1. The First Amendment specifically prohibits Congress from making any laws that restrict freedom of religion,
speech, press, assembly, and:
a. privacy. b. to petition the government.
c. the presumption of innocence. d. travel.
2. Protected forms of speech include all of the following, except:
a. burning the American flag.
b. protesting abortion clinics.
c. advocating the violent overthrow of the government.
d. swearing at a law enforcement officer.
3. Which of the following is a permissible restriction on speech?
a. Defamation. b. Political rhetoric
c. Criticism of the government d. Depictions of animal cruelty
4. As , law enforcement officers’ speech is protected by the First Amendment only if it is a matter of
public concern or unrelated to employment.
a. officers of the court b. members of the Executive branch
c. public employees d. private citizens
5. The Supreme Court upheld prison
regulations
that are
“reasonably
related to legitimate
penological
interests” using
the:
a. clear and present danger test b. rational basis test
c. strict scrutiny test d. clear and probable danger test
6. Hamilton v. Regents of the University of California (1934), involving compulsory military training, was one of
the earliest cases regarding:
a. freedom of the press. b. freedom of religion.
c. freedom of speech. d. freedom to assemble.
7. In Everson v. Board of Education (1947), the Supreme Court cited Thomas Jefferson, stating that the
was intended to erect a “wall of separation between Church and State.”
a. establishment of religion clause
b. free exercise clause
c. separation of parochial and secular schools
d.
”excessive entanglement”
test
8. Freedom of the press protects:
a. the right to publish information without governmental control.
b.
magazine publishers
from being told they can’t print obscene material.
c. the public from the publication of offensive material.
d. press premises from being searched by law enforcement.
9. The Espionage Act, passed by Congress in 1917:
a. empowered the President to expel “dangerous aliens.”
b. made it illegal to interfere with recruiting or drafting soldiers or any act that adversely affected military
morale.
c. made it illegal to write or speak “with the intent to defame” the government.
d. made it illegal to provide material support to terrorist organizations.
10. The ‘Lemon’ test regarding separation of church and state required that any law challenged under the
establishment clause must meet all of the following criteria, except:
a. have a primary secular purpose.
b. have a principle effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion.
c. have a principle effect that either advances or inhibits religion.
d. not generate excessive entanglement between government and religion.
11. The right to peaceful assembly:
a. permits anyone to enter private property to assert protected speech.
b. involves the right to assemble in public places.
c. permits demonstrations on the property of private abortion clinics.
d. cannot be restricted under any circumstances.
12. Which of the following is not subject to regulation by the state to protect societal interests under the free exercise
clause?
a. Performance of autopsies.
b. Requiring Boy Scouts to promise to “Love God.”
c. Requiring Amish to put orange reflectors on their buggies.
d. Ingestion of illegal drugs in religious ceremonies.
13. Control of the press during the Persian Gulf War was:
a. absolute. b. close to 100 percent.
c. fairly lax. d. nonexistent.
14. Under the First Amendment, there is an absolute freedom to:
a. speak b. act
c. protest d. believe
15. Judicial activism is:
a. unconstitutional.
b. when judges interpret the Constitution and its amendments
c. a violation of due process.
d. all of the above.
16. The Supreme Court struck down a law banning
computer–generated
or “virtual” child
pornography
in:
a. Prewitt v. State of Arizona ex rel. Eyman (1969).
b. Procunier v. Martinez (1974).
c. City of Ladue v. Gilleo (1994).
d. Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997).
17. The Supreme Court ruled that cities may not prohibit yard signs in:
a. Prewitt v. State of Arizona ex rel. Eyman (1969).
b. Procunier v. Martinez (1974).
c. City of Ladue v. Gilleo (1994).
d. Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997).
18. The Smith Act (1940):
a. banned nude dancing.
b. made it unlawful to advocate overthrowing the government by force.
c. established national standards for obscenity.
d. established the ‘clear and probable danger’ test.
19. In order for speech to be considered obscene, and thus not protected by the First Amendment, it must be all of
the following except:
a. the work arouses erotic sexual interest.
b. the work taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest in sex.
c. it portrays sexual conduct in a patently offensive way.
d. the work taken as a whole does not have a serious literary, artistic, political or
scientific value.
