AP Government Exam ch 15 PRACTICE 2014 1. Common law is. A) the accumulation of judicial decisions about legal issues B) disputes between two parties C) laws passed by legislatures D) the requirement that plaintiffs have a serious interest in a case E) issues capable of being settled as a matter of law 2. Which type of case concerns the violation of the legal rights of one individual toward another? A) trial B) appellate C) criminal D) original E) civil 3. Which of the following is a way that interest groups attempt to influence the Supreme Court's decisions? A) filing standing to sue briefs B) publishing position papers C) filing amicus curiae briefs D) claiming disputes are justiciable E) lobbying legislative members 4. What type of law is based on the accumulation of judicial decisions about legal issues? A) public B) common C) judicial D) case E) constitutional 5. Which of the following brings the case before the court in civil cases? A) plaintiff B) defendant C) appellee D) prosecutor E) district attorney 6. What type of standing to sue permits a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people in similar circumstances? A) justiciable B) statute C) class action D) criminal E) civil 7. In which courts are the vast majority of all cases tried? A) constitutional B) appellate C) supreme D) federal E) state
8. Which of the following must plaintiffs have in order to sustain a lawsuit in court? A) an attorney B) a serious injury C) a dispute with the government D) money E) standing 9. What type of law governs relationships between individuals and defines their legal rights? A) civil B) criminal C) constitutional D) personal E) positive 10. The Judiciary Act of 1789 established the federal circuit courts and district courts. A) TRUE B) FALSE 11. The Act of 1789 established the basic three-tiered structure of the federal court system. A) Constitution B) Judiciary C) Federal Courts D) Interpretation E) Appellate 12. How many justices currently serve on the Supreme Court? A) twelve B) five C) eight D) six E) nine 13. Which of the following is the authority vested in a particular court to hear and decide the issues in a particular case? A) judicial review B) confirmation C) jurisdiction D) filibuster E) jurisprudence 14. The authority to be the first court to hear a case is which type of jurisdiction? A) constitutional B) federal C) appellate D) original E) trial
15. A(n) brief is submitted by someone who is not a party to the case. A) outsider B) amicus curiae C) appellate D) habeas corpus E) coram nobis 16. Only a(n) court can review the decisions of a lower court. A) appellate B) original C) administrative D) constitutional E) trial 17. In which federal courts are trials conducted? A) district B) public C) circuit D) common E) original 18. Which of the following is within the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court? A) federal criminal matters B) property disputes C) controversies between the states D) tax disputes E) military tribunals 19. The Court of Military Appeals is an example of which type of court? A) constitutional B) regulatory commission C) legislative D) circuit E) district 20. Where is the entry point for most litigation in the federal courts? A) U.S. District Court B) U.S. Court of Federal Claims C) U.S. Court of Appeals D) Supreme Court E) U.S. Court of Equity 21. How many district courts are in the federal system? A) 212 B) 91 C) 63 D) 100 E) 25
22. When the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear a case appealed to it from a circuit court, it is exercising its jurisdiction. A) original B) legislative C) appellate D) constitutional E) mandatory 23. A court that hears and weighs evidence in order to reach the first decision in a civil or criminal case is a court of jurisdiction. A) trial B) mandatory C) constitutional D) appellate E) original 24. The district courts are appellate courts. TRUE/FALSE 25. Litigants have an automatic right of appeal to the Supreme Court. TRUE/FALSE 26. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is a constitutional court. TRUE/FALSE 27. The Supreme Court regularly exercises its original jurisdiction. TRUE/FALSE 28. Rotating three-judge panels decide cases in the federal courts of appeals. TRUE/FALSE 29. Which of the following must confirm all federal judges? A) House of Representatives B) Supreme Court C) Senate D) states E) president 30. Presidents have failed percent of the time to appoint the nominees of their choice to the Supreme Court. A) 20 B) 30 C) 10 D) 50 E) 40 31. The Supreme Court hears cases from state courts only if they involve law. A) county B) civil C) federal D) common E) state
32. Which of the following nominates U.S. federal judges? A) chief justice B) president C) vice president D) Supreme Court E) Senate 33. Federal judges are appointed to terms. A) three-year B) twenty-year C) ten-year D) life E) two-year 34. In 1987, the Senate refused to confirm the nomination of which of the following to the Supreme Court? A) Harlan Fiske B) Earl Warren C) David Souter D) Robert Bork E) Antonin Scalia 35. In a process known as, presidents generally allow senators from the state in which a judicial vacancy occurs to block the nomination. A) judicial review B) Senate confirmation C) presidential deference D) advice and consent E) senatorial courtesy 36. As of 2012, how many African Americans have served on the U.S. Supreme Court? A) zero B) two C) three D) one E) five 37. When might a presidential nominee to the Supreme Court have trouble being confirmed? A) when the Senate is opposed to the nominee's ideological orientation B) when a president makes a nomination at the beginning of a term C) when a president's party affiliation is in the minority in the Senate D) when a president's nominee strengthens the philosophical balance on the Court E) when a president's views closely align with the norm in the Senate 38. All federal judicial nominations are first referred to which of the following for a hearing? A) attorney general B) Senate Nominations Committee C) Senate Judiciary Committee D) House Judiciary Committee E) Supreme Court
