In Gomilion v. Lightfoot (1960) the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional an
extreme form of
a. the literacy test.
b. the white primary.
c. the grandfather clause.
d. the racial gerrymander.
First enacted by Mississippi in 1890 as a means of preventing Blacks from voting, the
_________ soon spread throughout Southern and border states.
a. poll tax
b. literacy test
c. grandfather clause
d. white primary
In 1941, Congress enacted a law specifying that the method of “_________” would be
used to ascertain the number of congressional seats to which each state would be
entitled.
a. equal proportions
b. least squares
c. least resistance
d. minimum deviation
In McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (1950), the Supreme Court disallowed an
attempt by the University of Oklahoma
a. to segregate a black graduate student from his white colleagues.
b. to create a separate law school for blacks.
c. to require blacks to attend law schools in other states.
d. to close down a law school reserved to blacks only.
Proponents of a constitutional right of privacy often cite the ______, which guarantees
rights “retained by the people” even though they are not enumerated in the Constitution.
a. Fourth Amendment
b. Sixth Amendment
c. Seventh Amendment
d. Ninth Amendment
In which case did Justice Holmes articulate the clear and present danger test,saying that
“the question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances
and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring
about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.”
a. Patterson v Colorado (1907)
b.Fox v. Washington (1915)
c. Schenck v. United States (1919)
d. None of the above is true.
In Coates v. City of Cincinnati (1971), the Supreme Court _________ an ordinance that
made it unlawful for “three or more persons to assemble … on any sidewalks and there
conduct themselves in a manner annoying to persons passing by” under the overbreadth
doctrine.
a. upheld
b. invalidated
c. denied certiorari
d. None of the above is true.
By the early 1950s, ______________, with its emphasis on the alleged “communist
menace” to internal security, had achieved national prominence.
a. McCarthyism
b. conservatism
c. Progressivism
d. None of the above is true.
The term __________rights includes the ownership, acquisition, and use of private
property, whereas __________ freedom denotes the cluster of rights associated with
private enterprise.
a.property; economic
b. economic; property
c. public; private
d. private; public
In Plyler v. Doe (1982), the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law that denied access
to public education to the children of illegal aliens by applying the ________________
test.
a. rational basis
b. intermediate scrutiny
c. strict scrutiny.
d. None of the above is true.
In ______________, a case involving members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the
Supreme Court held unconstitutional a city council’s denial of a permit to the Jehovah’s
Witnesses to use the city park for a public meeting.
a. Brown v. Pena (1977)
b. Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)
c. Niemotko v. Maryland (1951)
d. None of the above is true.
The ______ movement of the late nineteenth century involved thousands of farmers
seeking legislative protection against excessive freight rates charged by railroads and
other businesses involved in the distribution of agricultural commodities.
a. Free Silver
b. Granger
c. Cross of Gold
d. Progressive
In________, the Supreme Court upheld a provision of federal law, commonly known as
the Hyde amendment, forbidding the use of federal funds to support nontherapeutic
abortions.
a. Roe v. Wade (1973)
b. Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth (1976)
c.Maher v. Roe (1977)
d.Harris v. McRae (1980)
In the Griswold decision, Justice ____________ wrote: “The Constitution makers knew
the need for change and provided for it. Amendments … can be submitted to the
people … for ratification. That method of change was good enough for our Fathers, and
being somewhat old-fashioned I must add that it is good enough for me.”
a. William O. Douglas
b. Earl Warren
c. Felix Frankfurter
d. Hugo Black
The majority opinion in the Charles River Bridge decision of 1837 was authored by
a. Chief Justice Taney.
b. Chief Justice Marshall.
c. Justice Story.
d. Justice McLean.
In which year did the United States military policy of “don”t ask don”t tell” officially
came to an end?
a. 1999
b. 2007
c. 2009
d. 2011
The Supreme Court used _________ to strike down a provision of an Illinois law
exempting the American Express Company from the requirement that any firm selling
or issuing money orders in the state obtain a license and submit to state regulation in
Morey v. Doud (1957).
a. due process
b. equal protection
c. the contracts clause
d. None of the above is true.
