AP Gov't - Unit 5 - Civil Liberties; Civil Rights Quiz; Judicial Branch

Long Term Effect (One of the long term effects of Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail was - )

- its application of the ideals found in the letter by opponents of apartheid in South Africa and of communism behind the Iron Curtain. (Dr. King's feelings towards non-violent resistance and civil disobedience struck a resonating chord with those facing oppression around the world in the 1970s and 1980s. In particular, black South Africans fighting apartheid and populations behind the Iron Curtain in Europe opposing communist dictatorships found Dr. King's works uplifting and inspiring.)

A Short Term Result (One of the short term effects of Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail was - )

- the decision to organize a March on Washington D.C. for Jobs and Freedom. (trying to build on the success of the Birmingham Campaign, Dr. King proposed a March on Washington, D.C. for Jobs and Freedom in August of 1963. The purpose of the march was to bring the fight for civil and economic rights for African-Americans to the national stage. Although the Kennedy Administration discouraged Dr. King from attempting such an event, the peaceful demonstration drew more than 250,000 people and was culminated by Dr. King's historic "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.)

Can Police Search Schools? (While police officers need to have probable cause to search a person's home without a warrant, in schools they need reasonable suspicion. What part of the Constitution makes this possible?)

4th Amendment (The 4th amendment states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." Schools require less of a burden of suspicion than probable cause, as established in the Supreme Court case New Jersey v. T.L.O. , which argued that since schools deal with minors, they have an interest in maintaining order and discipline. The case involved a school administrator, who after searching a student's purse, found drug paraphernalia and other contraband items. The courts argued that searches of this nature based on reasonable suspicion are allowable in the context of school safety and student protection.)

Changes in Views of Civil Liberties (Which of the following could be an explanation for attitudes reflected in the graph?)

A significant terrorist attack in 2001 caused Americans to be more concerned with preventing terrorism than protecting civil liberties. (The terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 could be an explanation for the fact that a higher percentage of Americans felt that it was necessary to give up civil liberties to prevent terrorism as compared to those that did not feel it was necessary. Americans' views of the need to sacrifice liberties for public safety can be affected by specific events.)

Article III - Judicial Review (In which of the following instances can the Supreme Court utilize the power of judicial review?)

After an executive order is issued and challenged in the courts. (Executive orders issued by the president are subject to judicial oversight. Often, executive orders will be challenged in federal courts. The Supreme Court can hear such cases using appellate jurisdiction. An example of such judicial review would be the Supreme Court's acceptance of Korematsu v. U.S which challenged the Constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, which initiated the process of Japanese Relocation and Internment.)

Congressional Power to Limit the Judiciary (Which of the following is a constitutional method by which Congress can limit the powers of the federal judiciary?)

Alter the appellate jurisdiction of the federal courts. (Article III gives the Supreme Court appellate jurisdiction "with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make".)

Attitudes Reflected in Graph (Which of the following most accurately describes American attitudes regarding civil liberties that are reflected in the graph?)

Americans disagreed about whether it was necessary to give up civil liberties to prevent terrorism (Even though the percentages changed throughout the time period represented in the graph, some Americans believed that it was necessary to give up civil liberties to prevent terrorism while others believed that it was not)

Dr. King's Inspiration (Which of the following inspired Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s writing of the Letter from Birmingham Jail?)

An open newspaper letter submitted by a group of white, Alabama clergymen which criticized his leadership of the Civil Rights Movement. (As Dr. Martin Luther King sat in a hot, crowded cell in Birmingham, AL, a colleague was able to pass him a copy of the local newspaper. Within it, Dr. King found an opinion piece entitled "A Call for Unity." The editorial, written by eight white clergymen, openly criticized Dr. King and his tactics of civil disobedience. So infuriated was Dr. King with this disparaging article that he immediately began writing a rejoinder on the very margins of the newspaper. This became the basis of the Letter from Birmingham Jail.)