20. Which of the
following
is not part of the
three-part
test in
determining “imminent
lawless action”?
a. The speaker subjectively intended incitement.
b. In context, the words used were likely to produce imminent, lawless action
c. the words used by the speaker objectively encouraged and urged incitement.
d. the words used by the speaker caused excitement.
21. Religious freedom includes all of the following, except:
a. the freedom to worship. b. freedom to print instructional material.
c. freedom to train teachers. d. prayer conducted in public schools.
22. Freedom of the press was made binding on the states through the Fourteenth Amendment in Near v. Minnesota
(1931), in which the Supreme Court ruled that:
a. no newspaper could be banned because of its contents, regardless how scandalous.
b. obscenity is not a constitutionally protected form of speech.
c. government may halt publication of books that endanger national security.
d. the press has no constitutional right to disregard promises of confidentiality.
23.
“Whether
the gravity of the evil
discounted
by its
improbability,
justifies such invasion of free speech as is
necessary to avoid the danger” is called the:
a. clear and probable danger test b. clear and present danger test
c. imminent lawless action test d. imminent probable danger test
24. The Supreme Court justified the screening of inmate mail in:
a. Prewitt v. State of Arizona ex rel. Eyman (1969).
b. Procunier v. Martinez (1974).
c. City of Ladue v. Gilleo (1994).
d. Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997).
25. The establishment clause of the First Amendment sets forth all of the following, except:
a. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.
b. Congress is prohibited from establishing a national church.
c. Congress may establish a national church if three–fourths of the states vote to ratify.
d. government cannot show preference to any particular religion.
26. In the case of Texas v. Johnson (1989), the Supreme Court ruled: “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the
First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds
the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.” This case involved:
a. child pornography b. flag burning
c. cross burning d. nude dancing
27. The Supreme Court placed restrictions on the censorship of inmate mail in:
a. Prewitt v. State of Arizona ex rel. Eyman (1969).
b. Procunier v. Martinez (1974).
c. City of Ladue v. Gilleo (1994).
d. Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997).
28. The Supreme Court held that obscenity is not a constitutionally protected form of free speech in:
a. Near v. Minnesota. b. Cohen v. Cowles Media Company.
c. Roth v. United States. d. the Zenger case.
29. Standards to define obscenity were set forth in:
a. Near v. Minnesota. b. the Zenger case.
c. Edwards v. City of Goldsboro, NC. d. Miller v. California.
30. The first guarantee to be made applicable to the states through incorporation was:
a. freedom of religion. b. freedom to assemble.
c. freedom of speech. d. freedom of the press.
31. Many states apply a higher fighting words standard to law enforcement officers because they are expected to
exercise a higher degree of restraint than the average citizen.
a. True
b. False
32. In Virginia v. Black, the Supreme Court ruled the singular act of cross burning was not a form of free speech
protected by the First Amendment.
a. True
b. False
33. The Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot require children to pledge allegiance to the United States each
day.
a. True
b. False
34. The Supreme Court has ruled that Americans have a free-speech right to pass out anonymous political pamphlets.
a. True
b. False
35. The United States has been a model of religious tolerance throughout history.
a. True
b. False
36. Any officer who speaks in public on an employment matter is not protected by the First Amendment.
a. True
b. False
37. In the 1999 case of Chicago v. Morales, the Supreme Court upheld an
“antiloitering”
ordinance, stating that the
definition
of illegal
loitering
as “to remain in any one place with no
apparent purpose”
was not unconstitutionally
vague.
a. True
b. False
38. The court has no duty to protect those who come before it from undue adverse publicity.
a. True
b. False
39. In Virginia v. Black (2003), the Supreme Court held that a law banning cross burning as a hate crime itself is
unconstitutional
because the law presumes hate is the
purpose—without
more evidence, cross burning is deemed a
protected form of speech.
a. True
b. False
40.
Government’s
restriction of the press through use of prior restraint is rare in the United States and most other
democratic countries.
a. True
b. False
41. The First Amendment provision that prohibits the government from creating a national church is the
clause.
42. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 was declared by the Supreme Court.
43. In upholding the free speech right of anonymous pamphleteering, the Supreme Court held that
“Anonymity
is a
shield from the tyranny of the .”
44. In determining when speech should not be protected, the courts replaced the clear and present danger test with
the test.