The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment was definitively applied to the states
in
a. Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940).
b. Everson v. Board of Education (1947).
c. Zorach v. Clauson (1952).
d. Walz v. Tax Commission (1970).
In ____________, the Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Hugo Black, upheld the
validity of a Kansas statute conferring a virtual monopoly on the legal profession to
engage in the business of “debt adjusting.”
a. Ferguson v. Skrupa (1963)
b. Mulford v. Smith (1939)
c. United States v. Darby (1941)
d. None of the above is true.
Every ten years, after completion of the census, ____ reallocates congressional seats
among the states.
a. Congress
b. the Supreme Court
c. the Senate
d. the House of Representatives
A number of scholars have argued that the ____ Amendment’s recognition of rights
“retained by the people” adds support to the constitutional right of privacy.
a. Fifth
b. Eighth
c. Ninth
d. Tenth
In _________________, the Supreme Court handed down new legal guidelines for
obscenity where the Court expressed the view that obscenity is “utterly without
redeeming social importance” and thus entitled to no First Amendment protection.
a. Roth v. United States (1957)
b. Regina v. Hicklin (1868)
c. Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964)
d. None of the above is true.
In _______________, the Supreme Court struck down the Enforcement Act of 1870, by
which Congress attempted to protect the right of African Americans to vote in state
elections.
a. Gomilion v. Lightfoot (1960)
b. United States v. Reese (1876)
c. Ex parte Yarbrough (1884)
d. None of the above is true.
Justice _____________ famous footnote inUnited States v. Carolene Products (1938)
recognized potential problems resulting from efforts to limit political participation.
a. Oliver Wendell Holmes’
b. Felix Frankfurter’s
c. Charles Evans Hughes’
d. Harlan Fiske Stone’s
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, abolished _______ as prerequisites
for voting in federal elections.
a. literacy tests
b. citizenship requirements
c. residency requirements
d. poll taxes
Negative public reaction to the Court’s decision in which case convinced a majority in
Congress to pass the Religious Freedom Restoration Act?
a. Reynolds v. United States (1879)
b. Employment Division v. Smith (1990)
c. City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)
d. Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita (2006)
In ______________, the Supreme Court struck down an ordinance that limited the
occupancy of residences to members of single families. However, the ordinance defined
“family” in such a way as to prohibit a grandmother from cohabiting with her two
grandsons.
a. In re Quinlan (1976)
b. Doe v. Commonwealth’s Attorney (1976)
c. Moore v. City of East Cleveland (1977)
d. None of the above is true.
Under federal law an officer is required to _______________upon arrival at the place to
be searched pursuant to a search warrant.
a. knock and announce
b. obtain permission
c. barge in without announcement
d. None of the above is true.
In Reynolds v. Sims (1964) Chief Justice Warren applied the principle of “one person,
one vote” to
a. apportionment of both houses of a state legislature.
b. only the lower house of a state legislature.
c. the United States Senate.
d. the U.S. House of Representatives.
In New York Times v. United States (1971) the Supreme Court rebuffed the Nixon
Administration’s attempt to block publication of the
a. Communist Manifesto.
b. Watergate Tapes.
c. Pentagon Papers.
d. names of CIA agents stationed in Southeast Asia.
“Live Free or Die” is the state motto of ________________.
a. Massachusetts
b. Rhode Island
c. Vermont
d. New Hampshire
In Shapiro v. Thompson (1969), the Supreme Court struck down state laws that imposed
one”year waiting periods on new residents seeking
a. divorces.
b. driver’s licenses.
c. welfare benefits.
d. to run for public office.
In Bush v. Gore (2000),the Court ruled ______ that the selective manual recount was
unconstitutional, a violation of the Equal Protection Clause.
a. 8″1
b. 7″2
c. 6″3
d. 5″4
In ____________________ (1937), the Supreme Court upheld a Washington state
minimum wage law enacted in 1913.
a. West Coast Hotel v. Parrish
b. Adkins v. Children’s Hospital
c. Steward Machine Co. v. Davis
d. Mulford v. Smith