A.   criminal

B.   public

C.   tort

D.   common

A.   one individual charges that he or she has been injured by another’s negligence or malfeasance.

B.   the government immediately appeals the verdict if it loses.

C.   the plaintiff is not allowed to appeal the verdict if he or she loses.

D.   the defendant is not allowed to appeal the verdict if he or she loses.

A.   criminal

B.   habeas corpus

C.   civil

D.   tax

A.   habeas corpus

B.   a priori

C.   stare decisis

D.   ex post facto

A.   in federal courts.

B.   by the United States Supreme Court.

C.   in state courts.

D.   by state supreme courts.

A.   trial court; court of appeals

B.   supreme court; court of appeals

C.   court of appeals; supreme court

D.   court of appeals; trial court

A.   A writ of certiorari

B.   A plea bargain

C.   A misdemeanor

D.   Mediation

A.   always heard in a federal court.

B.   always heard in a state court.

C.   heard in a state court if the other party files a special request to have the case heard

D.   heard in a state court only if a state government is the other party.

A.   between the United States and one of the 50 states

B.   involving foreign ambassadors

C.   in which more than $1 million is at stake

D.   brought by one state against citizens of another state or against a foreign country

A.   a writ of certiorari.

B.   judicial review.

C.   his Mirandarights.

D.   the due process of law.

A.   a defendant in a felony trial must receive assistance from legal counsel.

B.   capital punishment can be neither cruel nor unusual.

C.   the government must show a legal cause for holding someone in detention.

D.   the government cannot send a defendant to stand trial in a geographically distant jurisdiction.

A.   appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court about 80% of the time.

B.   always appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

C.   appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court about 15% of the time.

D.   never appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A.   a few state court judges who also serve as circuit court judges.

B.   one permanent judge.

C.   a range of permanent judgeships depending on the workload of the circuit.

D.   50 permanent judges and 100 part-time judges.

A.   the Constitution.

B.   the American Bar Association.

C.   state legislatures.

D.   Congress.

A.   Federal court judges must be members of the American Bar Association.

B.   Federal court judges must have a degree from an accredited law school.

C.   There are no formal requirements to serve as a federal court judge.

D.   Federal court judges must be at least 35 years of age.

A.   select justices who share their political philosophies.

B.   select justices who used to work in Congress.

C.   alternate between selecting a Republican and Democratic justice.

D.   select justices who are unpredictable.

A.   In this case, the justices recognized the authority of Congress to regulate the economy of the United States.

B.   In this case, the justices declared the secession of the Confederate states to be in violation of the Constitution.

C.   In this case, the justices nationalized the Bill of Rights.

D.   In this case, the justices authorized the Supreme Court to exercise judicial review over laws passed by Congress.

A.   violated the separation of powers.

B.   ceded too much power to the federal government.

C.   denied citizens equal protection of the law.

D.   were too vague to be appropriately interpreted.

A.     

B.   judicial review of state legislation.

C.   recess appointments.

D.   judicial review of executive power.

E.   original jurisdiction.

A.   Case and controversy

B.   Standing

C.     

D.   Stare decisis

E.   Precedent

A.   nickname for the water fountain in the courtyard of the Supreme Court building.

B.   method used to appoint the chief justice.

C.   computerized lottery system by which the Supreme Court selects its cases each year.

D.   practice by which Supreme Court law clerks work together to evaluate each petition.

A.   The solicitor general is the chief lawyer for Congress who makes advisory opinions on the constitutionality of legislative proposals.

B.   The solicitor general is the lawyer who represents the United States before the Supreme Court in cases where the federal government is a party.

C.   The solicitor general is the chief legal counsel for the White House.

D.   The solicitor general is the head of the Department of Justice.

A.   avoid filing any lawsuits until the composition of the court changes in a way that makes their preferred ruling more likely.

B.   attempt to prevent federal court nominees who are likely to oppose their agendas from being confirmed by the Senate.

C.   submit amicus curiae briefs in every case that addresses their organizations’ primary issues in the hopes that their framing of the legal questions raised in each case will persuade the justices.

D.   bring the same type of suit in more than one circuit in the hopes that inconsistent treatment by two different courts will improve the chance of a Supreme Court review.

