Q&A Hero

Q: According to Supreme Court doctrine, which of the following statements, if any, is true? a. A president is immune from a civil lawsuit that arises out of his unofficial conduct that occurred prior to him becoming president. b. A president is entitled to absolute immunity from damages liability predicated on his official acts. c. A president may never be subject to a criminal investigation or civil action so long as he is "in office." d. None of the above statements is true.

Q: President Nixon claimed that he should not have to comply with a subpoena demanding that he provide certain tape recordings to a federal district court because the subpoena violated ______. a. his right against self-incrimination b. his right to confrontation c. executive privilege d. due process

Q: InMorrison v. Olson (1988), the Supreme Court upheld a provision of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 under which a "Special Division" of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is empowered to appoint _____. a. federal marshals b. independent counsels c. federal magistrates d. special jurists

Q: The Supreme Court last held an act of Congress unconstitutional on nondelegation grounds in _____. a. Schecter Poultry Corporation v. United States (1935) b. United States v. Curtiss-Wright Corporation (1936) c. Carter v. Carter Coal Co. (1936) d. Mistretta v. United States (1988)

Q: _____ would most clearly justify the president's removal of an American ambassador because his or her views were not compatible with those of the administration. a. Bowsher v. Synar (1986) b. Ex Parte Merryman (1861) c. Myers v. United States (1926) d. Humphrey's Executor v. United States (1935)

Q: In Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952), the Supreme Court _____. a. upheld the president's power to seize the steel mill in national emergencies b. held that Congress could not authorize the president to seize the steel mill in national emergencies c. held that the president's seizure of the steel mill during a time of national emergency was unconstitutional d. held that the president was obligated, under his responsibility to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed," to seize the steel mill to avert a strike during the Korean War.

Q: The Supreme Court is least likely to sustain the exercise of executive authority when the president is acting _____. a. as commander in chief b. on the basis of power delegated by Congress c. in the negotiation of a treaty d. without statutory authority in the negotiation of domestic policy

Q: The 1973 War Powers Act was an attempt to _____. a. enhance presidential war-making powers b. increase congressional control over presidential war-making activities c. limit congressional power in foreign policy d. improve the ability of Congress to respond to a nuclear crisis

Q: In _____ the Supreme Court rejected the president's inherent power to authorize military tribunals to try civilians where civilian courts were open and fully operating. a. Goldwater v. Carter (1979) b. Ex Parte Milligan (1868) c. Myers v. United States (1926) d. Ex Parte Merryman (1861)

Q: The case of _____ stemmed from a treaty between the United States and Canada designed to protect migratory birds. a. Missouri v. Holland (1920) b. United States v. Belmont (1937) c. United States v. Pink (1942) d. Goldwater v. Carter (1979)

Q: The president most closely identified with the constitutional theory of the presidency is ______. a. William HowardTaft b. George Washington c. Theodore Roosevelt d. Lyndon Johnson

Q: The _____ theory holds that the president's constitutional power extends to anything not expressly forbidden, so long as it serves the public interest and does not conflict with existing legislation. a. literalist/limiting b. constitutional c. stewardship d. originalist

Q: John Marshall was named chief justice by ______. a. George Washington b. John Adams c. Thomas Jefferson d. James Madison

Q: Robert Yates believed ______. a. that the Supreme Court would practice judicial review b. that the Constitution protected the rights of the states c. that the meaning of the Constitution was fixed d. that judges could be trusted to decide cases correctly

Q: Robert Yates was ______. a. a signer of the Declaration of Independence b. an author of the Letters of Brutus c. Alexander Hamilton's cousin d.a proponent of Federalism

Q: City of Boerne v. Flores concerned ______. a. criminal justice b. the Religious Freedom Restoration Act c. highway construction d. the right to vote

Q: Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment grants Congress the authority to legislate in the field of _____. a. eminent domain b. criminal law c. civil rights d. international relations

Q: William McCardle was ______. a. a federal judge b. a Supreme Court justice c. an ex-Confederate general d. a newspaper editor

Q: Who wrote the opinion of the Court in Ex parte McCardle? a. Justice Grier b. Chief Justice Marshall c. Chief Justice Taney d. Chief Justice Chase

Q: In Scott v. Sandford, on what part of the Constitution did Chief Justice Taney rely in invalidating the Missouri Compromise? a. Article I b. Article IV c. First Amendment d. Fifth Amendment

