Freedom vs. Order

“Everyone believes that the FBI should have the tools it needs to catch dangerous criminals. But too often over the past decade, intelligence and law enforcement agencies choose approaches that sweep up information from millions of innocent Americans instead of targeting terrorists and criminals. These approaches don’t make us safer.

“The changes to Rule 41 allow the FBI to hack millions of victims of cybercrime. These victims of hacks are regular people, not criminals.”

-Cecilia Kang, “Ron Wyden Discusses Encryption, Data Privacy and Security,” New York Times, October 9, 2016

Based on the text, which of the following statements would Senator Wyden most likely agree with?

• The need for public safety should not exceed an individual’s protection from unreasonable search and seizure

• The prohibition of warrantless searches of suspected criminals fails to protect citizens from potential crimes

• The Fourth Amendment does not protect the collection of digital metadata and should not require a warrant

• Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures in the Fourth Amendment can reasonably be suspended to promote public safety

“Everyone believes that the FBI should have the tools it needs to catch dangerous criminals. But too often over the past decade, intelligence and law enforcement agencies choose approaches that sweep up information from millions of innocent Americans instead of targeting terrorists and criminals. These approaches don’t make us safer.

“The changes to Rule 41 allow the FBI to hack millions of victims of cybercrime. These victims of hacks are regular people, not criminals.”

-Cecilia Kang, “Ron Wyden Discusses Encryption, Data Privacy and Security,” New York Times, October 9, 2016

Which of the following constitutional provisions limits the power of the federal government to collect digital metadata as described by Senator Wyden?

• The Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights

• Judicial review in Article III

• The Eighth Amendment in the Bill of Rights

• Enumerated powers in Article I

“It is clear that the ancient and humane limitation upon the State's ability to execute its sentences has as firm a hold upon the jurisprudence of today as it had centuries ago in England. The various reasons put forth in support of the common-law restriction [on executing the insane] have no less logical, moral, and practical force than they did when first voiced. For today, no less than before, we may seriously question the retributive value of executing a person who has no comprehension of why he has been singled out and stripped of his fundamental right to life.”

-Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall, majority opinion in Ford v. Wainwright (1986)

Which of the following statements is most consistent with the author’s argument in this passage?

• The death penalty is considered cruel and unusual punishment and cannot ever be used

• There are limits on who can be given a death penalty sentence

• Juries can only sentence defendants to the death penalty for capital offenses

• The states have the power to decide limits to the death penalty

“It is clear that the ancient and humane limitation upon the State's ability to execute its sentences has as firm a hold upon the jurisprudence of today as it had centuries ago in England. The various reasons put forth in support of the common-law restriction [on executing the insane] have no less logical, moral, and practical force than they did when first voiced. For today, no less than before, we may seriously question the retributive value of executing a person who has no comprehension of why he has been singled out and stripped of his fundamental right to life.”

-Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall, majority opinion in Ford v. Wainwright (1986)

Based on the text, which of the following amendments was the focus of the Court’s ruling in Ford v. Wainwright (1986)?

• The Second Amendment

• The Eighth Amendment

• The Fourth Amendment

• The Sixth Amendment

Which of the following amendments protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures?

• 6th

• 8th

• 2nd

• 4th

Which of the following scenarios would most likely be considered a violation of the Fourth Amendment?

• A suspect’s property is searched before a warrant is issued

• A person is tried twice for the same crime

• A minor is sentenced to the death penalty

• A person is not provided a lawyer even though he cannot afford one

Which of the following government policies would be most likely to draw criticism for interfering with individual rights under the Second Amendment?

• The federal government passes a budget that allocates more money to the military

• The state of Louisiana passes a law that requires a suspect who is a minor to have a parent present during an interrogation

• The state of Oregon passes a law that bans public places from restricting bathroom access on the basis of an individual’s sex listed on their birth certificate

• The federal government passes a law banning the sale of automatic weapons to anyone under the age of twenty-one

In 2013, Edward Snowden released classified information showing that the National Security Agency (NSA) was conducting a massive surveillance program by collecting data from major cell phone providers.

Which of the following amendments provides the basis for an accusation of unconstitutional action by the NSA?

• The Second Amendment

• The First Amendment

• The Eighth Amendment

• The Fourth Amendment

Which of the following amendments is most relevant to the topic of the cartoon?

• The Second Amendment

• The Fourth Amendment

• The Eighth Amendment

• The First Amendment

Which of the following best describes the message in the political cartoon?

• The USA PATRIOT Act has given the government too much power to perform searches, which should be unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment

• The USA PATRIOT Act has given the government too much power to detain suspected terrorists, which should be unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment

• The USA PATRIOT Act has led to more arrests of suspected terrorists and uncovered valuable information

• Passing the USA PATRIOT Act was necessary to guarantee public safety from another terrorist attack