legal issues Exam 1 quiz questions

what is not contained in the weekly modules? a) course syllabus b) lecture video c) quizzes on lecture material d) skeletal lecture slides - answer-a) course syllabus which of the following is not specific to engineering? a) public funded civil infrastructure b) publicly authorized expenditures c) civil law d) public works projects - answer-c) civil law which of the following does NOT involve a branch of STATE government? a) the State Supreme Court b) the Governor c) the General Assembly d) the Congress - answer-d) the Congress which of the following does NOT involve the trial level? a) examination of witnesses b) should the trial decision be overturned? c) jury decisions d) deciding on issues of fact - answer-b) should the trial decision be overturned which of the following involve a federal agency? a) SHPO determinations b) professional licensing of engineers c) licensing of business entities d) enforcing ADA standards - answer-d) enforcing ADA standards what is typically not required for federal agency rulemaking? a) congressional approval b) the inclusion of scientific evidence c) notice d) an opportunity for the public to be heard - answer-a) congressional approval which of the following is not a right typically associated with real property? a) to not be taken via eminent domain b) to dispose of the property c) to possess the property d) to destroy the property - answer-a) to not be taken via eminent domain which of the following cannot be controlled via typical zoning? a) how far buildings are from the road b) the use of the land c) restrict ownership due to income level d) how many people can reside in a house per 1000 square feet - answer-c) restrict ownership due to income level which issue is the least applicable to form-based zoning codes? a) emphasize public space sharing over private ownership b) encourage driving c) emphasize form over use d) encourage connections within a place - answer-b) encourage driving which of the following is untrue concerning the topic of urban sprawl? a) it is related to the planning of communities b) it is related to land-use and zoning restrictions c) it is related to residential and commercial site development d) it is a legal issue with no public policy implications - answer-d) it is a legal issue with no public policy implications which of the following is not a definition of urban sprawl? a) urban developments spread out on undeveloped land near a city b) the redevelopment of high-density downtown areas c) leap-frog growth of a city that is unplanned d) rate of land use exceed the rate of population growth - answer-b) the redevelopment of high-density downtown areas which of the following is not a sprawl tradeoff corresponding directly to cost? a) water becomes more expensive at the periphery because of longer pipe lengths b) commuting longer distance (i.e. remaining in cars) leads to worse public health c) more land typically results in higher property taxes d) infrastructure costs decrease when away from the city core - answer-b) commuting longer distance (i.e. remaining in cars) leads to worse public health which of the following is not true about Kelo v. New London? a) kelo was a homeowner who refused to sell to the city b) the area in question was an economically distressed area c) the land acquired via eminent domain was for public necessity d) the City of New London used the power of eminent domain - answer-c) the land acquired via eminent domain was for public necessity which of the following does not refer to the tragedy of the commons? a) too much private ownership leads to the underutilization of resources b) finite resources are allocated more to private owners than public ones c) limit the amount of public ownership d) people have less incentive to take care of public/common areas - answer-a) too much private ownership leads to the underutilization of resources which of the following is the typical order in which eminent domain occurs? a) planning, valuation, negotiation, eminent domain b) planning, negotiation, compensation, eminent domain c) valuation, negotiation, compensation, eminent domain d) planning, valuation, compensation, eminent domain - answer-a) planning, valuation, negotiation, eminent domain what is not required by the 5th Amendment for eminent domain? a) property has to be taken b) due process c) deprivation of liberty d) public use - answer-c) deprivation of liberty which of the following is the most controversial in terms of eminent domain use? a) to acquire the right of way for public utilities b) to build a private school c) to build public monuments d) to build roads - answer-b) to build a private school which of the following is incorrect concerning just compensation? a) use comparable sales figures to determine residential value b) use potential for income generation to determine commercial value c) uses the fair market value d) land owner always receives less value via eminent domain than a private sale - answer-d) land owner always receives less value via eminent domain than a private sale which of the following has the least effect on increasing tort risk? a) many civil engineers work for public agencies who are viewed as deep pockets b) we live in a litigious society c) public works projects are pervasive and are accessed by the public all the time d) tort reform