Government 2302 Exam 2 Practice Questions

Which of the following is the best definition of a constituent?

It is a person who lives in the district represented by a member of the legislature.

As of 2010, how many women serve in the U.S. Senate?

17

The most common occupation among members of Congress before coming to Congress is

lawyer

In 2006, ______ became the Speaker of the House.

Nancy Pelosi

Which of the following statements concerning the representation of women and minorities in the U.S. Congress is true?

Representation of women and minorities has increased over the past two decades, but is not comparable to their proportions in the general population.

In each House district there are approximately ______ people.

600,000

Which of the following is not a service often provided by representatives to their constituents?

Offering constituents legal advice regarding new administrative laws

Constituency service is so important that

party leaders will not ask any member to vote in a way that conflicts with the interests or opinions of the member’s district.

Three factors related to the American electoral system affect who is elected to office in this country, and what they do once they get there. Those factors are

who decides to run for office, incumbency, and the drawing of district lines.

A senator or representative running for re-election is called the

incumbent

recent years, approximately what percentage of House members seeking re-election won their race?

ninety-five percent

Congress is a ______ legislature with ______ members.

bicameral, 535

Which of the following best explains the small number of women in Congress?

Incumbency is a very powerful resource, and most incumbents have been men.

Over the past several decades, the ______ and the ______ have benefited most from apportionment?

South, West

he process of allocating congressional seats among the fifty states is called

Apportionment

Which of the following statements concerning the process of reapportionment is correct?

In order for one state to gain a seat, another must lose a seat

What unusual action did Texas take after the 2000 census?

Texas redistricted twice, in 2001 and 2003.

One reason why redistricting is controversial is because

computer technologies allow legislatures to know statistically what kinds of people live where and this can be used to give one party an advantage over the other.

What did the Supreme Court declare in Miller v. Johnson?

The racial composition of a district cannot be the primary factor when redistricting

The powers and resources available to government officials that are used to favor supporters are called

patronage

Pork-barrel legislation

deals with specific projects and their location within a particular congressional district.

What are the most common private bills proposed in Congress?

bills for permanent visas for foreign nationals

Congressional organization is influenced by all of the following except

presidential directives

Who is the Speaker of the House?

The elected leader of the majority party in the House is the speaker

In general, members of the House seek committee assignments that will

allow them to influence decisions that are of special importance to voters in their districts

In the House of Representatives, the majority leader

is subordinate to the Speaker of the House

Who has the most real power in the Senate?

the majority and minority leaders

Which of the following is not a task for which congressional party leaders are responsible?

the organization for the re-election strategies of the incumbents

The House Ways and Means Committee has jurisdiction over which of the following areas?

taxes, trade, and entitlement programs

Who decides which committee assignments members of House of Representatives receive?

each party’s own committee on committees

The jurisdiction of standing committees

is defined by the subject matter of legislation, which often parallels the major cabinet departments or agencies

The need to divide the labor of legislation is best exemplified in what formal structure of Congress?

the establishment of standing committees

Under the original Constitution, senators

were appointed by state legislatures

Congressional leaders form ______ committees when they want to take up an issue that falls between the jurisdiction of existing committees, to highlight an issue, or to investigate a particular problem.

select

Conference committees are

temporary, involve members from both houses of Congress, and are charged with reaching a compromise on legislation once it has been passed by both the House and the Senate.

Organizational reforms instituted by Congress in the 1970s attempted to

fragment power by reducing the power of committee chairs

Which of the following is not a task of congressional staff members?

debating and voting in subcommittee meetings

The Congressional Research Service and the Government Accountability Office are examples of

staff agencies

Which of the following is the best definition of a congressional caucus?

unofficial groups of representatives or senators sharing similar interests or opinions

Agencies in Congress designed to oversee administrative agencies and evaluate presidential proposals are called

staff agencies

Approximately what percentage of proposed bills die in committee?

