Government final exam
The Eighth Amendment does not guarantee a prisoner a painless death.
True
In what case did the Supreme Court state if a person in custody is to be subjected to interrogation, he must first be informed in clear and unequivocal terms that he has the right to remain silent?
b. Miranda v. Arizona
A should be speedy, since it would be unjust to keep any one imprisoned before trial a moment longer than necessary. He might be able to prove his innocence immediately.
True
Justice Harlan, wrote in the dissent of Plessy v. Ferguson that the Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law.
True
Northerners understood that citizenship included the right to a passport, a claim to protection by the government, and other rights, which today we generally call civil liberties.
True
The lack of specific voter qualifications in the 26th Amendment allowed those states wanting to enforce segregation the necessary loopholes to do so.
False
The purpose of poll taxes was to raise funds to repair roads and bridges, and other state maintenance and improvement projects.
False
The right of citizens of the United States to vote in a primary is not included in the 24th Amendment.
False
Thomas Jefferson was elected President of the Confederate States of America.
False
Titus Oates was sentenced to walk naked from Newgate to Tyburn once a year on September 2 as long as he was alive.
False
Which Amendment stands for the principle that the federal government possesses only has the power delegated to it by the states or the people through the Constitution?
tenth
The Supreme Court decided that having once granted the right to vote on equal terms, Florida may not, by later arbitrary and disparate treatment, value one person's vote over that of another in what case?
Bush v. Gore
Which of the following state actions would be unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment?
Limiting public school to citizens of the United States.
A "speedy'' trial is conducted according to fixed rules, regulations, and proceedings of law, free from vexatious, capricious, and oppressive delays manufactured by the ministers of justice unless the defendant is willing to pay for the trial date to be secured.
False
A friend of yours was tried for murder in your hometown. She was found not guilty. The District Attorney of your hometown said he will try your friend for murder again because the first jury got it wrong and he has the authority to do so under the 5th Amendment.
False
According to the Fifth Amendment, the government can take your land as long as it is less than one acre.
False
After the Civil War, many northern states enacted "Black Codes" that forbade blacks to vote, hold office, own firearms, serve on juries, testify against whites, work in certain trades, or attend public school.
False
All people in the United States, whatever their immigration status, are entitled to the equal protection of the laws unless the person committed a crime.
False
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State where they were born.
False
Among the guaranteed rights included in The English Bill of Rights, was "excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted unless the victim's family contributes handsomely to the coffers of the Crown."
False
At the time that the Constitution was written, most colonists considered corporal punishments or execution "cruel and unusual."
False
Before the Civil War, some northern states had a grandfather clause in their voting qualifications which excluded individuals whose ancestors had not voted in the 1860s.
False
By empowering Congress to enforce citizenship requirements and to enact all laws necessary and proper to that end, the Fourteenth Amendment authorizes the Supreme Court to preempt laws that undermine blacks' constitutionally protected status as citizens of the state where they reside.
False
Cesare Beccaria's influence on the founding fathers prevented them from debating whether the death penalty should apply to minor crimes such as forgery.
False
If you have to pick up litter as part of your sentence for committing a crime, you have a valid claim that the sentence is unconstitutional under the 13th Amendment.
False
In 1966, Queen Elizabeth of England issued the Assize of Clarendon, a landmark set of procedural rules that began to transition England's law from the traditional trial-by-ordeal system to an evidentiary model based on investigation and sworn testimony.
False
In October of 1859, John Brown attempted to amass weapons for a slave insurrection and attacked the federal armory and arsenal in Manassas, Virginia.
False
In the Dred Scott case, the Supreme Court held that black people could be citizens of the United States.
False
It is critical to determine if the right to a speedy trial is violated because the only remedy is automatic conviction on all of the criminal charges this fault.
False
The 15th Amendment coupled with the Plessy v. Ferguson decision opened the door for the rampant, permissive segregation of the first half of the 1900s.
True
The 24th Amendment, coupled with the Civil Rights Act of 1957, removed the final blocks for voting for minorities or persons of color.
True
The 5th Amendment addresses the rights of participants in civil proceedings and criminal proceedings.
True
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Evan Miller's conviction for killing his neighbor by beating him and setting his house on fire, holding that Miller's sentence was not overly harsh when compared to his crime, and that its mandatory nature was permissible under the Eighth Amendment.
True
The Civil Rights Act was the first Civil Rights legislation enacted since 1875.
True
The Corwin Amendment was a proposed 13th Amendment, which enshrined slavery by prohibiting Congress from abolishing or interfering with state-allowed slavery.
True
The Supreme Court identified four factors which courts should assess in determining whether a particular defendant has been deprived of his right to a speedy trial; the factors do not include:
the criminal charges.
Which Amendment had the practical effect of modifying the structure of presidential elections from how they were established under the original provision of Article Two?
twelfth
A state law designed to promote marriage allows only married women to vote. Which Amendments are violated by this state law?