requiring that a co defendant is jointly and severally liable only if > 51% at fault - answer-d) tort reform requiring that a co defendant is jointly and severally liable only if > 51% at fault which of the following is untrue about the Chambrot case? a) a vehicle driven by a private party, Pope, was the first vehicle to contact Chambrot b) city had jurisdiction over the intersection at which Chambrot was injured c) the plaintiff, Chambrot, was found to have the largest percentage of fault d) the traffic signal where the incident occurred was probably operating normally - answer-b) city had jurisdiction over the intersection at which Chambrot was injured which of the following is not an example of a negligence element? a) a construction manager not using reasonable care in providing for job site safety b) a person that was injured due to a slippery floor at the public library c) duty imposed by the Green Book for proper geometric design of roadways d) sovereign immunity of the state of Missouri - answer-d) sovereign immunity of the state of Missouri assume joint and several liability applies according to the 2005 tort reform in Missouri. Assume that the city of Columbia, a defendant, was found to be 10% at fault, all the defendants were 45% at fault, and the plaintiff was 55% at fault. What is the maximum that the plaintiff can recover from Columbia? a) 5% b) 45% c) 10% d) 55% - answer-c) 10% which of the following applies to judgment proof defendants? a) they are often targets of plaintiffs b) they have very few assets c) public agencies are common examples of such d) they are the richest party involved - answer-b) they have very few assets which of the following discourages settlements? a) litigation costs a lot of money and time b) settling might still be viewed negatively c) settlements amounts are usually kept confidential and not revealed d) the probability of successful litigation is low - answer-b) settling might still be viewed negatively which of the following is untrue about the statute of limitations? a) a statute of limitations allows companies to have the peace of mind that what occurred before the SOL will not come back and haunt them b) it's purpose is to reduce the amount of litigation since the courts are too clogged c) with the passage of time evidence is lost, witnesses' memories fade, etc. d) the clock for the statute of limitation starts when a plaintiff discovers or should have discovered the injury - answer-b) it's purpose is to reduce the amount of litigation since the courts are too clogged what could a clear paper trail from an engineer not do in the context of tort litigation? a) present the design guidelines that were followed thus establishing duty b) show that there is no cause of action according to the law c) demonstrate that sound engineering principles were applied so duty was not breached d) show evidence that an engineer had notice of a safety problem and yet chose to disregard it - answer-b) show that there is no cause of action according to the law which of the following issues about information would not be to a civil engineer's advantage? a) it is difficult to perform civil engineering with someone looking the shoulder all the time b) gather information to establish a waiver of sovereign immunity c) collect information as part of federal mandates d) gather information to improve the safety of civil infrastructure - answer-b) gather information to establish a waiver of sovereign immunity which of the following is untrue about sunshine laws in general? a) reasonable fees may be charged to fulfill sunshine law requests b) emails and other forms of electronic communications are part of the scope of sunshine laws c) it is intended to inform the public and to provide accountability on the part of the government d) it applies to private companies working on private projects - answer-d) it applies to private companies working on private projects which of the following is the most likely scenario under 23 U.S.C. 409? a) safety-related documents were kept private b) a list of high-crash locations in a city was re-classified as non-public c) information used for improving an at-grade railroad intersection was protected from use in civil litigation d) a newspaper reporter was prevented from seeing safety record - answer-c) information used for improving an at-grade railroad intersection was protected from use in civil litigation which of the following statements is untrue concerning NEPA? a) one of NEPA's main policy goals is to reduce harm to the environment b) NEPA's purpose is to promote harmony between human enjoyment of earth's resources and protecting the earth c) NEPA was enacted in 1970 d) NEPA is only significant at the federal level - answer-d) NEPA is only significant at the federal level what is not required of the NEPA process? a) consult with appropriate agencies with jurisdiction or expertise on environmental resources b) produce a record of the NEPA process and decision c) analyze the environmental impacts of proposed actions d) approval from the general public - answer-d) approval from the general public which of the following is not a NEPA pathway? a) Categorical Exclusion b) Environmental Analysis Study c) Environmental Impact Statement d) Environmental Assessment - answer-b) Environmental Analysis Study T/F Federalism refers to the relationship