Answer: Supreme Court
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q13.2.89
Topic: The Three Types of Federal Courts
Learning Objective: LO 13.2: Outline the structure of the federal court system.
Page Reference: 391
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Difficult
90. Judicial __________ encourages deference to the policy judgments of elected
branches of government.
Topic: How the Supreme Court Decides
Learning Objective: LO 13.3: Analyze the factors that play an important role in
selecting judicial nominees.
Page Reference: 400
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Short Answer Questions
91. Describe the different types of federal courts.
1. Explain that constitutional courts are established by the Constitution or
by Congress pursuant to its Article III powers.
2. List the constitutional courts—Supreme Court, circuit courts, district
courts.
3. Explain the types of cases heard by each of the constitutional courts.
Topic: The Three Types of Federal Courts
Learning Objective: LO 13.2: Outline the structure of the federal court system.
Page Reference: 391 – 393
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate
92. Explain the “rule of four” and its relationship to review in the Supreme Court.
1. Note that review by the Supreme Court is discretionary and not
automatic.
2. Explain that for a case to be heard by the Supreme Court, at least four
justices must vote to hear the case.
Topic: How the Supreme Court Decides
Learning Objective: LO 13.4: Trace the process by which Supreme Court
decisions are reached, and assess influences on this process.
Page Reference: 401
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate
93. Describe the role of senatorial courtesy in presidential judicial appointments.
1. Define senatorial courtesy as the custom of submitting the names of
prospective judges for approval to the senators from the states in which the
appointees are to work. This custom is not observed with Supreme Court
appointments, but presidents sometimes do consult with members of
Congress.
2. Describe how the home-state senators, particularly if they are of the
president’s party, may also develop a list of candidates for the president’s
consideration.
3. Explain that if negotiations deadlock, a seat may stay vacant for years.
Topic: The Politics of Appointing Federal Judges
Learning Objective: LO 13.3: Analyze factors that play an important role in
selecting judicial nominees.
Page Reference: 395 – 396
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate
94. How are nominees to the federal district courts selected?
1. Describe the process of presidential nomination with Senate
confirmation.
2. Discuss the role of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the confirmation
process.
3. Explain the role of “senatorial courtesy” in blocking a potential
nominee.
Topic: The Politics of Appointing Federal Judges
Learning Objective: LO 13.3: Analyze factors that play an important role in
selecting judicial nominees.
461
Page Reference: 394 – 396, 398 – 400
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate
95. Describe the difference between original and appellate jurisdiction.
1. Explain that original jurisdiction gives a court the power to hear a case
in the first instance and appellate jurisdiction gives a court the power to
review the decisions of lower courts.
2. Explain that trial courts generally have original jurisdiction and courts
of appeals appellate jurisdiction.
3. Acknowledge that only the Supreme Court has both original and
appellate jurisdiction.
Topic: The Three Types of Federal Courts
Learning Objective: LO 13.2: Outline the structure of the federal court system.
Page Reference: 391 – 393
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate
96. How is a case determined to be a justiciable dispute and therefore eligible to be
heard by a federal judge?
1. Discuss how the federal judiciary is a passive and reactive branch. It
does not instigate cases or conduct its own investigations, nor can it
resolve every issue that comes before it.
2. Explain that, according to the Constitution, federal judges are to decide
cases and controversies. It is not enough that a judge believes a particular
law to be unconstitutional; a real case must be litigated for a judge to reach
that decision.
Topic: Understanding the Federal Judiciary
Learning Objective: LO 13.1: Determine characteristics of the federal judiciary
and implications of the adversarial process.
Page Reference: 389 – 390
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate
97. Describe the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
1. Discuss the limited nature of the Court’s original jurisdiction and
discuss the very small number of cases each year that arise under the
Court’s original jurisdiction.
2. List the types of controversies that fall within the Court’s original
jurisdiction.