The Beginning of the End of "Separate but Equal" (The "separate but equal" standard reflected in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) was partially struck down by - )

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954). (In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), the Supreme Court ruled that the "separate but equal" standard reflected in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) could not pertain to public education. The majority ruled that the segregation of students in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The judgement paved the way for further legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which ended segregation in other facilities serving the general public.)

Wisconsin v. Yoder - Debate (Which of the following best summarizes the debate reflected in Wisconsin v. Yoder?)

Can Amish students be forced by compulsory education laws to attend public school beyond 8th grade? (The major issue in the case of Wisconsin v. Yoder was whether school districts could force students to abide by compulsory education laws beyond the 8th grade even if the family argued that the required years of education might compromise their ability to practice their faith.)

Dr. King's Point of View (Which of the following best describes Dr. Martin Luther King's point of view when writing the Letter from Birmingham Jail?)

Dr. King defends the motivations, tactics, and goals of the Birmingham campaign specifically and the Civil Rights Movement in general. (In a very rational and methodical way, Dr. Martin Luther King seeks to defend the motivations, tactics, and goals of the Birmingham campaign specifically and the Civil Rights Movement in general. Claiming that the black community had exhausted all efforts at negotiation, Dr. King claims, "We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.")

Wisconsin V. Yoder - Ideology (The ideology in Wisconsin v. Yoder is similar to that of which of the following SC cases?)

Engel v. Vitale. (Both Wisconsin v. Yoder and Engel v. Vitale deal with the issue of freedom of religion in public schools. The court decided Wisconsin v. Yoder in favor of an Amish family who did not want to be forced by law to have their students educated beyond 8th grade because it would compromise the exercise of their faith violating their Free Exercise Clause. In Engel v. Vitale, the court found in favor of family who felt that a school developed prayer violated the Establishment Clause.)

Which Clause is It? (In the majority opinion above which clause of the 14th Amendment was most likely the basis for the Court's decision?)

Equal Protection (The equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment states that no state can deny any person equal protection under the law. The Court ruled that a Texas law that banned abortions violated a woman's right to privately decide what was best for her body.)

A Topic of Concern (Which of the following issues appears to be the object of concern in the graphic above?)

Gerrymandering Schemes (The graphic illustrates the great lengths political parties will go to construct "safe" districts for their candidates to hold onto office. This is referred to as gerrymandering. Thanks to reapportionment, states can redraw congressional district boundaries to create certain voting advantages for the majority party in power. Often times, these redrawn district boundaries take on outlandish shapes in order to encompass a majority of voters from the party in control of the state.)

Most Similar to Roe v. Wade (Which landmark Supreme Court case below is most often linked with Roe v. Wade to support a woman's right to privacy?)

Griswold v. Connecticut (1968) ... where the Court ruled that a Connecticut law banning the sale of contraceptives violated the marital right to privacy. (Griswold v. Connecticut is the most similar case to Roe v. Wade because it too, confirms a woman's right do what she wants with her body. In the Griswold, the case revolved around a Connecticut law that outlawed the purchase of contraceptives. The Court ruled that there was a "marital right to privacy" which the Connecticut law violated.)

Wisconsin v. Yoder - Dissenting Opinion (The main argument of the dissenting opinion in Wisconsin v. Yoder rested upon which of the following concerns?)

High School students might deserve some say in the matter of whether they want to continue their public education past 8th grade. (Justice Douglas' dissent focused in large part on the concern that high school age would old enough to decide for themselves whether the Amish way of life was for them. Whether students wanted to continue abiding by their Amish faith was up to them and Douglas' worried that deciding in favor the parents' Free Exercise rights might exclude student input on the matter and raise the possibility that their continued public education would be unfairly inhibited.)

Impact of Title IX of Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was passed in response to public pressure to promote greater equality. Which of the following has been the most significant impact of Title IX?)

Increased participation of women in high school and college sports. (Title IX specifically prohibits discrimination in educational programs based on gender by institutions that receive federal funding. While the statute does not specifically mention sports, increased availability of women's sports program was understood to be one of its purposes, and it has significantly increased the participation of women in sports.)