Q: Who won the case of Marbury v. Madison? a. Alexander Hamilton b. John Marshall c. William Marbury d. James Madison

Q: In Federalist No. 78, _____ argued that the judiciary would be the "least dangerous branch." a. James Madison b. John Jay c. Benjamin Franklin d. Alexander Hamilton

Q: Which of the following is not usually included within the list of Ashwander Rules? a. The Court will not formulate a rule of law broader than the facts of the case require. b. If possible, the Court will dispose of a case on nonconstitutional grounds. c. The Court will not pass upon the validity of a statute on complaint of one who fails to show injury to person or property. d. Whenever possible, the Court will protect an individual's constitutional rights.

Q: Which of the following is usually included within the list of Ashwander Rules? a. The Court will not formulate a rule of law broader than the facts of the case require. b. If possible, the Court will dispose of a case on nonconstitutional grounds. c. The Court will not pass upon the validity of a statute on complaint of one who fails to show injury to person or property. d. All of the above

Q: Search warrants in the federal court system are ordinarily issued by ______. a. U.S. district judges b. a law clerk c. judges on the closest U.S. court of appeals d. U.S. magistrate judges

Q: A case appealed from the U.S. District Court in Guam will typically be heard by ______. a. the Supreme Court of California b. the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit c. the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit d. the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Q: An appeal from a ruling by the Court of Appeals of Veterans Claims is typically heard by ______. a. the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit b. the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit c. the Virginia Supreme Court d. the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Q: An appeal in a patent case from a U.S. district court in New Jersey will typically be heard by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the ______. a. Third Circuit b. Federal Circuit c. Fifth Circuit d. District of Columbia Circuit

Q: An appeal from a decision by a U.S. District Court in California is typically heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the ______. a. Ninth Circuit b. First Circuit c. Third Circuit d. Federal Circuit

Q: A case is considered _____ if the issues that gave rise to it have been resolved or otherwise disappeared. a. unripe b. exhausted c. moot d. hypothetical

Q: After determining that a real case or controversy exists, a federal court must ascertain whether the parties to the litigation have _____. a. jurisdiction b. a cause of action c. standing d. an injunction

Q: The fundamental threshold question that must be addressed in any lawsuit is that of _____. a. attainder b. habeas corpus c. justiciability d. jurisdiction

Q: Article II enumerates specific powers granted to the president. These include the authority to _____. a. nominate federal judges b. suspend writs of habeas corpus c. withhold privileged communications d. All of the above

Q: Under Article III, _____ controls the jurisdiction, both original and appellate, of the lower federal courts. a. the Supreme Court b. the Congress c. the president d. the Justice Department

Q: Article III of the Constitution provides that the Supreme Court ". . . shall have _____ Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the _____ shall make." a. original; Congress b. appellate; Congress c. original; Supreme Court d. appellate; Supreme Court

Q: Through 2010, who is the most recent nominee to the Supreme Court not to be confirmed? a. Douglas Ginsburg b. Robert Bork c. Ave Fortas d. Harriet Miers

Q: Who was the first Italian American named to the Supreme Court a. Sonia Sotomayor b. Samuel Alito c. Benjamin Cardozo d. Antonin Scalia

Q: Who was a nominee of President Obama to the Supreme Court? a. Samuel A. Alito b. Antonin Scalia c. Elena Kagan d. John Roberts

Q: Who was not a nominee of Ronald Reagan to the Supreme Court? a. Ruth Ginsburg b. Robert Bork c. Douglas Ginsburg d. William Rehnquist

Q: Who nominated Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court? a. Ronald Reagan b. Bill Clinton c. George W. Bush d. Richard Nixon

Q: Through 2010, how many African Americans have sat on the Supreme Court? a. One b. Two c. Three d. Four

Q: Who was the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court? a. Clarence Thomas b. William J. Brennan c. Thurgood Marshall d. Sandra Day O"Connor

Q: Who was the last Supreme Court nominee of President George H. W. Bush? a. Clarence Thomas b. William J. Brennan c. David J. Souter d. Thurgood Marshall

Q: Who was the first Supreme Court nominee of President George H. W. Bush? a. Clarence Thomas b. William J. Brennan c. David J. Souter d. Sandra Day O"Connor

Q: Douglas Ginsburg was nominated to fill whose seat on the Supreme Court? a. Warren Burger b. Gerald Ford c. Lewis Powell d. Sandra Day O"Connor