Topic: The Three Types of Federal Courts
Learning Objective: LO 13.2: Outline the structure of the federal court system.
Page Reference: 391
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate
98. Explain why federal judges are appointed for a life term.
1. Discuss the Framers’ concern that an elected judiciary would be partisan
and beholden to the will of the electorate.
2. Explain how a life term enables judges to decide cases based on their
merits without concern for the popularity of the decision.
Topic: Understanding the Federal Judiciary
Learning Objective: LO 13.1: Determine characteristics of the federal judiciary
and implications of the adversarial process.
Page Reference: 388
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult
99. Describe the difference between civil and criminal law.
1. Explain that in a criminal case, the government brings a case against a
defendant for violation of a criminal code.
2. Explain that in a civil case, an individual or institution brings a case
against a defendant for a private wrong.
Topic: Understanding the Federal Judiciary
Learning Objective: LO 13.1: Determine characteristics of the federal judiciary
and implications of the adversarial process.
Page Reference: 389
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate
463
100. John has been convicted of violating a federal criminal statute. Explain how
John’s case could reach the Supreme Court.
1. Note that John must first appeal his conviction to the intermediate
appellate court.
2. Explain that either John or the government could ask the Supreme Court
to review the decision of the circuit court by filing a petition for a writ of
certiorari.
3. Recognize that the case will only be heard and decided by the Supreme
Court if at least four justices agree to hear the case.
Topic: How the Supreme Court Decides
Learning Objective: LO 13.4: Trace the process by which Supreme Court
decisions are reached, and assess influences on this process.
Page Reference: 400 – 401
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Difficult
101. What is the role of interest groups in selecting federal court judges?
1. Define interest group and give examples.
2. Discuss the basic process for selecting and nominating a federal judge.
3. Explain how interest groups can influence the selection process.
Topic: The Politics of Appointing Federal Judges
Learning Objective: LO 13.3: Analyze the factors that play an important role in
selecting judicial nominees.
Page Reference: 396
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate
102. Explain how the U.S. judicial system is structured at the federal and state levels.
What is the relationship between federal and state courts?
1. Note that the United States has both state and federal courts.
2. Describe the types of cases that can be heard only by the federal courts.
3. Explain that the majority of cases are decided by state courts.
4. Discuss the power of the federal courts to review the decisions of state
courts.
464
Topic: The Three Types of Federal Courts
Learning Objective: LO 13.2: Outline the structure of the federal court system.
Page Reference: 393
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult
103. What are the opposing viewpoints regarding diversifying the federal judiciary?
1. Discuss the view that some scholars believe a diverse federal judiciary
may reach decisions that more accurately reflect the views of our diverse
population; however, research has not provided much support for the
contention that female or minority judges decide cases differently than do
white male judges, with the exception of discrimination suits.
2. Explain that even if there are no differences in outcomes, scholars argue
that simply having a federal judiciary that reflects the citizenry is
important to maintaining the courts’ legitimacy; citizens place value in
seeing someone like themselves on the federal judiciary.
Topic: The Politics of Appointing Federal Judges
Learning Objective: LO 13.3: Analyze factors that play an important role in
selecting judicial nominees.
Page Reference: 397
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult
104. Describe the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down state law in Brown v.
Board of Education. How could this decision be considered judicial activism?
1. Describe how the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of
Education of Topeka (1954) was an active one in that it struck down the
state law requiring racial segregation in the public schools.
2. Explain that the Court’s ability to take such action is often seen as an
important check on the tyranny of the majority.
Topic: The Politics of Appointing Federal Judges
Learning Objective: LO 13.3: Analyze factors that play an important role in
selecting judicial nominees.
Page Reference: 399
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult
465
105. If we as citizens oppose the Supreme Court’s decisions, how can we make our
opposition known?
1. Explain that by communicating with members of Congress, we can
pressure them to pass legislation that limits the Court’s ruling.
2. Discuss how we can organize to oppose a particular nomination to the
federal judiciary.