45. No rights are absolute, so government can regulate them when outweigh those of the individual.
46. The
constitutionality
of prison
regulations
that restrict
prisoners’
First
Amendment
rights are judged by using a
test.
47. Balancing society’s need for law and order and for effective law enforcement against the of
individuals is known as the balancing test.
48. The free exercise of religion involves both the freedom to believe and the freedom to .
49. Historically, freedom of the press has been attached to the general concept of .
50. Rank the four basic freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment in descending order of importance to you, then
explain why you rank them as you do.
51. Discuss the delicate balance being struck by the Court in achieving the separation of church and state in schools.
52. Discuss the constitutionality of flag burning. Explain your feelings about this symbolic act and whether it should be
constitutionally protected.
53.
Discuss
the
evolution
of the
“imminent
lawless action” test.
54. Discuss how protestors are protected and restricted by the First Amendment.
55. Why is Snyder v. Phelps (2012) an important First Amendment case?
56. Freedom of the press is the first right set forth in the Bill of Rights because of the suppression of newspapers in the
early American colonies.
a. True
b. False
57. Religious freedom includes the freedom to print instructional materials to train religious teachers and to organize
religious schools.
a. True
b. False
58. Conscientious objection to military service based on religious beliefs is not a constitutional issue since everyone has a
duty to serve their country.
a. True
b. False
59. Everson v. Board of Education made the separation of church and state, as well as the Establishment Clause,
applicable to the states.
a. True
b. False
60. Van Orden v. Perry and McCreary County v. ACLU were similar cases dealing with the Establishment Clause in
2004, but yielded vastly different rulings.
a. True
b. False
61.
separated. championed the theory that government and religion need not, and in fact cannot, be completely
62. Lynch v. Donnelly dealt with issues involving the Clause of the United States Constitution.
63. The Supreme Court has consistently held that
offensive.
may not be prohibited simply because some find it
64. Freedom of speech is subject to the legal standard of
compelling government interest that justifies the law impacting it.
in which the state must establish it has a
65. A form of speech that expresses an idea or emotion without the use of words is known as .
66. The case of Texas v. Johnson found that was protected speech.
a. burning the United States flag
b. burning a cross
c. burning a draft card
d. shouting at a judge
67. In Barnes v. Glen Theater, it was found that nude dancing
a. enjoyed some First Amendment protection.
b. laws were subject to a strict scrutiny test.
c. had no First Amendment protections.
d. constituted obscenity.
68. The Supreme Court in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul found that burning a cross was
a. a hate crime.
b. subject to First Amendment protection.
c. unconstitutional.
d. none of the above.
69. In the City of Ladue v. Gilleo, the Supreme Court found that involve free speech protections.
a. nude dancing
b. campaign ads
c. yard signs
d. bumper stickers
70. The “clear and present danger test”
a. is used to test when speech should not be protected by the First Amendment.
b. has been replaced by the “imminent lawless action” test.
c. involves Constitutional cases involving foreign countries.
d. demands obedience to the government.
ANSWER: b
71. Should prisoners have the same rights under the First Amendment as law abiding citizens? Why or why not?
72. You represent a famous journalist who has been incarcerated for failure to disclose a confidential source to a
prosecutor working on a murder case in your town. The prosecutor insists she needs all available information to
convict a loathsome murderer. How would you argue to the judge that your client should not be imprisoned?
73. A young man told a few people that he had served in Afghanistan and was awarded the Silver Star. Unfortunately,
one of these people told a newspaper reporter that she suspected he was being untruthful and the young man found
himself on the cover of the newspaper with the headline, “Liar!” The local prosecutor intends to prosecute your client
under a law forbidding lying about military service. Everyone in town is angry about the case. This young man has
come into your legal office asking you to represent him. He has been rejected by many attorneys in town.
Would you take the case? Why or why not?
74. A group of women who are mothers of young children killed by handguns has decided to protest. The local police
chief refuses to enforce any gun control or gun violence legislation in her county, because she feels it won’t work
and infringes on the Second Amendment. The women‘s group decides they will protest at an upcoming policeman’s
funeral. Do you think that the protesters should be subject to arrest? Why or why not?
75. A student at a local high school insists on wearing a T-Shirt, some say advocates white supremacy ideologies, in a
predominantly African-American school. Using the preferred freedoms approach, convince the school board to
allow the student to wear the shirt to class.