Q: Whom did President Reagan first nominate to replace Justice Lewis Powell? a. Harry Blackmun b. Robert Bork c. John Paul Stevens d. Stephen Breyer

Q: Who became chief justice after Earl Warren? a. Warren Burger b. John Roberts c. Hugo Black d. William Rehnquist

Q: Whose retirement created the vacancy eventually filled by Sandra Day O"Connor? a. Ronald Reagan b. Potter Stewart c. William O. Douglas d. Harold Burton

Q: What president nominated Sandra Day O"Connor to the Supreme Court? a. Jimmy Carter b. Bill Clinton c. Ronald Reagan d. Richard Nixon

Q: What justice retired at about the same time as John Marshall Harlan? a. Warren Burger b. William O. Douglas c. Hugo Black d. Sandra Day O"Connor

Q: Which of the following was not a Supreme Court nominee of Richard Nixon? a. Earl Warren b. Harry Blackmun c. Harrold Carswell d. Clement Haynsworth

Q: What Supreme Court justice in 1969 became the only member of the Court ever to resign under fire? a. William O. Douglas b. Abe Fortas c. Hugo Black d. Gerald Ford

Q: What Supreme Court justice served longer than any other member of the Court? a. John Marshall b. Stephen J. Field c. John Paul Stephens d. William O. Douglas

Q: In _________, the Court under Chief Justice Rehnquist ruled that strangely shaped legislative districts designed to produce African-American electoral majorities are subject to challenge under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. a.Mobile v. Bolden (1980) b. Thornburgh v. Gingles (1985) c. Shaw v. Reno (1993) d. Voinovich v. Quitter (1993)

Q: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 employed a rough index of discrimination to apply the scrutiny of the federal government to how many states that had historically been most recalcitrant in refusing to allow African Americans to vote? a. Four b. Six c. Nine d. Fourteen

Q: Justice ________ authored the opinion for the unanimous Court in Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960). a. Black b. Douglas c. Frankfurter d. none of the above

Q: In____________, the Supreme Court upheld a Texas white primary based not on legislative enactment but exclusively on a resolution adopted by the state Democratic Party. a. Nixon v. Condon (1932) b. Grovey v. Townsend (1935) c. United States v. Classic (1941) d. Smith v. Allwright (1944)

Q: In ____________, the Court struck down the white primary as violative of the Fifteenth Amendment. a. Nixon v. Condon (1932) b. Grovey v. Townsend (1935) c. United States v. Classic (1941) d. Smith v. Allwright (1944)

Q: Justice Miller wrote in ___________ "It is as essential to the successful working of this government that the great organisms of its executive and legislative branches should be the free choice of the people, as that the original form of it should be so." a.Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886) b. Ex Parte Yarbrough (1884) c. United States v. Carotene Products (1938) d. Guinn v. United States (1915)

Q: In__________, the Supreme Court recognized that voting is "a fundamental political right, because [it is] preservative of all rights." a.Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886) b. Ex Parte Yarbrough (1884) c. United States v. Carotene Products (1938) d. Guinn v. United States (1915)

Q: Justice________ authored the dissent in the Bush v. Gore (2000)? a. Stevens b. Rehnquist c. Thomas d. Breyer

Q: In_________, the Supreme Court chipped away at the McCain-Feingold Act by invalidating a section of the act known as the "millionaire's amendment." a. Randall v. Sorrell (2006) b. Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. (2007) c. Davis v. Federal Election Commission (2008) d. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Q: In__________, the Supreme Court divided 5-4 in striking down a provision of the McCain-Feingold Act that prohibited corporations and unions from engaging in "electioneering communications" thirty days before a presidential primary and sixty days before the general election. a. Randall v. Sorrell (2006) b. Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. (2007) c. Davis v. Federal Election Commission (2008) d. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Q: In _____________, the Supreme Court struck down spending limits set by the Federal Election Campaign Act as applied to the Colorado Republican Party's "independent expenditures." a. Buckley v. Valeo (1976) b. Federal Election Commission v. National Conservative Political Action Committee (1985) c. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. Federal Election Commission (1996) d. Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee (2001)

Q: In Bush v. Gore (2000),the Court ruled ______ that the selective manual recount was unconstitutional, a violation of the Equal Protection Clause. a. 8"1 b. 7"2 c. 6"3 d. 5"4

Q: In League of United Latin American Voters v. Perry (2006), the Supreme Court ________ a controversial Texas congressional reapportionment plan that strongly advantaged Republican incumbents. a. upheld b. invalidated c. denied certiorari d. None of the above is true.

