Solu琀椀ons
Table of Contents
Multiple Choice Questions..........................................................................................................................1
Case Questions............................................................................................................................................2
Discussion Questions...................................................................................................................................4
Mul琀椀ple Choice Ques琀椀ons
1. The United States Cons琀椀tu琀椀on is among the 昀椀nest legal accomplishments in the history of the
world. Which of the following in昀氀uenced Franklin, Je昀昀erson, and the rest of the Founding
Fathers?
A. English common-law principles
B. The Iroquois’ system of federalism
C. Both A and B
D. None of the above
Answer: C. Both English common-law principles and the Iroquois’ system of federalism
shaped the Cons琀椀tu琀椀onal framers’ ideas.
2. Which of the following parts of the modern legal system are “borrowed” from medieval
England?
A. Jury trials
B. Special rules for selling land
C. Following precedent
D. All of the above
Answer: D. Countless parts of our modern system originated in Merry Olde England.
3. Union organizers at a hospital wanted to distribute lea昀氀ets to poten琀椀al union members, but
hospital rules prohibited lea昀氀e琀椀ng in areas of pa琀椀ent care, hallways, cafeterias, and any areas
open to the public. The Na琀椀onal Labor Rela琀椀ons Board (NLRB), a government agency, ruled that
these restric琀椀ons violated the law and ordered the hospital to permit the ac琀椀vi琀椀es in the
cafeteria and co昀昀ee shop. What kind of law was it crea琀椀ng?
A. A statute
B. Common law
C. A cons琀椀tu琀椀onal amendment
D. Administra琀椀ve regula琀椀on
Answer: D. The NLRB, as an agency, creates regula琀椀ons. Congress creates statutes, and
judges shape the common law.
4. If the Congress creates a new statute with the president’s support, it must pass the idea by a
____________ majority vote in the House and the Senate. If the president vetoes a proposed
, statute and the Congress wishes to pass it without their support, the idea must pass by a
____________ majority vote in the House and the Senate.
A. simple; simple
B. simple; two-thirds
C. simple; three-fourths
D. two-thirds; three-fourths
Answer: B. More than 50 percent to pass ini琀椀ally (a simple majority), two-thirds if an
override is necessary.
5. Dr. Mar琀椀n Luther King, Jr., wrote “An unjust law is no law at all.” As such, “One has … a moral
responsibility to obey unjust laws.” Dr. King’s view is an example of:
A. legal realism.
B. jurisprudence.
C. legal posi琀椀vism.
D. natural law.
Answer: D. It is an example of the natural law theory of jurisprudence.
Case Ques琀椀ons
1. Lance, an Internet hacker, stole 15,000 credit card numbers and sold them on the black market,
making millions. Police caught Lance, and two legal ac琀椀ons followed, one civil and one criminal. Who
will be responsible for bringing the civil case? What will be the outcome if the jury believes that
Lance was responsible for iden琀椀ty the昀琀s? Who will be responsible for bringing the criminal case?
What will be the outcome if the jury believes that Lance stole the numbers?
Answer: The civil cases will be brought by the vic琀椀ms of iden琀椀ty the昀琀, and the outcome of a
successful case against Lance would be some type of monetary award for damages su昀昀ered. The
criminal case will be brought by state prosecutors and the outcome would be imprisonment
for Lance.
2. As The Oculist’s Case indicates, the medical profession has faced large number of lawsuits for
centuries. In Texas, a law provides that, so long as a doctor was not reckless and did not
inten琀椀onally harm a pa琀椀ent, recovery for “pain and su昀昀ering” is limited to no more than $750,000.
In many other states, no such limit exists. If a pa琀椀ent will su昀昀er a life琀椀me of pain a昀琀er a botched
opera琀椀on, for example, they might recover millions in compensa琀椀on.
Which rule seems more sensible to you—the “Texas” rule, or the alterna琀椀ve?
Answer: Answers will vary.
3. You Be the Judge: WRITING PROBLEM Should trials be televised? Here are a few arguments to add to
those in the chapter. You be the judge.