95 percent

he determination of the time and structure of floor debate on a bill, in the House of Representatives, is up to the

rules committee

How long is the term of office for a U.S. Senator?

six years

"Closed rule" and "open rule" refer to congressional provisions regarding

floor debate on a bill

Cloture is

the process by which three-fifths of the senate can end a filibuster

A filibuster allows members of the Senate to

prevent a vote on a bill by speaking continuously on the floor

When the House and the Senate coordinate two versions of the same bill, they will often use a ______ to obtain a single unified bill.

conference

How can a president’s veto be overridden by Congress?

by two-thirds vote in both houses

Congress adjourns during a ten-day period after presenting the president with a bill, and the president takes no action. This is known as a

pocket veto

Which of the following is not an important influence on the legislative agenda of Congress?

the federal courts

"Astroturf lobbying" refers to the practice whereby

a special interest group simulating a grass-roots movement works with well-organized campaigns and petitions

In addition to pressuring members of Congress to vote a certain way on a bill, interest groups also have substantial influence in

setting the legislative agenda

Which is the best description of the K Street Project?

It was an attempt to place former Republican staffers in key lobbying positions to help ensure a large flow of corporate donations to the Republican Party.

Which of the following best describes a way in which the House differs from the Senate?

the House is more centralized and organized than the Senate

Why does the House have greater party unity than the Senate?

House leaders have more organizational control over the actions of representatives than Senate leaders

A vote on which 50 percent or more of the members of one party take one position while at least 50 percent of the members of the other party take the opposing position is called

a party-unity vote

Which statement about a party unity vote is true?

In 2005, party unity voting was close to an all-time high

Which of the following best describes the organizational changes made in Congress during the 1990s?

Attempts were made to concentrate more power into the hands of party leaders

Which of the following is not a resource congressional party leaders have at their disposal to secure the unity and cooperation of their members?

constituency service

When two members of Congress who share no common interests agree to support each other’s bills, the practice is called

logrolling

Oversight can best be described as

the efforts of congress to supervise the manner in which its laws are implemented by the executive branch

The Senate’s constitutional power of advice and consent extends to which of the following?

The president’s power to make treaties with other nations

A(n) ______ has the same status as a treaty, but does not require Senate approval.

executive agreement

The role the House of Representatives plays in impeachments can best be compared with that of a

grand jury

The idea of ______ identifies the best representative as the one who shares a similar racial, ethnic, religious, or occupational background with those he or she represents.

sociological representation

The two presidents to be impeached by the House of Representatives were Bill Clinton and

Andrew Johnson

Members of Congress can represent the people in two ways: as a ______, a member of Congress acts on the express preferences of his or her constituency; as a ______, a member is more loosely tied to constituents and makes the decisions he or she thinks are best.

delegate; trustee

What are the greatest dangers with a trustee model of representation?

Members of Congress may become inattentive to the wishes and opinions of their constituents

One problem with the delegate model of representation is

That few people are well informed about all political issues

Responsibility for communication among party members in Congress lies with the

whip system

The frequency with which they must seek re-election makes members of the House

more responsive to the needs of local interest groups in the districts they represent

Which idea of representation says that a legislator should be viewed as someone whom voters hire to represent their interests?

agency representation

Which of the following is not included in the classification scheme of bills considered by the Texas legislature?

private

The 80h Legislature of Texas (2007) passed _________ bills and sent them on to the governor for his signature.

1,481

Every bill introduced in the Texas legislature is assigned to a ____________ committee.

standing

The vast majority of bills are _____________, which means that they are set aside and never brought forward for consideration. (Texas)

pidgeonholed

Debate on the House floor is ____________

limited

Debate on the Senate floor is ______________

Unrestricted, thereby allowing for filibuster

The purpose of the ________________ committee is to reach a compromise on different versions of the same legislation coming from the House and Senate.

conference

The governor may take any of the following actions, except:

override a veto

If the governor fails to sign a bill within ten days of receiving it, _____________

the bill becomes a law

The comptroller must certify the state’s projected _____________ before the House and Senate may approve the budget.

total revenues for two years

Which of the following is not a constitutional requirement for holding a seat in the Texas House of Representatives?

a natural-born U.S. citizen

The ____________________ and _______________ are considered to be two of the most powerful politicians in the state of Texas.

Speaker of the House; Lieutenant governor

Which of the following is not a constitutional requirement for holding a seat in the Texas Senate?

a natural-born U.S. citizen

There are _________members of the Texas Senate and ________ members of the Texas House.

31; 150

Texas legislators receive a salary of $__________ per year.

7,200

The regular legislative session in Texas is limited to ________ days in ______________ years.

140; odd-numbered

The ___________ may convene a special session if the legislature fails to complete important work during the regular session.

governor

The special session is limited to a maximum of ________ days and may only deal with topics specified by the _____________

30, governor

Revenue bills must originate in the Texas _____________

House

The 80th Legislature considered almost __________ bills during the 2007 legislative session. (Texas)

6,200

The office of the presidency was established by ______ of the Constitution.

Article II

In undertaking the campaign against the Taliban in 2001, George W. Bush

sought and received congressional authorization for the bombing, but not a declaration of war

The power to declare war is given to whom under the Constitution?

Both houses of congress

The president must share foreign policy powers with

Congress

The ______ asserted that the president could send American troops into action abroad only in the event of a declaration of war or other statutory authorization by Congress, or if American troops were attacked or directly endangered.

War Powers resolution of 1973

The goal of the War Powers Resolution was to

limit the power of the president to commit American troops to military action without authorization from Congress

When North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950,

Truman sent American troops to Korea without asking for a declaration of war

When Dwight Eisenhower sent federal troops into Little Rock High School in 1957, it demonstrated that

The president may make unilateral use of the emergency powers to protect states against domestic disorder

Which of the following statements about how different presidents have used the power of amnesty or pardon is false?

George Washington declared amnesty to all Americans who fought for the British during the War for Independence

Why was George Washington’s reception of Edmond Genet as ambassador of France during the French Revolution so significant?

It reflected the authority of the President to officially recognize specific regimes as the sovereign power of a nation when there is doubt as to who rules

Through the act of delegating powers, the national structure of government in the 1930s went from ______ to ______.

legislatively centered, president centered

Which of the following attributes did the framers intend for the office of the president to possess?

energy

In order to get around the need for Senate approval of treaties, many contemporary presidents have made use of ______ in foreign affairs.

executive agreements

Executive agreements differ from formal treaties in that they

do not have to be approved by the Senate

Which statement concerning secret agreements between the president and foreign nations is incorrect?

Presidents have always fully complied with Congress’s reporting requirements

The president has the power to appoint which of the following positions?

cabinet secretaries

Why is the president’s State of the Union address important?

It is an opportunity for the President to set the legislative agenda by initiating proposals and directing the public’s attention to the executive’s goals

What is required for Congress to override a presidential veto?

two-thirds of both houses of congress

Richard Nixon claimed ______ when he refused to turn over secret White House tapes to congressional investigators.

executive priviledge

In United States v. Nixon, the Supreme Court

required Nixon to turn over the secret tapes to congress

The State of the Union address is

mandated by the Constitution

The president’s power to set the debate concerning public policy in Congress is called

a legislative initiative

What did the framers mean to accomplish by indirect election of the president?

to make the president responsible to state and national legislatures

An executive order is

a rule or regulation initiated unilaterally by the president, with the status of a law

Which of the following has caused an increase in the president’s delegated powers?

the increasing scope and complexity of legislation

Federal executive agencies do each of the following in implementing legislation except

seek advisory opinions from the federal courts as to the constitutionality of the rules

Which executive agency has the least discretion, as a result of very detailed Congressional legislation?

Internal Revenue Service

The president’s delegated powers come from

Congress

The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970 by

an Executive Order

The ______ is the informal designation for the heads of the major federal government departments.

cabinet

The groups of advisers and analysts to the president are collectively called the

White House Staff

An informal group of advisers to the president is often called the

Kitchen Cabinet

The formal group of presidential foreign policy advisers, established in 1947, is called the

National Security Council

The rise of national conventions to nominate the president led to the empowerment of what group?

