supreme Court held that: a. the Association had a majority of private school memberships which prevented the action of the Association from being considered state action. b. the Association is an organization of natural persons acting on their own. c. state action may be found only if there is such a close nexus between the state and the challenged action that seemingly private behavior may be fairly treated as that of the state itself. d. as an express conclusion of law, public school officials do not necessarily act within the scope of their duties when they represent their institutions.

c. state action may be found only if there is such a close nexus between the state and the challenged action that seemingly private behavior may be fairly treated as that of the state itself. (Correct. There were too many connections between the State and the Association. The Association was acting in a function that the State would normally perform.)

Assume that the company wanted to do some advertising in the states where the candidates were campaigning about the benefits of coal, but the ads were not of a political nature. Congress has taken a position against coal power plants and wants to prohibit the ads. Which of the following is true about restrictions on commercial speech? a. The government interest that will be advanced by the restriction must be substantial. b. The restriction must directly advance the substantial government interest. c. The restriction must not be broader than is necessary to serve the substantial government interest. d. All of these are correct.

d. All of these are correct.

A classic and important example of strict scrutiny of classifications based upon race is the 1954 school desegregation case of: a. Brentwood Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. b. Board of Curators of the University of Missouri v. Horowitz. c. New York Times v. Sullivan. d. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

d. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

In Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, the Supreme Court held: a. California's prohibition on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors and special packaging requirement did not violate the First Amendment because California appropriately justified the law with a compelling government interest and the law is narrowly drawn to serve that interest. b. California's prohibition on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors and special packaging requirement did not violate the First Amendment because video games are not entitled to First Amendment protection. c. California's prohibition on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors and special packaging requirement violated the First Amendment because California failed to justify the law with a rational relationship to a legitimate government interest. d. California's prohibition on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors and special packaging requirement violated the First Amendment because California failed to justify the law with a compelling government interest and the law is narrowly drawn to serve that interest.

d. California's prohibition on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors and special packaging requirement violated the First Amendment because California failed to justify the law with a compelling government interest and the law is narrowly drawn to serve that interest.

Assume that the company that John and Tina work for wants to give the $50 million to the political campaigns. One of the negative ads states that the candidate was raised in a brothel and his mother was the madam. This was completely made up. Which of the following is true? a. If a court were to find that the speech was political in nature, it would protected by the First Amendment in all cases. b. Since it deals with a political candidate, the speech is protected by the First Amendment in all cases. c. If the speech was political in nature and it was made by a corporation, it would receive no protection under the First Amendment. d. If a court were to find that the speech was defamatory, it would receive no protection under the First Amendment.

d. If a court were to find that the speech was defamatory, it would receive no protection under the First Amendment.

Assume that John and Tina show up to a publicly funded office occupied by the incumbent that they are trying to unseat. They decide to do a silent protest where they say nothing , but wear T-shirts with a picture of the other candidate. The incumbent asks that they be removed from the premises. Which of the following is correct? a. The T-shirts would not constitute speech under the First Amendment since they only have pictures on them. b. The T-shirts would not constitute speech under the First Amendment since they are being worn in public. c. The T-shirts would not constitute speech under the First Amendment since nothing has been said. d. Since the T-shirts convey a message they likely would be considered to be speech under the First Amendment.

d. Since the T-shirts convey a message they likely would be considered to be speech under the First Amendment. (In addition to oral speech, symbolic speech (e.g., a political expression on a t-shirt) is also generally protected by the First Amendment.)

Congress passed the Safe Waters Act of 2015 to protect streams and tributaries throughout the United States. In the law, Congress gives criminal and civil fine enforcement power to the Environmental Protection Agency for anyone who violates any provisions of the law. Congress' power to regulate and protect streams and tributaries throughout the United States derives from what part of the U.S. Constitution? a. The First Amendment. b. The Equal Protection Clause. c. The Environmental Powers Clause. d. The Commerce Clause.

d. The Commerce Clause.

Assume that the company that John and Tina work for wants to give the $50 million to the political campaigns. Which of the following is true? a. Political speech in general is not protected by the First Amendment. b. Corporations are not allowed to make the same political contributions that other people can make. c. Political speech by corporations is not protected by the First Amendment. d. The First Amendment prevents limits from being placed on independent political expenditures by corporations.

d. The First Amendment prevents limits from being placed on independent political expenditures by corporations. (In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that corporate political speech cannot be banned in accordance with the First Amendment.)

In cases determining the protection to be afforded commercial speech a _____-part analysis has developed. a. five b. two c. three d. four

d. four (The court determines whether the expression is protected, whether the asserted governmental interest is substantial, whether the regulation directly advances the asserted governmental interest, and whether the regulation is more extensive than necessary.)

If governmental action violates the U.S. Constitution, under judicial review the courts will: a. incorporate that legislation. b. renew that action. c. affirm that action. d. invalidate that action.

d. invalidate that action.

If a state's flagship public university sought to implement a plan to include race as a factor in making its admission decisions, and a group of students affected by the policy sued on grounds that such a policy is unconstitutional, which standard of review would a court use in analyzing the university's policy? a. deferring to the university to determine whether such a classification of persons is constitutionally permissible. b. the rational relationship test. c. clear and convincing evidence that there is no reasonable basis for the policy. d. the strict scrutiny test.

d. the strict scrutiny test.