Arguments against Live Television Coverage: We have tried this experiment and it has failed. Trials fall
into two categories: Those that create great public interest and those that do not. No one watches
dull trials, so we do not need to broadcast them. The few that are interes琀椀ng have all become
, circuses. Judges and lawyers have shown that they cannot resist the tempta琀椀on to play to the
camera. Trials are supposed to be about jus琀椀ce, not entertainment. If a ci琀椀zen seriously wants to
follow a case, they can do it by reading online news reports or the daily newspaper.
Arguments for Live Television Coverage: It is true that some televised trials have been unseemly a昀昀airs,
but that is the fault of the presiding judges, not the media. Indeed, one of the virtues of television
coverage is that millions of people now understand that we have a lot of incompetent people
running our courtrooms. The proper response is to train judges to run a 琀椀ght trial by prohibi琀椀ng
grandstanding by lawyers. Access to accurate informa琀椀on is the founda琀椀on on which a democracy is
built, and we must not eliminate a source of valuable data just because some judges are ill-trained.
Answer: For most of the “You Be the Judge” wri琀椀ng problems we provide the case cita琀椀on and
holding. For this ques琀椀on, of course, there is no de昀椀ni琀椀ve answer.
4. Leslie Bergh and his two brothers, Milton and Raymond, formed a partnership to help build a fancy
saloon and dance hall in Evanston, Wyoming. Later, Leslie met with his friend and drinking buddy,
John Mills, and tricked Mills into inves琀椀ng in the saloon. Leslie did not tell Mills that no one else was
inves琀椀ng cash or that the en琀椀re enterprise was already bankrupt. Mills mortgaged his home,
invested $150,000 in the saloon—and lost every penny of it. Mills sued all three partners for fraud.
Milton and Raymond defended on the ground that they did not commit the fraud, only Leslie did.
The defendants lost. Was that fair? By holding them liable, what general idea did the court rely on?
What Anglo-Saxon legal custom did the ruling resemble?
Answer: The partners are indeed liable. Bergh v. Mills, 763 P.2d 214 (Wyo. 1988). That is the
essence of a partnership: All partners are liable for the acts of any partner commi琀琀ed in the
partnership’s normal business. This is the general idea of collec琀椀ve responsibility. It relates to
the “琀椀thing” of English legal history, in which all 琀椀thing members were legally responsible for the
conduct of the others.
5. The father of an American woman killed in the Paris terrorist a琀琀acks sued Twi琀琀er, Facebook, and
YouTube, alleging the sites knowingly allow ISIS terrorists to recruit members, raise money, and
spread extremist propaganda. The sites defended themselves by saying that their policies prohibit
terrorist recruitment and that, when alerted to it, they quickly remove o昀昀ending videos. What type
of lawsuit is this—criminal or civil? What responsibili琀椀es, if any, should social media sites have for
the spread of terrorism?
Answer: The case is a civil case, but answers will vary as to the scope of the responsibili琀椀es social
media sites should have for the spread of terrorism.
Discussion Ques琀椀ons
1. In the 1980s, the Supreme Court ruled that it is legal for protesters to burn the American 昀氀ag. This
ac琀椀vity counts as free speech under the Cons琀椀tu琀椀on. If the Court hears a new 昀氀ag burning case in
this decade, should it consider changing its ruling, or should it follow precedent? Is following past
precedent something that seems sensible to you: always, usually, some琀椀mes, rarely, or never?
, Answer: Answers will vary.
2. When should a business be held legally responsible for customer safety? Consider the following
statements, and consider the degree to which you agree or disagree:
a. A business should keep customers safe from its own employees.
b. A business should keep customers safe from other customers.
c. A business should keep customers safe from themselves. (Example: an intoxicated customer who
can no longer walk straight.)
d. A business should keep people outside its own establishment safe if it is reasonable to do so.
Answer: Answers will vary.
3. In his most famous novel, The Red and the Black, the French author Stendhal (1783–1842)
wrote: “There is no such thing as ‘natural law’: this expression is nothing but old nonsense. Prior to
laws, what is natural is only the strength of the lion, or the need of the creature su昀昀ering from
hunger or cold, in short, need.” What do you think? Does legal posi琀椀vism or legal realism seem more
sensible to you?
Answer: Natural law should be a ques琀椀on in the back of our minds throughout the course, because
it is a reminder of morality, and law without morality is despo琀椀sm. Nonetheless, Stendhal is
obviously correct that both strength and need help to create law. The important thing for this
course is con琀椀nually to apply moral principles to the rules you study, and make your own
determina琀椀ons about whether natural law really plays a role.