State Party Leaders

The National Security Council is composed of all of the following except the

Speaker of the House

As a means of managing the gigantic executive branch, presidents have increasingly come to rely upon the

White House Staff

Which statement about the Cabinet is incorrect?

The cabinet does not meet as a group, except during the State of the Union address

The Office of Management and Budget and the Council of Economic Advisers are both parts of

The Executive Office of the President

What is the primary constitutional task of the vice president, besides succeeding the president in case of death, resignation, or incapacitation?

to cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate

The main political value of the vice president is to

bring the president votes in the election from a group or region that would not otherwise be a likely source of support

After the president and vice president, which office is next in the line of succession?

Speaker of the House

Which first lady was the first to seek and win public office on her own?

Hillary Clinton

The first lady is an important resource for the president in his capacity as

head of state

______ is the claim the electorate has given the winner of a presidential election a special authority to carry out her or his plans.

A mandate

In the early 1800s, the system of nominating presidential candidates that left the candidates beholden to their party’s leaders in Congress was called

King Caucus

A significant initiative set forth by Lyndon Johnson was

The Great Society

According to the text, what are the three most common ways for a president to expand his base of power?

party support, popular mobilization, and administrative control

When are the president’s partisan ties most important?

in dealing with Congress on legislative matters

The technique of popular mobilization dates back to the presidency of

Theodore Roosevelt

Why was it considered shocking when, after the Civil War, Andrew Johnson made a series of speeches seeking public support for his Reconstruction policies?

During the nineteenth century, it was seen as undignified for a president to campaign on his own behalf.

A president who claims to possess a mandate from the American electorate could arguably

that voters have approved the agenda he campaigned on, and that congress ought to approve it

Which of the following tactics did Franklin Roosevelt not use to forge a link between the executive office and the public?

Running extensive national television advertising campaigns

Which statement concerning the White House Communication Office is incorrect?

It allows the president to avoid giving information to the public

What is the general tendency of a president’s popularity?

Presidents usually start out popular and decline over the next four years

The Executive Office of the President (EOP) was established

Under Franklin Roosevelt in 1939

The turning point in American politics toward a president-centered government came about during the administration of

Franklin Roosevelt

When the White House directs administrative agencies to promulgate specific rules and regulations, this is called

regulatory review

What happened when Harry Truman seized control of the nation’s steel mills during the Korean War?

The Supreme Court declared his actions without basis in the law or constitution

Which of the following actions was not the result of an executive order?

The entrance in the United Nations

Which of the following statements about signing statements is false?

Ever since Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, all presidential signing statements have been recorded and added to the official legislative record.

A signing statement is

an announcement the president makes about his interpretation of a congressional enactment he is signing into law

According to political scientist Terry Moe, why does Congress suffer from a collective-action problem in the face of presidential power?

Individual members of congress are more concerned with the substantive impact of presidential action on their constituents, rather than the general implications of presidential powers

The decline of voting and political participation by Americans has which of the following effects?

It enhances the power of the president while weakening congress

According to separation of powers expert Louis Fisher, the powers of Congress have declined dramatically in which of the following areas?

national defense and the federal budget

The last time Congress exercised its constitutional power to declare war was in

1941

The Constitution’s framers believed that Congress’s greatest prerogative would be its

power of the purse

______ powers are the most common form of constitutional powers possessed by the president.

delegated

Which president began the era of greater presidential control over the budgeting process?

Franklin Roosevelt

Which of the following derives its greatest source of influence from the support of civil society?

Congress

When the president infers powers from the "rights, duties, and obligations" of the presidency, these are called

inherent powers

The president’s position as head of state is defined in the Constitution by all of the following powers except

partisan

The _______________ was established in 1975 and regulates utility rates in Texas.

