Chapter 16 Rippee 4th

Legal briefs submitted by a "friend of the court" for the purpose of raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties; attempt to influence a court's decision

Judicial interpretation of an act of Congress; Congress occasionally passes new legislation to clarify existing laws when this is an issue

Requirement that to be heard a case must be capable of being settled as a matter of law rather than on other grounds as is commonly the case in legislative bodies

Statement of legal reasoning

Jurisdiction of courts, who view the legal issues involved rather than the factual record, that hear cases brought to them on appeal from lower courts

Jurisdiction of courts, who are the ones that determine the facts about a case, that hear a case first, usually in a trial

Judicial philosophy in which judges make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground; emphasis that the courts can correct pressing needs, especially those unmet by the majoritarian political process, is important to advocates of this approach

Presidential appointee and the third-ranking office in the Department of Justice; in charge of the appellate court litigation of the federal government

Judicial philosophy in which judges play minimal roles, leaving that duty strictly to the legislatures

Latin phrase meaning "let the decision stand"; principle on which most cases reaching appellate courts are settled

Unwritten tradition whereby nominations for state-level federal judicial posts are not confirmed if they are opposed by a senator of the president's party from the state in which the nominee will serve; tradition applies to courts of appeal when there is opposition from the nominee's state senator

The point of origin for most cases in the federal system would be:

• Legislative courts

• Appellate courts

• The Supreme Court

• Federal district courts

• Specialized courts

The most common manner for a case to come before the court is:

• On a writ of certiorari

• On a writ of mandamus

• As an amicus curiae brief

• As a stare decisis case

• On a per curiam decision

John Marshall strengthened the power of the Supreme Court by invoking judicial review in:

• McCulloch v. Maryland

• Gibbons v. Ogden

• Marbury v. Madison

• Brown v. Board of Education

• Scott v. Stanford

The Supreme Court today consists of a Chief Justice and:

• Nine associate justices

• Two assistant chief justices and six associate justices

• Eight associate justices

• Twelve associate justices, one of which is designated as assistant to the Chief Justice

• Four assistant justices making a total of five

Which of the following statements concerning federal judges is NOT true?

• Federal judges are appointed by the president

• Federal judges, with the exception of a few specialized courts, have life tenure

• Federal judges cannot have their salaries reduced while in office

• Federal judges require confirmation by the Senate once appointed by the President

• Federal judges must be natural citizens born the United States

In order for the Supreme Court to hear a case:

• A lower court must request the hearing

• Four of the justices must agree to hear the case

• A major Constitutional issue must be questioned

• The President must ask for the hearing

• The Chief Justice must want the case to appear on the Court’s Docket

When a justice on the Supreme Court agrees with the opinion of the Court but wishes to announce a different Constitutional or legal basis for the decision, the justice would write a:

• Majority opinion

• Minority opinion

• Concurring opinion

• Dissenting opinion

• Opinion of the Court

The concept of original intent means:

• The Supreme Court must decided cases as the original court of jurisdiction intended them to be decided

• All cases must be decided based on stare decisis

• The 14thAmendment must be considered in all cases dealing with the Bill of Rights as originally written by the Founders

• Judges should determine the purposes of the writers of the Constitution when deciding the outcome of cases

• Amicus curiae briefs must be the original basis of the Supreme Court’s rulings

That the Supreme Court should be an advocate for the under-represented and politically weak would be an argument for:

• Judicial activism

• Judicial restraint

• Judicial review

• Original intent

• Stare decisis

The general welfare clause and the necessary and proper clause are used as points of argument for those favoring:

• Judicial professionalism

• Judicial constraint

• Original intent

• Constitutionalism

• Loose constructionism

President Nixon, hoping to move the court toward an attitude of strict construction selected ________________ as the Chief Justice in 1969.

• Earl Warren

• John Marshall

• Warren Burger

• William Rehnquist

• Sandra Day O’Connor

After being appointed by the President, a Supreme Court nominee is investigated by:

• The House Committee on Judges and Justices

• The Senate Judiciary Committee

• The FBI and the Justice Department

• The Attorney General

• The House Rules Committee

The example of Eisenhower selecting Earl Warren to the Supreme Court demonstrates:

• The wisdom of putting a friend on the Court

• The ability of a President to select the right man for the administrations purposes

• The importance of partisanship in Court selection

• The possibility that a persons past record might not reflect his or her actions on the Court once appointed

• How a President can get his nominee rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee

The Constitution provided for:

• A Supreme Court and an intricate system of lower federal courts

• A Supreme Court, federal courts, and state courts all connected in one federal system

• A federal court system that could include a Supreme Court and appellate courts

• State courts and the ability of Congress to create whatever federal courts it deemed necessary

• A Supreme Court and whatever other courts Congress deemed necessary and proper

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit:

• Hears appeals in specialized cases such as copyright law, patents, and tariffs

• Hears appeals from all federal district courts

• Conducts oversight on the Supreme Court

• Is a court of original jurisdiction

• Hears only military appeals resulting from court martial proceedings

Which of the following is NOT true concerning Senatorial courtesy?

• Nominees for the federal bench are not confirmed if opposed by the senator of the President’s party from the home state of the nominee

• Presidents usually contact the Senators from a nominee’s home state prior to making the official announcement to avoid later problems with Senatorial courtesy

• The tradition of Senatorial courtesy places a great amount of power for the nomination process in the hands of the Senators

• Senatorial courtesy is an old fashion tradition which is not always followed by Presidents today

• Senators may invoke Senatorial courtesy without documentation or proof of why a nominee is unfit for the job

Today, most judges are selected by Presidents based on:

• Ideology

• Partisanship

• Judicial experience

• Credentials and their resume

• Friendship with the President before the nomination

When Alexander Hamilton stated that “the Constitution ought to be the standard of construction for the laws, and ... wherever there is an evident opposition; the laws ought to give place to the Constitution…” he was advocating for:

• Loose construction by the Courts

• Strict construction by the Courts

• The Courts to disregard the Constitution and do what they saw as correct

• Stare decisis in all cases

• Judicial activism

The Supreme Court’s docket is mainly comprised of cases from:

• State criminal courts

• Law suits from state civil courts

• Civil cases from federal courts

• Original jurisdiction

• United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit