POS 486 EXAM PREPARATION TEST BANK
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
●● According to John Gibson and Thomas Jefferson, a judiciary that
decides whether laws are constitutional is the most powerful branch of
the government.
Answer: True
●● Marbury v. Madison arose out of a controversy between rival
branches of the Democratic-Republican Party.
Answer: False
●● Which of the following is not a question used by Marshall to analyze
whether Marbury will win his bid for a mandamus?
Answer: Whether the Court should regard an act by the First Congress
as expressing the intent of the Founding Fathers.
●● According to Gibson, what is "the very basis of the superstructure"
of American government?
Answer: that the people can make good decisions
●● When Secretary of State John Marshall affixed the Seal of the United
States to Marbury's commission, that signified that:
,Answer: Marbury's appointment had been made
●● According to John Gibson, what excuse should judges give for
handing down judgments under laws they think are unconstitutional?
Answer:
●● Marbury v. Madison was the only time in his career that Chief
Justice Marshall struck down a provision of federal law
Answer: True
●● Courts below the Supreme Court are established:
Answer: by Congress
●● If Marbury was entitled to his commission, why didn't he win his
case?
Answer: The writ of mandamus was ruled to be unconstitutional. The
Supreme Court's original jurisdiction could not be expanded to allow it
to hear Marbury's case, only an appeal thereof.
●● What is not a major aspect of justices' conferences?
Answer:
, ●● An opinion agreeing with the decision of the court, but having
separate or additional reasoning than the "opinion of the court" is called
a:
Answer: concurring opinion
●● A decision of a state supreme court (such as the Florida Supreme
Court) can be appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Answer: False
●● Who assigns the majority opinion in a Supreme Court case?
Answer: Sometimes the chief justice, sometimes another justice
●● Under the "rule of four," a circuit court ruling is reversed if four
Supreme Court justices agree that the circuit court's holding was
incorrect.
Answer: False
●● The "cert. pool" refers:
Answer: shared work by justices' clerks screening cases
●● Which of the following constitutional amendments overturned a
Supreme Court decision?
Answer:
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
●● According to John Gibson and Thomas Jefferson, a judiciary that
decides whether laws are constitutional is the most powerful branch of
the government.
Answer: True
●● Marbury v. Madison arose out of a controversy between rival
branches of the Democratic-Republican Party.
Answer: False
●● Which of the following is not a question used by Marshall to analyze
whether Marbury will win his bid for a mandamus?
Answer: Whether the Court should regard an act by the First Congress
as expressing the intent of the Founding Fathers.
●● According to Gibson, what is "the very basis of the superstructure"
of American government?
Answer: that the people can make good decisions
●● When Secretary of State John Marshall affixed the Seal of the United
States to Marbury's commission, that signified that:
,Answer: Marbury's appointment had been made
●● According to John Gibson, what excuse should judges give for
handing down judgments under laws they think are unconstitutional?
Answer:
●● Marbury v. Madison was the only time in his career that Chief
Justice Marshall struck down a provision of federal law
Answer: True
●● Courts below the Supreme Court are established:
Answer: by Congress
●● If Marbury was entitled to his commission, why didn't he win his
case?
Answer: The writ of mandamus was ruled to be unconstitutional. The
Supreme Court's original jurisdiction could not be expanded to allow it
to hear Marbury's case, only an appeal thereof.
●● What is not a major aspect of justices' conferences?
Answer:
, ●● An opinion agreeing with the decision of the court, but having
separate or additional reasoning than the "opinion of the court" is called
a:
Answer: concurring opinion
●● A decision of a state supreme court (such as the Florida Supreme
Court) can be appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Answer: False
●● Who assigns the majority opinion in a Supreme Court case?
Answer: Sometimes the chief justice, sometimes another justice
●● Under the "rule of four," a circuit court ruling is reversed if four
Supreme Court justices agree that the circuit court's holding was
incorrect.
Answer: False
●● The "cert. pool" refers:
Answer: shared work by justices' clerks screening cases
●● Which of the following constitutional amendments overturned a
Supreme Court decision?
Answer:
