How Well Do You Know the Supreme Court?

Front

TRUE or FALSE? The Constitution sets the number of justices at nine.

Back

False

Front

TRUE or FALSE? The chief justice is always the longest-serving justice.

Back

False

Front

TRUE or FALSE? Most experts who study the Court believe that the primary reason the Court decides to hear a case is to correct a legal error made by a court below.

Back

False

Answer explanation

The primary reason the Court decides to hear a case is to resolve a conflict between lower courts over a particular legal question. The U.S. Supreme Court is not a court of error and does not attempt to correct legal errors from other courts.

Front

TRUE OR FALSE? When the Supreme Court decides not to hear a case (denies certiorari) it is saying that it agrees with the lower court’s opinion and that the lower court decision should become a precedent.

Back

false

Front

TRUE or FALSE? In a typical term, the Court decides more cases 5 to 4 than 9 to 0.

Back

false