Khan Academy Chapter 6
Which of the following may Congress do to limit the Supreme Court's power?
Pass legislation to limit the Court's jurisdiction
Which of the following is a legitimate course of action for Congress to take to place a restriction on the Supreme Court?
Pass legislation to modify the impact of the decision
Which of the following actions can the states take to limit the Supreme Court's power?
Refuse to implement and enforce a ruling by the Court
Which of the following may the president do to limit the Supreme Court's power?
Appoint new justices to the Supreme Court
Precedents are best defined as which of the following?
A legal decision that establishes a rule for similar cases going forward
Which of the following statements describes a way for the executive branch to limit the Supreme Court's power?
By appointing new Supreme Court justices
Which of the following best explains how the president can limit the Court's power by appointing a new Supreme Court justice?
By choosing justices who change the ideological leanings of the court
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the powers of the judicial branch and the powers of the legislative branch? Judicial powers-Legislative powers A Interpreting the Constitution-Establishing inferior courts B Vetoing legislation-Setting the budget C Appointing Supreme Court justices-Confirming Supreme Court nominations D Ratifying treaties-Negotiating treaties
Comparison A
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the two court cases? Marbury v. Madison (1803)-Baker v. Carr (1961) A Declared that Congress had implied powers to carry out their enumerated powers-Established limits to Congress's power under the commerce clause B Led to more power for the Supreme Court to check the other branches-Led to the "one-person, one-vote" judicial doctrine C Ruled that national laws were supreme to state laws-Decided that federal courts could intervene and decide redistricting cases D Decided that the Supreme Court could declare laws unconstitutional-Ended gerrymandering across the United States
Comparison B
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the two court cases? Marbury v. Madison (1803)-Shaw v. Reno (1993) A Gave check and balance power to the Supreme Court-Ruled that North Carolina violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment B Declared that states did not have the power to tax the federal government-Prohibited oddly-shaped majority-minority districts C Decided that the Supreme Court can declare a law unconstitutional-Decided that redistricting plans based on race must be held to a high standard of scrutiny D Led to an increase in power for the legislative branch-Led to an increase in power for the national government
Comparison C
Which of the following may the judicial branch do to limit the power of the president?
Declare an executive order unconstitutional
Read the passage below and answer the following question. Chris Wallace: "Mr. Trump, you're pro-life. But I want to ask you specifically: Do you want the court, including the justices that you will name, to overturn Roe v. Wade, which includes -- in fact, states -- a woman's right to abortion?" Donald Trump: "Well, if that would happen, because I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges, I would think that that will go back to the individual states. Trump: "Well, if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that's really what's going to be -- that will happen. And that'll happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court. I will say this: It will go back to the states, and the states will then make a determination." -Presidential candidate Donald Trump, Final Presidential Debate, 2016 Which of the following statements is most consistent with President Trump's argument in this passage?
He will nominate Supreme Court justices who share his policy preferences in order to achieve his policy goals
Based on the infographic and your knowledge of the Supreme Court, which of the following statements could be considered an accurate conclusion?
Ideological changes in the Supreme Court can lead to the Court rejecting existing precedents
Which of the following statements best describes the information in the infographic above?
In general, the Warren Court changed precedents to be more liberal and the Burger Court altered precedents to be more conservative
Which statement accurately summarizes the impact of the Marbury v. Madison (1803) decision?
It increased the power of the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of acts of Congress, states, and the president
Based on the information in the infographic, which of the following statements accurately describes the effect the Burger Court had on existing precedents?
It made slightly more conservative changes to precedent than liberal changes
Which of the following statements best explains how stare decisis influences Supreme Court justices?
It makes justices more likely to defer to previous Supreme Court decisions
Which of the following statements describes judicial activism?
Judges ought to freely strike down laws that are inconsistent with their understanding of the Constitution
Stare decisis is best defined as which of the following?
Judges rely on past decisions and their precedents when making decisions in new cases
Which of the following statements best describes judicial restraint?
Judges should limit the exercise of their own power to interpreting the Constitution according to its original intent
Which of the following statements best explains how judicial activism influences decisions made by individual justices when deciding cases heard by the Court?
Justices are influenced by the social effects the decision might have on the public
"That inflexible and uniform adherence to the rights of the Constitution, and of individuals, which we perceive to be indispensable in the courts of justice, can certainly not be expected from judges who hold their offices by a temporary commission. Periodical appointments, however regulated, or by whomsoever made, would, in some way or other, be fatal to their necessary independence." -Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78, "The Judiciary Department," 1788 Which of the following government policies would the author most likely support?
Life terms, pending good behavior, for Supreme Court justices
"There is no position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid." -Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78, "The Judiciary Department," 1788 Supporters of Hamilton's view that acts contrary to the Constitution are invalid could point to which of the following cases?
Marbury v. Madison
In United States v. Nixon (1974), the Supreme Court ruled that President Nixon was not exempt from a court order that required him to release White House tapes. It upheld the right of the Court to "say what the law is," as Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote in the Court's majority opinion. Which prior Supreme Court case could be cited as a precedent for the majority decision in United States v. Nixon (1974)?