Public Utilities Commission

Which of the following is not a constitutional qualification to become governor of Texas?

trained in the law

Historically, in Texas, governors have tended to be all of the following, except:

Republican

The plural executive serves as a major limitation on gubernatorial power, in that it provides for _____________ of six of the top seven state officials.

statewide election

Since 1972, the governor has been elected to serve a __________ term.

four-year

The first Republican governor after Reconstruction was _______________

William Clements

The first female governor of Texas was _____________

Miriam Ferguson

The executive powers of the governor include all of the following, except:

veto power – that’s legislative

The legislative powers of the governor include all of the following, except:

military power – that’s executive

The governor of Texas may be impeached for which of the following offenses?

The Texas Constitution does not specify grounds for removal

The ________________ is responsible for managing state-owned land and mineral leases granted to oil and gas companies.

land commissioner

The ______________ is responsible for verifying the accuracy of motor fuel pumps and scales used by grocery stores and markets.

Commissioner of agriculture

Which of the following veto powers does the governor of Texas lack?

special session veto

Texas elects each of its state court justices. However, when a vacancy occurs due to death, resignation or retirement of the incumbent, or the creation of a new court, the ______________ is responsible for appointing an individual to fill the vacancy until the next election.

governor

The Texas Constitution provides for the _______________ to become governor if the office becomes vacant through impeachment and conviction, death, resignation, or the governor’s absence from the state.

lieutenant governor

The _________________ is appointed by the governor to serve a four-year term.

secretary of state

In 2002, the Republican and Democratic candidates for the governors office spent a combined total of approximately $____________ million.

88

All of the following contribute to the weakness of the governor’s office in Texas, except:

absence of the line-item veto

In addition to use of an official mansion and limousine, the governor is paid _________ per year.

115,345

Gubernatorial elections are held in off-years (election years in which we do not select a president) because state leaders wanted to ______________________

minimize the effect of presidential elections on the governor’s race

Which of the following is a way in which an executive agency engages in lawmaking?

by interpreting the details of a vaguely worded law

Bureaucracy, literally translated, means

rule by desks

Which of the following agencies was abolished following the creation of the Department of Homeland Security?

the Immigration and Naturalization service

Which of the following is not an independent regulatory agency?

the Food and Drug Administration

Which statement about regulatory agencies is correct?

No new regulatory programs have been established since the 1970’s

How are ambassadors chosen?

They are selected by the President, often as patronage for large campaign donations

Which president was most concerned with managing and reorganizing the executive bureaucracy?

Jimmy Carter

Which president’s approach to the managerial presidency featured a deep belief in the importance of scientific expertise in government service?

Barack Obama

The ______ is the center of military policy and management.

Joint Chiefs of Staff

Which of the following is the best description of an iron triangle?

the stable relationship between a bureaucratic agency, a clientele group, and a legislative committee

What is an independent agency?

an agency that is not part of any cabinet department

______ policy concerns banks, credit, and currency.

monetary

Individual members of Congress can discover questions of public responsibility when engaged in

constituent case work

The USA PATRIOT Act

allows the attorney general to detain any foreigner suspected of posing a threat to internal security

The response to the Department of Homeland Security’s color-coded terror-level warning system reveals

that bureaucratic agencies, like politicians, must pay attention to public opinion.

Which of the following is not a clientele agency?

the internal revenue service

What has been the greatest difficulty in establishing the new Department of Homeland Security?

adjusting to the many different bureaucratic cultures now part of a single operation

What has been the greatest difficulty in establishing the new Department of Homeland Security?

interior

Which of the following is the most constitutionally essential way to make the bureaucracy responsible?

congressional oversight

Which of the following is a type of deregulation?

reducing the number of regulatory agencies in the federal bureaucracy

Ronald Reagan’s inability to dismantle the Department of Education reflects the power of

iron triangles

______ is the primary mission of the State Department.

diplomacy

What is the origin of most federal bureaus?

congress passes a law creating and funding most federal bureaus

Before the Civil Service Act of 1883, how were government appointments handled?

appointments were made to political supporters as part of a spoils system

Which of the following is not a key strategy used to promote bureaucratic reform?

