Judicial Branch Test Review

What is the role of the judicial branch?

• to make laws

• to enforce laws

• to interpret laws

• to impeach a president

What is judicial activism?

• the belief that justices should narrowly interpret the Constitution and defer decision making power to elected officials

• the power a court has to hear legal cases and make legal decisions regarding those cases

• the judicial branch's power to nullify governmental acts that violate the Constitution

• the belief that justices should defend rights an liberties even if they're not explicitly stated in the Constitution

Which of the following statements best explains how judicial activism influences decisions made by individual justices when deciding cases heard by the Court?

• Justices are influenced by the social effects the decision might have on the public

• Justices are more likely to defer to previous Supreme Court decisions

• Justices are influenced by the public opinion on a case rather than constitutional interpretation

• Justices are less likely to strike down laws and policies as unconstitutional

Judicial philosophy in which justices create and influence law from the bench

• judicial review

• judicial activism

• judicial restraint

• constitutional interpretation

The reluctance to interpret the law and to hesitate to overturn existing precedent unless it is obviously unconstitutional is called what?

• judicial restraint

• constitutional interpretation

• judicial review

• judicial activism

The practice of interpreting the Constitution in light of the norms and values of present day society is referred to as

• judicial restraint

• jurist prudence

• judicial activism

• appellate jurisdiction

Philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect what the framers intended and what its words literally say.

• judicial activism

• precedent

• judicial restraint

• original juridiction

The authority of a court to hear a case is called __.

• originalism

• jurisdiction

• amicus curiae

• stare decisis

The __ nominates federal and Supreme Court justices with confirmation from a majority of the __.

• president; Senate

• Senate Judiciary Committee; Attorney General

• president; House of Representatives

• vice president; electors

Why did the Founding Fathers want federal judges to serve life terms?

• they wanted to ensure that judges couldn't be bribed

• they didn't want masses of uneducated people to influence the outcome of the judicial process

• they wanted an independent judiciary that was free from the influence of politics

• they wanted to make sure that there was long-lasting stability in the judiciary