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
In Gonzalez v. Raich (2005), the Supreme Court ruled that the commerce clause gave Congress the authority to ban the use of marijuana, despite conflicting state law. In the Court's majority opinion, Associate Justice John Paul Stevens argued that local use of marijuana affected the supply and demand of the national marijuana market. Which prior Supreme Court case could be cited as a precedent for the majority decision in Gonzalez v. Raich (2005)?
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
A Supreme Court precedent approving mandatory busing of students to ensure greater racial integration in public schools throughout the South could be viewed as interfering with state powers under the Constitution, and as creating law rather than interpreting it. Which of the following could Congress do to limit the Supreme Court's power in response?
Pass legislation changing the Court's jurisdiction
A Supreme Court precedent banning prayer in schools could be viewed as interfering with state powers under the Constitution, and as creating law rather than interpreting it. Which of the following may Congress do to limit the Supreme Court's power?
Pass legislation changing the court's jurisdiction
Read the passage below and answer the following question. Chris Wallace: "Mr. Trump, you're pro-life. But I want to ask you specifically: Do you want the court, including the justices that you will name, to overturn Roe v. Wade, which includes -- in fact, states -- a woman's right to abortion?" Donald Trump: "Well, if that would happen, because I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges, I would think that that will go back to the individual states. Trump: "Well, if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that's really what's going to be -- that will happen. And that'll happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court. I will say this: It will go back to the states, and the states will then make a determination." -Presidential candidate Donald Trump, Final Presidential Debate, 2016 Which of the following statements best explains how a president's ideology can influence presidential nominations to the judiciary?
Presidents nominate Supreme Court justices who are likely to be sympathetic to their views, changing the ideological leanings of the Court
In 1895, the Supreme Court heard a case about the Income Tax Act of 1894. The Court held that the act was unconstitutional and the federal government did not have the power to tax personal income. Which of the following is an action Congress could have taken to check the Supreme Court's power?
Proposing a constitutional amendment
A president believes the Court has overstepped its constitutional authority by requiring state legislatures to redraw congressional districts to address partisan gerrymandering. Which of the following could the president do to limit the Supreme Court's power in response?
Refuse to implement the decision
Read the passage below and answer the following question. Chris Wallace: "Mr. Trump, you're pro-life. But I want to ask you specifically: Do you want the court, including the justices that you will name, to overturn Roe v. Wade, which includes -- in fact, states -- a woman's right to abortion?" Donald Trump: "Well, if that would happen, because I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges, I would think that that will go back to the individual states. Trump: "Well, if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that's really what's going to be -- that will happen. And that'll happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court. I will say this: It will go back to the states, and the states will then make a determination." -Presidential candidate Donald Trump, Final Presidential Debate, 2016 Based on his statement in the passage, which of the following policy goals does Trump want to promote through ideological appointments to the Supreme Court?
Reversing the precedent that the right of privacy extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion
"The distinction between a government with limited and unlimited powers is abolished, if those limits do not confine the persons on whom they are imposed, and if acts prohibited and acts allowed, are of equal obligation. It is a proposition too plain to be contested, that the constitution controls any legislative act repugnant to it; or, that the legislature may alter the constitution by an ordinary act. Between these alternatives there is no middle ground. The constitution is either a superior, paramount law, unchangeable by ordinary means, or it is on a level with ordinary legislative acts, and, like other acts, is alterable when the legislature shall please to alter it." ->John Marshall, decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803) Which of the following statements is most consistent with Marshall's argument in this passage?
The Constitution is above ordinary laws
"There is no position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid." -Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78, "The Judiciary Department," 1788 Which of the following statements best summarizes Hamilton's argument?
The Supreme Court should have the power of judicial review
Which of the following describes a difficulty the judicial branch faces in the policy implementation process?
The Supreme Court must rely on the other branches of government to enforce its rulings
Which of the following scenarios would most likely be considered judicial restraint?
The Supreme Court refuses to hear a case because the justices believe the issue should be solved by the legislative branch
"So if a law be in opposition to the constitution; if both the law and the constitution apply to a particular case, so that the court must either decide that case conformably to the law, disregarding the constitution; or conformably to the constitution, disregarding the law; the court must determine which of these conflicting rules governs the case. This is of the very essence of judicial duty. If, then, the courts are to regard the constitution, and the constitution is superior to any ordinary act of the legislature, the constitution, and not such ordinary act, must govern the case to which they both apply." -John Marshall, decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803) Which of the following statements best summarizes Marshall's argument?
The Supreme Court should judge whether a law is constitutional
"The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential in a limited Constitution. By a limited Constitution, I understand one which contains certain specified exceptions to the legislative authority . . . Limitations of this kind can be preserved in practice no other way than through the medium of courts of justice, whose duty it must be to declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void. Without this, all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing." -Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78, "The Judiciary Department," 1788 Which of the following statements best summarizes Hamilton's argument?
The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the Constitution and judging whether the laws passed by Congress are constitutional
In United States v. Morrison (2000), the Supreme Court struck down the part of the Violence Against Women Act that made gender-motivated violence a federal crime, as it was not related to the commerce clause. Which prior Supreme Court case could be used as a precedent for the majority decision in United States v. Morrison (2000)?
United States v. Lopez (1995)