Downloadable Test Bank – Constitutional Law for a Changing America: Rights, Liberties, and Justice, 12th Edition (Epstein)

Question 4

A court can resolve a dispute through a reasonable interpretation of a statute without deciding whether the statute is unconstitutional. Which approach is most consistent with judicial restraint?

1. AA. Deciding the constitutional question to establish a broader precedent
2. BB. Resolving the dispute on the narrower statutory ground
3. CC. Replacing the statute with a judicially developed policy
4. DD. Asking the legislature to determine the outcome of the pending case

Question 5

Which statement accurately describes the outcome and constitutional significance of Marbury v. Madison (1803)?

1. AA. The Court ordered delivery of Marbury’s commission and rejected judicial review.
2. BB. The Court upheld Congress’s authority to expand its original jurisdiction without constitutional limits.
3. CC. The Court denied the requested writ while affirming judicial authority to invalidate legislation that conflicts with the Constitution.
4. DD. The Court concluded that presidential appointees have no enforceable legal rights.

Question 6

Why did the Supreme Court conclude that it could not issue the writ Marbury requested?

1. AA. Congress could not enlarge the Court’s original jurisdiction beyond the categories established by the Constitution.
2. BB. The president had exclusive authority to interpret the Judiciary Act of 1789.
3. CC. Federal courts lacked authority to consider any claim involving a cabinet official.
4. DD. Marbury’s appointment required approval from the incoming president before it could become effective.

Question 7

What institutional risk would an order compelling delivery of Marbury’s commission have created for the Supreme Court?

1. AA. It would have allowed the president to appoint additional justices without Senate approval.
2. BB. It would have required the Court to surrender its appellate jurisdiction.
3. CC. It would have automatically terminated Marshall’s appointment as chief justice.
4. DD. The administration might have defied the order, exposing the Court’s limited ability to secure compliance.

Question 8

How did the disposition of Marbury v. Madison reduce the immediate risk of confrontation with the Jefferson administration?

1. AA. It recognized presidential authority to reverse Supreme Court decisions.
2. BB. It declined to issue an order requiring Madison to deliver the commission.
3. CC. It transferred responsibility for judicial appointments to Congress.
4. DD. It made the Court’s constitutional interpretation subject to executive approval.

Question 9

Which judicial remedy did William Marbury request when he filed his case directly in the Supreme Court?

1. AA. A writ of habeas corpus
2. BB. A writ of certiorari
3. CC. A writ of mandamus
4. DD. A writ of prohibition

Question 10

What was the intended function of the writ Marbury sought against Secretary of State James Madison?

1. AA. To compel performance of a legally required official duty
2. BB. To obtain judicial review of the legality of Marbury’s detention
3. CC. To prevent a lower court from exceeding its jurisdiction
4. DD. To transfer an appeal from a state court to the Supreme Court

Question 11

Which event directly prompted William Marbury to seek relief from the Supreme Court?

1. AA. The Senate rejected his nomination as a justice of the peace.
2. BB. Congress reduced the salary attached to his appointment.
3. CC. President Adams withdrew his nomination before leaving office.
4. DD. His signed and sealed commission was not delivered to him.

Question 12

How did the Court assess Marbury’s entitlement to his commission?

1. AA. His appointment remained incomplete until Jefferson approved it.
2. BB. His appointment was complete once the commission was signed and sealed, giving him a legal right to it.
3. CC. His entitlement depended on whether he had already performed judicial duties.
4. DD. His appointment expired automatically when Adams’s presidency ended.

Question 13

What political objective helps explain the Federalists’ expansion of the judiciary after their defeat in the election of 1800?

1. AA. Transferring responsibility for federal elections to the courts
2. BB. Replacing presidential appointments with popular judicial elections
3. CC. Preserving influence within the federal government through judicial appointments
4. DD. Placing the federal courts under the authority of state legislatures

Question 14

Why could appointments to Article III judgeships preserve a party’s influence after it lost control of the presidency and Congress?

1. AA. Judges hold office during good behavior, allowing their service to extend beyond electoral transitions.
2. BB. Federal judges must implement the platform of the party that appointed them.
3. CC. Judicial appointments give the outgoing president continuing authority over court decisions.
4. DD. Federal judges may suspend elections when control of government changes parties.

Question 15

Which concern most directly explains the democratic controversy surrounding judicial invalidation of legislation?

1. AA. Supreme Court justices must obtain congressional approval before issuing constitutional decisions.
2. BB. Judicial review allows legislators to determine the outcome of individual lawsuits.
3. CC. Constitutional decisions require agreement between the Court and the president.
4. DD. Unelected judges can set aside policies enacted by elected representatives.

Question 16

Congress enacts a law with broad electoral support, but the Supreme Court holds that it violates a constitutional right. Which argument most directly supports the legitimacy of the Court’s action?

1. AA. Judicial preferences should prevail whenever public opinion is divided.
2. BB. Constitutional limits bind elected officials even when their policies are popular.
3. CC. An electoral majority temporarily transfers legislative authority to the judiciary.
4. DD. Public support determines whether a constitutional restriction remains enforceable.

Question 17

Before Marbury v. Madison, which case involved the Supreme Court’s examination and approval of the constitutionality of a federal tax on carriages?

1. AA. Little v. Barreme
2. BB. Ex parte McCardle
3. CC. Hylton v. United States
4. DD. Dred Scott v. Sandford

Question 18

Which comparison correctly distinguishes Hylton v. United States (1796) from Marbury v. Madison (1803)?

1. AA. Hylton upheld the challenged federal tax, whereas Marbury held a statutory provision unconstitutional as interpreted to expand the Court’s original jurisdiction.
2. BB. Hylton invalidated a federal tax, whereas Marbury upheld Congress’s authority to enlarge the Court’s original jurisdiction.
3. CC. Hylton concerned a state statute, whereas Marbury concerned a constitutional amendment.
4. DD. Hylton rejected judicial consideration of constitutional questions, whereas Marbury required congressional consent for such review.

Question 19

Which judicial power enables federal courts to assess whether legislative or executive action complies with the Constitution?

1. AA. Executive privilege
2. BB. Legislative oversight
3. CC. Presidential veto
4. DD. Judicial review

Question 20

In a case properly before it, a federal court determines that a statute violates the Constitution and refuses to enforce the unconstitutional provision. Which constitutional function is the court performing?

1. AA. Exercising Congress’s authority to repeal legislation
2. BB. Applying judicial review as a check on legislative power
3. CC. Exercising the president’s authority to veto legislation
4. DD. Amending the Constitution through judicial appointment