INTRODUCTION TO LAW AND THE LEGAL
SYSTEM CERTIFICATION EVALUATION
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
GRADED APLUS
●● What are laws?
Answer: Rules that define correct procedure or behavior, encouraging
acceptable behavior and discouraging unacceptable behavior.
●● What is common law?
Answer: The natural development of society's rules from unwritten to
written laws, primarily based on English common law.
●● What document limited the power of the king in England?
Answer: The Magna Carta (1215).
●● What did the English Bill of Rights (1689) prevent?
Answer: The monarch from suspending laws or imposing taxes without
Parliament's consent.
●● What was finalized on July 4, 1776?
Answer: The Declaration of Independence.
,●● What is the U.S. Constitution?
Answer: The document that created the structure of the U.S. government
and established separation of powers.
●● What are the U.S. Bill of Rights?
Answer: The first ten amendments to the Constitution that protect
personal freedoms and limit government power.
●● What is the significance of the Articles of Confederation?
Answer: They governed the relationship between the colonies from 1781
to 1788 but created a weak national Congress.
●● What is the purpose of the separation of powers?
Answer: To prevent one branch of government from gaining too much
power.
●● What are checks and balances?
Answer: Mechanisms that prevent one branch from overwhelming the
others, such as presidential vetoes and congressional overrides.
●● What is constitutional law?
Answer: Law that identifies the powers and limits of each branch of
government and upholds the Constitution.
, ●● What does the Supremacy Clause state?
Answer: That federal law generally overrules state and local law when
conflicts arise.
●● What is statutory law?
Answer: Written law enacted by Congress, state legislatures, or local
governing authorities.
●● What is criminal law?
Answer: Law that identifies behaviors society considers unacceptable
and sets punishments for those behaviors.
●● What are ordinances?
Answer: Laws enacted by city or county governments that regulate local
matters.
●● What is civil law?
Answer: Legal action taken by a person to resolve a non-criminal private
dispute with another person.
●● What is the role of law enforcement in civil law situations?
Answer: To keep the peace and refer parties to the appropriate court
without enforcement action.
SYSTEM CERTIFICATION EVALUATION
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
GRADED APLUS
●● What are laws?
Answer: Rules that define correct procedure or behavior, encouraging
acceptable behavior and discouraging unacceptable behavior.
●● What is common law?
Answer: The natural development of society's rules from unwritten to
written laws, primarily based on English common law.
●● What document limited the power of the king in England?
Answer: The Magna Carta (1215).
●● What did the English Bill of Rights (1689) prevent?
Answer: The monarch from suspending laws or imposing taxes without
Parliament's consent.
●● What was finalized on July 4, 1776?
Answer: The Declaration of Independence.
,●● What is the U.S. Constitution?
Answer: The document that created the structure of the U.S. government
and established separation of powers.
●● What are the U.S. Bill of Rights?
Answer: The first ten amendments to the Constitution that protect
personal freedoms and limit government power.
●● What is the significance of the Articles of Confederation?
Answer: They governed the relationship between the colonies from 1781
to 1788 but created a weak national Congress.
●● What is the purpose of the separation of powers?
Answer: To prevent one branch of government from gaining too much
power.
●● What are checks and balances?
Answer: Mechanisms that prevent one branch from overwhelming the
others, such as presidential vetoes and congressional overrides.
●● What is constitutional law?
Answer: Law that identifies the powers and limits of each branch of
government and upholds the Constitution.
, ●● What does the Supremacy Clause state?
Answer: That federal law generally overrules state and local law when
conflicts arise.
●● What is statutory law?
Answer: Written law enacted by Congress, state legislatures, or local
governing authorities.
●● What is criminal law?
Answer: Law that identifies behaviors society considers unacceptable
and sets punishments for those behaviors.
●● What are ordinances?
Answer: Laws enacted by city or county governments that regulate local
matters.
●● What is civil law?
Answer: Legal action taken by a person to resolve a non-criminal private
dispute with another person.
●● What is the role of law enforcement in civil law situations?
Answer: To keep the peace and refer parties to the appropriate court
without enforcement action.
