American Government Chapter 15

Which sentence best summarizes the role judges play in the creation of law and public policy?

Judges make law by deciding cases and establishing legal principles.

What was rare about the announcement of the decision in the Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber case?

Justice Ginsburg read her dissenting opinion from the bench.

What does descriptive representation attempt to ensure regarding the demographics of governing bodies?

The inclusion of major demographic groups in proportion to the population

What does the custom of senatorial courtesy allow?

The senators of either party can veto choices for federal district court and courts of appeal judges from their state.

If a judge's decision is tempered by the consideration of institutional factors, what model of decision making is he or she following?

The strategic model

What do U.S. courts of appeals do in the cases they hear?

They review the decisions of lower courts.

How can citizens constrain the power of the courts?

Through civil disobedience

Match the court with the type of legal dispute it hears.

Trial courts: Questions of fact Appellate courts: Questions of interpretation and application of law

True or false: All laws in the United States must comply with the U.S. Constitution.

True

How does an adversarial judicial system function?

Two parties in dispute present facts, and the court declares one the winner.

Overall, John Marshall's decision in Marbury v. Madison affected the balance of power in the U.S. government by increasing the power of the

courts

As a result of the attention that Justice Ginsburg called to the opinion in the Ledbetter case,

Congress overruled the opinion with new legislation.

From top to bottom, order the process for the Supreme Court's review and granting of appeals.

1. The Court reviews cert memos. 2. The chief justice distributes a "discuss list." 3. Justices vote on whether to hear the case. 4. If at least four justices vote to hear the case, the Court hears the appeal.

The framers of the Constitution gave the Supreme Court original jurisdiction over cases involving which of the following?

1.Ambassadors to foreign countries 2.Two or more states 3.Public ministers and consuls

Identify the checks on judicial power enjoyed by Congress.

1.Defining the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction 2.Creating new laws to overrule decisions 3.Creating all lower federal courts 4.Conducting impeachment hearings

Which of the following constrain the power of courts?

1.Earlier decisions made by the court 2.Precedents from higher courts

In which of the following instances would it be acceptable for a judge to make a ruling that is contradictory to precedent?

1.If there are contradictory precedents 2.If they believe the earlier decision misinterpreted or misapplied the law

Which of the following are true of the Thirteenth Circuit?

1.It is issue based, not geographically based. 2.It is better known as the Federal Circuit.

Which of the following are characteristics that presidents typically consider when nominating justices for the Supreme Court?

1.Population representation 2.Judicial competence 3.Ideology 4.Political considerations

Which of the following are core values that underlie the American system of government?

1.Regulations should apply to everyone, regardless of a person's station in life. 2.All judges should be impartial and nonpartisan in their decisions.

When making decisions on cases, judges are constrained by which of the following internal constraints?

1.Stare decisis 2.The facts of the case

How does public opinion affect Supreme Court decisions?

1.The Court is cognizant of public opinion so as not to create outright defiance of its decisions. 2.Most Supreme Court decisions follow public opinion.

Who speaks during oral arguments?

1.The Supreme Court justices 2.Attorneys representing the competing parties

Which two of the following contribute to the political contentiousness of the judicial nomination process?

1.The lack of constitutionally enumerated judicial qualifications 2.The fact that the meaning of senatorial "advice and consent" has never been settled

What is the goal of law?

1.To create processes to resolve conflicts over rules and expected behaviors 2.To create a peaceful, stable society 3.To punish those in violation of the rules of society

In attempting to influence the courts, presidents can

1.fill vacancies with nominees who share their beliefs. 2.influence the implementation of key decisions through their power over the federal bureaucracy.

How much time does the Supreme Court usually allot each party for oral argument?

30 minutes

Which of the following are true of the conference that takes place after oral arguments in the Supreme Court?

A justice is assigned to draft the majority opinion. The justices take a nonbinding vote.

What is an amicus curiae brief?

A legal brief filed by an entity not party to the case, written to influence the Court's decision

What is a certiorari petition?

A request that the Supreme Court review a case that has already been decided by a lower court

What tool do groups or individuals who are not party to a Supreme Court case have to influence the decision of the Court?

Amicus curiae briefs

Which type of court has the authority to review cases heard by other courts to correct mistakes in their interpretation of law?

Appellate courts

In a criminal case the government has the burden of proving the defendant's guilt to what extent?

