Question 1. Idaho has how many federal court districts inside of it?
a. 3
b. 2
c. 4
d. 1
Question 2. California has how many federal court districts inside of it?
a. 1
b. 4
c. 2
d. 3
Question 3. The decisions by the Northern District Court of California can be reviewed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the ___ Circuit.
a. 5th
b. 6th
c. 7th
d. 9th
Question 4. The courts that are directly below the Supreme Court in the federal courts system are called the ___ courts.
a. state
b. district
c. intermediate
d. circuit
Question 5. California's highest court is called ...
a. the Court of Appeals
b. the California Supreme Court
c. the Superior Court
d. the State High Court
Question 6. In California, the trial courts are called the
a. Superior Courts
b. First Courts
c. Rights Courts
d. District Courts
Question 7. How many circuit courts does the U.S. have?
a. 13
b. 12
c. 10
d. 9
Question 8. Courts in California's "intermediate" court layer are called the California
a. Courts of Appeal.
b. Appeals Courts
c. Court of Appeals.
d. Superior Courts
Question 9. Each county in California has its own
a. First Court
b. Superior Court
c. Court of Appeals
d. Supreme Court
Question 10. The boundaries of most of the federal circuit courts are based on ____.
a. state boundaries
b. the number of appeals they can handle
c. geographic location and population
d. type of court case
Question 11. The written document in which attorneys explain why the court should rule in favor of their client is called a(n):
a. intervention
b. writ of certiorari
c. writ of habeas corpus
d. brief
Question 12. Which of the following kinds of cases are not likely to be accepted by the Supreme Court?
a. cases that address state laws but that do not raise constitutional issues
b. cases that raise important questions about civil liberties
c. cases that involve conflicting decisions by federal circuit courts
d. cases that raise important questions about civil rights
Question 13. Prior cases whose principles are used by judges to decide current cases are called:
a. common law
b. precedents
c. en blanc decisions
d. public law
Question 14. In most circumstances, a supreme court is best described as a(n) ______ court.
a. uniform
b. trial
c. appellate
d. advisory
Question 15. The area of authority possessed by a court, in terms of either subject area or geography, is called its:
a. judicial review
b. jurisdiction
c. appellate scope
d. precedents
Question 16. The doctrine of ______ requires courts to follow authoritative prior decisions when ruling on a case.
a. ex post facto
b. habeas corpus
c. lextalions
d. stare decisis
Question 17. What was known as the "court packing" plan?
a. the attempt by the Republican-dominated Senate of the 1990s to confirm as many conservative judges as possible
b. the attempt by Franklin Roosevelt to add sympathetic justices to the Supreme Court in order to get New Deal laws upheld as constitutional
c. the desire in Congress during the 1890s to expand the number of federal courts to ease the workload of the Supreme Court
d. the decision in the early nineteenth century that all federal courts should be guarded by members of the armed forces
Question 18. Under normal rules of oral argument, each lawyer has ______ to present his or her case before the Supreme Court.
a. unlimited time
b. ninety minutes
c. an hour
d. thirty minutes
Question 19. When justices agree with the ruling of a court majority but not all of its reasoning, they may often write a(n):
a. per curiam
b. ex parte
c. concurring opinion
d. dissent
Question 20. Most courts are created by
a. the federal government
b. the Constitution
c. the states
d. local governments like the cities and counties
Question 21. Who appointed Rosa Bird to the California Supreme Court?
a. Ronald Reagan
b. Bill Clinton
c. Jerry Brown
d. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Question 22. Californians can vote to confirm or dismiss (through a recall election) state Supreme Court justices. This reduces what?
a. the right of the majority to rule
b. representation of the people by the judiciary
c. confidence in the court
d. judicial independence
Question 23. The Supreme Court reversed the Florida Supreme Court's decision. On what Constitutional amendment did the court-majority say that their decision was based?
a. 14th
b. 22nd
c. 1st
d. 4th
Question 24. On December 8, 2000, the Florida Supreme Court decided that ______.
a. hand counting ballots was illegal because it brought personal judgment to bear on what should be an impartial election
b. there should only be a recount of ballots in some counties of Florida
c. there should be a statewide recount of the election ballots
d. there should not be a statewide recount of the election ballots
Question 25. Why was the second trial of the officers in the Rodney King case not "double jeopardy" - a violation of the officers' constitutional rights?
a. there was no "double jeopardy" because they were found innocent in the second trial
b. there was no "double jeopardy" because an acquittal is not the same thing as being found innocent
c. they were tried the second time for a different offense. Double jeopardy only applies to second trial within the same jurisdiction for the same crime
d. they were tried the second time under federal (national) jurisdiction. Double jeopardy only applies to second trial within the same jurisdiction for the same crime