Civil Rights and Liberties Assessment
"[I]t has already been incontrovertibly shown that on the present occasion a bill of rights was totally unnecessary, and that it might be accompanied with some inconveniency and danger if there was any defect in the attempt to enumerate the privileges of the people. This system proposes a union of thirteen sovereign and independent states in order to give dignity and energy to the transaction of their common concerns. It would be idle, therefore to countenance the idea that any other powers were delegated to the general government than those specified in the Constitution itself."Justice Thomas McKean at the Pennsylvania State Convention to ratify the Constitution, edited by John Back McMaster and Frederick D. Stone, 1788Which of the following best summarizes the author's argument?
A Bill of Rights would potentially give the federal government more power than is explicitly stated in the Constitution
Based on previous rulings, the Supreme Court is most likely to view a case concerning which of the following as an establishment clause case?
A courthouse prominently displays the Ten Commandments
Which of the following scenarios is an example of how a state can reasonably restrict speech protected under the First Amendment?
A group of protesters is arrested after staging a sit-in on the governor's front lawn to protest a Voter ID law
Which of the following scenarios would most likely be considered a violation of the Eighth Amendment?
A minor is sentenced to the death penalty
Which of the following scenarios would most likely be considered a violation of the Fifth Amendment?
A suspect is not informed that anything he says while under arrest can be used in his trial against him
Which of the following statements best explains why the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a significant political event?
It removed structural barriers to minority voting
In 1993, the Supreme Court struck down the formation of North Carolina's 12th congressional district in Shaw v. Reno (1993).Which of the following best explains why the court ruled against North Carolina?
North Carolina formed an oddly-shaped district that was a majority-minority district
"Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected? Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though Negroes constitute a majority of the population, not a single Negro is registered. Can any law enacted under such circumstances be considered democratically structured?"-Excerpt from King, Martin Luther Jr., "Letter from the Birmingham Jail" in Why We Can't Wait, ed. Martin Luther King, Jr., 77-100, 1963.The "devious methods" mentioned in this passage refer to which of the following?
Structural barriers
"As this Court's cases have made clear, however, the compelling interest that justifies consideration of race in college admissions is not an interest in enrolling a certain number of minority students. Rather, a university may institute a race-conscious admissions program as a means of obtaining 'the educational benefits that flow from student body diversity'. . . . "Increasing minority enrollment may be instrumental to these educational benefits, but it is not, as petitioner seems to suggest, a goal that can or should be reduced to pure numbers."Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, opinion of the court in Fisher v. University of Texas (2013)Which of the following statements is most consistent with the author's argument in this passage?
The Constitution only forbids racial classifications when they are designed to harm minorities, not help them
"The Constitution instructs all who act for the government that they may not 'deny to any person . . . the equal protection of the laws.' In implementing this equality instruction, as I see it, government decisionmakers may properly distinguish between policies of exclusion and inclusion. Actions designed to burden groups long denied full citizenship stature are not sensibly ranked with measures taken to hasten the day when entrenched discrimination and its after effects have been extirpated."Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, dissenting opinion in Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)Which of the following statements is most consistent with the author's argument in this passage?
The Constitution only forbids racial classifications when they are designed to harm minorities, not help them
In recent years the Supreme Court has applied the decision across all states that individuals have the right to possess a firearm in the home for self-defense.Which of the following is a reason for this?
The Fourteenth Amendment applies the Second Amendment to the states
"The Second Amendment was adopted to protect the right of the people of each of the several States to maintain a well-regulated militia. It was a response to concerns raised during the ratification of the Constitution that the power of Congress to disarm the state militias and create a national standing army posed an intolerable threat to the sovereignty of the several States. Neither the text of the Amendment nor the arguments advanced by its proponents evidenced the slightest interest in limiting any legislature's authority to regulate private civilian uses of firearms. Specifically, there is no indication that the Framers of the Amendment intended to enshrine the common-law right of self-defense in the Constitution."Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, dissenting opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)Which of the following statements is most consistent with the author's argument in this passage?
The Second Amendment does not protect a person's right to have a weapon for self-defense
"As the quotations earlier in this opinion demonstrate, the inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right. The handgun ban [by the District of Columbia] amounts to a prohibition of an entire class of 'arms' that is overwhelmingly chosen by American society for that lawful purpose. The prohibition extends, moreover, to the home, where the need for defense of self, family, and property is most acute. Under any of the standards of scrutiny that we have applied to enumerated constitutional rights. . . banning from the home 'the most preferred firearm in the nation to 'keep' and use for protection of one's home and family, . . .would fail constitutional muster.'"-Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)Which of the following statements is most consistent with the author's argument in this passage?
