The Great Compromise was:
a. another term for the Constitution.
b. the foundation of the Bill of Rights.
c. the agreement that gave each state an equal vote in the Senate and a proportionate
vote in the House.
d. the purchasing agreement made for most of the Indian land west of the Mississippi
River.
At Ruby Ridge in Idaho, a standoff between the FBI, the ATF and U.S. Marshalls ended
a. peacefully.
b. in 1992.
c. after a ransom was paid.
d. with the establishment of a state militia.
What serious omission occurred in the Bill of Rights?
a. it failed to provide recourse for violations by the federal government.
b. it failed to ensure state sovereignty.
c. it failed to abolish slavery.
d. it failed to provide the right to privacy.
The Supreme Court held that “the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second
Amendment right, recognized in Heller, to keep and bear arms for the purpose of
selfdefense” in:
a. Adams v. Williams
b. Presser v. Illinois
c. McDonald v. Chicago
d. U.S. v. Lopez
Since their actions can ultimately result in arrest, private security officers must inform
suspects of their Miranda rights prior to interrogation.
a. True
b. False
The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence stated that a government’s
right to rule is based upon:
a. the obligation of the wealthy to provide for those less fortunate.
b. permission from the people who are governed.
c. the need for a strong centralized government on American soil.
d. the Magna Carta’s guarantee that rulers shall not place themselves above the law.
The standoff between the Branch Davidian religious group and the FBI came about due
to the group’s claim they were a sovereign nation and they refused to abide by laws with
which they disagreed.
a. True
b. False
In prisoners’ rights cases the Fifth Amendment arises:
a. infrequently.
b. quite often, involving nearly half of all lawsuits filed by prisoners.
c. very often, involving more than 80 percent of all lawsuits filed by prisoners.
d. neverprisoners are not protected by the Fifth Amendment.
Control of the press during the Persian Gulf War was:
a. absolute.
b. close to 100 percent.
c. fairly lax.
d. nonexistent.
It has always been well-established that people have a right to bear arms as individuals
rather than only as part of a militia.
a. True
b. False
During the colonial period and the earliest years of the country, a permanent army was
not possible due to:
a. lack of citizen interest.
b. a shortage of weapons.
c. lack of funding and personnel, and organizational challenges.
d. intense pressure from British authorities to cease and desist from such militarization.
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.
When conducting inventory searches of a vehicle, it is important to have:
a. probable cause to trigger the automobile exception.
b. a standard operating procedure.
c. a warrant because the vehicle is no longer mobile.
d. a systematic method for conducting the search..
In general, those colonists who opposed boycotting British goods in 1774 were known
as Patriots or rebels.
a. True
b. False
The Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot require children to pledge allegiance to
the United States each day.
a. True
b. False
Furtive conduct may not be considered part of the totality of circumstances when
establishing probable cause.
a. True
b. False
When the Court grants certiorari, it will:
a. officially end that term.
b. hear and decide that case.
c. consider hearing that case.
d. allow the ruling of the lower court to stand.
Which of the following is not one of the disqualifying criteria under federal gun control
laws?
a. Fugitive
b. Drug user
c. On terrorism watch list
d. Convicted felon
Searches should be limited in scope, but general searches are constitutional and legal.
a. True
b. False
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
United States v. Miller (1939):
a. is the case that set the precedent for the dozens of cases the Supreme Court hears
every year concerning the issue of an individual’s right to bear arms.
b. is a relatively insignificant case in the interpretation of Second Amendment rights.
c. was the first Supreme Court case that specifically addressed the scope of the Second
Amendment.
d. is the basis upon which Congress passes federal gun control legislation.
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.
Routine searches at our national borders require:
a. reasonable suspicion.
b. consent.
c. probable cause.
d. no justification.
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.
The Supreme Court has held that California’s “threestrikes” law did not violate the
Eighth Amendment.
a. True
b. False
___________rights proponents claim that the Second Amendment was adopted with the
primary purpose of preserving the state militia.