4. Before becoming a Supreme Court jus琀椀ce, Sonia Sotomayor stated in a speech to students: “I would
hope that a wise La琀椀na woman with the richness of her experiences would more o昀琀en than not
reach a be琀琀er conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” During her Senate
con昀椀rma琀椀on proceedings, this statement was heavily probed and cri琀椀cized. One senator said that
the focus of the hearings was to determine whether Judge Sotomayor would “decide cases based
only on the law as made by the people and their elected representa琀椀ves, not on personal feelings or
poli琀椀cs.” (Sotomayor convinced many of her cri琀椀cs, because the Senate con昀椀rmed her by a vote of
68–31.) Should judges ignore their life experiences and feelings when making judicial decisions?
Answer: Answers will vary.
5. The late Supreme Court Jus琀椀ce Antonin Scalia argued that because courts are not elected
representa琀椀ve bodies, they have no business determining certain cri琀椀cal social issues. He
wrote: “Judges are selected precisely for their skill as lawyers; whether they re昀氀ect the policy views
of a par琀椀cular cons琀椀tuency is not (or should not be) relevant. Not surprisingly then, the Federal
Judiciary is hardly a cross sec琀椀on of America. Take, for example, this Court, which consists of only
nine men and women, all of them successful lawyers who studied at Harvard or Yale Law School.
Four of the nine are na琀椀ves of New York City. Eight of them grew up in east- and west-coast
States. Only one hails from the vast expanse in-between. Not a single Southwesterner or even, to
tell the truth, a genuine Westerner (California does not count). Not a single evangelical Chris琀椀an (a
group that comprises about one quarter of Americans), or even a Protestant of any denomina琀椀on.
To allow [an important social issue] to be considered and resolved by a select, patrician, highly
unrepresenta琀椀ve panel of nine is to violate a principle even more fundamental than no taxa琀椀on
without representa琀椀on: no social transforma琀椀on without representa琀椀on.”
Do you agree?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Table of Contents
Multiple Choice Questions..........................................................................................................................1
Case Questions............................................................................................................................................2
Discussion Questions...................................................................................................................................4
Mul琀椀ple Choice Ques琀椀ons
1. The United States Cons琀椀tu琀椀on is among the 昀椀nest legal accomplishments in the history of the
world. Which of the following in昀氀uenced Franklin, Je昀昀erson, and the rest of the Founding
Fathers?
A. English common-law principles
B. The Iroquois’ system of federalism
C. Both A and B
D. None of the above
Answer: C. Both English common-law principles and the Iroquois’ system of federalism
shaped the Cons琀椀tu琀椀onal framers’ ideas.
2. Which of the following parts of the modern legal system are “borrowed” from medieval
England?
A. Jury trials
B. Special rules for selling land
C. Following precedent
D. All of the above
Answer: D. Countless parts of our modern system originated in Merry Olde England.
3. Union organizers at a hospital wanted to distribute lea昀氀ets to poten琀椀al union members, but
hospital rules prohibited lea昀氀e琀椀ng in areas of pa琀椀ent care, hallways, cafeterias, and any areas
open to the public. The Na琀椀onal Labor Rela琀椀ons Board (NLRB), a government agency, ruled that
these restric琀椀ons violated the law and ordered the hospital to permit the ac琀椀vi琀椀es in the
cafeteria and co昀昀ee shop. What kind of law was it crea琀椀ng?
A. A statute
B. Common law
C. A cons琀椀tu琀椀onal amendment
D. Administra琀椀ve regula琀椀on
Answer: D. The NLRB, as an agency, creates regula琀椀ons. Congress creates statutes, and
judges shape the common law.
4. If the Congress creates a new statute with the president’s support, it must pass the idea by a
____________ majority vote in the House and the Senate. If the president vetoes a proposed
, statute and the Congress wishes to pass it without their support, the idea must pass by a
____________ majority vote in the House and the Senate.
A. simple; simple
B. simple; two-thirds
C. simple; three-fourths
D. two-thirds; three-fourths
Answer: B. More than 50 percent to pass ini琀椀ally (a simple majority), two-thirds if an
override is necessary.
