Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Most of the individual protections of the Bill of Rights now apply to the states because of the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution's

14th Amendment

In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the United States Supreme Court stated that, "[s]elf-defense is a basic right, recognized by many legal systems from ancient times to the present day" and that an individual's right to bear arms was "deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition." The quote points to which of the following amendments to the United States Constitution as a basis to limit state action?

2nd Amendment

Which of the following amendments protects citizens from cruel and unusual punishments?

8th Amendment

"The Constitution abhors classifications based on race, not only because those classifications can harm favored races or are based on illegitimate motives, but also because every time the government places citizens on racial registers and makes race relevant to the provision of burdens or benefits, it demeans us all. . . . Undoubtedly there are other ways to 'better' the education of law students aside from ensuring that the student body contains a 'critical mass' of underrepresented minority students. --Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, dissenting opinion in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) Based on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?

Affirmative action policies are necessary now to help people of color, but will not be necessary in twenty-five years

Discrimination in public accommodations was made illegal in the United States as a direct result of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) was a significant Supreme Court ruling because it

Held the "separate but equal" concept to be a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Which statement accurately summarizes the impact of the New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) decision?

It incorporated the right to freedom of the press, protected under the First Amendment, to state and local governments

Which statement accurately summarizes the impact of the Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) decision?

It incorporated the right to legal counsel, as protected under the Sixth Amendment, to state and local governments

Which of the following statements best explains why the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a significant political event?

It prohibited discrimination in public places, employment, and voting

Which of the following statements best explains why the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a significant political event?

It removed structural barriers to minority voting

In Engel v. Vitale (1962), which of the following provides the legal reasoning behind the Supreme Court's ruling?

It ruled that the state had no justifiable interest to compel students to listen to a nondenominational prayer led by public school teachers, finding a clear establishment clause violation.

"As the quotations earlier in this opinion demonstrate, the inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right. The handgun ban [by the District of Columbia] amounts to a prohibition of an entire class of 'arms' that is overwhelmingly chosen by American society for that lawful purpose. The prohibition extends, moreover, to the home, where the need for defense of self, family, and property is most acute. Under any of the standards of scrutiny that we have applied to enumerated constitutional rights. . . banning from the home 'the most preferred firearm in the nation to 'keep' and use for protection of one's home and family, . . .would fail constitutional muster.'" -Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) Supporters of Scalia's view that handgun bans violate Second Amendment rights could cite which of the following Supreme Court cases as precedent?

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

In the 1960s, Connecticut had a law prohibiting counselors from providing advice to married couples on how to prevent pregnancy. Police officers arrested the Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut after she disobeyed this law. In 1965, the Supreme Court heard the case and ruled that protections in the Bill of Rights imply that people have a right to privacy. Which of the following cases is also an example of a right-to-privacy case?

Roe v. Wade (1973)

In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the Supreme Court established which of the following principles?

Separation of students by race, even in equally good schools, is unconstitutional.

If a college's admission policy to reserve twenty seats in its incoming class for applicants belonging to racial minority groups is challenged in the courts, a judge is likely to

Strike down the policy because reserving seats amounts to a quota system

Prior restraint is best defined as which of the following?

The Government blocking free speech or publication

Which of the following best explains the trend depicted in the chart above?

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the United States Supreme Court stated, "that the [Constitution] protects the right to possess a handgun in the home for the purpose of self-defense" and that the Second Amendment applied to the states through which of the following constitutional clauses?

The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

A public school district implemented a policy that allowed students to vote on whether they wanted a student-led prayer to be read at football games. This policy was later found to be unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. Which of the following clauses did the policy most likely violate?

The establishment clause

A woman is arrested for possessing illegal substances that were obtained after a warrantless search of her home by local police. Which of the following best explains whether the evidence could be used in a criminal trial?

The exclusionary rule, derived from the Fourth Amendment, prevents the evidence from being used against the suspect.

The Washington Post receives a top secret report that details how the executive branch mishandled a deal made with a foreign nation regarding nuclear weapons. The executive branch attempts to stop the publishing of the report, but the publishers cite the precedent in New York Times Company v. United States (1971) establishing which of the following legal rules?

The heavy presumption against prior restraint

"Everyone believes that the FBI should have the tools it needs to catch dangerous criminals. But too often over the past decade, intelligence and law enforcement agencies choose approaches that sweep up information from millions of innocent Americans instead of targeting terrorists and criminals. These approaches don't make us saferThe changes to Rule 41 allow the FBI to hack millions of victims of cybercrime. These victims of hacks are regular people, not criminals."-Cecilia Kang, "Ron Wyden Discusses Encryption, Data Privacy and Security," New York Times, October 9, 2016Based on the text, which of the following statements would Senator Wyden most likely agree with?

The need for public safety should not exceed an individual's protection from unreasonable search and seizure

Which of the following scenarios would be considered a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

The police inspects the contents of a backpack without a warrant

Which of the following Supreme Court decisions allows public school students to wear T-shirts protesting a school board decision that eliminates funding for high school arts programs?

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)

The passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a significant political event because it

Was instrumental in increasing the number of African American and other minority voters

Which of the following cases decided whether a state could compel children to attend school beyond eighth grade even if it violated the students' sincerely held religious beliefs?

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Which of these does the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ban?

discrimination in public accommodations and discrimination based on sexual orientation

Which of the following principles protects a citizen from imprisonment without trial?

due process

The Supreme Court ruled in McDonald v. Chicago (2010) that a citizen's right to keep and bear arms at home for self-defense is protected from state and federal infringement. Which of the following is most relevant to that decision?

equal protection

The Supreme Court addressed the admissions policy of the University of Michigan Law School in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003). Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote for the court, "in the context of its individualized inquiry into the possible diversity contributions of all applicants, the Law School's race-conscious admissions program does not unduly harm nonminority applicants." The primary issue of controversy in theGrutter v. Bollinger decision involves

judicial review

When the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1789, the amendments protected civil liberties infringement from which levels of government?

the federal government only