Bar Exam Drills

Question 1

A discrimination against black persons on the basis of their race in every business transaction executed anywhere in the United States by any person or entity, governmental or private, would strike at the heart of the ____.

Answer 1

Thirteenth Amendment

Question 2

The Spending Clause gives Congress the power to ____.

Answer 2

lay and collect taxes, duties, imports, and exercise, to pay the debt and provide for the common defense and the general welfare of the United States

Question 3

The Appointment Clause, empowers the President of the United States to ____.

Answer 3

nominate and, with the advice and consent (confirmation) of the United States Senate, appoint public officials

Question 4

The “automatic” is not part of the ____.

Answer 4

Appointments Clause

Question 5

The Commerce Clause states that the United States Congress shall have power “to ____.”

Answer 5

regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes

Question 6

The Presentment Clause provides:

Answer 6

that a bill can become a law only if, after passage by both Houses of Congress, it is presented to the President

Question 7

(Presentment Clause)

The President then has ten days either to ____.

Answer 7

sign the bill into law or reject the bill and return it to Congress with an explantation of his or her objections

Question 8

Congress may not exercise its authority over the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in a way that ____.

Answer 8

seriously interferes with the establishment of a supreme and uniform body of federal constitutional law

Question 9

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the establishment clause of the First Amendment does not permit important, ____, to be delegated to or shared with religious institutions.

Answer 9

discretionary governmental powers, such as the power to make zoning decisions

Question 10

The requirement that the zoning board include a representative of the local council of churches violates the ____.

Answer 10

establishment clause (1st Amendment)

Question 11

The statute did not effect a taking of the company’s land or of the mining equipment, because the new regulations ____.

Answer 11

did not deny all economically viable use of the land

Question 12

There is no provision of the Constitution creating a cause of action against a state-accredited institution that ____.

Answer 12

restricts freedom of speech as a condition of employment

Question 13

The protection afforded by the Fourteenth Amendment apply only to conduct that ____.

Answer 13

is attributable to the state

Question 14

Because the professor was discharged by a private university and not by a state actor, the ____.

Answer 14

Fourteenth Amendment does not apply

Question 15

The protester’s burning of the tax code qualifies as expressive conduct as expressive conduct protected by the ____ because (1) ____ and (2) ____.

Answer 15

free speech clause of the First Amendment

(1) the protester intended to communicate a message
(2) the audience was likely to understand the communication

Question 16

“Standing”:

Answer 16

is the legal right for a particular person person to bring a claim in court

Question 17

A plaintiff must establish that they meet the legal criteria for standing. This generally involves demonstrating ____.

Answer 17

an injury and a direct connection to the defendant

Question 18

Standing requires:

Answer 18

an imminent or actual injury

Question 19

The First Amendment does not protect commercial speech that is ____.

Answer 19

false or misleading

Question 20

The ordinance is a ____ of speech because it permits an expressive activity (picketing) on one subject (neighborhood zoning requirements) and prohibits it on all other subjects.

Answer 20

content-based regulation

Question 21

To justify a content-based restriction, the government must satisfy ____, proving that the restriction is ____.

Answer 21

(a) strict judicial scrutiny
(b) necessary to serve a compelling government interest

Question 22

The freedom of association protected by the First Amendment prohibits ____.

Answer 22

a state from inquiring about an individual’s associations in order to withhold a right or benefit because of the individual’s beliefs

Question 23

The First and Fourteenth Amendments generally apply only to the actions of ____, not to the actions of ____.

Answer 23

(a) governments and government officials
(b) privately owned companies

Question 24

The Tenth Amendment prohibits the federal government from ____.

Answer 24

forcing states to pass or not pass certain legislation or to enforce federal law

Question 25

Decision to prosecute is an ____.

Answer 25

exclusively executive act

Question 26

The protections afforded by the Fourteenth Amendment apply only to conduct that is ____.

Answer 26

attributable to the state

(because the professor was discharged by a private university and not by a state actor, the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply)

Question 27

The property clause of Article IV, Section 3, of the Constitution authorizes ____.

Answer 27

federal statutory controls and sanctions