An examination of a person, place, or vehicle for contraband or evidence of a crime is
known as a seizure.
a. True
b. False
Overall number of “patriot” groups has risen from 149 in 2008 to ________in 2012.
a. 450
b. 1360
c. 1000
d. 1800
In which of the following scenarios would an officer not be able to make a lawful,
warrantless arrest?
a. An officer smells marijuana emanating from the vehicle he just stopped.
b. An officer hears an assault taking place.
c. An officer witnesses a petty larceny.
d. An officer hears a kid talking about the compact disc player he shoplifted last week.
When a court decision would have no practical effect, a case is apt to be dismissed for:
a. standing
b. ripeness
c. mootness
d. jurisdiction
The right to counsel extends not only to the trial, but to all subsequent appeals.
a. True
b. False
Bail may not be denied in:
a. capital cases.
b. cases involving the death penalty.
c. when the accused has threatened trial witnesses.
d. all homicide cases.
When both occupants are present and one consents to a search and one objects, the
consent “overrides” the refusal and officers can legally search.
a. True
b. False
Courts that may hear a wide range of cases have ______jurisdiction.
As a term in American law, common law is synonymous with _____law.
Witness identification of a suspect is very important to investigations and is compelling
evidence in a criminal trial. We have all seen the police lineups in movies, where
individuals are led into a room to stand facing a two-way mirror allowing a victim or
witness to pick out the individual they saw at the scene of the crime. The people in the
lineup are selected to closely match the physical characteristics of the suspect and the
procedure must not be done in such a way as to be unduly suggestive of who the
suspect is. However, sometimes the police take a suspect to a victim’s hospital room or
simply bring a suspect to a crime scene and show him or her to witnesses. This show-up
usually occurs immediately or shortly after a crime has occurred. This procedure is
certainly more suggestive than a lineup, since there is only one person being brought
before the witness. Why do you think the courts allow show-ups, but will review
lineups to make sure they are not too suggestive? Is this really fair?
The was established vertically through the separation of power between the federal
government and the states, and laterally through the three branches of government.
______________describes the authority of a court to review cases and to either affirm
or reverse the actions of a lower court.
Your governor is getting ready to sign a new law in your state called the “Constitutional
Right to Carry Act” that will eliminate the state’s permit and training requirements for
citizens who want to carry guns. This means that a resident of your state who wants to
carry a weapon, concealed or otherwise, can do so without a test, a background
check, or gun safety test. Balancing the right to bear arms against the need to control
gun violence, present a brief opinion on the advisability of such a law.
In 1803, the United States Supreme Court established its power of judicial review in the
case of______________.
Great Britain believed the American colonies should share any expenses of the battles
fought in North America against the French, so Parliament passed the _____ in 1765.
The power of the Supreme Court to analyze decisions of other government entities and
lower courts is known as_________.
Reserving for the states those powers not granted to the federal government or withheld
from the states is _________.
You are the superintendent of schools and have become quite concerned about the
number of shootings that have occurred nationally at schools. Some of the teachers feel
that there should be more lockdown drills with simulated entry of the school by armed
attackers to see how well the students and teachers lock doors and otherwise protect
students from this threat. Other teachers are asking that the drills be reduced in number
because students are starting to feel anxious and threatened. How do you balance these
concerns? What types of questions should you ask before making your final decision?
In Presser v. Illinois (1886), the Court refused to _________the Second Amendment
into the Fourteenth Amendment.
There had been 27 Amendments to the United States Constitution. If you could draft the
28th Amendment, what would it be? Why do you think this Amendment is necessary?
Does it conflict with any other Amendments?
Amendments after the Bill of Rights can be found at
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html.
Any step during a criminal investigation in which the accused’s rights may be affected
by the absence of legal representation is known as a __________.
Discuss at least five exceptions to the search warrant requirement.
Explain Miranda requirements as they relate to private security.
Discuss Prohibition, including its origin and demise and what occurred in between.
Relate this to the Harrison Act making certain drugs illegal to sell or possess.
No rights are absolute, so government can regulate them when _________outweigh
those of the individual.
Discuss how the Constitution ensures individual liberty.