regulation

Since the 1950s, compared with the entire workforce, the number of federal employees has

gradually declined

Which of the following is not a task of the Treasury Department?

setting interest rates

The Freedom of Information Act is designed to

make more national security documents available to the public

Which statement is the definition of privatization?

a way to reduce government costs by relocating government programs to private groups or corporations

What was the government trying to accomplish when it called for the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act to create an additional database that would record contractors who have legal or contract violations?

provide government oversight for an increasingly expanding force of independent contractors

Which of the following is not a way in which Congress can exercise oversight?

having members of congress work part-time for a particular agency that is struggling to meet the demands Congress has placed on it

When the federal government passes authority to administer a program down to state or local governments, it is called

devolution

The first regulatory agencies established by Congress were

independent agencies

One drawback of devolution is that

the standards associated with particular programs become increasingly variable between states

Which of the following is not a department responsible for promoting the public welfare?

Department of State

The most significant example of devolution in recent decades has been in the area of

welfare policy

According to the text, what would be the most likely outcome if the federal government were to cease all economic regulation?

the marketplace would fall into chaos

Which of the following was forced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission to recall several car models after identifying problems with their gas pedal accelerators?

Toyota

The National Park Service is

part of the Department of the Interior

During the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, how many federal agencies or programs were terminated?

0

Which of the following is a government corporation?

the U.S. Postal Service

A bureau charged with putting restrictions and obligations on individuals or corporations in the private sector is called a ______ agency.

regulatory

The use of taxing and spending powers to shape the economy is part of ______ policy.

fiscal

The most visible indication of oversight is the

use of public hearings before congressional committees and subcommittees

What was the chief bureaucratic flaw identified by the 9/11 Commission?

There was a lack of communication between the domestic and foreign security agencies

What is a government corporation?

It is an agency that performs and charges for services usually provided by the private sector

Devolution describes a process by which

the federal government is downsized by delegating the implementation of programs to state and local governments

Which of the following statements about administrative rule making is false?

both houses of congress must formally approve all federal rules

The attempt of bureaucracies to translate laws into routine procedures and practices is called

implementation

What was the mission of the National Performance Review?

to reorganize the federal bureaucracy to make it more efficient, accountable, and less wasteful

The greatest number of federal government professionals working abroad are under the authority of the Department of

Defense

Which of the following is not a major role of bureaucracy?

passing laws

Which of the following is not a type of federal agency?

state and local oversight

Which of the following is not part of the Justice Department?

the Internal Revenue Service

Which of the following was a way in which President Obama attempted to uphold his campaign promise to reduce government secrecy?

Issuing an executive order designed to promote rapid declassification of secret documents

The concept of oversight refers to the effort made by

congress to make executive agencies accountable for their actions

Congress was attempting to strike a balance between the need for secrecy in national security and the right of individuals to know what their government is doing when it passed the ______ Act.

Freedom of Information

Which of the following is not a federal department entrusted with providing national security?

police

Which of the following statements about the merit system is not true?

Every member and official of a government agency has been appointed as a part of the merit system

Which of the following interest groups is generally considered the most powerful group today?

AARP

Which of the following is not an independent agency?

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

The largest subunits of the federal executive branch are called

departments

At its peak in ______, the federal bureaucracy had ______ employees, not including military personnel.

1968, 3 million

The first regulatory agency was the ______, created by Congress in ______.

Interstate Commerce Commission, 1888

Which of the following is an agency created by Congress to assist it in overseeing the federal bureaucracy?

General Accounting Office

The head of a department is called the

secretary

By the 1980s, the average length of time it took to develop and implement an administrative rule was

thirty-five to forty months

Who stated, in his 1996 State of the Union address, that "the era of big government is over"?

Bill Clinton

What is the principal job of the Department of Homeland Security?

to coordinate the communication and activities of federal agencies that are involved in domestic security

The controversy over the Patriot Act reveals the complications of balancing

national security with the civil liberties of individuals

Who has authority to set interest rates and lending activities for the nation’s banks?

the Federal Reserve System

Which of the following statements about the Federal Reserve System (the Fed) is correct?