3. Describe that when making our voting decisions, we can consider the
type of judge a presidential candidate is likely to appoint to the federal
judiciary.
Topic: Judicial Power and Its Limits
Learning Objective: LO 13.5: Assess the limits on judicial action and the role of
the judiciary in a constitutional democracy.
Page Reference: 410
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Essay Questions
106. What do presidents look for in selecting a Supreme Court justice?
1. Discuss the important criteria, such as experience, political party,
ideology or policy preferences, rewards, pursuit of political support,
religion, race, and gender.
2. Explain the importance of prior judicial experience.
3. Note that presidents also consider the confirmation process and the need
for bipartisan support of their nominees.
Topic: The Politics of Appointing Federal Judges
Learning Objective: LO 13.3: Analyze factors that play an important role in
selecting judicial nominees.
Page Reference: 394 – 400
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate
107. What would be the most likely consequence if courts did not have the power of
judicial review?
1. Discuss the role of judicial review in ensuring that the actions of the
other branches comply with the Constitution.
2. Explain that the legislative branch would likely pass unconstitutional
laws if the courts had no power to invalidate such legislation.
3. Draw a direct connection between judicial review and the preservation
of individual liberty.
4. Explain that judicial review empowers the judicial branch to operate as
an effective “check” on the other branches of government.
Topic: The Politics of Appointing Federal Judges
Learning Objective: LO 13.3: Analyze factors that play an important role in
selecting judicial nominees.
Page Reference: 399
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Difficult
108. What role does judicial philosophy play in the nomination process?
1. Discuss how differences in constitutional interpretation can produce
vastly different outcomes on the same legal question; presidents and
senators want to know how candidates see the appropriate role of the
courts.
2. Explain that a proponent of judicial restraint would propose that judges
should strike down the actions of the elected branches only if they clearly
violate the Constitution; it would be appropriate for the courts to strike
down popularly enacted legislation only when it violates the letter of the
Constitution.
3. Explain that a proponent of judicial activism would propose that judges
can freely strike down laws enacted by the democratically elected
branches; the candidate would believe that the courts should strike down
acts of the elected branches if they violate broad norms and values that
might not be explicitly stated in the Constitution.
4. Describe that at the heart of this debate are competing conceptions of
the proper balance between government authority and individual rights,
and the power of democratically accountable legislatures and unelected
judges.
Topic: How the Supreme Court Decides
Learning Objective: LO 13.3: Analyze the factors that play an important role in
selecting judicial nominees.
Page Reference: 399 – 400
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult
467
109. Analyze the influence law clerks may have on the cases that get heard and the
decisions that are handed down by the Supreme Court.
1. Explain that each justice picks his or her own clerks and works closely
with them throughout the term. In addition to screening writs of
certiorari, clerks prepare draft opinions for the justices. Today’s opinions
are longer, have more footnotes, and contain elaborate citations of cases
and law review articles; this results in an ever-increasing number of law
clerks who often appear to practice against each other.
2. Discuss the influence law clerks extend in decisions to grant certiorari.
3. Discuss the importance of law clerks’ roles in writing early drafts of
their justices’ opinions.
Topic: How the Supreme Court Decides
Learning Objective: LO 13.4: Trace the process by which Supreme Court
decisions are reached, and assess influences on this process.
Page Reference: 401 – 406
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult
110. Compare the roles of prosecutor and public defender as distinct players in the
criminal justice system.
1. Explain the work of prosecutors within the criminal justice system,
including their responsibility to the public.
2. Recall what public defenders do, including that these individuals give
legal assistance to people accused of crimes who cannot afford their own
lawyers.
3. Evaluate why the criminal justice system needs both of these kinds of
attorneys to maintain a fair system.
Topic: Understanding the Federal Judiciary
Learning Objective: LO 13.1: Determine characteristics of the federal judiciary
and implications of the adversarial process.
Page Reference: 389 – 391
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult
468