Supreme Court Functions and Powers Quiz

What is the primary function of the Supreme Court?

• To create new laws

• To resolve disputes over the meaning of federal law and the U.S. Constitution

• To enforce state laws

• To manage local government operations

What power does the Supreme Court have to ensure the law is uniform across the country?

• Legislative power

• Executive power

• Judicial review

• Administrative oversight

Approximately how many cases does the Supreme Court hear each year out of the thousands appealed?

• 50

• 80

• 150

• 200

What type of jurisdiction allows the Supreme Court to hear a case for the first time?

• Appellate jurisdiction

• Original jurisdiction

• Concurrent jurisdiction

• Exclusive jurisdiction

What is appellate jurisdiction?

• The right to hear a case for the first time

• The right to review a case that has already been decided

• The right to create new laws

• The right to enforce laws

Why does the Supreme Court tend to choose certain cases?

• To create new laws

• To review cases with different decisions in lower courts

• To enforce existing laws

• To hear cases for the first time

What is a petition for certiorari?

• A request for the Supreme Court to hear a case

• A decision made by a lower court

• A type of legal document filed by the Solicitor General

• A brief submitted by a friend of the court

What does a writ of certiorari entail?

• An order from the Supreme Court to a lower court to send records

• A decision by the Supreme Court to reject a case

• A legal document filed by the losing party

• A brief submitted by the Solicitor General

What is an amicus brief?

• A "friend of the court" brief asking the Supreme Court to accept a case

• A legal document filed by the losing party

• An order from the Supreme Court to a lower court

• A decision made by the Solicitor General

Who does the Solicitor General represent?

• The U.S. government in front of the Supreme Court

• The losing party in a Supreme Court case

• The lower courts in legal proceedings

• The Supreme Court justices