Civil Liberties
Response to the following multiple choice questions:
1. The __________ allows for the trial of enemy combatants before military commissions.
a. Sixth Amendment b. Fourth Amendment c. USA PATRIOT Act d. Military Commissions Act
2. What was the Supreme Court's main purpose in adopting the exclusionary rule?
a. to allow for regulation of content on the Internet b. to allow journalists to withhold information from grand juries
c. to protect individuals against self-incrimination d. to remove any incentive for police misconduct
3. Under the "undue burden" test, the Supreme Court has allowed __________.
a. government funding of religious charities
b. states to require women to wait 24 hours before having an abortion
c. evidence contrary to the Miranda guidelines to be used in criminal cases
d. the federal government to hold suspected terrorists indefinitely
4. In Miller v. California, the U.S. Supreme Court held that material must havea deficit of meaningful artistic, literary, political, or scientific worth to beconsidered __________.
a. obscene b. hate speech c. fighting words d. a prior restraint e.unseen
5. Selective incorporation makes the protections of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states through which of the following amendments?
a. Fourth b. Fifth c. Sixth d. Fourteenth e. Seventeenth
6. Which of the following is a consequence of selective incorporation?
a. It has led to restrictions on the right to bear arms. b. It has given greater power to state governments.
c. It has given greater power to the national government. d. It has led to restrictions on freedom of speech.
7. A false written statement is considered to be __________, while utterances that have the power to provoke individuals to acts of violence are considered __________.
a. defamation; slander b. slander; libel c. libel; defamation d. libel; fighting words
8. A Christmas tree and nativity scene is displayed at the statehouse. Which Supreme Court justice would most likely object to this as a violation of the establishment clause?
a. Justice Thomas b. Justice Scalia c. former Chief Justice Rehnquist d. former Justice O'Connor
9. Obscenity and fighting words are examples of which of the following?
a. hate speech b. slander c. unprotected speech d. protected speech
10. Over the course of the early 2000s, the Supreme Court ruled that detainees have a right to which of the following?
a. due process b. the assistance of counsel c. equal protection d. habeas corpus
11. In Employment Division v. Smith, the Supreme Court altered the interpretation of which of the following?
a. the exclusionary rule b. the due process clause
c. the free exercise clause d. the incorporation doctrine
12. Miranda rights include the right to which of the following?
a. due process b. a jury trial c. freedom from search and seizure d. counsel
e. equal protection
13. The USA PATRIOT Act enhances the government's ability to do which of the following?
a. examine private records b. take personal property
c. imprison citizens without trial d. indict foreign enemies
14. The Supreme Court has ruled that states can limit abortions if the regulations do not pose which of the following?
a. a bar to equal protection b. a due process violation
c. a prior restraint d. an undue burden
15. The Supreme Court briefly outlawed which of the following in the 1970s due to concerns that it might violate the Eighth Amendment?
a. capital punishment b. access to court-appointed counsel
c. symbolic speech protection d. the exclusionary rule
16. What type of due process protects citizens from arbitrary or unjust state or federal laws?
a. procedural b. constitutional c. substantive d. individual
17. The Supreme Court has used selective incorporation to __________ the rights of states.
a. protect b. limit c. expand d. enforce
18. The right of the individual to contract, to acquire useful knowledge, and to marry are liberties that are expressly protected by which type of due process?
a. civil b. substantive c. criminal d. procedural
19. Before 1990, the Supreme Court allowed government infringement on religious practices if __________.
a. such infringement reinforced the "wall of separation" between church and state
b. the law was not targeted at particular religious groups
c. the government had a compelling interest in doing so d. the religious practices in question were widely condemned
20. The "right to remain silent" is a citizen's protection against which of the following?
a. governmental intrusion b. search and seizure c. religious establishment d. self-incrimination
21. The double jeopardy clause keeps an individual who is acquitted of a crime from which of the following?
a. media coverage b. being tried again c. asserting innocence
d. seeking the assistance of an attorney
22. Procedural due process limits __________, while substantive due process limits __________.
a. what the law is; how the law is applied b. how the law is applied; what the law is
c. regulation of speech; regulation of action d. infringement on civil liberties; infringement on civil rights
23. A four-letter profanity worn on a sweatshirt would be considered __________.
a. hate speech b. fighting words c. obscenity d. protected speech
24. In the most recent case of selective incorporation in 2010, the Supreme Court applied the __________ to the states.
a. First Amendment right to free speech b. First Amendment right to religious freedom
c. Fifth Amendment rights of the accused d. Second Amendment right to bear arms
25. Convicted criminals whose sentences increase during their prison term due to a change in the law have been illegally subjected to what kind of law?
a. cruel and unusual b. habeas corpus c. ex post facto d. bill of attainder
26. Under the bad tendency test, which of the following would be prohibited?
a. withholding of information from grand juries b. speech advocating the use of illegal drugs
c. published defamation or false statements d. government entanglement with religion
27. What was Justice Potter Stewart referring to when he said, "I know it when I see it"?
a. regulatory taking b. slander c. obscenity d. prior restraint
28. What was the significance of the Supreme Court's decision in Miller v. California?
a. The Court developed the exclusionary rule.
b. The Court resolved debate over interpretation of the establishment clause.
c. The Court broadened the power of eminent domain.
d. The Court agreed to a constitutional definition of obscenity.
29. Journalists generally support a right to withhold information from grand juries or legislative committees. What is their main argument?
a. This right is essential to protect reporters from self-incrimination.
b. This right is essential to maintain the independence of the press.
c. Without this right, reporters will not be able to get the information they need to keep the public informed.
d. Without this right, journalists will have no ability to shape the content of news stories.
30. When the government exercises the power of eminent domain, it must __________.
a. first get congressional approval b. fairly compensate the property owner
c. demonstrate a compelling government interest d. first pursue other policy alternatives
31. Under what circumstance is a law regulating speech most likely to be upheld?
a. if the law targets profane language b. if the law is viewpoint neutral
c. if the law does not require prior restraint d. if the law avoids excessive government entanglement
True-False Questions:
32. The preferred position doctrine holds that First Amendment freedoms should only be abridged with great reluctance.
33. Commercial speech is constitutionally protected.
34. The Fourteenth Amendment suggests that the protections in the Bill of Rights could be interpreted as applying to the states.
35. State restrictions on handguns and other arms are now subject to strict constitutional review.
36. Writs of habeas corpus are laws declaring an act illegal without a judicial trial.
37. A petit jury decides if a defendant is found guilty in a civil or criminal action.
38.The Constitution explicitly protects the right to privacy.
39. The Supreme Court has held that any restrictions on access to abortion are unconstitutional.