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WorksheetsUnit 5 Review The Judicial Branch and State Government
Total questions: 57
Worksheet time: 29mins
The federal court system consists of?
federal district courts, federal appeals courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
federal appeals courts, state appeals courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
federal district courts, state supreme courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
local courts, state courts, and federal district courts.
The job of an appeals court is to
sentence people who are convicted in federal courts.
decide the defendant’s guilt or innocence.
decide whether a law is allowed by the U.S. Constitution.
review decisions made in lower courts.
Which of the following established the principle of federal judicial review?
U.S. Constitution
Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison
Judiciary Act of 1789
What is the current composition / makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court?
9 associate justices and one chief justice
5 associate justices and 5 chief justices
8 associate justices and 1 chief justice
5 associate, 5 assistant and 1 chief justice
How does a case come before the Supreme Court?
All federal cases automatically come before the Supreme Court.
The Senate determines the cases that the Supreme Court will hear each year.
The justices of the Supreme Court choose the cases they will hear.
Any case in which a state government loses is appealed to the Supreme Court.
Which case would most likely be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court?
a lawsuit to stop construction of a new highway near an elementary school
an appeal of a murder conviction
a case in which there is a hung jury
a case in which a defendant’s rights are denied and the case is further appealed from the US Courts of Appeal
Justice Sprinkle agrees with Chief Justice Bischoff and 4 other justices that Capital Punishment is "cruel and unusual." However, Justice Sprinkle does not agree with their reasoning as to why. In order to explain his reasoning, Justice Sprinkle will write a...
concurring opinion
minority opinion
dissenting opinion
brief opinion
The Supreme Court reviews President Trump's banning of immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries. The court has decided to eliminate the ban and declares it unconstitutional. This illustrates the Supreme Court's power of
Judicial Review
Certiorari
Writ of Habeas Corpus
Court Revision
Which of the following is NOT true about the United States courts of appeal?
Their focus is on correcting errors of procedure and law that occurred in the original trial.
Their decisions are final and cannot be appealed to the Supreme Court.
They hold no actual trials, hear no testimony and do not impanel juries.
Their decisions set precedents for courts within their jurisdiction.
Al Worth gets arrested on a charge of kidnapping. Kidnapping is a federal crime. He is tried in the Federal District Court because this court has
appellate jurisdiction
concurrent jurisdiction
dynamic jurisdiction
original jurisdiction
All criminal cases in the federal courts start off at which level of the court system?
The U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appelas
U.S. Special Courts
U.S. District Court
If a judge remands a case, where is the case sent?
To the U.S. Supreme Court
To an Appellate Court
To a lower court
To a civil court
In which type of court do federal trials and lawsuits usually begin?
state supreme courts
federal district courts
federal appeals courts
municipal couerts
What does it mean when a judge uses precedent to arrive at an opinion?
The judge does not refer to the U.S. Constitution.
The judge relies heavily on previous opinions in similar cases.
The judge asks for the opinions of several other justices.
The judge arrives at an opinion unlike any in the past.
“In the interest of finality, the majority effectively orders the disenfranchisement of an unknown number of voters whose ballots reveal their intent . . . but were for some reason rejected by ballot-counting machines.”
“What must underlie petitioners’ entire federal assault on the Florida election procedures is an unstated lack of confidence in the impartiality and capacity of the state judges who would make the critical decisions if the vote count were to proceed . . . . Although we may never know . . . the identity of the winner of this year’s Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation’s confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law.”
—Justice John Paul Stevens, from his dissenting opinion in Bush v. Gore, 2000
In what way does Justice Stevens say the majority decision injures the voters?
They did not have the chance to vote.
Their voting rights were denied because their ballots were not counted.
They were forced to vote for the wrong candidate.
They did not receive a fair trial.
“In the interest of finality, the majority effectively orders the disenfranchisement of an unknown number of voters whose ballots reveal their intent . . . but were for some reason rejected by ballot-counting machines.”
“What must underlie petitioners’ entire federal assault on the Florida election procedures is an unstated lack of confidence in the impartiality and capacity of the state judges who would make the critical decisions if the vote count were to proceed . . . . Although we may never know . . . the identity of the winner of this year’s Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation’s confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law.”
—Justice John Paul Stevens, from his dissenting opinion in Bush v. Gore, 2000
Who does Justice Stevens say that the loser of the election is?
voters
the president
the nation’s confidence in ballot-counting machines
the nation’s confidence in judges
“In the interest of finality, the majority effectively orders the disenfranchisement of an unknown number of voters whose ballots reveal their intent . . . but were for some reason rejected by ballot-counting machines.”
“What must underlie petitioners’ entire federal assault on the Florida election procedures is an unstated lack of confidence in the impartiality and capacity of the state judges who would make the critical decisions if the vote count were to proceed . . . . Although we may never know . . . the identity of the winner of this year’s Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation’s confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law.”
—Justice John Paul Stevens, from his dissenting opinion in Bush v. Gore, 2000
Why does Justice Stevens say that the majority of the justices decided to end the ballot counting in Florida?
They believed that the people in Florida were not counting correctly.
They believed the ballots were used incorrectly.
They wanted to finalize the presidency quickly.
They wanted to count the ballots themselves.
Which of the following is an appeals court allowed to do?
to retry a case
to reverse a lower court decision
to call a jury
to advise the Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, is an example of
stare decisis.
remanding a case.
concurrent jurisdiction.
breaking with precedent.
“. . . [In recent years,] the Court has more and more often and more and more boldly asserted a power to veto laws passed by the Congress and by state legislatures in complete disregard of . . . [the] original limitation [of the Constitution] . . .