14th and 19th
A criminal trial should be private to insure fairness.
False
In the case Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court decided the issues using:
both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Which of the following Amendments may apply if an issue arose regarding the electoral college process?
eleventh
Which Amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote?
19th
Many of the practices in treason cases in the late seventeenth century England were carried over from the notorious Four Heart Chamber, which subjected treason defendants to a disregard of basic individual rights.
False
The 14th Amendment extended due process to the states, not just the federal government and offered equal protection of the civil, not criminal laws.
False
The 26th Amendment became a necessary addition to the Constitution to guarantee the implementation of the 15th Amendment.
False
The Constitution does not explicitly protect a general right to privacy, the various guarantees within the Bill of Rights create sanctuaries that establish a right to privacy.
False
The Eighth Amendment demands the avoidance of all risk of pain in carrying out executions.
False
The Fifth Amendment places the burden of requesting an attorney on the person being question since only he knows when he needs an attorney.
False
The Tenth Amendment only applies to cases involving marriages.
False
The detectives brought Jane Doe to the interrogation room to identify Ernesto Miranda by his voice. This action was a violation of her 5th Amendment rights.
False
Some people believed Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation did not go far enough; they demanded what a constitutional guarantee of perpetual freedom.
True
The 13th Amendment was added to the Constitution on December 18, 1865. By then, President Lincoln had been assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.
True
A clearly voluntary confession made by someone during an interrogation by police may be used in a criminal trial against the confessor.
True
A defendant has no duty to bring himself to trial; the State has that duty as well as the duty of insuring that the trial is consistent with due process.
True
A general rule has evolved to give substantial protection to verdict finality and to assure jurors that, once their verdict has been entered, it will not later be called into question based on the comments or conclusions they expressed during deliberations.
True
A state that relegates minorities to second-class citizenship by depriving them of rights or
True
After the Civil War, southern states still controlled setting voter qualifications which permitted the creation of laws severely limiting and excluding black Americans from voting.
True
By empowering Congress to enforce citizenship requirements and to enact all laws "necessary and proper" to that end, the Fourteenth Amendment authorizes Congress to preempt laws that undermine blacks' constitutionally protected status as citizens of the state where they reside.
True
Congress proposed and the states had ratified the Eleventh Amendment, which overturned the principle of the Chisholm decision by providing that "the Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State."
True
In seventeenth century England, both prominent political parties of the time, the Whigs and Tories, used treason prosecutions as a political tool against each other.
True
One of the issues the Supreme Court decided in Obergefell v. Hodges was whether the Fourteenth Amendment required a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state.
True
Only suspects in police custody are entitled to Miranda warnings, due to the inherently compelling nature of custodial interrogation.
True
Part of the reasoning behind the Supreme Court's decision in Griswold v. Connecticut was that a governmental purpose to control or prevent activities constitutionally subject to state regulation may not be achieved by means which sweep unnecessarily broadly and thereby invade the area of protected freedoms.
True
President Abraham Lincoln called slavery a "monstrous injustice" and declare his hatred of it for violating the Declaration of Independence.
True
President Lincoln thought the only constitutional way he could abolish slavery was to prevent its expansion using Article Four of the Constitution.
True
Prior to the eighteenth century, English law prohibited counsel from appearing in any felony criminal cases unless the court, in its discretion, permitted counsel to appear.
True
The Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment guarantees individuals the right not to be subjected to excessive sanctions. That right flows from the basic precept of justice that punishment for crime should be graduated and proportioned to both the offender and the offense.
True
The Supreme Court has held that the right to an open trial may give way in certain cases to other rights or interests, such as the defendant's right to a fair trial or the government's interest in inhibiting disclosure of sensitive information.
True
The Supreme Court held in the Plessy v. Ferguson case that segregation was allowed as long as the facilities in question were equal.
True
The Supreme Court of Arizona, using the confusing law at the time, found that Ernesto Miranda had not requested an attorney during his interrogation, therefore, his confession was voluntary.
True
The US Supreme Court found that Miranda was not in any way apprised of his right to consult with an attorney and to have one present during the interrogation, nor was his right not to be compelled to incriminate himself effectively protected in any other manner.
True
The detectives did not inform Ernesto Miranda that he had the right to remain silent or the right to an attorney. Because Miranda had been convicted in the past, the detectives felt that Miranda knew the routine and knew his rights.
True
The presumption of openness of a criminal trial may be overcome only by an overriding interest based on findings that closure is essential to preserve higher values and is narrowly tailored to serve that interest.
True
The Supreme Court has held that pursuant to the Sixth Amendment, any closure of a suppression hearing over the objections of the accused does not include consideration of the following:
b. the closure is published in the legal section of the local newspaper for three consecutive weeks.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people is which Amendment?
tenth
