What led Pritchett to believe that the law was not the only factor affecting justices’
decisions?
A. Justices were elected in 1940.
B. Many of the justices were former politicians.
C. Justices often dissented and did not agree on the legal reasoning in a case.
D. All of the above.
Which of the following statements is not true?
A. Statements made without Miranda warnings may be used for counteracting perjury.
B. Miranda warnings are required even when a suspect is unaware he is speaking to a
law enforcement official.
C. When there is danger to public safety, the police may question to remove the danger
prior to reading Miranda warnings.
D. Even if police enter a home illegally to make an arrest, they can still obtain a valid
confession if a suspect is read his/her Miranda rights.
What was unusual about the Burger Court’s decision in Batson v. Kentucky in light of
the Warren Court’s ruling in a similar case (Swain v. Alabama)?
Why is the Second Amendment unusual when compared to the other amendments in the
Bill of rights?
a. It was much shorter than the other amendments.
b. It has a preamble unlike the other amendments.
c. It was much longer than the other amendments.
In FCC v. Pacifica Foundation the Court ruled that:
A. Broadcast media have the most limited First Amendment protection
B. Print media have the most limited First Amendment protection
C. Broadcast and print media have the same level of First Amendment protection
D. Print media has a more pervasive presence than broadcast media
Which of the following statements best describes Chief Justice Rehnquist’s written
opinion about the Supreme Court’s decision to hear Bush v. Gore?
A. He opposed the Court’s decision to accept the case, calling it a non-federal issue.
B. He approved of the Court’s decision to accept the case because the appointment of
Presidential electors presented a federal constitutional question.
C. He opposed the Court’s decision to accept the case because there was no precedent
for hearing such a case.
D. He argued that the Supreme Court correctly accepted the case because all elections,
even local contests, are federal issues.
Moving full circle from Schenk to Brandenburg the Court settled on which test in
Brandenburg?
A. Clear and Present Danger Test
B. The Preferred Freedoms Doctrine
C. The Clear and Probable Danger Test
D. The Imminent Lawless Action Test
What rationale led the Court to hold that the St. Paul in R.A.V. violated the First
Amendment while it held Mitchell’s First Amendment rights were not violated by a
Wisconsin law a year later?
Which of the following is a finding of the Baldus study that examined discrepancy in
death penalty cases for the McCleskey v. Kemp case?
A. The chances of receiving a death sentence were greater for defendants whose victims
were white than for defendants whose victims were black.
B. Of the cases studied in which death was imposed, 87 percent involved white victims.
C. Black defendants were more likely than other defendants to receive a death sentence.
D. All of the above.
Given several examples of how the Lemon test has been applied to both uphold and to
strike government involvement with religion (use case examples).
In what case did the Supreme Court create the exclusionary rule?
A. Weeks v. United States
B. Wolf v. Colorado
C. Mapp v. Ohio
D. Terry v. Ohio
What was the key to the Court upholding the Miranda decision in Dickerson v. U.S.?
A. The totality-of-circumstances test
B. Stare decisis
C. That Miranda warnings are guaranteed by the Constitution
D. None of the above
What Amendment prohibits excessive bail?
A. Fourth
B. Fifth
C. Sixth
D. Eighth
Why has the Court had a difficult time setting libel standards?
A. Prior to 1964 it was an undeveloped area of law.
B. Libel is a difficult legal concept.
C. Libel is not a legal concept so courts do not have the ability to decide these cases.
D. All of the above
Explain the rationale the Court used to determine the use of a GPS violated the Fourth
Amendment in Jones.
According to New York Times v. Sullivan a public official must prove ____ to sustain a
libel claim
A. defamation
B. falsehood
C. actual malice
What are the key criticisms against the use of original intent to decide Supreme Court
cases?
A. It would be rendered inapplicable and useless.
B. It is difficult to determine which framers’ intent should be used.
C. It is difficult to know what sources to use to determine the framers’ intent.
D. All of the above.
In Terry v. Ohio, why did the Court uphold the frisk of John Terry that produced a
concealed weapon?
A. The Court ruled a “stop and frisk” does not constitute a “search and seizure.”
B. The Court ruled it was legal to frisk Terry since he had already been taken into
custody on separate charges.
C. The Court ruled the frisk was legal because police officers have the right to ensure
their own safety.
D. The Court didn’t uphold the frisk, but instead ruled that it violated the Fourth
Amendment.
Reno indicates the Court views the Internet as:
A. More like print media than broadcast media.
B. More like broadcast media than print media
C. Completely separate from print and broadcast media
D. A hybrid between print and broadcast media
In Reynolds v. U.S the Court outlawed:
A. The “I am” religion
B. Polygamy
C. The freedom of religion
D. The establishment of religion
What amendment ensures that the right to vote cannot be denied on account of a
person’s sex?
A. 14th
B. 17th
C. 19th
D. 24th
According to the attitudinal model the coalition of Justices Thomas, Scalia, Alito, and
Roberts may best be defined as:
A. The conservative coalition.
B. The liberal coalition.
C. The moderate coalition.
D. None of the above.
In U.S. v. Williams, the Court ruled the PROTECT Act was:
A. Facially violative of the First Amendment
B. Overbroad and vague in violation of the due process clause
C. Did not violate the First Amendment
D. Not overbroad and vague and therefore constitutionally valid
In religious establishment cases the compelling interest test makes it:
A. More difficult for government agencies to impose restrictions on religious practices
B. Easier for government agencies to impose restrictions on religious practices
Edwards v. Aguillard ruled that:
A. Public school teachers must give equal time to creationism in biology classes
B. Public school teachers must only teach creationism in biology classes
C. Public school teachers do not have to teach creationism in biology classes
D. Public school teachers do not have to teach evolution in biology classes
In comparison to other nations, the U.S. generally has
A. More freedom of the press
B. Less freedom of the press
C. Average freedom of the press
Explain how the Court changed its view on New York’s education assistance program
from Aguilar to Agostini?
Why does the Court set up checkpoints that cases must go through before they are
accepted for review?
Answer:
*a. varies
Why did the framers insert the exceptions clause into the Constitution?
Answer:
*a. varies
Why do people who sign petitions not have a right to keep their signature private
according to Reed?
Explain the three prongs of the Hicklin test for discerning if material is obscene. Is this
a strict or lenient test? Why?
How did the Court (and the concurring opinion) use Katz to reach its conclusion in
Jardines? Why did the dissent disagree with this assessment?
According to the Supreme Court in Escobedo v. Illinois, when does the right to counsel
begin?
What are the three criteria that help the Court determine whether a party has standing to
sue?Give an example of a case that meets these criteria.
Answer:
*a. varies
What are the two objectives a state has with respect to child pornography?
What is the Strickland test for determining whether counsel has been defective?
Why do most cases come to the Court through writs of certiorari?
Answer:
*a. varies
After Flast v. Cohen what two links must taxpayers demonstrate to have standing in
Court?
Answer:
*a. varies
How did the Court interpret the Second Amendment in Miller? Do you agree with this
interpretation? Why or why not?
Compare imminent lawless action with the clear and present danger test. Which
provides more protection for speech?
Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder (2013)
Relevant Case Facts:
Shelby County, a jurisdiction in Alabama covered by the Voting Rights Act, sued the
U.S. attorney general, asking the district court to strike down Sections 4 and 5 of the
Act as unconstitutional because the coverage formula was based on a 1965 race
relations environment that no longer existed in 2006 when Congress enacted the most
recent extension.
Legal Question: Does the Voting Rights Act’s extraordinary measures, including its
disparate treatment of States, continue to satisfy constitutional requirements?