PSC 100 Test #2 Chapter 9

Which of the following statements concerning jurisdiction is false?

About half the cases in the United States are heard by federal courts.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture law on how much coloring and other additives can be in food is an example of ______ law or regulation.

Administrative

Laws or regulations established by bureaucratic agencies on behalf of Congress are known as _____ laws or regulations.

Administrative

Which of the following types of clarification of Congressional policy issue by the president and having the full force of law?

An executive order

The Supreme Court is deeply involved in politics in each of the following ways EXCEPT:

By contributing to the campaigns of congressional allies

Which of the following is NOT an example of administrative law?

Congress passes a law limiting awards in medical malpractice cases.

Which of the following is NOT an influence on Supreme Court decision making?

Direct lobbying by interest group representatives

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 serves which function of the law?

Distributing the benefits and rewards society has to offer

According to the text, which of the following is NOT a criterion used by the presidents in choosing Supreme Court nominees?

Endorsements received by national news media

Which of the following statements concerning Senate confirmation of presidential Supreme Court nominees is NOT true?

If the minority party is not the party of the president, it has little power to influence the success of nominations

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the American legal system?

It focuses on procedural due process more than on substantive outcomes

All of the following statements concerning the power of judicial review are true EXCEPT:

It includes the powers to declare acts of government unconstitutional and to interpret the meaning of federal laws.

Which of the following statements is true about the dual court system?

Most cases are heard in the state courts.

All of the following statements concerning appeals of lower court descisions are true EXCEPT:

Most cases in the federal courts are appealed

All of the following statements are true concerning the common law tradition EXCEPT:

Most of the United States uses the common law tradition as the basis of its legal system

The first Hispanic Justice of the Supreme Court was appointed by President:

Obama

Which of the following statements concerning presidential appointment of judges is NOT true?

Presidents have always worked to shape the ideological leanings of the Supreme Court

A law that makes it illegal to use steroids is an example of a _________ law

Substantive

The only limitation on what statutes may do in the American system is found in:

The Constitution

Which of the following is NOT a statutory law?

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Which of the following is NOT a substantive law?

The right to appeal a criminal conviction

All of the following rights are protected by procedural laws EXCEPT this one:

The right to vote

Which of the following statements concerning the functions of the law is incorrect?

The weakness of the law is that we can easily break a rule that we do not know exists.

The American legal tradition can be best described as:

a mixed system based on common law practice but with a body of written, codified laws

A writ of certiorari is:

a petition by the losing side in a lower court for the Supreme Court to hear an appeal

The powers of the supreme court listed in the constitution:

are not clearly spelled out

According to some political observers, the different reaction of blacks vs most whites to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO can be linked to:

blacks' experience with the legal system leads them not to trust it

Laws that regulate relations between individuals are called :

civil laws

Judicial activism has become and important political issue because:

conservatives have argued that judges are acting as legislators on issues such as same-sex marriage

strict constructionist argue that there is no such thing as:

constitutionally protected right to privacy

The Rule of Four is significant to the balance of power among Supreme Court justices because it:

gives some power to the minority on the Court

The U.S. courts of appeals are arranged:

in twelve circuits covering the District of Columbia and geographical groupings of states.

Marshall justified the claim that the Court has the power of judicial review on the grounds that:

it is within the province of the courts to say what the law is

The role of the judge in the common law tradition differs from the role of the judge in the civil law tradition in that

judges in the common law tradition have much more discretion to interpret the law.

The two main approaches to interpreting the Constitution are:

judicial interpretivism and strict constructionism

All of the following statements concerning the U.S. Court System are true EXCEPT:

juries in appeals courts typically consist of six citizens

The legal system of the United States is

largely a common law tradition with elements of the civil law tradition

According to Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, the primary function of law is to

provide security, order, and predictability in life.

The power of courts to determine the constitutionality of laws is called judicial:

review

Decisions of the U.S. Circuit Courts are made by

rotating panels of three judges

Criminal law deals with harm to _______ whereas civil law involves harm to__________

society, individuals

The supreme court has tended to use its power of judicial review:

sparingly

Laws whose actual content defines what we can and cannot legally do are ____ laws.

substantive

The characteristics that help determine which court has jurisdiction over a case include all of the following EXCEPT:

the expressed wishes of the president.

The opinion of the Supreme Court case is:

the most important element of the Court's decision

One reason dissenting opinions are significant to U.S. common law is:

they may have a lasting impact if the Court later changes its mind

Amicus curiae briefs are significant because:

they may influence whether the Supreme Court decides to hear a case

A violation of civil law is called:

tort

The idea of an independent judiciary as created by the founders was:

unique at the time of our country's founding

Based on the discussion in the textbook, we can conclude that getting a case before the U.S. Supreme Court is:

very difficult