Judicial Branch Questions

In The Federalist 78, Alexander Hamilton states, “A constitution is, in fact, and must be regarded by the judges, as a fundamental law. It therefore belongs to them to ascertain its meaning.” Which of the following Supreme Court cases is most relevant to this statement?

• Baker v. Carr (1962)

• Marbury v. Madison (1803)

• Shaw v. Reno (1993)

• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Which of the following sections of the United States Constitution is most related to the case Marbury v. Madison (1803)?

• Article I

• Article III

• The First Amendment

• The Tenth Amendment

The Supreme Court’s decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803) relates to foundational documents in which of the following ways?

• The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution reserves powers to the states, and Marbury v. Madison deals with whether the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over state courts.

• The Declaration of Independence describes circumstances in which people may demand a redress of grievances, and Marbury v. Madison is about whether courts can resolve these crises.

• The Federalist 10 describes how the expanded scope of the national government can alleviate the problems of factions, and Marbury v. Madison uses the national government to negotiate a compromise between two rival factions.

• The Federalist 78 is about the power and role of the federal courts, and in Marbury v. Madison, Madison expands that role by giving the courts the power to determine whether laws or executive actions conflict with the Constitution.

Which Foundational documents support the idea of judicial review?

• Article 4 of the Constitution

• Federalist 78

• Federalist 10

• Bill of Rights

Which court hears challenges to district court decisions from courts located within its area, as well as appeals from decisions of federal administrative agencies?

• U.S District Courts

• U.S Circuit Court of Appeals

• U.S Supreme

• U.S Senate

In the Texas v Johnson case, it was put into question whether the burning of the American flag was legal. Afterwards, a ________ was conceived as it was determined that burning a flag fell under the First Amendment’s protection of Freedom of the Speech.

• Binding Precedent

• Persuasive Precedent

• Evading Precedent

• Rebounding Precedent

Who is Chief Justice as of now?

• Marbury

• John Marshall

• John Roberts

• McCulloh

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the concept of a case being decided based on precedent?

• The Supreme Court bases its decision in a case involving the commerce clause on one of its earlier decisions involving the commerce clause.

• The Supreme Court overturns a lower court decision in a case dealing with voter identification laws.

• A state passes a law which contradicts federal law, causing the Supreme Court to rule in favor of the federal government.

• The chief justice of the Supreme Court disagrees with the majority of the other justices and decides to declare a law passed by Congress as unconstitutional.

In the case Twining v. New Jersey (1908), the Supreme Court held that the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination is not applicable to the states. In 1964 the Supreme Court overruled the decision in Malloy v. Hogan (1964) and held that the right was incorporated to the states. This scenario illustrates which of the following?

• The Supreme Court oftentimes overrules lower court decisions. 

• Constitutional amendments can be used to overturn previous Supreme Court decisions.

• The executive branch can sometimes evade Supreme Court decisions. 

• Ideological changes to the Supreme Court can lead to the overturning of precedents

The Supreme Court upholds a law passed by Congress as constitutional. The chief justice states in the majority opinion that previous decisions supporting Congress’ power to make laws based on the commerce clause of the Constitution were the basis for the decision. Which of the following legal concepts did the chief justice apply in writing the opinion?

• Compliance monitoring

• Stare decisis

• Overlapping jurisdiction

• Judicial activism