5. Dr. Mar琀椀n Luther King, Jr., wrote “An unjust law is no law at all.” As such, “One has … a moral
responsibility to obey unjust laws.” Dr. King’s view is an example of:
A. legal realism.
B. jurisprudence.
C. legal posi琀椀vism.
D. natural law.
Answer: D. It is an example of the natural law theory of jurisprudence.
Case Ques琀椀ons
1. Lance, an Internet hacker, stole 15,000 credit card numbers and sold them on the black market,
making millions. Police caught Lance, and two legal ac琀椀ons followed, one civil and one criminal. Who
will be responsible for bringing the civil case? What will be the outcome if the jury believes that
Lance was responsible for iden琀椀ty the昀琀s? Who will be responsible for bringing the criminal case?
What will be the outcome if the jury believes that Lance stole the numbers?
Answer: The civil cases will be brought by the vic琀椀ms of iden琀椀ty the昀琀, and the outcome of a
successful case against Lance would be some type of monetary award for damages su昀昀ered. The
criminal case will be brought by state prosecutors and the outcome would be imprisonment
for Lance.
2. As The Oculist’s Case indicates, the medical profession has faced large number of lawsuits for
centuries. In Texas, a law provides that, so long as a doctor was not reckless and did not
inten琀椀onally harm a pa琀椀ent, recovery for “pain and su昀昀ering” is limited to no more than $750,000.
In many other states, no such limit exists. If a pa琀椀ent will su昀昀er a life琀椀me of pain a昀琀er a botched
opera琀椀on, for example, they might recover millions in compensa琀椀on.
Which rule seems more sensible to you—the “Texas” rule, or the alterna琀椀ve?
Answer: Answers will vary.
3. You Be the Judge: WRITING PROBLEM Should trials be televised? Here are a few arguments to add to
those in the chapter. You be the judge.
Arguments against Live Television Coverage: We have tried this experiment and it has failed. Trials fall
into two categories: Those that create great public interest and those that do not. No one watches
dull trials, so we do not need to broadcast them. The few that are interes琀椀ng have all become
, circuses. Judges and lawyers have shown that they cannot resist the tempta琀椀on to play to the
camera. Trials are supposed to be about jus琀椀ce, not entertainment. If a ci琀椀zen seriously wants to
follow a case, they can do it by reading online news reports or the daily newspaper.
Arguments for Live Television Coverage: It is true that some televised trials have been unseemly a昀昀airs,
but that is the fault of the presiding judges, not the media. Indeed, one of the virtues of television
coverage is that millions of people now understand that we have a lot of incompetent people
running our courtrooms. The proper response is to train judges to run a 琀椀ght trial by prohibi琀椀ng
grandstanding by lawyers. Access to accurate informa琀椀on is the founda琀椀on on which a democracy is
built, and we must not eliminate a source of valuable data just because some judges are ill-trained.
Answer: For most of the “You Be the Judge” wri琀椀ng problems we provide the case cita琀椀on and
holding. For this ques琀椀on, of course, there is no de昀椀ni琀椀ve answer.
4. Leslie Bergh and his two brothers, Milton and Raymond, formed a partnership to help build a fancy
saloon and dance hall in Evanston, Wyoming. Later, Leslie met with his friend and drinking buddy,
John Mills, and tricked Mills into inves琀椀ng in the saloon. Leslie did not tell Mills that no one else was
inves琀椀ng cash or that the en琀椀re enterprise was already bankrupt. Mills mortgaged his home,
invested $150,000 in the saloon—and lost every penny of it. Mills sued all three partners for fraud.
Milton and Raymond defended on the ground that they did not commit the fraud, only Leslie did.
The defendants lost. Was that fair? By holding them liable, what general idea did the court rely on?
What Anglo-Saxon legal custom did the ruling resemble?
Answer: The partners are indeed liable. Bergh v. Mills, 763 P.2d 214 (Wyo. 1988). That is the
essence of a partnership: All partners are liable for the acts of any partner commi琀琀ed in the
partnership’s normal business. This is the general idea of collec琀椀ve responsibility. It relates to
the “琀椀thing” of English legal history, in which all 琀椀thing members were legally responsible for the
conduct of the others.
