3.2.1.4.2 The judicial branch: judicial review and landmark rulings Quiz: AQA Politics, Unit 2

The 20 questions

1. In the US system, what does judicial review allow the courts to do?

   • The power of Congress to approve every ruling of the courts before it takes effect
   • The power of courts to examine whether laws and government actions are consistent with the Constitution
   • The power of the states to veto federal court decisions within their borders
   • The power of the President to review the decisions of the Supreme Court each year

2. Which case established the principle of judicial review in 1803?

   • Roe v Wade
   • Bush v Gore
   • Brown v Board of Education
   • Marbury v Madison

3. Which case of the Warren Court ended legal segregation in public schools?

   • Miranda v Arizona (1966)
   • Roe v Wade (1973)
   • Obergefell v Hodges (2015)
   • Brown v Board of Education (1954)

4. What principle did Miranda v Arizona (1966) establish?

   • Suspects must be released if the police have not interviewed them within 24 hours
   • Suspects are entitled to a jury trial only if they confess to the crime
   • Suspects can be questioned without any warning if they have previously been convicted
   • Suspects must be informed of their rights before custodial interrogation

5. Which case, decided by the Burger Court in 1973, is a landmark ruling on abortion rights?

   • District of Columbia v Heller
   • Bush v Gore
   • Roe v Wade
   • United States v Nixon

6. What did United States v Nixon (1974) decide?

   • The President must resign whenever a court orders him to produce evidence in a case
   • The President has an absolute right to withhold any document from a court or Congress
   • Executive privilege is not absolute, so the President had to hand over the Watergate tapes
   • The Senate has no power to subpoena the White House for documents in any inquiry

7. Which case, decided by the Rehnquist Court in 2000, concerned the outcome of a presidential election?

   • Obergefell v Hodges
   • Brown v Board of Education
   • Bush v Gore
   • Miranda v Arizona

8. What did District of Columbia v Heller (2008) hold?

   • The Second Amendment allows Congress to ban all firearms for private use in every state
   • The Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, not only a right tied to militias
   • The Second Amendment applies only to members of state militias and not to individuals
   • The Second Amendment has no legal effect because it was repealed by the Warren Court

9. What did Obergefell v Hodges (2015) decide?

   • Same-sex marriage is a matter for Congress alone, and the Court has no role in it
   • Same-sex marriage is legal only in states that approved it in a referendum before 2015
   • The Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage across the United States
   • Same-sex marriage is banned in all states, because the Constitution does not mention it

10. Which period of the Court is associated with Chief Justice Earl Warren?

    • The Warren Court, 1954 to 1969
    • The Rehnquist Court, 1986 to 2005
    • The Burger Court, 1969 to 1986
    • The Roberts Court, 2005 to the present

11. Which landmark ruling is most closely associated with the Warren Court?

    • Brown v Board of Education (1954)
    • Obergefell v Hodges (2015)
    • Bush v Gore (2000)
    • District of Columbia v Heller (2008)

12. Which evaluation best supports the claim that landmark rulings have changed public policy?

    • Landmark rulings only affect the Supreme Court and have no effect on any other institution
    • Landmark rulings only apply to federal taxation and have no effect on rights or equality
    • Landmark rulings have never changed public policy, because they are always ignored by states
    • Brown and Obergefell both changed how the law treated groups, affecting schools, marriage

13. Which debate is most often raised about landmark rulings such as Roe v Wade and Obergefell?

    • Whether courts are interpreting the Constitution
    • Whether these rulings should be decided by the Electoral College rather than the courts
    • Whether these rulings should be decided by state governors in a public referendum
    • Whether these rulings are binding on the Presidency but not on the Supreme Court

14. Which claim best connects landmark rulings with the strict and loose constructionism debate?

    • Both constructionist views always produce the same result in every landmark case
    • Landmark rulings have no connection to constructionism, because the Constitution is never interpreted
    • Critics of expansive rulings often invoke strict constructionism, while supporters often argue for a broader, evolving reading
    • Strict constructionism supports expansive rulings, while loose constructionism rejects all rulings

15. Which evaluation best assesses the role of landmark rulings in shaping public policy in one area?

    • Court rulings shape policy only in matters of foreign affairs, and never in domestic matters
    • Court rulings have never shaped any policy area because policy is always set by the legislature
    • Court rulings shape policy only through executive orders issued by the Supreme Court
    • Court rulings on civil rights and punishment have shaped how government policy operates in those areas

16. Which statement about the Roberts Court's landmark rulings is most accurate?

    • Heller and Obergefell were decided by the Warren Court in the 1950s and 1960s
    • Heller and Obergefell were decisions of the Burger Court, decided in 1973 and 1974
    • Heller and Obergefell were decisions of the Electoral College that the Court later reviewed
    • Heller (2008) and Obergefell v Hodges (2015)

17. Which evaluation best supports the view that judicial review can be used to expand or limit rights?

    • Judicial review can only expand rights and can never restrict them under any circumstances
    • Judicial review restricts only the Supreme Court and not any other court or government body
    • Judicial review has no effect on rights because the Bill of Rights is never enforced by the courts
    • Judicial review can protect rights from government action, but it can also restrict rights if courts uphold restrictive laws

18. Which argument best supports the view that landmark rulings are controversial?

    • Many landmark rulings involve contested moral questions, so courts can face criticism whatever they decide
    • Landmark rulings are controversial only because they are published in the Congressional Record
    • Landmark rulings are controversial only when the President disagrees with the outcome of a case
    • Landmark rulings are never controversial, because every decision is taken by unanimous vote

19. Which statement best explains why the Court's decisions matter for federalism?

    • Rulings on federalism have no effect, because states always make their own rules regardless of the courts
    • Rulings on federalism determine only the tax rates that the states may charge their residents
    • Rulings on federalism are made by state governors, who are the final judges of the Constitution
    • Rulings on the division of powers determine how far states can make their own rules within the federal system

20. Which combination best describes the function of the Supreme Court's landmark rulings?

    • They repeal existing federal statutes and replace them with new Acts of Congress
    • They set the annual budget of the federal government and the states
    • They establish new legal principles
    • They appoint the justices who will hear future cases in the same area of law

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