unit 3
In the case Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States (1964), the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had the power under the commerce clause to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Which of the following explains how this case is similar to Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) ?
Both cases upheld the power of the federal government to ensure equal protection under the law.
Which of the following cases arose from a state law that mandates public schools to begin the school day with the reading of a nondenominational prayer by a school official?
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
Writing for the court in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), a case weighing whether or not race can be considered in college admissions, Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell wrote that " . . . Race or ethnic background may be deemed a 'plus' in a particular applicant's file, yet it does not insulate the individual from comparison with all other candidates for the available seats." Which of the following legal concepts is Justice Powell considering in his statement?
Equal protection clause
Which of the following constitutional principles best explains why there is variation among states on the use of capital punishment?
Federalism
Which of the following Supreme Court cases established that those accused of felonies who cannot afford legal counsel are entitled to legal counsel provided by the state?
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Which of the following is an example of affirmative action?
Harvard Medical School actively recruits highly qualified minorities and female applicants for its residency program.
On July 9, 2018, after the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, President Trump, a Republican, nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Many Democrats in the Senate feared that the appointment of Kavanaugh would swing the Court in a more ideologically conservative direction and attempted to block his nomination. After a heated Senate confirmation hearing, Kavanaugh was eventually confirmed by a 50-48 vote in the Senate. The scenario best highlights which of the following statements about court appointees?
Life tenure for appointed justices alongside the power of judicial review increases the stakes in the confirmation process for nominees to the Supreme Court.
The facts of which of the following cases are most related to the political cartoon?
New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
Supporters of Hamilton's view that a bill of rights could be dangerous to liberty could point to which of the following cases?
Schenck v. US
Which of the following is a doctrine based on the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution that was used in McDonald v. Chicago (2010) to limit the power of states and protect the right to keep and bear arms?
Selective incorporation
Shield laws protect journalists' right to refuse to testify against their sources while gathering information in their role as journalists. There is no shield law at the federal level. Which of the following statements is best supported by the information on the map?
Some states prioritize freedom of the press over criminal prosecutions.
The Supreme Court upholds a law passed by Congress as constitutional. The chief justice states in the majority opinion that previous decisions supporting Congress' power to make laws based on the commerce clause of the Constitution were the basis for the decision. Which of the following legal concepts did the chief justice apply in writing the opinion?
Stare decisis
In regards to prayer in public schools, the Supreme Court has ruled
State- sponsored prayer in public schools violated the establishment clause of the 1st Amendment
Which of the following legislative acts best relates to the passage?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Students at a public university hold a peaceful protest to demonstrate against an increase in the cost of college tuition. Which of the following constitutional protections best applies to this scenario?
The First Amendment
The police searched a suspect's smartphone without getting a warrant and found photo evidence of criminal activity. After a thorough investigation, the suspect was charged and the evidence obtained from the smartphone was used in the trial. Which of the following amendments contains the Bill of Rights protections that were most likely violated in this scenario?
The Fourth Amendment
A person claiming that the House can pass legislation with a simple majority, but the Senate is unlikely to pass legislation unless a bill has the support of a 60-vote supermajority is most likely to cite which of the following institutional differences as the cause of this trend?
The House has strict limits on debate, while the Senate allows unlimited debate.
Which of the following best characterizes the debate regarding the Second Amendment according to the author of the passage?
The Second Amendment is viewed by some as an individual rights issue but by others as a states' rights issue.
A person accused of a crime cannot afford an attorney, so the state provides the accused with a public defender. Which of the following amendments in the Bill of Rights best applies in this scenario?
The Sixth Amendment
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the concept of a case being decided based on precedent?
The Supreme Court bases its decision in a case involving the commerce clause on one of its earlier decisions involving the commerce clause.
Shield laws protect journalists' right to refuse to testify against their sources while gathering information in their role as journalists. There is no shield law at the federal level. Based on the map and your knowledge, which of the following is a major difference between the issue of shield laws and the issue of prior restraint?
The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment protects against prior restraint by the government. However, protections for journalists and their sources are not as strong, as evidenced by the many states with weak or no shield laws.
Which of the following sections of the United States Constitution did the Supreme Court use to support its ruling?
The doctrine of selective incorporation through the Fourteenth Amendment, holding that state action limiting gun rights deprived persons of "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law"
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
The text in the passage likely inspired Congress to act based on which of the following clauses of the United States Constitution?
The equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
In Baker v. Carr (1962), the Supreme Court ruled that a state legislature would have to redraw their representative districts in order to comply with the Constitution. Which of the following potential difficulties could have resulted from this decision?
The state legislature could have refused to implement the decision, leading to a crisis in the legitimacy of the Supreme Court's authority.
Which of the following is an action a president can take to rally public support for the administration's legislative agenda?
Use the State of the Union Address to pressure Congress to pass a bill lowering income taxes.
Which of the following actions by public school students would be most likely be protected symbolic speech based on the precedent established by Tinker v. Des Moines?
Wearing shirts objecting to a school board decision
In which of the following situations would the Supreme Court be most likely to utilize the doctrine of selective incorporation?
When an individual claims that a right protected by the Bill of Rights is infringed upon by a state
Which of the following cases examined a state law that required all children to attend school through the twelfth grade in order to promote the general welfare of its citizens?
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
Congress adopted the War Powers Resolution to
limit the president's authority to commit troops overseas