39. Senatorial courtesy is a tradition specified in the Constitution. TRUE/FALSE 40. The increasing polarization of partisan politics in recent years has affected judicial nominations, especially those for the courts of appeals. TRUE/FALSE 41. Which justice appeared to play politics by timing retirement in 2009 so that Barack Obama rather than George W. Bush would name a new justice? A) Elena Kagan B) Anthony Kennedy C) David Souter D) John Roberts E) Ruth Bader Ginsburg 42. A writ of is a request submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court decision. A) attachment B) mandamus C) capias D) prohibition E) certiorari 43. For a case to be heard in the Supreme Court, a minimum of how many justices must vote to hear the case? A) six B) one C) five D) four E) nine 44. What is known as a statement of the legal reasoning behind a decision for a case heard by the Supreme Court? A) amicus curiae B) brief C) per curiam D) majority rule E) opinion 45. Who is in charge of the appellate court litigation of the federal government? A) the attorney general B) the White House counsel C) the Senate majority leader D) the solicitor general E) the House majority leader 46. Which of the following represents the federal government in the Supreme Court? A) solicitor general B) attorney general C) president D) speaker of the House E) chief prosecutor
47. What is the name given to the power of the courts to interpret, and overturn, the actions of the executive and legislative branches? A) judicial review B) precedent C) strict construction D) original jurisdiction E) stare decisis 48. Which of the following is the ruling in which of the following cases struck down state-mandated segregation in public schools? A) Brown v. Board of Education B) Plessy v. Ferguson C) McCulloch v. Maryland D) Gideon v. Wainwright E) Marbury v. Madison 49. Which of the following is an opinion written by a justice in the majority that outlines additional considerations he or she thinks are important? A) per curiam B) dissenting C) concurring D) en banc E) majority 50. Justices on the Supreme Court provide a statement of the legal reasoning behind their decisions in written. A) briefs B) laws C) opinions D) arguments E) pamphlets 51. How and whether judicial decisions are translated into actual policy is known as which of the following? A) judicial execution B) judicial power C) judicial intention D) judicial legislation E) judicial implementation 52. What are the two types of jurisdiction courts can have? A) active and restrained B) legislative and constitutional C) trial and appeals D) original and appellate E) constitutional and statutory 53. In court rulings, reliance on past decisions to formulate decisions in new cases is known as which of the following? A) stare decisis B) per curiam C) coram nobis D) common law E) amicus curiae
54. Which of the following has the most control over the cases it hears? A) federal legislative court B) federal circuit court C) U.S. Supreme Court D) state appellate court E) federal district court 55. According to the principle of, a court should not overturn precedent unless it is absolutely necessary. A) original intent B) judicial review C) prior restraint D) judicial privilege E) stare decisis 56. The conference of the U.S. Supreme Court is. A) open to the justices and other court staff B) open to the justices and the public C) open to the justices and all members of Congress D) limited to the justices themselves E) open to the justices and the president 57. Who would provide the government's opinion on whether to accept a case? A) the Supreme Court clerk of courts B) the president C) the chief justice of the Supreme Court D) the attorney general E) the solicitor general 58. Which of the following limits judicial power? A) constitutional courts B) judicial activism C) senatorial courtesy D) judicial review E) stare decisis/precedent 59. If a judge believes that she should only strike down laws that clearly violate the Constitution, she likely believes in which of the following? A) judicial restraint B) judicial activism C) judicial construction D) judicial conservatism E) judicial originalism 60. The Supreme Court's annual term begins on the first Thursday in April. TRUE/FALSE 61. A dissenting opinion is written by a justice who agrees with the decision of the majority, but disagrees with the rationale. TRUE/FALSE
62. In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court first claim the right of judicial review? A) Chishom v. Georgia B) Marbury v. Madison C) United States v. Nixon D) Brown v. Board of Education E) Dred Scott v. Sandford 63. Who attempted to expand the number of Supreme Court justices in 1937? A) Chief Justice Warren B) President Roosevelt C) Chief Justice Marshall D) President Wilson E) President Hoover 64. Which Court was one of the most active in shaping public policy in the twentieth century? A) Burger B) Warren C) Chase D) Rehnquist E) Fortas 65. Which chief justice established the power of judicial review? A) John Jay B) Earl Warren C) Oliver Wendell Holmes D) John Marshall E) James Madison 66. According to Marbury v. Madison, which clause implies the power of judicial review? A) originalism B) necessary and proper C) supremacy D) judicial E) precedential 67. At President Roosevelt's urging, Congress passed dozens of laws designed to end the Depression. Why did the Supreme Court begin to dismantle New Deal policies? A) Federal intervention in the economy was interpreted as anti-commerce. B) Congress was trying to expand the number of justices on the Court. C) Federal intervention in the economy was interpreted as unconstitutional. D) Federal intervention in the economy was perceived as socialism. E) Roosevelt was perceived as trying to meddle in the Court's jurisdiction. 68. The Constitution sets a minimum age requirement for Supreme Court justices. TRUE/FALSE 69. Marbury v. Madison significantly expanded the power of the federal judiciary. TRUE/FALSE 70. Only the Supreme Court can review the decisions of state courts. TRUE/FALSE 71. Proponents of which of the following believe that judges should use their power broadly to further justice? A) judicial constructionism B) judicial activism C) judicial implementation D) judicial originalism E) judicial restraint