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LAW AND GOVERNMENT
Separation of powers is one of the two basic structural characteristics of the American constitutional system; the other is _________________.✔ ✔federalism Both the original and appellate jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court are fixed by the Constitution. T/F✔ ✔False The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment has been relied on by the U.S. Supreme Court to require reapportionment of state legislatures where there have been wide population disparities among legislative districts. T/F✔ ✔True The doctrine of original intent has become a universally accepted basis for constitutional interpretation by the U.S. Supreme Court.✔ ✔False In the American context, federalism refers to the division of power between the national government on the one hand and the state and local governments on the other. T/F✔ ✔True The ______ seek to limit the exercise of judicial review and, accordingly, reduce the potential for political conflict flowing from an ill-advised or untimely use of judicial power.✔ ✔Ashwander rules The federal government and each of the 50 state governments are based on __________________.✔ ✔Written constitutions Because the US federal constitution is the supreme law of the land, state constitutions (as well as statutes and local ordinances) must conform to the principles of the US constitution. T/f✔ ✔True
Judicial review has become a bedrock principle of the American legal and political systems. T/F✔ ✔True Because judicial review is inherently counter-majoritarian and can produce intense political conflict, courts tend to be cautious in exercising this authority. T/F✔ ✔True Standing: a party seeking judicial review of law must show that the operation of the law must produce a substantial injury to the rights of the party seeking review. T/F✔ ✔True If Congress disapproves of a particular judicial decision, it may be able to override that decision through a simple statute but only if the judicial decision was based on statutory interpretation. T/F✔ ✔True A Supreme Court decision interpreting the US Constitution is final unless: (1) the Court overrules itself OR (2) there is a constitutional amendment. T/F✔ ✔True Article V of the US Constitution states that to amend the Constitution, we need (1) a 2/ majority in both Houses of Congress followed by (2) ratification by 2/3 of the states. T/F✔ ✔False - 3/4 RATIFICATION NEEDED The President subject to the consent of the Senate appoints federal judges. T/F✔ ✔True Presidents can temporarily avoid the need to acquire Senate consent on nominations through a process called "recess appointment". T/F✔ ✔True Although legislation is Congress's principal function, oversight of the executive branch is also an important responsibility of Congress. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Article II of the US Constitution provides that the executive power shall be vested in a President of the US. T/F✔ ✔TRUE
Which Constitutional Amendment limits a US President to serving two terms in office? ✔ ✔22ND The __________ provides: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."✔ ✔10TH AMENDMENT In the common law tradition, courts rely on _____________, which means that they generally follow what courts have said and done in the past.✔ ✔PRECEDENT The only conclusive means of overruling a Supreme Court or any federal court decision is through adoption of a ________________.✔ ✔CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT A (n) __________ is a legislative act that imposes punishment on a person without the benefit of a trial in a court of law.✔ ✔BILL OF ATTAINDER LAW The power of the purse is Congress's least effective means of controlling a President's ability to sustain a long war effort in the face of public disapproval. T/F✔ ✔FALSE The enumerated powers in the Constitution authorize Congress to lay and collect taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce among the states, control immigration and naturalization, regulate bankruptcy, coin money, establish tribunals "inferior to the Supreme Court," declare war, raise and support an army and a navy, etc. T/F✔ ✔TRUE An executive order is a presidential directive to officials and agencies within the executive branch of the federal government. This order is expressly mentioned in the US Constitution. T/F✔ ✔FALSE - NOT EXPRESSLY MENTIONED The reasonable doubt standard that applies in criminal prosecutions differs markedly from the usual ______ standard that applies to most civil cases.✔ ✔PREPONDERANCE OF THE EVIDENCE
When authorized by state constitutions or acts of state legislatures, cities and counties may adopt ______ that define certain criminal violations.✔ ✔ORDINANCES To convict a person of a crime, a court must find that person guilty ______.✔ ✔BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to uphold a state law making it a crime to assist another in committing suicide. T/F✔ ✔FALSE The term "rape trauma syndrome" was coined to describe a recurring pattern of physical and emotional symptoms experienced by rape victims. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Inchoate offenses [ones involving activity or steps directed toward the completion of a crime] include attempt, solicitation, and assault. T/F✔ ✔FALSE American criminal laws came from the English common law, as it existed at the time that America proclaimed its independence in 1776. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Due process of law requires that criminal statutes be written in such a way that a person of ordinary intelligence has a reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited. T/F✔ ✔TRUE The victim of a crime is always the plaintiff in a criminal case. T/F✔ ✔FALSE Megan's law refers to a new type of statute that requires convicted sex offenders who are released from prison to register with local law enforcement agencies. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Mala in se offenses include ______.✔ ✔MURDER, RAPE, ARSON The only crime defined in the U.S. Constitution is ______.
The protections of the First Amendment are not absolute. There are cases where the US Supreme Court has rejected First Amendment claims: for example -- the case regarding the burning of a cross with intent to intimidate a person or group. T/F✔ ✔TRUE The Constitutional limitations on the criminal law include the prohibitions against bills of attainder, _________, and many of the provisions of the Bill of Rights.✔ ✔EX POST FACTO LAW Some significant protections of the Bill of Rights in the criminal law context are the First Amendment freedoms of _______, speech, and assembly.✔ ✔RELIGION The ______ of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments also provide important constraints on the criminal law✔ ✔DUE PROCESS CLAUSES Equal protection clause prohibits the legislatures from criminalizing conduct only for certain groups of people. T/F✔ ✔TRUE The US Supreme Court can enjoin enforcement of unconstitutional laws and can prevent the legislatures from enacting unconstitutional laws. T/F✔ ✔FALSE Statutory rape and selling liquor to a minor are strict liability offenses but there must still be proof of intent in order to get a conviction. T/F✔ ✔FALSE Modern statutes view an accessory after the fact as less culpable than someone who plans, assists, or commits a crime. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Some alternatives to incarceration are probation, community service, restitution, fines, and forfeitures. T/F✔ ✔TRUE
Offenses against persons can be divided into five basic categories: assaultive offenses; homicide; rape and sexual battery; false imprisonment and kidnapping; and abusive offenses. T/F✔ ✔TRUE By the mid-1990s, only a few states had either abrogated or modified the common law marital exemption known as "Hale's Rule," which specified that a husband could not be guilty of raping his wife. T/F✔ ✔FALSE The term "child snatching" is now commonly applied to situations where one parent seizes his or her child from the custody of the other. T/F✔ ✔TRUE If the most important goal of criminal law is to protect persons, the next most important goal is the protection of property. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Examples of property crimes are identity theft; credit card fraud; forgery; robbery; rape; and extortion. T/F✔ ✔FALSE Organized crime involves offenses committed by persons or groups who conduct their business through illegal enterprises [such as: gambling; prostitution; drug trafficking]. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Defenses are arguments that defendants use to deny criminal responsibility; such as: (1) negative defenses (like -- denial and alibi) and (2) affirmative defenses (like -- lack of capacity and assertion of excuse or justification). T/F✔ ✔TRUE Defenses based on asserting excuse or justification are duress; necessity; consent; mistake of law; and mistake of fact. T/F✔ ✔TRUE BWS refers to ___________ and BCS refers to __________✔ ✔Battered Woman Syndrome; Battered Child Syndrome
_____________requires a simple majority vote of the House of Representatives, while conviction can be achieved only by a two-thirds vote in the Senate✔ ✔impeachment ____________ is the unequal distribution of voters across legislative districts✔ ✔Malapportionment The Supreme Court held that campaign contributions are a form of political speech protected by the First Amendment✔ ✔Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) A nation's fundamental law is its constitution. It sets forth the structure and powers of the government as well as the rights of citizens. T/F✔ ✔TRUE According to the authors, Marbury v. Madison (1803) is the most important judicial decision in American constitutional history. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Protection for individual liberty and property was one of the Framers' highest goals. T/F✔ ✔TRUE American law is derived mostly from Roman law. T/F✔ ✔FALSE Legal historians credit the Magna Carta with establishing ______.✔ ✔the principle that government is subject to the rule of law From the time of its adoption, the Bill of Rights limited the actions of state and local governments to the same extent it limited the federal government. T/F✔ ✔FALSE A system of government where sovereignty is exercised by the national government and the states, although vested ultimately in the people, is known as federalism. T/F✔ ✔TRUE
The doctrine of stare decisis [the common law doctrine of following precedent] is no longer an important component of the American legal system. T/F✔ ✔FALSE The most celebrated common-law writ was ______.✔ ✔HABEAS CORPUS - acts as a writ of inquiry, issued to test the reasons or grounds for restraint and detention In his famous "Letter from the Birmingham Jail," ______ defended his disobedience of a law he regarded as unjust.✔ ✔MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. In a civil suit, the aggrieved party is termed the defendant. T/F✔ ✔FALSE Of the 50 U.S. states, one state that did not choose to essentially follow the English common law was ______.✔ ✔LOUISIANA An executive order is an order issued by a president, governor, county executive, mayor or legislative body relating to matters over which the executive official has authority. T/F✔ ✔FALSE A regulation is a rule promulgated by a regulatory agency. T/F✔ ✔TRUE One of the keys to the success of the common law was the emergence of the institution of the jury trial. T/F✔ ✔TRUE A treaty is a legally binding agreement between two or more countries. T/F✔ ✔TRUE An ordinance is a law enacted by the local governing body such as a city council or county commission. Ordinances principally concern themselves with matters of statewide concern. T/F✔ ✔FALSE
