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- 1. Multiple Choice
What did Hamilton mean when he made the following statement?
“Laws are a dead letter without courts to expound and define their true meaning and operation.” —Alexander Hamilton
For laws to be effective, there must be courts to make them known to citizens consistently.
For laws to be effective, there must be courts to interpret them consistently.
Laws that are not obeyed should be repealed by the courts.
Laws that are not obeyed should be enforced by the courts.
- 2. Multiple Choice
Why did the Constitution provide for two separate court systems?
to keep the federal court system from being overwhelmed
to establish the federal court system as having more power than State courts
to maintain a balance of power between the Federal Government and the States
to strengthen the balance of power between the three branches of Federal Government
- 3. Multiple ChoiceRead this excerpt from the text.
“The trial of a person charged with a federal crime, or a suit involving the infringement of a patent or a copyright, or one involving any other matter arising out of an act of Congress is . . . within the . . . jurisdiction of the federal courts."
In a patent case being heard for the first time, this is an example ofconcurrent jurisdiction.exclusive jurisdiction.appellate jurisdiction.local jurisdiction. - 4. Multiple ChoiceWhat is the difference between original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction?Original jurisdiction refers to a case being heard in a federal court; appellate jurisdiction refers to a case being heard in a State court.Original jurisdiction refers to criminal or civil cases; appellate jurisdiction refers to only to civil cases.Original jurisdiction refers to a case that could be heard in a federal or a State court; appellate jurisdiction refers to a case that must be heard in a federal court.Original jurisdiction refers to a court where a case is first heard; appellate jurisdiction refers to a case being heard after it was tried in a lower court.
- 5. Multiple ChoiceHow are federal judges selected?The person is named to the bench by the President and confirmed by the Senate.The person is named to the bench by the President and does not need to be confirmed.The person is publicly elected to the bench and confirmed by the Senate.The person is nominated by the Senate and chosen by the President.
- 6. Multiple ChoiceWhen a case is appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, the court can do which of the following?Declares the law involved in the case to be unconstitutional.Sends the case to Congress to decide on the legality of the law involved.Sends the case back to the lower court for reconsideration.Passes the case on to a higher court.
- 7. Multiple Choice“The district courts try criminal cases ranging from bank robbery, kidnapping, and mail fraud to counterfeiting, terrorism, and tax evasion. They hear civil cases arising under bankruptcy, postal, tax, public lands, civil rights, and other laws of the United States.”
Based on this excerpt from the text, which of the following would not be tried in a district court?a gang charged with robbing several stores at a shopping malla company sending out deceptive information through the maila corporation seeking financial protection because it has no moneya political group charged with setting off an explosion at a national monument - 8. Multiple ChoiceThis type of jurisdiction is shared by both Federal and State judiciary.AppellateConcurrentExclusiveOriginal
- 9. Multiple ChoiceThe practice of senatorial courtesy does with of the folowing?confirms any federal judge who serves in the State in which the president was born.shows courtesy to federal judges who have served in the Senate.considers the preferences of senators regarding judges serving in their State.ensures that every federal judge has a professional background from his or her State.
- 10. Multiple ChoiceWhat solution did Alexander Hamilton propose to the problem he describes in this quote?
“If there is in each State a court of final jurisdiction, there may be as many different final determinations on the same point as there are courts. There are endless diversities in the opinions of men. We often see not only different courts but the judges of the same court differing from each other.”
—Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 22There should be a national court system that is superior to the State courts and can provide a final ruling.The State courts should meet regularly to discuss how to coordinate their rulings so they agree.The State and federal courts should share concurrent jurisdiction over all cases to settle disputes.The State courts should have no federal oversight so they can remain independent and represent their citizens. - 11. Multiple ChoiceIn the federal system, a district court has the power toretry a case that was first decided by a State court.exercise original jurisdiction over a federal case.apply appellate jurisdiction to a federal case.determine if a lower court made an unconstitutional ruling on a case.
- 12. Multiple ChoiceWhat conclusion could be drawn considering only about 1% of the cases applied to the Supreme court are actually taken.The Supreme Court accepts almost all of the cases that are brought to it.The Supreme Court deals only with cases involving constitutionality.Many cases are appealed to the Supreme Court, but it could only deal with a few of them.The Supreme Court used three different methods with which to rule upon a case.
- 13. Multiple ChoiceWhen a Supreme Court justice agrees with the decision reached by the Court in a case, but not with the reasons why the Court made that decision, he or she may choose to write aconcurring opinion.dissenting opinion.majority opinion.unanimous opinion.
- 14. Multiple ChoiceWhat is a possible avenue through which some cases have reached the Supreme Court?Congress asks the Court to review a proposed or recently passed law to see if it is constitutional.A State holds a convention in which the public votes to have a case sent to the Court for review.The Court decides to review one of its own earlier cases in order to change or modify its ruling.The Court issues a writ of certiorari instructing a lower court to send it a case to review.
- 15. Multiple ChoiceIn the federal court system, the cases tried by the district courtsare usually appealed to a higher court by the losing side.make up the majority of federal cases brought to trial.deal only with federal crimes as defined by Congress.always involve the United States as a plaintiff.
- 16. Multiple ChoiceWhich of the following cannot appeal cases to the U.S. Court of Appeals?Territorial CourtsDistrict CourtsFederal regulatory agenciesCircuit Courts
- 17. Multiple ChoiceThe Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces isa military court that retries controversial cases involving violations of military law.a civilian tribunal that reviews verdicts rendered by military courts-martial.a civilian court that handles claims for veterans’ benefits that have been denied.a military commission that tries cases involving unlawful enemy combatants.
- 18. Multiple ChoiceWhat kind of federal courts were created as “gatekeepers” to relieve burden on the Supreme Court?courts-martialfederal district courtsfederal courts of appealsspecial courts
- 19. Multiple ChoiceThe territorial courts are MOST similar tothe local courts in the 50 States.the courts-martial.the federal courts of appeals.the federal district courts.
- 20. Multiple ChoiceThis excerpt from the text is incomplete.
“Each party files detailed written statements—briefs—with the Court before they present their oral arguments. These detailed statements spell out the party’s legal position and are built largely on relevant facts and _________”
Which statement BEST describes the missing content about how Supreme Court briefs are created?The solicitor general, who acts as the government’s chief trial lawyer, must approve the content of all briefs.Briefs almost always refer to legal precedents, or the past decisions made by courts in similar cases.Each brief typically includes the written support of a member of Congress to establish credibility.Layers use amicus curiae briefs to demonstrate that they and their clients are friendly to the Court. - Answer choicesTagsAnswer choicesTags