A federalist was a person who supported creating a strong, centralized government.
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At times, the U.S. Court had taken both an accommodationist approach and a
separationist approach to the First Amendment.
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Most agreements with foreign nations are in the form of executive agreements, not
treaties.
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The Sixth Amendment right to counsel, like other constitutional rights, can be waived.
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Procedural due process is the requirement that government treat persons fairly while it
attempts to interfere with their liberty interests.
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In Lawrence v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed its decision in Bowers v.
Hardwick based on interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause.
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One canon of statutory construction holds that if part of a statute is held
unconstitutional, the remaining parts are to remain viable as long as it is logical to do
so.
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In examining the government’s regulation of speech, the first issue that must be
addressed is whether the government is regulating the expression of ideas or harmful
behavior.
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Reasonable suspicion is a less rigorous legal standard than probable cause, which
generally requires an officer to have articulable facts that would lead a reasonable
person to suspect that criminal activity is afoot.
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Presidential executive orders have the authority of congressional enacted statues,
assuming presidential authority over the subject regulated exists.
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Even if a discrimination case is not governed under the Equal Protection Clause, the
provisions of federal, state, or local civil rights legislation may apply to preclude the
identified form of discrimination.
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Under the strict scrutiny test, the courts will uphold a law if it is rationally related to a
legitimate government purpose.
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Between the 1940s and 1995, the Supreme Court invalidated seven federal statutes as
exceeding the commerce power.
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In Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a defendant had a
constitutional right to an attorney during state criminal proceedings and that if he could
not afford an attorney, the state was required to appoint one.
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The Bill of Rights contain an exhaustive list of all protected rights.
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The Eleventh Amendment’s establishment of immunity for the states has been rendered
obsolete in recent years through a series of decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court.
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The incorporation doctrine is legal theory that maintains that the Bill of Rights (or at
least portions thereof) should be incorporated through the Fourteenth Amendment Due
Process Clause and made applicable to the states.
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The Nineteenth Amendment guarantees the right to vote regardless of a person’s sex.
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The proportionality doctrine is a legal doctrine under the Cruel and Unusual
Punishment Clause that requires criminal punishment to be proportional to the crime
committed.
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Totality of the circumstances is a legal standard used to review arrests and seizures of
persons and property to determine whether probable cause or reasonable suspicion
exists.
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Congressional power over interstate commerce is severely limited by the power of the
states to regulate intrastate commerce.
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Like the federal Constitution, state constitutions contain declarations or bills of
individual rights
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Under a cooperative federalism approach, the federal government is dominate and more
powerful than the states.
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During Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Supreme Court invalidated several laws as excessive
delegations of legislative powers.
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A public sidewalk is considered to be a nonpublic forum.
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By statute, all federal judges are required to recuse from cases where “his/her
impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”
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The exclusionary rule is a judicially created remedy for violations of the Fourth, Fifth,
or Sixth Amendment, which is used to exclude unconstitutionally obtained evidence
from a criminal trial.
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In cases where the government attempts to block access to information by the press, the
First Amendment interests of the press are often balanced against other competing
constitutional rights and powers.
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Under the coercion test, the U.S. Supreme Court essentially collapses the first two
questions of the Lemon test (the secular purpose and primary effect requirements) by
asking the more general question of whether the government’s activity conveys a
message of endorsement or disapproval of religion.
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The Due Process Clause is found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
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For purely executive agencies, presidents can direct lower officials, within the bounds
of the law.
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Informal rulemaking is known as rulemaking on the record.
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In Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama (2015), the U.S. Supreme Court
rejected a lower court’s conclusion that Alabama’s race-based redistricting plan satisfied
strict scrutiny.
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Which case held that state bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional because
they violated liberty interests under the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause?
A) Lochner v. New York
B) Obergefell v. Hodges
C) Kelo v. City of New London
D) United States v. Windsor
Answer:
Since 1962, how many voting representatives serve in the U.S. House of
Representatives?
A) 100
B) 435
C) 437
D) 439
Answer:
Who appoints the heads of executive agencies?
A) the President
B) the Vice President
C) the House
D) the Senate
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Match the term listed in Column 1 to its description in Column 2.
