unit 3
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? Responses
The First Amendment
In Roe v. Wade (1973), the United States Supreme Court used what provision of the United States Constitution to extend the right to privacy to women seeking abortions?
The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
Under Roe v. Wade (1973), as originally decided, when may the state largely prohibit women from having abortions?
The state's interest in prohibiting abortions is greatest during the third trimester of the pregnancy; thus, the state may prohibit women from seeking abortions in some conditions.
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)
Which of the following scenarios is an example of a constitutional application of affirmative action?
.A federal contractor actively recruits qualified minorities and women for positions in the company.
Which of the following scenarios illustrates an action that would be protected by the free exercise clause in the First Amendment?
A person wears a necklace bearing a Christian cross to work.
Which of the following applications of affirmative action would the United States Supreme Court likely consider unconstitutional?
A state university refuses acceptance of any new applicants from a specific race.
Which of the following would most likely be protected by the First Amendment?
A student wears a black armband at school to protest government involvement in a war.
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.
Housing covenants are agreements in the deed of a property that restricts the owner from doing certain things with the property. Some covenants prevented owners from selling to individuals of a specific race or ethnic group. In the case Shelley v. Kraemer (1948), the Supreme Court struck down racially restrictive housing covenants under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Which of the following cases is most similar to Shelley v. Kraemer (1948) ?
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
Writing for the court in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), a case weighing whether race can be considered in college admissions, Justice Lewis Powell wrote: "Preferring members of any one group for no reason other than race or ethnic origin is discrimination for its own sake. This the Constitution forbids. . . . The . . . goal asserted by petitioner is the attainment of a diverse student body. This clearly is a constitutionally permissible goal for an institution of higher education. . . . The freedom of a university to make its own judgments as to education includes the selection of its student body." According to the quote, what is the likely effect of the Court's ruling in the Bakke case?
Colleges can consider race but cannot use strict racial quotas in admission practices.
Which of the following cases addresses the issue of mandatory public school prayer?
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
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
In Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) how did the Supreme Court's decision address state interests and individual rights?
It balanced the state's interest in compulsory education with the students' free exercise rights.
Which of the following headlines is most relevant to the political cartoon?
Nixon Administration Goes to Court to Stop Pentagon Papers Release
Which of the following cases involves a state law that prevents women who are pregnant from seeking abortions?
Roe v. Wade (1973)
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? Responses
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. Question Which of the following statements is best supported by the information on the map?
Some states prioritize freedom of the press over criminal prosecutions.
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
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. Question 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.
In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the Court ruled that the Second Amendment right to bear arms was applicable to the states. 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 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), the Supreme Court struck down racial segregation in public schools, finding that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." What constitutional clause did the Court rely most heavily on to reach this decision?
The equal protection 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. Question Which of the following states has the greatest protection for freedom of the press based on the information on the map?
new york
A classified Department of Defense study on the effectiveness of the United States involvement in the Afghanistan War is obtained by a newspaper. The president seeks to block the publication of the document. The court rules in favor of the newspaper, citing as precedent the Supreme Court's decision in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971). Based on the ruling in the Supreme Court's decision, which of the following lines of reasoning does the court most likely use?
Freedom of the press requires that the government show a significant danger to national security in order to stop publication.
The case Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld the standard of "separate but equal" in American law. Which of the following explains how this case relates to Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)?
Plessy established a precedent that was eventually overturned in the Brown case.
In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), the Supreme Court reached the following conclusion: "[I]n the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the [protections of the Fourteenth Amendment]." What generally does the Fourteenth Amendment provide for? Responses
Equal protection of the laws and due process
Which of the following is an example of affirmative action? Responses
Harvard Medical School actively recruits highly qualified minorities and female applicants for its residency program. Harvard Medical School actively recruits highly qualified minorities and female applicants for its residency program.
"The Second Amendment . . . like other cherished texts, is not as clear as many make it out to be. The amendment reads: 'A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.' . . ."'Americans have been thinking about the Second Amendment as an individual right for generations,' said Adam Winkler, a law professor at UCLA. . . . 'You can find state supreme courts in the mid-1800s where judges say the Second Amendment protects an individual right.' But for the 70 years or so before a Supreme Court decision in 2008, he said, 'the Supreme Court and federal courts held that it only applied in the context of militias, the right of states to protect themselves from federal interference.'"In 2008, the Supreme Court decided the District of Columbia v. Heller. . . . The conservative justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion in narrow but unprecedented terms: for the first time in the country's history, the Supreme Court explicitly affirmed an individual's right to keep a weapon at home for self-defense. . . ."'People look at the same record and come to wildly different conclusions about what the view was in the eighteenth century, in the nineteenth century,' said Nicholas Johnson, a Fordham University law professor who argues against Winkler's view of twentieth-century case law. . . . Carl Bogus, a law professor at Roger Williams University, has argued that James Madison wrote the Second Amendment in part to reassure his home state of Virginia. . . . The federalist Madison's compromise . . . was to promise a bill of rights. After weeks of tense debate, his federalists narrowly won the vote to ratify the Constitution. 'He writes an amendment that gives the states the right to have an armed militia, by the people arming themselves.'"A year later, the federal government passed a law requiring every man eligible for his local militia to acquire a gun and register with authorities."Alan Yuhas, "The Right to Bear Arms: What Does the Second Amendment Really Mean?," The Guardian, October 5, 2017-Which of the following is used as evidence to support the author's argument?