A law is substantively legitimate if people believe that it is based on fair, just, and reasonable principles. T/F✔ ✔TRUE The bill of rights applied equally to the federal government and the states from its ratification in 1791. T/F✔ ✔FALSE The following are some examples of the forms of American law: constitution, statute, treaty, regulation, judicial decision, contract, and ordinance. T/F✔ ✔FALSE Law may be used as a political weapon; for example: Congress may use its power to investigate to harass a president of the opposing party. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Oversight is the responsibility that Congress has in order to see that the laws it passes are administered by executive agencies in the manner that Congress intended. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Congress's legislative authority may be divided into two broad categories: enumerated powers and implied powers. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Courts have the power to issue injunctions and restraining orders to prevent an injury from taking place or continuing. T/F✔ ✔TRUE The federal government and each of the 50 state governments maintain their own systems of courts. These systems include both trial courts and ______ courts.✔ ✔APPELLATE A writ of prohibition requires a judge or other public official to perform a legal duty. T/F✔ ✔FALSE A civil contempt is a sanction imposed to coerce a recalcitrant person to obey a court order. T/F✔ ✔TRUE
A writ of mandamus is an order from a superior court ordering a lower court not to take jurisdiction in a particular case. T/F✔ ✔FALSE - A (writ of) mandamus is an order from a court to an inferior government official ordering the government official to properly fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion The only means of removing a federal judge from office is through impeachment, a process provided in the U.S. Constitution. T/F✔ ✔TRUE The U.S. Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction is now exercised almost exclusively through the writ of certiorari, a writ that is issued at the Court's discretion. T/F✔ ✔TRUE The power of courts to determine the constitutionality of governmental enactments and actions is known as judicial review. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Proponents of judicial ______ generally argue for an appointive process with life tenure (the federal model) or at least long terms of office.✔ ✔INDEPENDENCE The Framers of the Constitution wanted a strong legislature to be the central feature of the new national government. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Enumerated powers are those powers that are mentioned specifically in the Constitution and are considered "necessary and proper". T/F✔ ✔FALSE Once a bill is sent to the President, he or she has several options: sign the bill; veto the bill: or neither sign nor veto the bill allowing it to become law after ten days. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Every state has a democratically elected bicameral legislature: that is, a legislative branch composed of two houses. T/F✔ ✔FALSE
The principle of Federalism is one in which sovereignty is exercised by the national government and the state governments. T/F✔ ✔TRUE The principle of Federalism is one in which sovereignty is exercised by the national government and the state governments. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Implied powers are the powers that are mentioned specifically in the US Constitution. T/F✔ ✔FALSE Agencies that are freestanding entities over which presidents and governors have less control are called independent agencies. T/F✔ ✔TRUE The role of some agencies is to create and enforce regulations in specific policy areas; they act as miniature legislatures. They are _____________________.✔ ✔REGULATORY AGENCIES Some agencies have the authority to investigate criminal activity, arrest suspects, and detain arrested persons until their cases come before the appropriate courts of law. These agencies are law enforcement agencies. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Agencies that carry out government programs like social security, Medicaid, or public housing programs are considered _______________.✔ ✔ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES To end the filibuster requires a simple majority vote in the Senate. T/F✔ ✔FALSE - 3/ VOTE The federal government and the states possess a number of concurrent powers, powers vested in both levels of government. For examples: the power to tax, the power to spend and borrow money, the power of eminent domain, and the power to make treaties. T/F✔ ✔FALSE
Congress is also occasionally required to act in a judicial fashion, such as when considering whether to impeach and remove the President, the Vice President, or a federal judge. T/F✔ ✔TRUE Jurisdiction is the court's ability to hear and decide a case. There is only one category of jurisdiction in the federal courts and that category is referred to as "federal question jurisdiction" T/F✔ ✔FALSE __________ means that all or a majority of the judges assigned to the court will participate in the decision.✔ ✔EN BANC REHEARING Unlike the US President, state governors do not have the power to veto bills enacted by their legislatures. T/F✔ ✔FALSE A writ is an order of the court. A writ of ________ is an order calling up the record of a lower court proceeding so that it can be reviewed for error.✔ ✔CERTIORARI The _______________ protects the President, Vice President, their families, presidential candidates, and visiting heads of state. It also enforces federal law against forgery of federal government checks and bonds. It also investigates, among other things, credit and debit card fraud.✔ ✔SECRET SERVICE The chief prosecutor at the federal level is the _____________________✔ ✔Attorney General A set of rules promulgated and enforced by government.✔ ✔LAW ______________ are authoritative directions as to what should be done or how it should be done. ____________ means made known officially, publicly, and formally. ___________ means imposed by force or the threat of force. _____________ is the set of officials and institutions exercising amonopoly on the legitimate use of force in society. This is the definition of "__________," as distinct from "natural law."✔ ✔RULES; PROMULGATED; ENFORCED; GOVERNMENT; POSITIVE LAW