1. Federalism
2. Necessary and Proper Clause
3. Incorporation
4. Dormant Commerce Clause Doctrine
5. Police Power
6. Preemption Doctrine
7. Commerce Clause
8. Hierarchical Federalism
9. Dual Federalism
10. Intergovernmental Immunity Doctrine
A) the clause in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution that gives Congress the power
to regulate commerce between the states and between the United States and foreign
countries
B) the power of government to make and enforce laws and regulations necessary to
maintain and enhance the public welfare and to prevent individuals from violating the
rights of others
C) the theory that the national government and the state governments are coequal
sovereigns
D) the idea that state laws that unduly burden interstate commerce, even if the subject is
unregulated by the national government, are invalid under federalism principles,
because the regulation of interstate and foreign commerce belongs exclusively to the
federal government
E) the system by which the states of the United States relate to one another and to the
federal government
F) the doctrine that both the states and the national government possess some immunity
from the regulation of the other under federalism principles
G) the theory that the national government is supreme to the state governments
H) a right applied is applied against the states it is fundamental and necessary to an
ordered liberty
I) Article I of the Constitution grants to Congress the power to make all laws “necessary
and proper” for carrying out its constitutional responsibilities
J) doctrine that state laws that interfere with federal laws are invalid pursuant to the
Supremacy Clause
Answer:
Who is the current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
A) William Rehnquist
B) Sandra Day O’Connor
C) John Roberts
D) Antonin Scalia
Answer:
Which case addresses so-called partial-birth abortions?
A) Gonzalez v. Carhart
B) Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
C) Rust v. Sullivan
D) Planned Parenthood v. Casey
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The U.S. Supreme Court the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) as it applied
to the states, finding that the Act went beyond the constitutional authority of Congress
to regulate state policy-making in matters affecting religious exercise.
Answer:
How many justices does it take to grant a Writ of Certiorari?
A) all justices
B) four
C) five
D) six
Answer:
What constitutional standard of review currently applies to race-based affirmative
action policies sponsored by the federal government and which case is responsible for
this standard?
A) rational basis/Grutter v. Bollinger
B) intermediate scrutiny/Metro Broadcasting v. F.C.C.
C) strict scrutiny/Fullilove v. Klutznick
D) strict scrutiny/Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena
Answer:
The right to a fair trial in federal cases stems from what constitutional source?
A) The Fourth Amendment Speedy Trial Clause
B) The Sixth Amendment Fair Trial Clause
C) The Fifth Amendment Just Hearing Clause
D) The Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause
Answer:
Which of the following cases is most likely to be considered a political question and
nonjudiciable?
A) Gerrymandering.
B) A congressional decision that an amendment has been ratified.
C) A congressional subpoena of presidential records.
D) A congressional decision to not seat an elected member of the House of
Representatives.
Answer:
What term is used to describe a legal document that provides a person’s wishes in case
of a medical emergency?
A) Legal Directive
B) Living Will
C) Power of Attorney
D) Delegation of Death
Answer:
Which of the following is the best description of the selective incorporation doctrine?
A) All of the rights found in the Bill of Rights are incorporated and apply against the
states.
B) Those rights found in the Bill of Rights that are fundamental and necessary to an
ordered liberty are incorporated and apply against the states.
C) Those rights that are fundamental and necessary to an ordered liberty, but not found
in the Bill of Rights are incorporated and apply against the states.
D) All of the above.
Answer:
What doctrine maintains provides that if a subject of interstate commerce is national in
character, then regulation of that subject is exclusively federal?
A) Cooley doctrine
B) Smith doctrine
C) Non-delegation doctrine
D) Affectation doctrine
Answer:
Which provision in Article I, Section 7, clause 1, of the U.S. Constitution requires all
revenue-raising bills to originate in the House of Representatives?
A) Commerce Clause
B) Necessary and Proper Clause
C) Origination Clause
D) Spending Clause
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT an exception to the exclusionary rule?
A) independent source
B) inevitable discovery
C) intervening circumstances rule
D) greater good exception
Answer:
For independent agencies, presidents (or officers who report to the president) often
possess “for-cause” removal authority, as defined by:
A) the agency.
B) Congress.
C) the President.
D) the U.S. Supreme Court.
Answer:
In which U.S. Supreme Court case did the court strike down legislation passed by
Congress as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal based on the nondelegation
doctrine?
A) Touby v. United States
B) Gomez v. United States
C) Lichter v. United States
D) Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States
Answer:
The Eleventh Amendment was ratified as a result of what Supreme Court decision?
A) Marbury v. Madison
B) Powell v. McCormick
C) Hans v. Louisiana
D) Chisholm v. Georgia
Answer:
Which constitutional amendment was ratified to counter the Supreme Court’s decision
in Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), which held that states may be held liable in federal
courts?
A) Tenth Amendment
B) Eleventh Amendment
C) Twelfth Amendment
D) Fourteenth Amendment
Answer:
What case involved the delegation of voir dire in criminal cases?
A) Touby v. United States
B) Gomez v. U.S.
C) Peretz v. U.S.
D) Samuels v. U.S.
Answer:
Match the term listed in Column 1 to its description in Column 2.
