chapter 9 checks

Why would a Supreme Court justice take great care in writing a dissenting opinion?

A prominent dissent may have influence on later judicial decisions.

During a judicial conference in the Supreme Court, one justice makes an impassioned argument to her colleagues that a free speech case from Hawaii should be heard. Afterward, five justices agree with her. What happens next?

A writ of certiorari is granted.

For a judicial precedent established by the Supreme Court to be overturned, a ______ must be passed to ensure that the Court could not overturn it.

Constitutional amendment

Why do presidents often select nominees for the Supreme Court from the federal bench?

Doing so makes it easier to find candidates whose jurisprudence agrees with their own.

How can we characterize John Marshall's decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803) as politically adroit?

He established the co-equality of the judiciary without offending the elected branches.

Why did William Marbury sue Secretary of State James Madison in 1801?

He failed to receive his dutifully signed and sealed judicial commission.

What is the Supreme Court's procedural doctrine on moot (otherwise resolved) and hypothetical cases?

It declines to hear all moot and hypothetical cases that come before it.

How did the increasing politicization of judicial nominees, like those of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, affect voters in the 2018 midterm elections?

It energized both Democrats and Republicans to vote in the midterm elections.

How did Congress react when the Supreme Court ruled it could not order local sheriffs to administer federal gun control procedures?

It passed a more inventive law to accomplish the same ends.

Why is the Supreme Court's decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803) significant?

It substantiated the Court's power of judicial review.

Even when followed conscientiously, stare decisis cannot strictly determine the outcome of many cases that come before the Supreme Court. Why?

New and unusual circumstances arise for which existing doctrine offers little guidance.

The absence of judicial enforcement has what effect on the Supreme Court?

Other actors may ignore the Court's decisions.

In what sense are Americans repeating the trends of 1801 when it comes to judicial nominations?

Partisans look to the judiciary as a bastion of ideology to protect their political positions.

What is meant by Justice Owen Roberts's famous "switch in time that saved nine"?

Robert's shift toward nationalization perhaps saved the Court from being packed by the president.

In its 1803 decision in ______, the Supreme Court determined that Congress had the authority under Article III to reorganize the judiciary.

Stuart v. Laird

What political scenario would result in an easy confirmation process for a Supreme Court justice?

The presidency and the Senate are controlled by Republicans; the House is controlled by Democrats.

How can we characterize the confirmation of judicial nominations as a modern veto game in reverse?

The president nominates, not the Senate, and the Senate confronts a "take it or leave it" decision.

What commonality exists between the Supreme Court decisions in Marbury v. Madison, Dred Scott v. Sandford, and United States v. Nixon?

They all employed the concept of judicial review.

Why do district court and appellate court judges attempt to align their opinions to Supreme Court decisions?

They want to avoid having their ruling reversed, which hurts their reputation.

Which factor distinguishes judicial restraint from judicial activism?

a judge's willingness to defer to the policies of the elected branches

Given recent changes in judicial recruitment, the Senate has now largely become ______ in the nomination and confirmation.

a veto for objectionable nominees

When interest groups or other interested parties wish to persuade the Court to hear a case and/or to decide a case in a certain manner, they file ______ with the Court.

amicus curiae briefs

In the context of the decision in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and the outcome of the Civil War, the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) ______ in American politics.

bucked the trend of national supremacy

One common factor in decisions about regulating the national economy and enhancing Americans' civil rights was the Court's broad interpretation of Congress's power to regulate activity under the ______ clause.

commerce

Between the Civil War and the 1930s, the Supreme Court's decisions primarily favored ______.

corporations' interests over Congress's regulations

Procedural doctrine and substantive doctrine are alike in that both ______.

establish a precedent from the Supreme Court for lower-court rulings

Federal courts can hear any case, but typically allow state courts to decide the most mundane ones, like speeding and burglary.

false

Senatorial courtesy only applies to ______ court judicial appointments.

federal district

Supreme Court justices cannot count on lower federal court judges to respect their rulings because these lower court justices ______.

have lifetime appointments

The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in cases ______.

in which a state is a party

Given recent changes in the informal mechanisms by which presidents select nominees, presidents have increasingly relied on ______ to find attractive candidates.

interest groups and ideologically aligned think tanks

At present, Republican presidents consistently recruit conservative judges and Democrats are just as dedicated to filling the judiciary with ______ judges.

liberal

Unlike the federal appellate courts, the federal district courts and the U.S. Supreme Court have ______ jurisdiction.

original

To protect the Constitution against perceived Democratic-Republican schemes, the Federalists ______ as they were about to leave office.

passed the Judiciary Act of 1801

After the Civil War, the Supreme Court defined corporations as ______ to invoke the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause.

people

One tool that keeps lower federal courts in interpretive alignment with the Supreme Court is ______, which may harm the lower court judge's reputation.

reversal

In its decision in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the Supreme Court found that ______.

states could not tax federal property or activities as the federal government was supreme

The Supreme Court's decision in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) was founded primarily on the Constitution's ______ clause.

supremacy

President Andrew Jackson's famous remark about Cherokee removal in the 1830s and the slow process of desegregation of public schools in the South in the 1950s both exemplify what inhibition of the Supreme Court?

the lack of enforcement powers

For what purpose was the Judiciary Act of 1801 passed?

to populate the federal courts with Federalists judges

Chief justice John Marshall wrote the Court's opinion in Marbury v. Madison which established that the Supreme Court is the arbiter of whether or not a law is constitutional, otherwise known as judicial review.

true

Research scoring the ideological stance of federal district judges' decisions finds that they tend to favor the ideological preferences of the president who appointed them.

true

The only court specifically mentioned in the Constitution is the Supreme Court.

true

Akiro serves as the accredited Japanese ambassador to the United States. He is arrested in West Virginia for kidnapping, accused of taking a subordinate across state lines. If you were the prosecution team, where do you think the case against Akiro should originate in the American court system?

us supreme court

Imagine that the current president is a political protege of Franklin Roosevelt. The Supreme Court is persistently overturning laws passed by Congress, both chambers of which are in the presidential party's control. If the current president wishes to pack the Court, as Roosevelt sought to do in 1937, she should _______.

use Congressional majorities to expand the Court and appoint sympathetic justices to the new seats

The "inferior" courts underneath the Supreme Court were created in order to ______.

work as agents of the Supreme Court in handling litigation

When the Supreme Court decides to hear a case, it grants a ______.

writ of certiorari