Impact of Selective Incorporation (Which of the following best describes an impact of the Supreme Court's use of the selective incorporation doctrine?)

It restricts the power of state legislatures to pass laws that interfere with individual rights. (The doctrine of selective incorporation refers to the process by which the Supreme Court has applied individual rights protections from the Bill of Rights against state laws and actions. The due process clause of the 14th Amendment has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to require that fundamental civil liberties be protected from state government interference. This limits the types of laws that can be passed by state legislatures because they must not conflict with the most fundamental provisions of the Bill of Rights.)

Schecnk V. U.S. - Initial Act (Which of the following actions prompted the federal prosecution of Schenck in this case?)

Mass mailing of leaflets encouraging Americans to resist the military draft. (Charles Schenck was a member of the Executive Committee of the American Socialist Party. Socialists disagreed with World War I on the grounds that it was a war prompted by capitalist aggression to further enrich the wealthy. To demonstrate their opposition to the war, Schenck organized the mass mailing of leaflets to encourage Americans to resist the military draft.)

Case Commonality (Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) has the most in common with which of the following Supreme Court cases?)

Miranda v. Arizona (1966) (Like Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), Miranda v. Arizona (1966) dealt with the rights of the accused. Gideon guarantees the right of attorney for the indigent accused through the Sixth Amendment, and Miranda protects the accused from self-incrimination through the Fifth Amendment.)

Tinker v. Des Moines - Dissent (Which of the following advocacy groups would most likely advocate for the dissenting opinion in Tinker v. Des Moines?)

National Association of Secondary School Principals. (The dissent in Tinker v. Des Moines suggested that the symbolic speech in the form of the black armband was indeed as disruption. Further, the dissent argued that allowing such speech would allow students in public schools moving forward to more easily flout administrative directives. The National Association of Secondary School Principals is an advocacy group of school administrators in the United States. Such an organization supports students but also is concerned with discipline and the operation of an orderly building. Out of the listed organizations, they would be the most likely to support the dissent.)

Congress' Power to Enact the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Which of the following provides Congress with authority to enact the Civil Rights Act of 1964?)

Power to regulate commerce. (Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce specifically justifies provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 such as those that prevent discrimination in public accommodations. Because public accommodations operate in interstate commerce, Congress may regulate their activities.)

Civil Rights Act of 1964 (The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's led to legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that was designed to prevent several different types of discrimination. Which of the following is one of the provisions of that legislation?)

Prohibition of discrimination in public accommodations. (The Act specifically prohibited discrimination in public accommodations such as hotels, motels and restaurants based on Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce.)

Contained in the Bill of Rights (Which of the following is specifically guaranteed in the Bill of Rights?)

Right to an impartial jury. (Among other rights guarantees, the Sixth Amendment guarantees the accused the right to a public trial by an impartial jury.)

Cases that Protect Civil Liberties (Which of the following correctly identifies a case that involved First Amendment rights and a case that involved the rights of the accused?)

Row D; Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission / Gideon v. Wainwright (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission involved a conflict between campaign finance regulation and the First Amendment's free speech clause while Gideon v. Wainwright involved the accused's Sixth Amendment right to have an attorney provided by the state since he could not afford one.)

Engel v. Vitale - Uses (A political scientist would most likely use the case of Engel v. Vitale to illustrate which of the following?)

School-developed prayer in public school is often held as a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. (The case of Engel v. Vitale related to the development of a prayer by a public school district and the school's encouragement of the recitation of the prayer. The court reasoned that the district's actions were too much of a promotion of religion by a state-funded entity. As such, the district's actions were ruled to be a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Thus, Engel v. Vitale could be used to assess the Constitutional status of school-developed prayer in public school and to assert that such public school actions are unconstitutional.)

The High Court's Decision (Which of the following most clearly states the outcome of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, I (1954)?)