Historical records show varying interpretations as to whether the Second Amendment was supposed to protect the right of individuals to own a gun, or just for the purpose of supporting militias.
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.
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.
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of rights protected and not protected by the First Amendment?
Protected by the First Amendment The right to burn a flag not Protected by the First Amendment Obscenity
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Martin Luther King, Jr., "I Have a Dream" speech, August 28, 1963,© 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., © renewed 1991 Coretta Scott King Question Which of the following legislative acts best relates to the passage?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The United States Supreme Court reviewed state-mandated racial segregation in public schools. The Court stated that the separate schools "involved have been equalized, or are being equalized, with respect to buildings, curricula, qualifications and salaries of teachers, and other 'tangible' factors. Our decision, therefore, cannot turn on merely a comparison of these tangible factors [among the] schools involved in each of the cases. We must look instead to the effect of segregation itself on public education." Which of the following rules or clauses did the Supreme Court use to address the issue of racial segregation in public schools?
The Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
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? Responses
The Fourth Amendment
"The Second Amendment . . . like other cherished texts, is not as clear as many make it out to be. The amendment reads: 'A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.' . . ."'Americans have been thinking about the Second Amendment as an individual right for generations,' said Adam Winkler, a law professor at UCLA. . . . 'You can find state supreme courts in the mid-1800s where judges say the Second Amendment protects an individual right.' But for the 70 years or so before a Supreme Court decision in 2008, he said, 'the Supreme Court and federal courts held that it only applied in the context of militias, the right of states to protect themselves from federal interference.'"In 2008, the Supreme Court decided the District of Columbia v. Heller. . . . The conservative justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion in narrow but unprecedented terms: for the first time in the country's history, the Supreme Court explicitly affirmed an individual's right to keep a weapon at home for self-defense. . . ."'People look at the same record and come to wildly different conclusions about what the view was in the eighteenth century, in the nineteenth century,' said Nicholas Johnson, a Fordham University law professor who argues against Winkler's view of twentieth-century case law. . . . Carl Bogus, a law professor at Roger Williams University, has argued that James Madison wrote the Second Amendment in part to reassure his home state of Virginia. . . . The federalist Madison's compromise . . . was to promise a bill of rights. After weeks of tense debate, his federalists narrowly won the vote to ratify the Constitution. 'He writes an amendment that gives the states the right to have an armed militia, by the people arming themselves.'"A year later, the federal government passed a law requiring every man eligible for his local militia to acquire a gun and register with authorities."Alan Yuhas, "The Right to Bear Arms: What Does the Second Amendment Really Mean?," The Guardian, October 5, 2017-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.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Martin Luther King, Jr., "I Have a Dream" speech, August 28, 1963,© 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., © renewed 1991 Coretta Scott King Question 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
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Martin Luther King, Jr., "I Have a Dream" speech, August 28, 1963,© 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., © renewed 1991 Coretta Scott King Question Which of the following explains the most significant long-term consequence of the ideas expressed in the passage?
The value of "all men are created equal" was reaffirmed both in law and in American political culture.
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 the Grutter v. Bollinger decision involves
affirmative action
"The Second Amendment . . . like other cherished texts, is not as clear as many make it out to be. The amendment reads: 'A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.' . . . "'Americans have been thinking about the Second Amendment as an individual right for generations,' said Adam Winkler, a law professor at UCLA. . . . 'You can find state supreme courts in the mid-1800s where judges say the Second Amendment protects an individual right.' But for the 70 years or so before a Supreme Court decision in 2008, he said, 'the Supreme Court and federal courts held that it only applied in the context of militias, the right of states to protect themselves from federal interference.' "In 2008, the Supreme Court decided the District of Columbia v. Heller. . . . The conservative justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion in narrow but unprecedented terms: for the first time in the country's history, the Supreme Court explicitly affirmed an individual's right to keep a weapon at home for self-defense. . . . "'People look at the same record and come to wildly different conclusions about what the view was in the eighteenth century, in the nineteenth century,' said Nicholas Johnson, a Fordham University law professor who argues against Winkler's view of twentieth-century case law. . . . Carl Bogus, a law professor at Roger Williams University, has argued that James Madison wrote the Second Amendment in part to reassure his home state of Virginia. . . . The federalist Madison's compromise . . . was to promise a bill of rights. After weeks of tense debate, his federalists narrowly won the vote to ratify the Constitution. 'He writes an amendment that gives the states the right to have an armed militia, by the people arming themselves.' "A year later, the federal government passed a law requiring every man eligible for his local militia to acquire a gun and register with authorities." Alan Yuhas, "The Right to Bear Arms: What Does the Second Amendment Really Mean?," The Guardian, October 5, 2017 Question The author cites the case District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) in order to
show that the author's perspective is supported by recent decisions made by the Supreme Court illustrate that the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Second Amendment has recently changed
Which of the following parts of the United States Constitution is incorporated to the states based on the ruling in McDonald v. Chicago (2010) ?
"[T]he right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Which of the following scenarios, related to the First Amendment, best illustrates the "right . . . to petition the Government . . ." ?
A citizen calls a member of Congress to persuade her to vote yes on a bill.