5. The father of an American woman killed in the Paris terrorist a琀琀acks sued Twi琀琀er, Facebook, and
YouTube, alleging the sites knowingly allow ISIS terrorists to recruit members, raise money, and
spread extremist propaganda. The sites defended themselves by saying that their policies prohibit
terrorist recruitment and that, when alerted to it, they quickly remove o昀昀ending videos. What type
of lawsuit is this—criminal or civil? What responsibili琀椀es, if any, should social media sites have for
the spread of terrorism?
Answer: The case is a civil case, but answers will vary as to the scope of the responsibili琀椀es social
media sites should have for the spread of terrorism.
Discussion Ques琀椀ons
1. In the 1980s, the Supreme Court ruled that it is legal for protesters to burn the American 昀氀ag. This
ac琀椀vity counts as free speech under the Cons琀椀tu琀椀on. If the Court hears a new 昀氀ag burning case in
this decade, should it consider changing its ruling, or should it follow precedent? Is following past
precedent something that seems sensible to you: always, usually, some琀椀mes, rarely, or never?
, Answer: Answers will vary.
2. When should a business be held legally responsible for customer safety? Consider the following
statements, and consider the degree to which you agree or disagree:
a. A business should keep customers safe from its own employees.
b. A business should keep customers safe from other customers.
c. A business should keep customers safe from themselves. (Example: an intoxicated customer who
can no longer walk straight.)
d. A business should keep people outside its own establishment safe if it is reasonable to do so.
Answer: Answers will vary.
3. In his most famous novel, The Red and the Black, the French author Stendhal (1783–1842)
wrote: “There is no such thing as ‘natural law’: this expression is nothing but old nonsense. Prior to
laws, what is natural is only the strength of the lion, or the need of the creature su昀昀ering from
hunger or cold, in short, need.” What do you think? Does legal posi琀椀vism or legal realism seem more
sensible to you?
Answer: Natural law should be a ques琀椀on in the back of our minds throughout the course, because
it is a reminder of morality, and law without morality is despo琀椀sm. Nonetheless, Stendhal is
obviously correct that both strength and need help to create law. The important thing for this
course is con琀椀nually to apply moral principles to the rules you study, and make your own
determina琀椀ons about whether natural law really plays a role.
4. Before becoming a Supreme Court jus琀椀ce, Sonia Sotomayor stated in a speech to students: “I would
hope that a wise La琀椀na woman with the richness of her experiences would more o昀琀en than not
reach a be琀琀er conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” During her Senate
con昀椀rma琀椀on proceedings, this statement was heavily probed and cri琀椀cized. One senator said that
the focus of the hearings was to determine whether Judge Sotomayor would “decide cases based
only on the law as made by the people and their elected representa琀椀ves, not on personal feelings or
poli琀椀cs.” (Sotomayor convinced many of her cri琀椀cs, because the Senate con昀椀rmed her by a vote of
68–31.) Should judges ignore their life experiences and feelings when making judicial decisions?
Answer: Answers will vary.
5. The late Supreme Court Jus琀椀ce Antonin Scalia argued that because courts are not elected
representa琀椀ve bodies, they have no business determining certain cri琀椀cal social issues. He
wrote: “Judges are selected precisely for their skill as lawyers; whether they re昀氀ect the policy views
of a par琀椀cular cons琀椀tuency is not (or should not be) relevant. Not surprisingly then, the Federal
Judiciary is hardly a cross sec琀椀on of America. Take, for example, this Court, which consists of only
nine men and women, all of them successful lawyers who studied at Harvard or Yale Law School.
Four of the nine are na琀椀ves of New York City. Eight of them grew up in east- and west-coast
States. Only one hails from the vast expanse in-between. Not a single Southwesterner or even, to
tell the truth, a genuine Westerner (California does not count). Not a single evangelical Chris琀椀an (a
group that comprises about one quarter of Americans), or even a Protestant of any denomina琀椀on.
To allow [an important social issue] to be considered and resolved by a select, patrician, highly
unrepresenta琀椀ve panel of nine is to violate a principle even more fundamental than no taxa琀椀on
without representa琀椀on: no social transforma琀椀on without representa琀椀on.”
Do you agree?
Answer: Answers will vary.