Segregation of students in public schools, per the "separate but equal" standard, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because separate facilities are inherently unequal. (In its unanimous decision Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, I (1954), the Supreme Court ruled that the segregation of students in public schools, per the "separate but equal" standard established by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Thanks to evidence presented by lead NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall, the Justices concluded that segregated facilities created an inferiority complex within black students which impeded their ability to receive a satisfactory education.)

Engel v. Vitale - Principles (Which of the following government principles was at the center of the court's reasoning in Engel v. Vitale?)

Separation of Church and State. (Separation of Church and State was a political principle that contributed in part to the language of the First Amendment. The principle implies that anything relate to the state or that receives public funding as a government entity should be prevented from promoting any faith. In America, this principle distinguished the United States as a nation with freedom of religion from the European monarchies of the 18th century that maintained official state religion, stifling the religious freedom of non-believers. This principle was used as the backbone of the Establishment Clause that was employed by the court in finding that the school district's prayer in Engel v. Vitale violated the First Amendment.)

The Constitutional Interpretation (The main argument within the unanimous opinion of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, I (1954) rested upon which of the following interpretations of the Constitution?)

State operation of separate public schools for whites and blacks violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. (The unanimous opinion of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, I (1954) written by Chief Justice Earl Warren specifically wrote that," . . .the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs . . .are by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.")

The Effect of "Baker v. Carr (1962) on Redistricting Reform (Which of the following statements best summarizes how Baker v. Carr (1962) impacted the movement towards redistricting reform?)

The Court empowered the federal government to intervene in redistricting questions within a state. (In Baker v. Carr (1962), the movement in favor of redistricting reform was given more hope. This landmark case empowered the federal government to intervene in redistricting questions within a state. Citing the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Court ruled that questionable gerrymandering schemes could be exposed to the scrutiny of the federal courts system for redress.)

Supporting the Dissent (Which of the following political parties would most likely advocate for the dissenting opinion in McDonald v. Chicago (2010)?)

The Democratic Party. (Historically, the Democratic Party has supported strong regulation of Second Amendment gun rights. Given the fact that most urban governments in the U.S. are led by Democrats, it stands to reason that the Democratic Party would support efforts designed to diminish gun violence in major cities. The Democratic Party undoubtedly supported the dissenting opinion in McDonald.)

Decision Shortcoming (In hindsight, which of the following statements most accurately depicts the main shortcoming of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka II (1955)?)

The Supreme Court issued no firm time frame in Brown II, opening the door to numerous southern strategies of resistance. (The fact that the Court issued no firm time frame in Brown II gave southern states legal wiggle room to delay or resist desegregation. Full compliance with the Brown decisions did not occur until the mid 1960s, after specific threats were levied by the Court and the Federal Government.)

Civil Liberties (Which of the following most accurately describes civil liberties?)

The basic freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, either explicitly or through interpretation. (Civil liberties refer to the individual rights guaranteed in the Constitution, primarily those in the Bill of Rights but also including those that have been developed through interpretation, such as the right to privacy.)

The Impact of the Decision (Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) impacted the American judicial system in which of the following ways?)

The demand for well-trained public defenders has risen considerably. (After Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), states scrambled to create public defender agencies. Recruiting and training competent public defenders continues to be an important issue with regards to most state judicial systems.)

USA PATRIOT Act (In the weeks following the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act which increased the ability of law enforcement to search personal telephone, email and financial records without a court order. Which of the following best explains this scenario?)

The desire to guarantee public safety can lead to limits on individual rights. (Passage of the USA PATRIOT Act resulted from the government's desire to protect the public following the worst terrorist attack on American soil. The act limited a number of personal rights, especially those arguably protected by the Fourth Amendment's guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures, in an attempt to thwart further terrorist attacks. The Act has been challenged in court, and provisions allowing a warrant to be issued without probable cause and providing for the collection of telephone metadata being declared unconstitutional by federal courts. .)

A Political Scientist's Illustration (A political scientist would most likely use Federalist No. 78 to illustrate which of the following?)

