Question 1

Which one of the following includes criteria for determining when the Supreme Court justices will hear a case?

Accepted Answer

A)   Rule of Four
B)   collusion, mootness, and standing
C)   standing and origination
D)   jurisdiction and originationE) B) and D)
F) B) and C)

Question 2

The term senatorial courtesy refers to

Accepted Answer

A)   the Senate deferring to the president in making appointments to the Supreme Court.
B)   the Senate focusing on merit criteria in the appointment process.
C)   the president deferring to members of the president's party from each state in choosing nominees to district courts.
D)   the president focusing on the political preferences of the Senate in selecting Supreme Court nominees.E) A) and D)
F) B) and C)

Question 3

Conservative judges tend to support

Accepted Answer

A)   the regulation of morality.
B)   the living Constitution view.
C)   a broad interpretation of the Constitution.
D)   affirmative action.E) A) and B)
F) All of the above

Question 4

How does the process of opinion writing work at the U.S. Supreme Court? Explain.

Accepted Answer

The process of opinion writing is predic...

Question 5

The Supreme Court is undemocratic compared to Congress and the presidency.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

At least 95 percent of cases that arrive to the Supreme Court come through ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   a writ of certiorari
B)   certification
C)   original jurisdiction
D)   the requirement of mootnessE) All of the above
F) B) and C)

Question 7

Why did President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempt to pack the Court in 1937?

Accepted Answer

A)   He was trying to make a humanitarian gesture.
B)   He wanted to add more justices to the Court that shared the majority's judicial philosophy.
C)   The justices had struck down several components of the New Deal.
D)   He wanted to pressure the Republican Congress to accept his policy agenda.E) C) and D)
F) A) and C)

Question 8

Compare and contrast legal scholars who subscribe to strict constructionism with those who believe in a living Constitution.

Accepted Answer

A strict constructionist is one who inte...

Question 9

Most cases arrive to the Supreme Court as a matter of right.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

Why does a president typically use partisanship as a criterion in selecting nominees to the Supreme Court?

Accepted Answer

A)   Moderate judges tend to be less decisive.
B)   The norm of senatorial courtesy requires the president to do so.
C)   The leaders in the opposition party put tremendous pressure on the president to choose a nominee from the opposition party in the interest of political fairness.
D)   The president wants to choose a nominee with similar political views to advance the president's legacy.E) C) and D)
F) B) and D)

Question 11

One of the surest signs that the Supreme Court justices are going to agree to hear a specific case is

Accepted Answer

A)   if it involves an appeal from the Sixth District.
B)   if the chief justice has ruled on similar cases in the past.
C)   if the solicitor general is a party to the case.
D)   if a member of Congress is involved in the lawsuit.E) C) and D)
F) None of the above

Question 12

What does it mean when the justices meet in conference?

Accepted Answer

After oral arguments, the justices meet ...

Question 13

Which of the following lists accurately describes the order of activities of the Supreme Court justices?

Accepted Answer

A)   writ of certiorari, oral argument, submission of briefs, conference
B)   conference, oral argument, writ of certiorari, submission of briefs
C)   submission of briefs, oral argument, conference, writing of opinion
D)   submission of briefs, writ of certiorari, writing of opinion, conferenceE) A) and D)
F) All of the above

Question 14

The Supreme Court is a political institution.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Most proponents of strict constructionism argue that if the text of the Constitution is ambiguous, then a judge should

Accepted Answer

A)   use his or her best judgment to make a ruling that seems fair and just.
B)   take into account evolving national attitudes and circumstances.
C)   side with the defendant because of insufficient information.
D)   figure out what the words generally meant to people at the time they were written.E) A) and B)
F) B) and D)

Question 16

The most important political factor in Supreme Court decision making is the ideology of the justices or their attitudes about certain issues.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

Cases heard by the Supreme Court under its appellate jurisdiction arrive there because

Accepted Answer

A)   they involve foreign ambassadors and nations.
B)   the justices have been asked to issue a writ of certification and to clarify a case for a lower appeals court.
C)   a litigant who lost in a lower appellate court has convinced the justices to hear the case.
D)   the solicitor general has determined it worthy of a hearing in the Supreme Court.E) A) and D)
F) B) and C)

Question 18

Common law is a system by which a court

Accepted Answer

A)   ensures that both parties to a case have lawyers and share evidence.
B)   makes legal decisions on the basis of earlier decisions by other courts.
C)   provides a detailed codification of the law.
D)   hears special cases involving enemy combatants and matters related to national security.E) All of the above
F) B) and D)

Question 19

When the Supreme Court resolves conflicts among lower courts in the interpretation of the law, the principal effect is to

Accepted Answer

A)   support the importance of judicial review as its main power.
B)   ensure consistent application of the law across the United States.
C)   put judicial activism into practice.
D)   put the supremacy clause of the Constitution into practice.E) A) and C)
F) None of the above

Question 20

What was the justification for refusing to issue Marbury his commission in Marbury v. Madison (1803) ?

Accepted Answer

A)   Marbury deserved his commission, but the justices did not give it to him because Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional.
B)   The justices ruled that only Congress, and not the Supreme Court, had the power to issue the order.
C)   The justices ruled that President Adams's appointment of Marbury could not stand because it occurred after the election of 1800, which Adams lost.
D)   The justices ruled that only the president, and not the Supreme Court, had the power to issue the order.E) B) and D)
F) A) and B)

Exam 13: The Courts

Which of the following lists accurately describes the order of activities of the Supreme Court justices?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What does it mean when the justices meet in conference?

Correct AnswerverifiedAfter oral arguments, the justices meet ...View AnswerShow Answer

Which one of the following includes criteria for determining when the Supreme Court justices will hear a case?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The most important political factor in Supreme Court decision making is the ideology of the justices or their attitudes about certain issues.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The Supreme Court is undemocratic compared to Congress and the presidency.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Compare and contrast legal scholars who subscribe to strict constructionism with those who believe in a living Constitution.

Correct AnswerverifiedA strict constructionist is one who inte...View AnswerShow Answer

One of the surest signs that the Supreme Court justices are going to agree to hear a specific case is

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Conservative judges tend to support

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Common law is a system by which a court

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Why does a president typically use partisanship as a criterion in selecting nominees to the Supreme Court?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The Supreme Court is a political institution.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

When the Supreme Court resolves conflicts among lower courts in the interpretation of the law, the principal effect is to

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What was the justification for refusing to issue Marbury his commission in Marbury v. Madison (1803) ?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

At least 95 percent of cases that arrive to the Supreme Court come through ________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Most proponents of strict constructionism argue that if the text of the Constitution is ambiguous, then a judge should

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Cases heard by the Supreme Court under its appellate jurisdiction arrive there because

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The term senatorial courtesy refers to

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Most cases arrive to the Supreme Court as a matter of right.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

How does the process of opinion writing work at the U.S. Supreme Court? Explain.

Correct AnswerverifiedThe process of opinion writing is predic...View AnswerShow Answer

Why did President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempt to pack the Court in 1937?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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After oral arguments, the justices meet ...
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A strict constructionist is one who inte...
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The process of opinion writing is predic...
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Correct Answer
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