A.   show that all district courts interpret the law in the same way.

B.   advocate persuasively for one’s client in oral argument.

C.   ignore the preferences of the justices and focus on persuading Congress.

D.   capitalize on inconsistent rulings across the circuits.

A.   Dissenting opinion

B.   Concurring opinion

C.   Majority opinion

D.   En banc opinion

A.   jury; defendant

B.   judge; plaintiff

C.   plaintiff; defendant

D.   defendant; plaintiff

A.   Contracts; habeas corpus

B.   Contracts; torts

C.   Administrative; habeas corpus

D.   Torts; habeas corpus

A.   habeas corpus

B.   tort

C.   due process

D.   amicus curiae

A.   ex post facto cases.

B.   public law.

C.   statutes.

D.   precedents.

A.   Attorneys for both sides of a case try to find compelling precedents to support their arguments.

B.   Constitutional law rarely involves legal arguments over precedent.

C.   Precedents established in previous cases guide courts’ decisions in new cases.

D.   Courts apply precedents using the legal principle of stare decisis.

A.   contract

B.   state

C.   federal

D.   international

A.   entitled to appeal the verdict only if it files a writ of habeas corpus.

B.   entitled to appeal the verdict only if it files an amicus curiaebrief.

C.   not entitled to appeal the verdict.

D.   entitled to appeal the verdict only if the case raises an important constitutional question.

A.   the jury did not find a witness credible.

B.   judicial review is unconstitutional.

C.   interest groups are involved in the case.

D.   the trial court made a legal error in deciding the case.

A.   plea bargain.

B.   pro bono settlement.

C.   amicus curiae.

D.   writ of certiorari.

A.   a case related to an accusation of sexual harassment in the workplace

B.   a case involving the state of New York suing the state of New Hampshire over state highway maintenance

C.   a case related to a drunk-driving accident

D.   a case involving the citizens of more than one state and in which $150,000 is at stake

A.   must always be heard in a state court.

B.   may be heard in either the federal or the state courts, usually depending on the preference of the plaintiff.

C.   must always be heard in federal district court.

D.   must always be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court.

A.   appellate jurisdiction

B.   stare decisis

C.   granting a writ of certiorari

D.   original jurisdiction

A.   Original jurisdiction

B.   Plea bargaining

C.   Due process of law

D.   Mootness

A.   demonstrate that the they are not guilty of the accused crime beyond a “reasonable doubt.”

B.   receive amicus briefs from at least three civil liberties organizations.

C.   show that they have exhausted all available state remedies and must raise issues not previously raised in their state appeals.

D.   hire the solicitor general to represent them.

A.   Federal court judges are indirectly elected by citizens of the United States through the Electoral College.

B.   Federal courts hear a large fraction of all of the civil and criminal cases decided each year in the United States.

C.   Federal courts interpret the laws that govern all Americans and render decisions on the powers and limitations of the national government.

D.   Most federal litigation involves “citizen suits” brought by taxpayers who challenge the authority of the state and federal agencies.

A.   While federal courts vary in terms of the number of jurors on a trial jury and whether a unanimous jury verdict is required, all state courts must follow the same procedures.

B.   While state courts vary in terms of the number of jurors on a trial jury and whether a unanimous jury verdict is required, all federal courts must follow the same procedures.

C.   Neither federal nor state courts are required to follow the same procedures.

D.   All federal and state courts must have the same number of jurors on a trial jury and require a unanimous verdict.

A.   Supreme Court

B.   federal district court system

C.   U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

D.   federal circuit court system

A.   The chief justice decides what cases will be heard by the full Court each term.

B.   The chief justice is the constitutional adviser to the president.

C.   The chief justice always writes the Court’s majority opinions.

D.   The chief justice presides over the Court’s public sessions and private conferences.

A.   the nominee is automatically appointed for a probationary term of five years.

B.   the nominee must be confirmed by a unanimous vote in the full Senate.

C.   the nominee is automatically appointed for life and can only be removed from office through

D.   the nominee must be confirmed by a majority vote in the full Senate.

A.   can only be used against executive branch appointments.

B.   can only be used against Supreme Court appointments.

C.   cannot be used against any presidential appointments to the judiciary.

D.   can only be used against federal district court appointments.

A.   senators filibuster a nominee to the Supreme Court.

B.   senators draw extensively on excerpts from a judicial nominee’s speeches and writings in order to paint the nominee as an extremist who is unqualified to serve in the federal judiciary.

C.   a president chooses to rescind an existing nomination for the Supreme Court and nominates a new candidate.

D.   the Senate ends a filibuster of a federal court nominee through a cloture vote.

A.   60

B.   10

C.   160

D.   110

A.   the police cannot undertake a warrantless search of the digital contents of a cell phone.

B.   corporations have free speech rights under the First Amendment.

C.   the police can undertake a warrantless search of the digital contents of a cell phone if its officers believe there is probable cause.

D.   state courts must provide legal counsel to defendants who could not afford their

A.   delegation, standing, and mootness.

B.   appointment, arbitrary and capricious, and standing.

C.   case and controversy, delegation, and oversight.

D.   case and controversy, standing, and mootness.

A.   a writ of amicus curiae.

B.   a writ of mandamus.

C.   a writ of certiorari.

D.   state courts.

A.   four justices must vote in favor of certiorari.

B.   the law clerks must vote unanimously in favor of certiorari.

C.   the chief justice must vote in favor of certiorari.

D.   all justices must vote unanimously in favor of certiorari.

A.   certiorari

B.   amicus curiae

C.   standing

D.   per curium

A.   contain public statements of a jury’s deliberation process.

B.   never rely on precedent.

C.   are short summaries of an attorneys’ qualifications to represent their clients.

D.   are written documents in which attorneys explain why the Court should rule in favor of their clients.

A.   unimportant because all justices usually describe their decisions in exactly the same way.

B.   important because every word of a decision is legally binding.

C.   important because differences in wording and emphasis can have important implications for how the decision is interpreted in future litigation.

D.   unimportant because lawyers and judges in lower courts rarely read Supreme Court opinions.

A.   write a dissenting opinion.

B.   write a concurring opinion.

C.   recuse herself from the case.

D.     

E.   ask Chief Justice Roberts if she may write an opinion on the issue in the Supreme Court’s next term.

A.   judicial conservatism

B.   judicial activism

C.   judicial liberalism

D.   judicial restraint

A.   judicial conservatism

B.   judicial liberalism

C.   judicial restraint

D.   judicial activism

A.   decisions of state courts

B.   judicial philosophy

C.   institutional interest

D.   ideology

A.   Declaration of Independence.

B.   supremacy clause of Article VI of the Constitution.

C.   Seventh Amendment of the Constitution.

D.   judicial review clause of Article III of the Constitution.

A.   Congress has created several specialized courts that have nationwide original jurisdiction in certain types of cases.

B.   Trial courts have appellate jurisdiction over constitutional cases.

C.   The Supreme Court has granted original jurisdiction to 94 district courts.

D.   State courts have jurisdiction over cases involving treaties with other nations or the U.S. Constitution.