Congress created the fed in 1913

The Civil Service Act of 1883 attempted to pattern government hiring after practices found in

business

When a bureaucracy applies rules and precedents to specific cases, it is called

administrative adjudication

Which of the following is a good example of a revenue agency?

the U.S. Customs service

Activist judges believe that the courts should

go beyond the words of a constitution or statute to consider the broader societal implications of its decisions.

When interest groups involved in litigation pursue a pattern of cases, they are

bringing the same type of suit into multiple circuits, hoping that a contradiction in rulings will bring about a Supreme Court review.

President Obama’s first appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court was

sotomayor

Which of the following was not a case involving the Supreme Court overturning a state law?

marbury v madison

he written opinions of appellate courts have been described as halfway between ______ and ______.

common law and statutory law

When all of the justices on the Supreme Court are hearing a case, they are said to be sitting

en banc

Each year, the Supreme Court receives about ______ appeals and hears about ______ of them in full court.

9,500, 70

The written document in which attorneys explain why the court should rule in favor of their client is called a(n)

brief

Approximately how many judges currently sit on the federal district courts?

700

What was known as the court-packing plan?

the attempt by Franklin Roosevelt to add sympathetic justices to the Supreme Court in order to get New Deal laws upheld as constitutional

Each of the following has been a method by which the federal courts have expanded their power except

narrowing the discretionary authority of the president over foreign affairs and diplomacy.

Which of the following best describes the role of the solicitor general?

the lawyer who represents the United States before the Supreme Court in cases where the federal government is a party

What is the significance of dissenting opinions?

Dissents are signs that the Court is in disagreement on an issue and could change its ruling.

Prisoners who are challenging their conviction are most likely to file a writ of

habeas corpus

What is the main function of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?

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

When the Supreme Court declared that the legislative veto was unconstitutional, in Immigration and Naturalization Services v. Chada, what was the response?

Congress and presidents have continued the practice; they just call it something different.

The right of due process is best described as the right of

every person not to be treated arbitrarily by a government official or agency.

When justices agree with the ruling of a court majority but not all of its reasoning, they may often write a(n)

concurrence

Cases between two or more states are originally heard by

the Supreme Court

If someone is an advocate of judicial restraint, he or she believes

in looking only at the words of the constitution in determining its meaning

What is the most frequent and best-known action of Supreme Court justices in their role as circuit justices?

reviewing requests for stays of execution

The case Baker v. Carr concerns

apportionment of legislative seats

What is the Uniform Commercial Code?

a set of codes states may voluntarily adopt in order to reduce interstate differences in judicial opinions

Approximately what percentage of all court cases in the United States are heard in federal courts?

1

Which of the following statements concerning legislative courts is false?

Legislative court judges cannot have their salary reduced by Congress.

Why has partisan conflict surrounded federal judicial appointments in recent years?

The federal courts play an important role in shaping American law and politics.

All of the following are part of the official jurisdiction of the federal courts except

cases involving citizens from the same state.

The size of the U.S. Supreme Court is set by

congress

Which of the following is not a specialized "legislative court" created by Congress?

the court of federal territories

A writ of habeas corpus declares that

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

The power of the Supreme Court to review state actions and legislation comes from

marbury v madison

When the Supreme Court refuses to review a lower-court decision, announcing this decision through a brief unsigned opinion, it is called ______ opinion

a per curiam

If an individual is arrested because their home was searched by police without a legal warrant, they could argue in court that they had been denied

the due process of law

A "certiorari pool" describes the

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

Under normal rules of oral argument, each lawyer has ______ to present his or her case before the Supreme Court.

30min

Trial courts in the federal judicial system are called

district courts

In most circumstances, a supreme court is best described as a(n) ______ court.

appellate

Which of the following is the essence of the rule of law?

Every state must judge government officials by the same laws as its citizens are judged.

Senatorial courtesy describes the practice of

senators from a president’s party approving of a judicial nominee from their home state.

