Government Chapter 14

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

appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate

Each of the 50 states structures and maintains its own ______.

court system

Which of the following federal court levels does not have original jurisdiction?

courts of appeals

The type of state law that involves issues such as shoplifting, murder, and rape is known as ______ law.

criminal

Judicial review is a term that refers to the power the Supreme Court has to ______.

invalidate a law or action on constitutional grounds

Chief Justice John Roberts has observed that the Supreme Court ______.

is not a political branch of government, and the public has to accept its decisions

per curiam opinion

issued as an unsigned decision for the Court as a whole

concurring opinion

issued by a justice in the majority when that justice disagrees with all or part of the majority's reasoning

dissenting opinion

issued by one or more justices on the losing side to explain their reasoning

majority opinion

issued when all or most of the justices agree on the legal basis of a decision

plurality opinion

issued when some justices agree on the majority's decision but disagree with the legal basis for it

Alexander Hamilton said that the power of the Supreme Court rested on the power of ______.

judgment—the reasonableness and fairness of its actions

In making their decisions, what are the three main sources of law that judges consider in the United States?

legal precedent the Constitution U.S. statutory law

Statutory laws are created by which branch of government?

legislative

Compared with Republican presidents, Democratic presidents have appointed ______ to the federal bench.

more women more minorities

Twelve of the thirteen federal appellate courts cover specific geographic regions, which are called ______.

circuits

The type of state law that involves such issues as business disputes or divorces is known as ______.

civil law

The structure of the state court systems is defined by ______.

state law

The American common law evolved from which legal system?

the British system

Federal judges play a role in the creation of law and public policy because

the Constitution can be interpreted in a number of ways.

To whom or what does the president typically delegate the task of identifying nominees to lower-court positions?

the deputy attorney general

How many women currently serve on the Supreme Court, as of December 2020?

3

The Constitution establishes the Supreme Court. Which entity is empowered by the Constitution to establish the lower federal courts?

Congress

Which of the following circuit courts has jurisdiction over appeals involving patents and international trade?

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

True or false: The Supreme Court's decision gives the legal basis for the Court's ruling.

False

Which of the following is true about the Supreme Court's control in selecting cases to hear.

It has almost complete control in deciding the cases it will hear.

Why is blatant partisanship not really a factor in lower-court decisions?

Most lower-court cases are clear-cut, with little leeway in judges' interpretation of the law. Judges value their independence as officers of a separate branch of the government.

Which of the following statements concerning the political orientation of Supreme Court justices is correct?

Republican appointees are more likely than Democratic appointees to side with law enforcement officials instead of with the criminally accused.

Which of the following statements accurately describes the challenge faced by the judiciary in interpreting the Constitution?

The Constitution is silent concerning the approach that judges should take in deciding cases where the law is not completely clear.

Why is it impossible to firmly settle the argument over judicial restraint and activism?

The Constitution offers no specific method of decision making.

What unique and vital power does the chief justice enjoy once the Supreme Court has reached a decision in a case?

The chief justice chooses who writes the Court's opinion, provided the chief justice is a member of the majority.

Which of the following is true of appeals to the Supreme Court?

The issue must involve a federal constitutional question or federal law.

Interest groups that rely on a judicial strategy to advance their cause are careful in which of the following ways?

They choose courts with judges who are likely to be sympathetic. They choose cases that have a chance of success.

The theories of judicial restraint and judicial activism differ in what way?

They differ in how much their adherents believe judges should follow precedent and defer to elected officials.

Amicus curiae briefs have what impact on the American legal system?

They help the court to understand how interested parties feel about the case in question.

The next step for a federal case on appeal from a U.S. district court is that it travels to ______.

a U.S. court of appeals

The only type of federal court that features two sides presenting a case to a jury for a verdict is ______.

a district court

Following oral argument, the Supreme Court justices meet in complete privacy and secrecy to discuss and vote on the case. This meeting of the justices is called ______.

a judicial conference

Supreme Court chief justice John Marshall used the Court to strengthen the judiciary and made legal decisions not explicitly discussed by the Constitution. These actions demonstrated Marshall's use of judicial ______.

activism

The doctrine of judicial restraint implies that it is the duty of judges to

apply the law.

According to Alexander Hamilton's argument in Federalist No. 78, the best way to ensure that the federal courts exercise their power reasonably and fairly is to ______.

appoint federal judges for life

Why are future Supreme Court nominees unlikely to be rejected by the Senate?

because the use of the filibuster has been abolished for Supreme Court nominations

Supreme Court nominations in recent years have been _____ in the Senate.

bitterly contested

Presidents can influence the courts by ______.

choosing how much to enforce court decisions influencing the cases that come before courts

The Supreme Court, recognizing public opinion in the Brown v. Board of Education case, required local school systems to ______.

desegregate "with all deliberate speed" instead of immediately

True or false: The Constitution requires that federal judges be citizens and at least thirty years old.

false

True or false: The line between proper and improper judicial decision making is very clear.

false

According to the doctrine of judicial restraint, judges should ______.

generally defer to the policy decisions made by elected officials

A court's jurisdiction is its authority to ______.

hear cases of a particular type

How many justices sit on the Supreme Court?

nine

Which of the following are issued by the Supreme Court after hearing a case?

one or more opinions a decision

A Supreme Court ______ explains the justices' legal basis for their decision.

opinion

In his book Electing Justices, Richard Davis likens Supreme Court appointments in the era of party polarization to ______.

political campaigns

The nominating process for the Supreme Court places high importance on which of the following aspects of a potential Supreme Court nominee?

political philosophy legal credentials

When the justices meet following oral arguments in a case, why are the proceedings secret?

to give the justices the opportunity to change their minds to allow the justices to speak freely

True or false: None of President Trump's nominees would have been confirmed if the filibuster were still allowed for Supreme Court confirmation votes.

true

True or false: Studies by political scientists have shown that Supreme Court justices tend to vote according to their political attitudes.

true

When four Supreme Court justices agree to request a record of the case from a lower court, the court issues a ______.

writ of certiorari