Q: In __________________, the Supreme Court upheld an apportionment scheme for the Wyoming legislature based on county lines, even though the scheme had a population deviation of nearly 90 percent between the largest and the smallest districts. a. Hadley v. Junior College District (1970) b. Avery v. Midland County (1968) c. Karcher v. Daggett (1983) d. Brown v. Thomson (1983)

Q: In __________________, the Supreme Court invoked the political questions doctrine to foreclose judicial relief in the area of malapportionment, at least from the federal bench. a. Gray v. Sanders (1963) b. Colegrove v. Green (1946) c. Baker v. Carr (1962) d. None of the above is true.

Q: In__________________, the Supreme Court said that "[i]f a State decides to elect its trial judges, ... those elections must be conducted in compliance with the Voting Rights Act." a. Houston Lawyers' Association v. Attorney General of Texas (1991) b. Thornburgh v. Gingles (1986) c. Chisom v. Roemer (1991) d. None of the above is true.

Q: In _____________,the Supreme Court struck down an at-large election scheme in Burke County, Georgia, on the basis that there was discriminatory intent on the part of public officials. a. Thornburgh v. Gingles (1985) b. Mobile v. Bolden (1980) c. Shaw v. Reno (1993) d. Rogers v. Lodge (1982)

Q: In Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960), Justice ______________ stated, "that if the plaintiffs' allegations were proven" [regarding racial gerrymandering, it would be "difficult to appreciate what stands in the way of adjudging [the redistricting measure] invalid." a. Felix Frankfurter b. William O. Douglas c. Tom Clark d. John M. Harlan, II

Q: In Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966), the Supreme Court held that poll taxes in state elections violated the __________. a. Fifth Amendment b. Sixth Amendment c. Fourteenth Amendment d. Fifteenth Amendment

Q: In ________________, the Supreme Court explicitly upheld the use of literacy tests based on the reasoning that "in our society where newspapers, periodicals, books and other printed matter canvass and debate campaign issues, a State might conclude that only those who are literate should exercise the franchise." a. Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Education (1959) b. Terry v. Adams (1953) c. Breedlove v. Suttles (1937) d. None of the above is true.

Q: In _______________, the Supreme Court struck down the white primary as violative of the Fifteenth Amendment, thus overruling _______________. a. United States v. Classic (1941); Smith v. Allwright (1944) b. Grovey v. Townsend (1935); Smith v. Allwright (1944) c. Smith v. Allwright (1944); Grovey v. Townsend (1935) d. None of the above is true.

Q: In _________________, the Supreme Court upheld a Texas white primary based on a resolution adopted by the state Democratic Party, which effectively reinforced the legal view that political parties were merely private organizations beyond the purview of the Constitution. a. Nixon v. Herndon (1927) b. Grovey v. Townsend (1935) c. Nixon v. Condon (1932) d. United States v. Classic (1941)

Q: The first of many legal victories won by the NAACP came when the Supreme Court struck down the Oklahoma grandfather clause in a. Newberry v. United States (1921). b. United States v. Reese (1876). c.Lane v. Wilson (1939). d. Guinn v. United States (1915).

Q: First enacted by ____________in 1890, the grandfather clause soon spread throughout southern and border states and typically required literacy tests for all voters whose ancestors had not been entitled to vote prior to 1866. a. Georgia b. Alabama c. Mississippi d. Tennessee

Q: In _______________, the Supreme Court struck down the Enforcement Act of 1870, by which Congress attempted to protect the right of African Americans to vote in state elections. a. Gomilion v. Lightfoot (1960) b. United States v. Reese (1876) c. Ex parte Yarbrough (1884) d. None of the above is true.

Q: In Reynolds v. Sims (1964) Chief Justice Warren applied the principle of "one person, one vote" to a. apportionment of both houses of a state legislature. b. only the lower house of a state legislature. c. the United States Senate. d. the U.S. House of Representatives.

Q: The Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Federal Constitution a. sets the minimum voting age at eighteen in federal and state elections. b. abolishes the poll tax in federal elections. c. removes gender as a qualification for voting. d. provides for the popular election of U.S. Senators.