Andrew Jackson reputedly said, "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it." What did he mean by this statement?

The Supreme Court is unable to enforce its decisions without the aid of the executive branch.

A person, agency, or interest group not directly a party to a case but with an interest in its outcome may file a(n) ______ brief.

amicus curiae

In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court was required to rule on the issue of ______, due to the fact that the pregnancy had already come to term.

mootness

Original jurisdiction refers to

the court with the authority to hear a case first.

Which of the following statements about the U.S. Courts of Appeals is incorrect?

The appeals courts are able to hear all cases involving federal law, but not constitutional law.

The requirement of standing means that parties in a case must

have a concrete injury or interest at stake

Which of the following is part of the Miranda rule?

arrested people have the right to remain silent

Aside from the justices themselves, who or what has the greatest power in shaping the flow of cases to the Supreme Court?

the solicitor general

In recent years, federal court appointments have

been characterized by intense partisan and ideological efforts to support or defeat the candidate.

Which of the following was not part of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld?

Persons the president designates as enemy combatants do not have to be granted an opportunity to rebut those charges.

In which type of case does the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction?

any case involving an ambassador

Most cases reach the Supreme Court through the

writ of certiorari

What was the Supreme Court’s ruling in 1948 regarding restrictive covenants?

individuals had the right to discriminate in private contracts but courts could not enforce these contracts

The jurisdiction of each federal court is derived from

the constitution and federal law

Each Supreme Court justice is assigned ______ clerk(s).

four

______ is an example of a justice who advocated judicial restraint.

felix frankfurter

Why was the Supreme Court’s decision in Ricci v. DeStefano important?

It held that, in order to seek damages, employees must show that employment tests for promotion are clearly defective, rather than that they produce unequal outcomes based on race or gender.

When a case is resolved through a negotiated agreement before a full trial is completed, it is called

a plea bargain

Why did many Republicans oppose President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court?

she supported affirmative action

In what year was Marbury v. Madison decided?

1803

What was the basis of Justice John Marshall’s assertion that the federal courts have the power of judicial review?

It is the duty of the courts to say what the law is, therefore it is necessary for the courts to interpret and expound upon the law.

What did the framers call the "least dangerous branch"?

the supreme court

Which of the following is not a traditional limitation on the power of the federal courts?

the ability of congress to reduce federal judges’ salaries

The increase of administrative agencies since the New Deal has resulted in

a delegation of power by congress to administrative agencies

_______________ involves the violation of the concepts of right and wrong as defined by statute and is usually punishable by a specified amount of time in jail.

criminal law

________________ involves disputes between individuals and/or businesses over relationships, obligations, or responsibility, with the remedy usually being monetary compensation.

civil law

The state courts that handle trials involving criminal or civil matters are the ______________

district courts

_____________ percent of criminal defendants agree to plead guilty rather than go to trial.

ninety-seven

The ____________________ courts have jurisdiction to hear class C misdemeanors and minor civil matters (e.g., small claims).

justice of the peace courts

The highest court in Texas for civil matters is the ______________

Texas Supreme Court

In Harris County and in other large urban counties, the state trial courts are given specialized jurisdiction over all of the following, except ___________________.

maritime law

In district courts, the state is represented in criminal cases by the _______________

district attorney

Attorneys that represent plaintiffs in civil cases are generally paid _____________

on a contingency-fee basis

Statutory probate courts are given jurisdiction to hear cases arising out of disputes concerning ________________

wills and estate law

apital cases are appealed directly to the ___________________

Texas court of criminal appeals

__________________ were created by the Texas legislature to have jurisdiction over violations of city ordinances and class C misdemeanors.

municipal courts

exas judges, with the exception of municipal judges, are ________________

elected in partisan elections

The county court has the power to hear all of the following types of cases, except ______________________.

felony cases

A ________________ consists of twelve persons who serve for two to six months and who determine whether the state has enough evidence to support the issuance of an indictment.

grand jury

The highest court in Texas for criminal matters is the ______________

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

The president’s expressed powers include all of the following except

Partisan