Civil Liberties Practice Test

Which of the following scenarios, related to the First Amendment, best illustrates the "right . . . to petition the Government . . ." ?

A citizen calls a member of Congress to persuade her to vote yes on a bill.

Which of the following statements best describes how United States citizens regard the rights of free speech and assembly?

A majority agrees in principle with these rights, but in practice many people are often intolerant of views they do not support.

Which of the following scenarios illustrates an action that would be protected by the free exercise clause in the First Amendment?

A person wears a necklace bearing a Christian cross to work.

Which of the following rulings is most likely to cite the Supreme Court's decision in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) as a legal precedent in support of the decision?

A ruling in favor of students to print their opinions in a school newspaper

Which of the following would most likely be protected by the First Amendment?

A student wears a black armband at school to protest government involvement in a war.

Which of the following constitutional clauses was most relevant in the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade (1973) ?

Due process clause

Interest groups are protected under the Constitution by the

First Amendment

Most of the individual protections of the Bill of Rights now apply to the states because of the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution's

Fourteenth Amendment

Which two principles are addressed in the excerpt above? I. The incorporation doctrine II. The concept of eminent domain III. The exclusionary rule IV. The "wall of separation" doctrine

I and III

Which of the following best describes a purpose of the Establishment Clause?

It prohibits Congress from establishing a state religion.

Which of the following is true about the right of free speech, as currently interpreted by the Supreme Court?

It protects the right to express opinions even without the actual use of words.

Which of the following reflects the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) ?

It ruled that a woman's right to an abortion was a privacy right incorporated to all of the states.

In Engel v. Vitale (1962), which of the following provides the legal reasoning behind the Supreme Court's ruling?

It ruled that the state had no justifiable interest to compel students to listen to a nondenominational prayer led by public school teachers, finding a clear establishment clause violation.

In the majority opinion of a United States Supreme Court case, Justice Alito wrote, "we now turn directly to the question whether the...right to keep and bear arms is incorporated in the concept of due process. In answering that question, . . . we must decide whether the right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to our scheme of ordered liberty." Which Supreme Court case is most aligned with Justice Alito's reasoning to treat gun ownership for self-defense as a fundamental liberty?

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Which of the following Supreme Court cases is most relevant to the topic of the article?

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Which of the following headlines is most relevant to the political cartoon?

Nixon Administration Goes to Court to Stop Pentagon Papers Release

The establishment clause in the First Amendment does which of the following?

Prohibits the setting up of a state church.

Which of the following is an accurate comparison of rights protected and not protected by the First Amendment?

Protected by the First Amendment: The right to burn a flag Not Protected by the First Amendment: Obscenity

Which of the following best defines civil liberties?

Provisions in the Bill of Rights that provide guarantees against arbitrary interference by government

Which of the following Supreme Court cases establishes that a woman has a due process right to make a decision whether or not to have an abortion?

Roe v. Wade (1973)

The Supreme Court ruled in McDonald v. Chicago (2010) that a citizen's right to keep and bear arms at home for self-defense is protected from state and federal infringement. Which of the following is most relevant to that decision?

Selective incorporation

In Gideon v. Wainwright, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the

Sixth Amendment right-to-counsel provision applies to those accused of major crimes under state laws

Which of the following is a principle underlying the Bill of Rights?

Some rights are fundamental and should not be subject to majoritarian rule

Which of the following amendments to the Constitution most likely provides the basis for a driver to challenge the constitutionality of police use of sobriety checkpoints in enforcing drunk driving laws?

The Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure

The Supreme Court has ruled which of the following concerning the death penalty?

The death penalty is not necessarily cruel and unusual punishment.

In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the United States Supreme Court stated, "that the [Constitution] protects the right to possess a handgun in the home for the purpose of self-defense" and that the Second Amendment applied to the states through which of the following constitutional clauses?

The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

A woman is arrested for possessing illegal substances that were obtained after a warrantless search of her home by local police. Which of the following best explains whether the evidence could be used in a criminal trial?

The exclusionary rule, derived from the Fourth Amendment, prevents the evidence from being used against the suspect.

Which of the following attributes of the political cartoon would best represent the government's use of prior restraint?

The fallen pillars

Which of the following Supreme Court decisions allows public school students to wear T-shirts protesting a school board decision that eliminates funding for high school arts programs?

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)

In which of the following situations would the Supreme Court be most likely to utilize the doctrine of selective incorporation?

When an individual claims that a right protected by the Bill of Rights is infringed upon by a state

Which of the following cases examined a state law that required all children to attend school through the twelfth grade in order to promote the general welfare of its citizens?

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

A writ of habeas corpus refers to

a person's right to know the reasons for his or her imprisonment

The "wall of separation" doctrine refers to the

division of church and state

The clear-and-present danger test devised by the Supreme Court was designed to define the conditions under which public authorities could

limit free speech

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to

make most rights contained in the Bill of Rights applicable to the states

The federal Constitution guarantees all of the following rights to a person arrested and charged with a serious crime EXCEPT the right to

negotiate a plea bargain

In Miranda v. Arizona, the United States Supreme Court declared that

police must inform criminal suspects of their constitutional rights before questioning suspects after arrest

The 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that upheld a woman's right to secure an abortion was based on the right to

privacy implied in the Bill of Rights

With respect to prayer in public schools, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that

state-sponsored prayer violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment

In Roe v. Wade, the majority of Supreme Court justices determined that

the United States Constitution implies a right to privacy and thus made abortions legal

The Supreme Court's decision about abortion in Roe v. Wade was based on

the right to privacy implied in the Bill of Rights

The "Miranda warning" represents an attempt to protect criminal suspects against

unfair police interrogation

According to the clear and present danger test, speech may be restricted

when it incites violent action

The facts of which of the following cases are most related to the political cartoon?

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the United States Supreme Court stated that, "[s]elf-defense is a basic right, recognized by many legal systems from ancient times to the present day" and that an individual's right to bear arms was "deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition." The quote points to which of the following amendments to the United States Constitution as a basis to limit state action?

The Second Amendment

A public school district implemented a policy that allowed students to vote on whether they wanted a student-led prayer to be read at football games. This policy was later found to be unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. Which of the following clauses did the policy most likely violate?

The establishment clause

The Washington Post receives a top secret report that details how the executive branch mishandled a deal made with a foreign nation regarding nuclear weapons. The executive branch attempts to stop the publishing of the report, but the publishers cite the precedent in New York Times Company v. United States (1971) establishing which of the following legal rules?

The heavy presumption against prior restraint

Griswold v. Connecticut and Roe v. Wade are similar Supreme Court cases in that both cases are based on the

right of privacy

The Constitution and its amendments expressly prohibit all of the following EXCEPT

sex discrimination in employment

The free-exercise clause protects

voluntary prayer by student groups before school

Which of the following cases decided whether a state could compel children to attend school beyond eighth grade even if it violated the students' sincerely held religious beliefs?

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)