Q&A

Question 1

Marbury v. Madison concluded all of the following, except…

Answer 1

That the judiciary has the power to review matters of executive discretion

Question 2

In Marbury v. Madison, the Court states that “the people have an original right to establish, for their future government, such principles as, in our opinion, shall most conduce to their own happiness….”

What document is the authority for that right?

Answer 2

The Declaration of Independence

Question 3

Which of the following is a justification for the U.S. Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction over State courts?

Answer 3

a) Local interests may impair the administration of the Constitution
b) There is a need for uniformity in the application of federal law
c) The Constitution does not except State courts from the reach of federal power
d) ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE CORRECT ANSWERS

Question 4

Which, if any, of the following, is not true of the Political Question Doctrine?

Answer 4

It addresses whether a question is too controversial for the Court to consider

Question 5

The “Necessary and Proper Clause” extends the jurisdiction of Congress…

Answer 5

Only to that which is rationally related to a delegated power

Question 6

As it is applied, the Commerce power…

Answer 6

a) Applies only to buying, selling and intercourse
b) Applies only to restricting the flow of items in commerce, not to excluding them altogether from commerce
c) Does not apply to that which is inside a State
d) NONE OF THE ABOVE IS A CORRECT ANSWER

Question 7

As it is applied, the Commerce Power grants Congress the power to regulate all of the following, except…

Answer 7

State legislative processes

Question 8

Which answer is incorrect?

The Court has stated that the Commerce Clause is limited to…

Answer 8

That which the States cannot handle

Question 9

The federal power to tax is limited to…

Answer 9

That which is not a penalty

Question 10

The spending power empowers Congress to spend…

Answer 10

On condition that the recipient meet federally-imposed conditions

Question 11

Treaties may…

Answer 11

a) Be self-executing
b) Override State laws
c) Be adopted without the consent of the House of Representatives
d) ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE CORRECT ANSWERS

Question 12

Federal immunity to regulation by the States…

Answer 12

Is premised on the Supremacy Clause

Question 13

The federal government may not appropriate State officials [e.g., chief law enforcement officers or State legislatures] because to do so…

Answer 13

a) Would be contrary to the constitutional scheme which provides for the federal government to act on individuals, not on the States
b) Would increase federal power
c) Would upset the balance among the branches of the federal government
d) ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE CORRECT

Question 14

The power of the President is at its greatest when the President is acting…

Answer 14

Pursuant to a Congressional grant of authority

Question 15

To be Constitutional, Congressional delegation of rulemaking authority requires that Congress state…

Answer 15

An intelligible principle

Question 16

Which of the following is Constitutionally permissible?

Answer 16

A good-cause limitation on the power of the President to remove a special prosecutor

Question 17

The President’s recess-appointment authority authorizes the President to “fill up vacancies”…

Answer 17

That occurred before the Senate went into recess

Question 18

The “Dormant Commerce Clause” means that…

Answer 18

a) States are prohibited from taking actions that substantially affect commerce unless Congress has expressly permitted it
b) States may take any actions they wish, even if those actions substantially affect commerce, unless Congress has expressly prohibited it
c) States may not directly affect commerce
d) NONE OF THE ABOVE IS CORRECT

Question 19

The Pike balancing test applies to State statutes that…

Answer 19

Are facially even handed

Question 20

States may not discriminate in favor of intrastate commerce by…

Answer 20

a) Granting tax incentives
b) Giving subsidies
c) Selling State-produced products only to in-State buyers
d) EACH OF THE ABOVE IS PERMISSIBLE

Question 21

The fundamental test for whether the action of a private company or a private individual is state action is whether the function being performed…

Answer 21

May fairly be treated as that of the state itself

Question 22

The Second Amendment right to bear arms

Answer 22

Is a right that is fundamental to our scheme of ordered liberty or deeply rooted in our nation’s history and tradition

Question 23

Fourteenth Amendment “incorporation” refers to the application of the Bill of Rights to actions of…

Answer 23

The States

Question 24

“Liberty interests” may…

Answer 24

a) Come from the Bill of Rights
b) Come from basic values implicit in the concept of ordered Liberty
c) Pre-date the Constitution
d) ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE CORRECT

Question 25

Constitutional “privacy” refers to…

Answer 25

The right of a woman to make the ultimate decision whether to have an abortion

Question 26

Which of the following is not true of “stare decisis”?

Answer 26

It is to be given less weight when the decision at issue is unpopular

Question 27

For the State to deny marriage to someone…

Answer 27

Requires a compelling state interest

Question 28

In a State that presumes the paternity of the husband, when a child is born into that marriage, the right of a “natural father” [who is not the husband] to visitation with his child [Gerald case]…

Answer 28

a) Is a fundamental right
b) Is “rooted in the traditions of our people”
c) Is enforceable if there is a rational basis for the visitation
d) NONE OF THE ABOVE IS CORRECT

Question 29

Reasons that the Supreme Court is reluctant to expand substantive due process include:

Answer 29

a) There are scarce guideposts for the creation of such fundamental rights
b) To do so takes the matter largely out of the area of public and legislative debate
c) The Court, in doing so, assumes authority to govern without express constitutional authority to do so
d) ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE CORRECT

Question 30

In striking down the Texas law prohibiting homosexual sodomy, the Supreme Court [Lawrence v. Texas] concluded that…

Answer 30

Whether certain sexual behavior is “immoral and unacceptable” does not constitute a rational basis for regulation