The independent nature of the national judiciary. (Throughout Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton stresses the need for an independent judiciary. Concepts like lifetime appointments and judicial review all serve to highlight the importance of a national judiciary that is unfettered and not controlled by either the executive or legislative branches of government.)

Bill of Rights (Which of the following best describes why the Supreme Court is so frequently asked to decide cases that involve civil liberties?)

The need of the government to protect society is often in conflict with the rights of individuals. (The need to balance liberty and order frequently leads to challenges to government action, many of which end up being decided by the Supreme Court. The government has the responsibility of protecting society, such as by preventing crime, but it must balance this responsibility against the need to protect individual rights, such as limitations on unreasonable searches and seizures.)

Wisconsin V. Yoder - Rights (In the majority opinion, the court's decision was clearly based on protecting the free exercise rights of which of the following stakeholders?)

The parents. (Legal action was taken by the parents of the Amish students in the case of Wisconsin v. Yoder. The parents argued that their children's free exercise rights were being unfairly restricted by the state of Wisconsin's compulsory education laws requiring them to attend public school beyond 8th grade. Though the children are typically the focal point of the case, they were not adults and still under the legal protection of their parents. Given the fact that the parents brought legal action, it was the parents' free exercise rights that were at issue in the case.)

Roe v. Wade (Which of the following best summarizes Justice Blackmun's opinion above?)

The right to privacy is implied in a variety of ways in the Constitution and protects a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy. (Roe v. Wade established the precedent that protects a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy in 1973. The case then, as now, was highly controversial. You must remember that although the case is clearly related to abortion, it is also directly related to a woman's privacy and choices she has the responsibility to make for herself. The opinion above is very clear that the Constitution does not directly protect the right to privacy, but lower courts believe it can be found in the 9th Amendment, while the Supreme Court feels it is protected by the 14th Amendment. This varied interpretation of the right to privacy is the central argument in this excerpt other than the issue of terminating a pregnancy.)

Impact on the U.S. Judicial System (Roe v. Wade (1973) has impacted the U.S. judicial system in which of the following ways?)

The selection of federal judges, especially Supreme Court Justices, has become more politicized. (The Roe v. Wade (1973) has proven to be one of the most polarizing Supreme Court decisions in American history. Since it was handed down, the issue of abortion has been highly politicized. The Democratic Party has become a major advocate of abortion rights. The new, more conservative brand of Republican Party, which appeared in the 1980s, took in the Evangelical Christian and Catholic vote with the promise of one day overturning the Roe decision. Subsequently, presidents of each party have made it a priority to select federal judges, especially Supreme Court Justices, who tow the party line when it comes to the question of abortion.)

Separation of Races (In absence of any civil rights legislation, in what way could the 14th Amendment have been used to validate the ordinance above in the 1950s?)

Using the idea of selective incorporation, the Supreme Court could nullify any law that did not apply equal protection of the law to the people Alabama. (The first time the Supreme Court selectively incorporated fundamental rights protected by the Bill of Rights to states was in 1921 in Gitlow v. New York. The court up until that point had ruled that the original intent of the Bill of Rights was to protect Americans from the abuse of the federal government and left decisions about violations of state rights to state supreme courts. Since Gitlow set a precedent for the Supreme Court applying the idea that states had to protect Mr. Gitlow's freedom of speech, it could have done the same to protect the civil rights of African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama. Unfortunately, the Court was not ready in 1951 to take such action because Plessy v. Ferguson's "separate but equal" doctrine was still the precedent the Court was following.)

Protection of Civil Liberties (In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court uphold the civil liberties of an individual against government intrusion?)

Wisconsin v. Yoder (Civil liberties are rights specifically guaranteed by the Constitution. In Wisconsin v. Yoder, the Supreme Court upheld the Yoder's right to free exercise of religion guaranteed in the 1st Amendment, allowing them an exemption from the state of Wisconsin's compelled school attendance through the 10th grade.)