Beyond a reasonable doubt

The decision in what landmark case was a catalyst for judicial action that defends and creates individual rights through the courts' interpretation of the laws?

Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

What effect does the common law principle of stare decisis have on the American legal system?

Change occurs slowly, since judges follow prior decisions.

What type of lawsuit requires that accusers prove their case with a preponderance of evidence?

Civil law

How many judges usually sit on each federal appellate bench?

Each case is usually heard by a panel of three judges.

True or false: Because members of the Supreme Court are not directly accountable to the public, they do not pay attention to public opinion when making decisions.

False

True or false: Federal court decisions only affect the parties involved in a dispute.

False

True or false: The Supreme Court provides recorded transcripts of the deliberation process for every case.

False

For what reason do courts seldom fall out of step with public opinion in their rulings?

Fear of having authority taken away

Which president appointed John Roberts to succeed William Rehnquist as the chief justice of the Supreme Court?

George W. Bush

Which of the following are "checks" possessed by the Congress when attempting to rein in the Supreme Court?

It can propose a constitutional amendment to overturn a decision. It can modify the Court's appellate jurisdiction. It can rewrite the law that was the subject of the Court's review.

Why was the case of Marbury v. Madison historically significant?

It gave the Supreme Court the power of judicial review.

Which of the following accurately describes the Supreme Court nomination process in recent years?

It has become increasingly partisan.

What is a writ of certiorari?

It is an order from a higher court for a lower court to produce a certified record of a case.

Which of the following accurately describes a federal district court?

It makes its determination based on the application of the law to the facts in the case.

Which is a major constraint the Supreme Court holds over lower federal courts?

Lower courts risk having the Supreme Court overturn decisions if they diverge too far from precedent.

Which Supreme Court decision granted the Court broad policy-making authority?

Marbury v. Madison

How do the political ideologies of Supreme Court justices compare to the presidents who appoint them?

Presidents and their appointees typically share political ideologies.

To grant certiorari, the Supreme Court requires that four justices agree to review the case, a custom called the

Rule of Four.

Which committee is responsible for gathering information on, interviewing, and then recommending to the full Senate the nomination of judicial nominees?

Senate Judiciary Committee

When judges base their decisions upon ideological preferences, what model of decision making are they following?

The attitudinal model

Who is responsible for drafting a cert memo?

Supreme Court law clerks

The American common law evolved from which legal system?

The British legal system

Which of the following is an accurate description of the role of the rule of law?

Under the rule of law in the United States, the same laws apply to all citizens, regardless of their position in life.

Appellate courts review what aspect of a lower court decision?

Whether the lower court correctly applied and interpreted applicable law

Of the following, which is probably the most important characteristic that a president should take into account when considering a Supreme Court nominee?

Whether the nominee can be confirmed by the Senate

The authors of a concurring opinion

agree with the majority decision but disagree with the underlying legal arguments

The Constitution specifies that all federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, shall be

appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Between 7,000 and 8,000 ______ petitions are filed with the Supreme Court each year, and it agrees to review only about 80 of those cases.

certiorari

Twelve of the thirteen federal appellate courts cover specific geographic areas known as federal judicial

circuits.

The courts' role in lawmaking is most apparent in

common law

Members of the minority draft the ______ opinion, which explains why they disagree with the majority opinion.

dissenting

In a branch of government with symbolic representation, ______ among government officials is considered an indication of a functioning democracy.

diversity

If a complainant proves his or her case by a preponderance of evidence, that means that the respondent

is more likely than not to have caused the harm.

According to the legal model of judicial decision making, judges primarily

focus on legal norms and principles as a guiding force in their decision making.

A body of established rules that binds the behavior of governments, individuals, and nongovernmental organizations is called

law

One way in which the federal district courts differ from the Supreme Court is that they have mandatory jurisdiction, which means that they

must hear every case filed with them.

Legislation enacted in 1869 set the number of Supreme Court justices at

nine.

In order for prosecutors to prove a defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, they must convince a jury that

there is no plausible reason to believe the defendant did not commit the crime.

The decision about which Supreme Court justice gets to write the majority opinion in a case is determined by

seniority.

The Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction is discretionary jurisdiction, which means

the Court can choose the cases it hears.

The principle of judicial review gives the Supreme Court the power to review the acts of other political institutions and to declare them

unconstitutional.