“In the last four years the sound rule of giving statutes the benefit of all reasonable doubt has been cast aside. The Court has been acting not as a judicial body, but as a policymaking body.”
—President Franklin D. Roosevelt, discussing his plan
to reorganize the federal judiciary in the face of
Supreme Court opposition to New Deal legislation
Roosevelt objects to the Supreme Court’s tendency to
hear cases having nothing to do with federal law.
decide that certain laws are unconstitutional.
pass laws on its own.
rewrite certain sections of the Constitution.
“. . . [In recent years,] the Court has more and more often and more and more boldly asserted a power to veto laws passed by the Congress and by state legislatures in complete disregard of . . . [the] original limitation [of the Constitution] . . .
“In the last four years the sound rule of giving statutes the benefit of all reasonable doubt has been cast aside. The Court has been acting not as a judicial body, but as a policymaking body.”
—President Franklin D. Roosevelt, discussing his plan
to reorganize the federal judiciary in the face of
Supreme Court opposition to New Deal legislation
What power of the Court has Roosevelt questioned?
original jurisdiction
writing dissenting opinions.
interpreting the Constitution
judicial review
“. . . [In recent years,] the Court has more and more often and more and more boldly asserted a power to veto laws passed by the Congress and by state legislatures in complete disregard of . . . [the] original limitation [of the Constitution] . . .
“In the last four years the sound rule of giving statutes the benefit of all reasonable doubt has been cast aside. The Court has been acting not as a judicial body, but as a policymaking body.”
—President Franklin D. Roosevelt, discussing his plan
to reorganize the federal judiciary in the face of
Supreme Court opposition to New Deal legislation
What problem does Roosevelt believe the Court’s actions will cause?
The president and Congress will not be able to pass legislation.
Congress will lose its powers under the Constitution.
People will demand to elect the members of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court will stop ruling on cases and start creating laws.
Often a justice will agree with the majority opinion rendered by the Supreme Court. However he may agree but wish to add a point or emphasize a point that was not made in the majority opinion. What type of opinion will the justice write?
minority opinion
concurring opinion
dissenting opinion
brief opinion
Justices who disagree with the majority opinion rendered by the Supreme Court will write their own explanation of why they think the majority opinion is wrong. What type of opinion will these justices write?
minority opinion
concurring opinion
dissenting opinion
brief opinion
What is the significance of the Supreme Court decision in the case Marbury v. Madison?
It was the first case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
It established the U.S. Supreme Court’s right of judicial review in federal cases.
It established the U.S. Supreme Court’s jurisdiction in cases between states.
It overturned the practice of “separate but equal” in schools.
When can the Supreme Court rule on the constitutionality of a law?
It can rule at any time.
It can rule only during a case.
It can rule within 30 days after the law is passed.
The Supreme Court can never rule a law unconstitutional.
Which court would hear the federal court case when a defendant has lost a trial and an initial appeal, but decides to appeal further?
US Supreme Court
US Circuit Court of Appeals
US District Courts
state supreme court
Which court would hear the federal court case when a state supreme court refused to overturn a murder conviction?
US Supreme Court
US Circuit Court of Appeals
US District Courts
state supreme court
Which court would hear the federal court case when the defendant is convicted of kidnapping, but wishes to appeal the decision?
US Supreme Court
US Circuit Court of Appeals
US District Courts
state supreme court
The principal reasons for the Supreme Court’s choosing to hear a case would include all of the following EXCEPT
disagreement between a majority of the Supreme Court and lower court decisions.
cases that involve major issues like civil liberties.
conflicts between different lower courts on the interpretation of federal law.
politically hot and divisive cases.
Judicial review means
the right of the courts to decide if the acts of the legislative or executive branches is constitutional.
the power to remove Supreme Court justices from the bench if deemed unfit.
the right of Congress to decide if a ruling by the Supreme Court is constitutional.
the right of the President to determine whether a decision by the Supreme Court is constitutional.
Which of the following may the president do to limit the Supreme Court’s power?
Fire and replace justices
Refuse to enforce a ruling by the Court
Adopt new constitutional amendments
Veto parts of the Court’s decisions
Appointments to the federal judiciary are often contentious for which of the following reasons?
The House of Representatives can undermine presidential authority by overriding judicial appointments
Life terms for federal judges mean that presidential appointments will continue to have influence long after the president’s term is over.
The president selects nominees based on political orientation, while the Senate focuses on the academic credentials of nominees.
Federal judges are given a platform to legislate from the bench, and the Senate is hesitant about relinquishing power to the judiciary.
Courts other than the U.S. Supreme Court are established by ________.
The President
The Congress
The US Supreme Court
The Voters
Before the Supreme Court will review a case, ____ justices must vote to add the case to the docket.
Nine
Five
Four
Three
Which law established the federal district courts?
Judiciary Act of 1789
Circuit Court of Appeals Act of 1891
42 U.S.C. § 1983
Marbury v. Madison
What is the primary function of appellate courts?
Correct errors of law
Make law
produce verdicts
The appellate courts do all of these.
Appellate courts most often hear cases in groups of ______ judges
Two
Three
Five
Seven
The judiciary branch of government is created by Article ____ of the U.S. Constitution.
I (One)
II (Two)
III (Three)
IV (Four)
If a court has the legal authority to hear and decide a case, it has __________________ over that case.
supremacy
jurisdiction
comity
judicial Control
A court’s application of prior judicial rulings to similar cases is the use of
Substantive law
Precedent
Civil law
Evidence
What is issued when the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to review a case?
Writ of certiorari
Precedent
Stare Decisis
Writ of habeas Corpus
