Constitutional Law Chapter 14

In Colgrove v. Battin, the Supreme Court upheld juries comprised of _____ members in federal civil trials.

6

The concept of balanced government being so important to the states, the only amendment agreed upon by all the states recommending a Bill of Rights was the:

Tenth Amendment

The Supreme Court failed to uphold the right to sexual privacy in:

Bowers v. Hardwick

The first state to pass a victims' rights constitutional amendment was:

California.

Olmstead v. United States stated that "the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men" is the right to pursue happiness.

F

Rights not specifically listed in the Bill of Rights are known as delegated rights.

F

Selective incorporation has been used to incorporate the entire Bill of Rights to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

F

Suits at common law are legal controversies arising out of criminal law rather than civil law.

F

The Ninth Amendment specifically guarantees the right to privacy.

F

Discuss the concept of federalism and how it is embodied in the Tenth Amendment

Federalism is the principle of the federal and state governments sharing power. The Constitution was written to apply to the federal government; the Tenth Amendment states: "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." Thus, any powers not specifically delegated to the federal government belonged to the states. States maintain sovereignty over issues not covered in the Constitution, and can make their own laws to address such issues. Thus, when Congress tries to pass laws requiring states to regulate something, the Supreme Court quashes the effort (i.e., United States v. Lopez, 1995).

The ____________ Amendment gave the vote to black males

Fifteenth.

The Supreme Court held that Congress had the authority to establish a national bank in:

McCulloch v. Maryland

Women were given the right to vote by the:

Nineteenth Amendment

The ________ Amendment is sometimes referred to as the forgotten amendment because it is seldom used as a basis for Supreme Court decisions.

Ninth

The ____________ Amendment has been used by the Supreme Court to infer the right to privacy.

Ninth

Discuss Prohibition, including its origin and demise and what occurred in between. Relate this to the Harrison Act making certain drugs illegal to sell or possess.

Prohibition began in 1919 with the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment, which prohibited the sale and purchase of "intoxicating liquors." A hugely unpopular law, a large segment of society ignored this amendment and continued imbibing, thus fueling the black market profit from such illegal activity. As lawmakers began realizing such a ban on alcohol was not only futile but was also making mobsters rich, the law was repealed with passage of the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933. The effects of the Harrison Act have been similar. Passage of the Act has not stopped use of the proscribed drugs. It has also created a black market where drug dealers profit and the government misses out on the tax benefits of legalization.

The ________ Amendment established the right to a federal jury trial for all "suits at common law" if the value was over $20.

Seventh

The federal income tax was established in the:

Sixteenth Amendment

One of the primary reserve powers kept by the states is police power.

T

The Ninth Amendment establishes that the rights of U.S. citizens extend beyond those listed in the Constitution.

T

The Supreme Court supported a woman's right to abortion in Roe v. Wade.

T

The Tenth Amendment embodies the principle of federalism.

T

The right to a federal jury trial is determined mainly by historical analysis of common law.

T

The ________ Amendment embodies the principle of federalism.

Tenth

The ____________ was designed in response to fear of a national government with too much power which was, at the time, considered to be the greatest threat to liberty.

Tenth Amendment

The ____________ Amendment lowered the voting age to 18.

Twenty-Sixth (1971)

Discuss the progression and impact of amendments relating to voting.

The Fifteenth Amendment gave black males the vote; the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the vote; the Twenty-Fourth Amendment required the right to vote not be denied by reason of failure to pay taxes; and the Twenty-Sixth Amendment lowered the voting age to 18. Though women were given the right to vote fifty years after black males, the Twenty-Fourth Amendment was passed to forbid states from disenfranchising those who were too poor to pay poll taxes (most often affecting black voters—both male and female). Lowering the voting age to 18 allowed all American adults to participate in the political process.

Explain the significance of the Ninth Amendment relative to federal power.

The Ninth Amendment specifies that the rights of U.S. citizens extend beyond those listed in the Constitution, and supports the Bill of Rights by asserting that even rights that are not specifically listed in the Bill—known as unenumerated rights—are no less important than those that are listed. Among such rights are the rights to privacy, freedom of association, interstate and international travel, and others.

The _______ Amendment has never been subjected to Supreme Court review.

Third

The ________ Amendment has never been subjected to Supreme Court review.

Third

The ________ Amendment prohibited housing soldiers in private homes during peacetime.

Third

The Supreme Court held there is no right to a federal jury trial when Congress had created other administrative remedies in:

Thomas v. Union Carbide

In ____________, the Supreme Court upheld the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

United States v. Darby

Discuss the significance of the Seventh Amendment.

Whereas the Sixth Amendment guarantees a jury trial for all criminal proceedings, the Seventh Amendment extends this right to federal civil proceedings—"suits at common law"-- involving more than $20 (which was a large sum when the Bill of Rights was passed in 1791).

Rights not specifically listed in the Bill of Rights:

are called unenumerated rights.

Griswold v. Connecticut is considered the first case in which the Supreme Court addressed the Ninth Amendment, and dealt with the legality of :

contraception

Powers of the federal government are known as ________ powers.

delegated

The powers of the national government, both enumerated and implied, are known as the:

delegated powers

The Ninth Amendment deals with the concept(s) of:

enumeration of certain rights.

Congress has not considered an Amendment regarding:

equal rights for same-sex couples.

Reserving for the states those powers not granted to the federal government or withheld from the states is ________.

federalism

Which of the following is not an "unenumerated" right?

freedom of assembly

The Fourteenth Amendment:

guarantees equal protection of the laws.

The Constitution gives Congress the power to make laws to carry out its enumerated powers through the:

necessary and proper clause

The Thirteenth Amendment:

overturned the Dred Scott decision and prohibits slavery

Under federalism:

power is shared by the national government and the states.

Whether there is a right to a federal jury trial is based largely on:

previous cases heard and common law analysis.

The Third Amendment:

prohibits the quartering of soldiers in homes during times of peace

Powers retained by the states are known as ________ powers.

reserve

The powers kept by the states under the Tenth Amendment are known as:

reserve powers

The United States Supreme Court struck down the portion of the Brady Bill which compelled local law enforcement to perform background checks on handgun applicants, holding the requirement violated:

separate state sovereignty

Selective incorporation is:

the concept used to apply certain amendments to state government.

Olmstead v. United States stated that the most comprehensive and most valued right by civilized men was the right ________.

to be left alone

Rights not specifically listed in the Bill of Rights are known as ________ rights.

unenumerated

In Griswold v. Connecticut, Justice Douglas stated that the various Bill of Rights guarantees--such as those contained in the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments--created areas of life safe from government intrusion known as:

zones of privacy