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Student name:__________
TRUE/FALSE – Write ‘T’ if the statement is true and ‘F’ if the statement is false.
1) State constitutions can give additional rights, apart from those provided by the U.S.
Constitution.
⊚ true
⊚ false
2) The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in disputes between two or more states.
⊚ true
⊚ false
3) Juries sit in appellate court proceedings.
⊚ true
⊚ false
MULTIPLE CHOICE – Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
4) The common law is
A) a deductive system of law where the rules are expounded first and then the court
decides the legal situation under the existing rules.
B) an inductive system of law in which a legal rule is arrived at after consideration of a
great many specific instances or cases.
C) an administrative system of law in which a government official uses a panel of
common citizens to develop the rule of law.
D) a legislative system of law that operates at the state and local levels.
5) In the legal citation 539 U.S. 558 (2003), the number 558 refers to the
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A) docket number of the case.
B) volume of the reporter which contains the case.
C) first page number of the case.
D) federal judicial number of the case.
6) The concept of “statutory construction” best refers to the process of
A) legislative bodies creating and drafting the common law.
B) legislative bodies creating and drafting statutes.
C) courts and judges interpreting the meaning of the common law.
D) courts and judges interpreting the meaning of statutes.
7) The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. American Federation of State,
County & Municipal Employees was an example of the Supreme Court
A) following the doctrine of stare decisis.
B) not following the doctrine of stare decisis.
C) applying the void for vagueness doctrine.
D) applying both the void for vagueness doctrine and the overbreadth doctrine.
8) A justice who agrees with the result reached by the majority of the court, but who does
not agree with the majority’s reasoning or who wants to emphasize a point ignored by the
majority can write is known as a
A) concurring opinion.
B) dissenting opinion.
C) plurality opinion.
D) per curiam opinion.
9) The Congress has the authority to abolish every federal court in the land, except for the
U.S. Supreme Court, because
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A) the Congress is the supreme government institution and it represents the people.
B) the Congress controls the federal budget, including the budget for the courts.
C) the Constitution specifically calls for only one court, the Supreme Court.
D) federal judges are appointed by the Congress.
10) What is the Supreme Court doing when it issues a writ of certiorari?
A) It is ordering a lower court to rehear a case.
B) It is overturning a previous Supreme Court ruling.
C) It is agreeing to hear the appeal of a lower court ruling.
D) It is rejecting an appeal to rehear a case, noting that it is certain its first ruling was
correct.
11) A per curiam opinion is
A) an unsigned opinion from an appellate court.
B) an opinion issued by an attorney general.
C) an opinion by a judge or justice who disagrees with the majority opinion.
D) a written legal argument prepared by an attorney.
12) When it comes to granting a petition for a writ of certiorari, the U.S. Supreme Court
applies the
A) rule of three.
B) rule of four.
C) rule of five.
D) rule of six.
13) Which statement about U.S. Courts of Appeals is correct?
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A) Each state has its own U.S. Court of Appeals.
B) There are four U.S. Courts of Appeals—one each for the Eastern, Western, Southern,
and Northern United States.
C) There are 13 circuits of the U.S. Courts of Appeals.
D) There are nine U.S. Courts of Appeals, one for each justice on the Supreme Court.
14) The U.S. Supreme Court today typically agrees to hear
A) fewer than 100 cases each year.
B) between 100 and 150 cases each year.
C) between 150 and 250 cases each year.
D) more than 250 cases each year.
15) A trial held before a judge and without a jury is known as
A) a habeas corpus trial.
B) a bar trial.
C) an en banc trial.
D) a bench trial.
16) Organizations or entities that are not parties to a case but that nonetheless hold a vested
interest or concern with its outcome can sometimes file which types of briefs?
A) habeas corpus
B) stare decisis
C) amici curiae
D) ergo propter hocs
FILL IN THE BLANK. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or
answers the question.
17) According to Roscoe Pound, law can be defined as _____ engineering.
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18) Common law sometimes is known as _____ made law.
19) The party that commences and files a civil lawsuit against someone else is known as the
_____.
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or
answers the question.
20) List the five sources of law.
21) List the four different options that courts have when offered a case as precedent by an
attorney for one of the parties in a lawsuit.
22) List three typical forms of judicial decrees in equity law.
23) In addition to naming the parties in a case, identify three things that a complaint filed in a
civil law case will include.
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24) What is the legal test or rule for determining when a statute will be declared void for
vagueness?
25) A court will generally overrule a precedent only when there are changes in what three
things?
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Answer Key
Test name: chapter 1
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