6. Appellate Jurisdiction
7. Original Jurisdiction
8. en banc
9. Diversity Jurisdiction
10. Federal Jurisdiction
A) the jurisdiction of the federal courts based upon the judicial powers granted by
Article III of the Constitution and by federal statutes
B) French term for “on the bench” A court, particularly an appellate court, with all the
judges sitting together in a case
C) the authority of one court to review the proceedings of another court or of an
administrative agency
D) the jurisdiction of a federal court arising from diversity of citizenship, when the
jurisdictional amount has been met
E) the jurisdiction of a trial court, as distinguished from the jurisdiction of an appellate
court
Answer:
Which case held that the federal government’s Fair Labor Standards Act provisions
were binding on the states?
A) U.S. v. Lopez
B) U.S. v. Morrison
C) Garcia v. San Antonio Metro Transit Authority
D) New York v. United States
Answer:
When does jeopardy attach during a jury trial?
A) When the jury is sworn in
B) When the first witness is sworn in
C) When the jury reaches its verdict
D) When the jury begins its deliberations
Answer:
Which amendment provides accused persons the right to confront witnesses against
them?
A) Fourth Amendment
B) Fifth Amendment
C) Sixth Amendment
D) Eighth Amendment
Answer:
The Court’s decision is Lee v. Weisman BEST illustrates which approach (test) under
the Establishment Clause?
A) Lemon test
B) Endorsement Test
C) Coercion Test
D) Neutrality test
Answer:
Determining whether an officer has probable cause to effectuate an arrest is based on
________.
A) the totality of the circumstances
B) the Terry rule
C) the “reasonable officer” standard
D) the “reasonable suspect” standard
Answer:
What element must be proven in order for a public figure to successfully bring a
defamation case?
A) libel
B) slander
C) malice
D) hostile intent
Answer:
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal law governing medical devices that
preempted state tort law actions for injuries resulting from the medical devices in:
A) Preston v. Ferrer.
B) Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc.
C) Crosby v. National Trade Council.
D) AT&T v. Concepcion.
Answer:
Under the Due Process Clause, in order for a state to tax out-of-state individuals, there
be a(n) ________ between a state and the person taxed.
A) contract
B) minimum contact
C) long-term relationship
D) agreement to tax
Answer:
An act of grace by the chief executive of the government relieving a person of the legal
consequences of a crime of which he or she has been convicted is called:
A) commutation.
B) acquittal.
C) summary judgment.
D) pardon.
Answer:
The separationist approach is a view of the religion clauses that generally asserts that
government should remain ________ separate or removed from religious activity.
Answer:
Use ________ is a guaranty given to a person that if he or she testifies against others,
his or her testimony will not be used against him or her if he or she is prosecuted for
involvement in the crime.
Answer:
The freedom of association is based on the language in the ________ Amendment.
Answer:
The authority of one court to review the proceedings of another court or of an
administrative agency is known as ________ jurisdiction.
Answer:
What is the difference between the vagueness and overbreadth doctrines?
Answer:
What is the difference between the total incorporation doctrine and the select
incorporation doctrine?
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The Public ________ Doctrine is the rule providing that if a claim is public in nature
and not private, Congress may delegate its adjudication to a nonArticle III tribunal.
Answer:
Why did the original U.S. Constitution not contain a Bill of Rights.
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What is the pocket veto?
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Explain the difference between the strict scrutiny test, intermediate scrutiny test, and the
rational basis test.
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In Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state bans on
same-sex marriage were unconstitutional because they violated liberty interests under
the ________ Amendment Due Process Clause.
Answer:
All executive orders are published in the Federal ________, a U.S. government
publication of new regulations, executive orders and proclamations, notices by
government agencies of impending action, and other documents required to be
published by government agencies.
Answer:
What is the Dormant Commerce Clause?
Answer:
Which constitutional provisions have been used by Congress to address civil rights
issues?
Answer:
Government discrimination on the basis of wealth is subject to the ________ basis test
under the Equal Protection Clause.
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In Synder v. Phelps, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a funeral protest by members of
the Westboro Baptist Church was protected by the First Amendment and that a jury
verdict siding with a family whose son had died on active duty in Iraq could not stand.
In an 81 ruling, the Court upheld the right of protestors to express their views that the
deaths of American service members in the Iraq War was the result of the nation’s
tolerant views toward homosexuality. The Court found that, although the protesters’
expression may be viewed as outrageous and offense by many, it nonetheless was
protected because it related to matters of public concern and was expressed in a public
forum. Discuss your reaction to the Snyder v. Phelps case.
Answer:Answers will vary.
What role did James Madison play in the enactment of the Establishment Clause and
Free Exercise Clause?
Answer: