Constitutional Law Quiz

Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the establishment clause and the free exercise clause?

• A

• B

• C

• D

The Washington Post receives a top secret report that details how the executive branch mishandled a deal made with a foreign nation regarding nuclear weapons. The executive branch attempts to stop the publishing of the report, but the publishers cite the precedent in New York Times Company v. United States (1971) establishing which of the following legal rules?

• The exclusionary rule for evidence

• Time, place, and manner restrictions

• The heavy presumption against prior restraint

• Time, place, and manner restrictions

The president privately discusses with his staff a decision to increase economic sanctions on Iran. Before a final decision is made, a draft of the proposal is leaked to a reporter. The president orders the reporter and her newspaper to suspend publication of the plan, citing issues of national and economic security. Which of the following best indicates how a court would rule in this case if the Supreme Court’s ruling in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) was used as a precedent?

• The president has the authority to stop the publication of the story because the administration has

  asserted that the information in the story threatens national security.

• Although the documents have already been obtained by the press, a court must review the documents

  prior to publication to ensure that no information that threatens national security is made public

• Freedom of the press includes a heavy presumption against government censorship, and the documents

  can be published by the press.

• Because the president’s staff leaked the documents and the newspaper obtained them in an illegal

  manner, a court can stop publication until law enforcement investigates.

The framers of the Constitution intended to establish

• a representative republic

• a socialist democracy

• an authoritarian state

• a direct democracy

• a parliamentary republic

According to James Madison in The Federalist papers, political liberty is best protected by what?

• A) A written constitution

• B) A small republic with a parliamentary system

• C) A small democracy with a unitary government

• D) Well-regulated militias controlled by state governments

• E) The fragmentation of political power in a large republic

Which of the following is a model of democracy that emphasizes the role of interest groups in advocating for public policy?

• A) Participatory democracy

• B) Elitist democracy

• C) Majoritarian democracy

• D) Pluralist democracy

Which of the following is an advantage of campaign contributions as a form of political participation?

• Bring public attention

• Contact with potential officials; multiply individual interest

• Access; multiply force of individual preference

• Running for political office/holding political office

The theory that suggests all interests are free to compete for influence in government, resulting in healthy democratic compromise and balance, is known as

• elite power politics

• socialism

• pluralism

• rational choice

• institutionalism

Brutus was an example of an Anti-Federalist because he

• believed a centralized government posed a major threat to individual rights

• argued that a national military force was needed to deal with insurrections

• argued that the laws passed by the national government were supreme over state laws

• believed that compromise between the branches of government would ensure a limited government

"If, therefore, the legislature pass any laws, inconsistent with the sense the judges put upon the constitution, they will declare it void; and therefore in this respect their power is superior to that of the legislature." Which of the following cases is most related to the quote?

• Marbury v. Madison (1803)

• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

• United States v. Lopez (1995)