Real Government Chapter 14: The Judiciary

The opinion that receives the support of the largest number of justices, but does not command a majority of the Court, is referred to as a(n) _____.

plurality opinion

The doctrine of stare decisis is based on _____.

precedents

Standing to sue is the:

requirement that an individual must have a sufficient stake in a controversy before he or she can bring a lawsuit.

In the context of approaches to legal interpretation, modernists differ from originalists in that they__________.

seek to examine the Constitution in the context of today's society

As a result of a practice known as _____, home-state senators of the president's political party can influence the choice of the nominee to a district court.

senatorial courtesy

The judicial philosophy known as__________holds that the government should do nothing that is not specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.

strict constructionism

Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, who were appointed by President Obama, joined the conservative bloc.

False

The _____ is a specialized court that was initially created to issue search warrants against suspected foreign spies inside the United States.

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Which of the following statements is true of the king's courts?

The law developed in the king's courts applied to the whole of England.

A state court decides to pass a law to ban abortion based on religious beliefs. The U.S. Supreme Court invalidates this law as a violation of constitutional rights, including the right to privacy. In this case, the Supreme Court's decision is an example of:

judicial activism.

The power of the courts to decide on the constitutionality of legislative enactments and of actions taken by the executive branch is known as _____.

judicial review

The common law evolved from the _____, established by William the Conqueror in England.

king's courts

Some people, especially conservatives, argue that policymaking from the bench:

has upset the balance of power envisioned by the framers of the Constitution.

Melissa Salters is taken into custody by a court bailiff in the middle of court proceedings for using obscene language while answering the opposition attorney's questions. Melissa has been formally:

held in contempt of court.

A justiciable controversy is an issue that:

is real and substantial

Ordinarily, federal judges:

serve until they resign, retire, or die.

The privilege of judicial review empowers federal courts to make laws.

False

_____ refers to the authority of a court to hear and decide a particular case.

Jurisdiction

_____ is the body of written laws enacted by legislative bodies at any level of government.

Statutory law

The _____ to the U.S. Constitution reserves to the states and to the people all powers not granted to the federal government.

Tenth Amendment

Which of the following statements is true of case laws?

They include interpretations of constitutional provisions.

Which of the following statements is true of the U.S. courts of appeals?

They review the transcript of the trial court's proceedings.

A Supreme Court decision can establish national policy on such issues as abortion, racial segregation, and gay rights.

True

An activist judge or justice believes that the courts should actively use their powers to check the legislative and executive branches to ensure that they do not exceed their authority.

True

Which of the following is an example of a justiciable controversy that gives a person or persons a standing to sue?

A lawsuit filed by a hospital against its official sewage cleaners as the latter failed to remove toxic garbage from the hospital's vicinity

According to Article III of the U.S. Constitution, there is only one national Supreme Court, but _____ is empowered to create additional courts as it deems necessary.

Congress

Justice Anthony Kennedy is generally less conservative in his views than Sandra Day O'Connor was.

False

Which of the following statements is true of the term "jurisdiction"?

It applies to the power of courts to decide matters about certain persons, types of property, or subjects.

In the context of Supreme Court conferences, which of the following statements is true of a dissenting opinion?

It can be written by one or more justices.

Which of the following best describes the term "contempt of court"?

It is a ruling that a person has disobeyed a court order or has shown disrespect to the court or to a judicial proceeding.

Which of the following best describes the writ of certiorari?

It is an order from a higher court asking a lower court for the record of a case.

Which of the following statements is true about constitutional law?

It is the supreme law of the United States.

__________asserts that the courts should not thwart the implementation of legislative acts unless those acts are clearly unconstitutional.

Judicial restraint

Which of the following statements is true of the federal court system in the United States?

On the lowest tier of the federal court system are the U.S. district courts.

Which of the following is true of policymaking in the United States?

Policymaking is an unavoidable function of the federal court.

__________is mandated by various established judicial traditions and doctrines, including the doctrine of stare decisis, which theoretically obligates the Supreme Court to follow its own precedents.

Self-restraint

Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the _____.

Senate

In the context of federal court nominations for judicial positions, the _____ holds hearings and makes its recommendation to the Senate, where it takes a majority vote to confirm the presidential nomination.

Senate Judiciary Committee

In the context of federal court jurisdiction, which of the following is one of the criteria that qualify a case as a "diversity of citizenship" case?

The parties in the lawsuit must live in different states.

Susan crashes her bike into a car. While checking for damages, the car's driver notices a dent and a few scratches on the car. There is no other damage to the car or the driver. However, the driver wants to file a lawsuit against Susan for her reckless riding and the damage it has caused to his car. In this scenario, Susan will most likely be subjected to ____

civil law

In a robbery case, the accused was found guilty and was sentenced to three years of imprisonment. The majority opinion of the Supreme Court justices was based on a witness's statement. Justice Harvey, though in agreement with the Court's decision, agreed to the ruling for different reasons. He based his opinion on the DNA fingerprinting reports. Justice Harvey wrote a(n) _____.

concurring opinion

After the justices of the Supreme Court have considered all the information provided by the appellate attorneys, they:

discuss the case in conference, which is strictly private

The U.S.__________, positioned at the lowest tier of the federal court system, hear evidence or testimony pertinent to a particular case.

district courts

Simon, a citizen of Oklahoma, sues Madison, a citizen of Vermont, for copyright infringement. Simon demands $80,000 from Madison in damages. In this scenario, the case qualifies for federal jurisdiction on the grounds of _____.

diversity of citizenship

The U.S. Supreme Court:

is not required to issue a writ of certiorari.

Justice Antonin Scalia calls himself a textualist. What Scalia means by textualism is that:

when determining the meaning of legislation, he refuses to consider anything other than the actual transcript of the law.

To reverse Supreme Court rulings, _____.

Congress can propose amendments to the United States Constitution

Which of the following is true of the checks and balances on the American judiciary?

Congress has the authority to limit or otherwise alter the jurisdiction of the lower federal courts.

Which of the following statements is true of the practice of senatorial courtesy?

It is exercised by senators of the president's political party.

Which of the following statements is true of the United States Supreme Court?

The Supreme Court has appellate authority over cases decided by the U.S. courts of appeals.

Which of the following statements is true of administrative laws?

They are the rules, regulations, orders, and decisions of government agencies.

Which of the following is a difference between activist judges and restraintist judges?

Unlike activist judges, restraintist judges assume that the courts should defer to the decisions of the legislative and executive branches.

Which of the following is a difference between a civil lawsuit and a criminal lawsuit?

Unlike defendants in civil lawsuits, defendants in criminal lawsuits are prosecuted by public officials.

The American judiciary is subjected to a number of checks. One such check is that:

legislatures can revise old laws or pass new ones in an attempt to negate a court's ruling.

Due to the activism of the Warren Court, the term judicial activism has often been linked with _____.

liberalism

In the context of Supreme Court conferences, an opinion that commands the support of more than half of the justices is called a _____.

majority opinion

A denial of a writ of certiorari:

means that the decision of the lower court remains the law within that court's jurisdiction.

In the context of approaches to legal interpretation, originalists believe that to determine the meaning of a particular constitutional phrase, _____.

the Court should look to the intentions of the founders

The appellate court's decision in a case is final if:

the high court declines to review the case.

If the Supreme Court of Georgia holds that a state law requiring candidates for state office to pass drug tests is unconstitutional, that decision will control the outcome of future cases on that issue brought before state courts in Georgia. This best exemplifies:

the practice of stare decisis.