Exam 14: The Federal Judicial System: Applying the Law

A) majority opinion.
B) plurality opinion.
C) dissenting opinion.
D) concurring opinion.
E) adjunct opinion.

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A) as the first instance of the court ruling on a state matter.
B) as the first use of judicial activism.
C) for the establishment of judicial review.
D) as the first instance of the Court ruling on a disagreement between states.
E) as the Court's first non-majority opinion.

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A) ignores it in order to make decisions that are based on enduring values rather than the public's passing whims.
B) remains uninformed about it because justices stay on the bench for life and never face the public scrutiny of an election.
C) attempts to stay close enough to public opinion so as to avoid outright defiance of its decisions.
D) attempts to follow it very closely in order to create public enthusiasm for its rulings.
E) None of these answers is correct.

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A) hear new evidence in appealed cases.
B) review district court decisions.
C) are the highest courts to use juries.
D) decide for the Supreme Court the cases it will review.
E) None of these answers is correct.

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A) preserve the courts as a counter majoritarian institution.
B) maintain legal consistency over time,so confusion and uncertainty about the law can be avoided.
C) check the president in the area of public law.
D) balance the policy making authority of Congress.
E) check the president in the area of foreign policy.

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A) are the chief trial courts of the federal system.
B) are the only federal courts where the two sides present their case to a jury for a verdict.
C) are the courts that,in practice,make the final decision in most federal cases.
D) exist in each state.
E) All of these answers are correct.

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A) The case arrived at the Supreme Court without the Court requesting a writ of certiorari.
B) The case involved administrative law,but the Court used statutory law as a basis for its decision.
C) It involved the votes of justices that had opposed the Civil Rights Act but who used the Civil Rights Act in the justification for their ruling.
D) The minority dissenting opinion refused to use the Civil Rights Act as a justification.
E) The case dealt with sexual harassment in the workplace,which is not mentioned in the Civil Rights Act.

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A) establishing legal precedents that will guide their decisions.
B) correcting any technical mistakes the lower courts make in the cases they hear.
C) settling jurisdictional disputes among federal judges.
D) settling jurisdictional disputes between state and federal judges.
E) All of these answers are correct.

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A) has discretionary jurisdiction over all cases arising in the state system.
B) is the only one with appellate courts.
C) is the only one based on the constitutional doctrine of the separation of powers.
D) is the only one that has judges who are appointed to office.
E) None of these answers is correct.

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A) adherence to precedent.
B) judicial activism.
C) judicial restraint.
D) judicial review.
E) excessive partisanship.

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A) criminal cases are tried in federal courts and civil cases are tried in state courts.
B) criminal cases are tried in state courts and civil cases are tried in federal courts.
C) both criminal cases and civil cases are tried in federal courts.
D) both criminal cases and civil cases are tried in state courts.
E) None of these answers is correct.

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D

A) judicial activism
B) judicial restraint
C) judicial legitimacy
D) appellate jurisdiction
E) judicial executive power

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A) 10 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 75 percent
E) 95 percent

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A) make political decisions; judges can overturn any congressional or presidential decision they personally dislike.
B) decide which laws apply to a particular case.
C) ignore public opinion when making decisions.
D) invalidate the actions of other institutions when judges believe they have acted unconstitutionally.
E) strike down certain sections of the Constitution.

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A) Ruth Bader Ginsburg
B) Samuel Alito
C) John Roberts
D) Elena Kagan
E) Antonin Scalia

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A) are largely irrelevant,in that the judiciary has wide freedom with decisions.
B) affect which law or laws will apply to the case.
C) are important only if the case involves a statutory dispute.
D) are important only if the case involves a constitutional dispute.
E) are important about 50 percent of the time.

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B

A) partisanship.
B) logrolling.
C) pork barreling.
D) affirmative action.
E) personal friendships.

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There are four types of U.S.Supreme Court opinions: majority,plurality,concurring,and dissenting.A majority opinion is a written opinion of the majority of the Court's justices stating the reasoning underlying its decision on a case.A plurality opinion is a written opinion that,in the absence of a majority opinion,presents the reasoning of most of the justices who decide in favor of the winning party.A concurring opinion is a written opinion of one or more justices who voted with the majority position but disagree with the majority's reasoning on a case.A dissenting opinion is a written opinion of one or more of the justices who disagree with the majority's decision and opinion.