The Second Amendment protects a person's right to own a gun from government infringement
In Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States (1964), the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government has the right to regulate public accommodation under the commerce clause. After this decision, the federal government, under the authority of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, forced public places to desegregate.This scenario is an example of which of the following?
The Supreme Court issuing a ruling that protects minority rights
"An unjust law is a code inflicted upon a minority which that minority had no part in enacting or creating because it did not have the unhampered right to vote. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up the segregation laws was democratically elected? Throughout the state of Alabama all types of conniving methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties without a single Negro registered to vote, despite the fact that the Negroes constitute a majority of the population. Can any law set up in such a state be considered democratically structured?"Dr. Martin Luther King, "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," 1963Which of the following governmental policies would the author most likely support as a solution to the problems described in this passage?
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
In 1988 and 1989, the Pennsylvania legislature amended its abortion control law. The changes included requiring a 24 hour waiting period for the procedure and that a married woman must notify her husband that she intends to have an abortion. In a 5-4 ruling, the Court upheld most of the Pennsylvania laws because they did not create a "substantial obstacle" to a woman seeking an abortion. This became known as the undue-burden test.Which of the following statements best summarizes the relationship between the case described in the scenario and Roe v. Wade (1973)?
The decision in the case above upheld Roe v. Wade (1973), but created a new standard to determine if the state was interfering with a woman's right to choose
"In ... [certain] cases, immunities that are valid as against the federal government by force of the specific pledges of particular amendments have been found to be implicit in the concept of ordered liberty, and thus, through the Fourteenth Amendment, become valid as against the states."Associate Justice Cardozo, majority opinion in Palko v. Connecticut (1937). Source: JustiaJustice Cardozo argues here that certain rights protected at the federal level also apply at the state level through the Fourteenth Amendment.Which clause is used to support Cardozo's argument?
The due process clause
In 1961, students who attended public schools in Pennsylvania were required to read at least ten verses from the Bible. After students finished reading the readings, school officials required that all students recite the Lord's Prayer. In 1963, the Supreme Court heard the case and ruled that the readings and recitations violated a provision of the First Amendment.Which of the following constitutional clauses does this case have in common with Engel v. Vitale (1962)?
The establishment clause
Based on previous court rulings, which of the following scenarios would most likely violate the freedom of the press clause of the First Amendment?
The government prevents a radio talk show host from reporting on leaked information about surveillance of American allies
"In ... [certain] cases, immunities that are valid as against the federal government by force of the specific pledges of particular amendments have been found to be implicit in the concept of ordered liberty, and thus, through the Fourteenth Amendment, become valid as against the states."Associate Justice Cardozo, majority opinion in Palko v. Connecticut (1937). Source: JustiaBased on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?
The question of whether or not a right applies to the states as well as the federal government can be answered by considering if the right is "implicit in the concept of ordered liberty"
"It is clear that the ancient and humane limitation upon the State's ability to execute its sentences has as firm a hold upon the jurisprudence of today as it had centuries ago in England. The various reasons put forth in support of the common-law restriction [on executing the insane] have no less logical, moral, and practical force than they did when first voiced. For today, no less than before, we may seriously question the retributive value of executing a person who has no comprehension of why he has been singled out and stripped of his fundamental right to life."-Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall, majority opinion in Ford v. Wainwright (1986)Which of the following statements is most consistent with the author's argument in this passage?
There are limits on who can be given a death penalty sentence
"In the First Amendment, the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors. The Government's power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the Government. The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government."-Justice Hugo BlackBased on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?
There should be a "heavy presumption against prior restraint" of freedom of speech
Which of the following policies is an example of specific legislation that extended civil rights to women?
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972
"In the Bill of Rights for this Commonwealth it is declared that the happiness of the people & the Preservation of civil government depend upon the piety religion & morality & that the people have a right to invest their Legislature with power to require that provision be made for the public worship of God & the support of protestant teachers & require the attendance of people upon such worship instructions.... We must insist that the Continental Constitution contain a Bill of Rights which by Express shall secure to us our privileges especially our religion."Daniel Adams, at a town meeting in Townshend, Massachusetts, 1787Supporters of Adams's view that a bill of rights is necessary to protect individual liberties could point to which of the following cases?
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