between the federal government and the states - answer-true Your firm, Mizzou Engineers, Architects, and Land Surveyors (MEAL, LLC) work the Crikey Development Group on a regular basis. Your current project involves a commercial development project of approximately 30 acres involving retail and office space. You are the project lead working with planners, designers, real estate experts, and other staff from MEAL. The project is in Claremont, California, just west of Los Angeles. You have identified several potential sites. One involves farm land where the area has seen significant recent commercial and residential development. Another involves redeveloping an existing mixed industrial and commercial area. Which of the following statements is inaccurate in terms of the site selection process? a) a justification for rezoning farm land to commercial is the changing nature of the area b) in order for MEAL to use eminent domain, you will have to provide parcel owners with prope - answer-b) in order for MEAL to use eminent domain, you will have to provide parcel owners with proper notice eminent domain is not private development Ideally, what is the order that Crikey would like to follow for developing the farm site? a) planning, negotiation, valuation b) negotiation, planning, valuation c) planning, valuation, negotiation d) negotiation, valuation, planning - answer-c) planning, valuation, negotiation civil - answer-of or relating to ordinary citizens and their concerns - civil infrastructure is publicly funded public works - answer-public buildings, roads, dams, public spaces, water, sewage, etc - highly regulated for public protection - private civil engineering firms are involved in public works projects - public MUST authorize to spend the people's money civil vs criminal law - answer-Civil Law - involves a dispute between 2 parties where there is a redress of wrongs via compensation Criminal Law - involves punishing the wrongdoer who wronged the state branches of government - answer-Executive - enforces the law regulations - code of federal regulations (CFR) Federal: President State: Governor Legislative - enacts statutory law regulations - united states code (USC) Federal: House and Senate State: General Assembly, House and Senate Judicial - case law interprets statutory law and created common law Federal: District courts (trial), Circuit Courts (intermediate appellate), Supreme Court (highest court) State: Circuit Court (trial), Courts of Appeal (intermediate appellate), and Supreme Court (highest) City: Municipal (traffic, local ordinances) Special Courts: Federal Claims, International Trade, Tax, Bankrupcy statutory law vs common law - answer-enacted law - constitutional provisions, statutes, local ordinances case law - decisions interpret enacted law, common law decisions laws vs regulations (rules) - answer-laws - legislative branch, provide overall structure, purpose, need, general rules - executive branch, provide details, execute intent of laws, details Federal Agencies - answer-- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): labor discrimination - Securities and Exchange Commission: financial disclosures - Department of Housing and Urban development: residential financing - Small Business Administration: disadvantaged subcontractor - Department of Agriculture: farmland acquisition -Department of Justice: American Disabilities Act (ADA) enforcement - Department of Interior: tribal lands - Department of Transportation: roads and bridges - Army Corps of Engineers: waters of the US State and Local Regulatory Agencies - answer-- Department of Natural Resources: State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) making Section 106 determination - Department of Conservation: identifying endangered species and working with federal agencies - Department of Transportation: providing federal and state grant oversight - Division of Professional Registration: PE licensing - Secretary of State: business licensing - Metropolitan Planning Organizations: Mid-America Regional Council helping to administer project funding Agency Rule-making process for developing and implementing new rules (regulations) - answer-1) authority for rule-making 2) notice of proposed rule-making 3) public and other stakeholders comments 4) final decision based on comments, scientific data, and expert opinions Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) - answer-most cases fall on the consensual side NEPA - answer-purpose: to declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to environment goals: 1) protection 2) maintenance 3) enhancement - umbrella law for the environmental laws - projects still need to meet individual laws that are independent of NEPA - must consider the environmental impact of a proposed federal action scope: - there are close connections between federal and state agencies - public works financing involves the federal government - if you take federal $, you have to meet federal requirements process: 1) consider the potential environment consequences of proposals - potential environmental effects - public needs (roads, energy, water) Consider: - cost - long term consequences IS THERE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT?? then choose one of the 3 pathways 2) consult with interested agencies Stakeholders: - project developers (local municipalities, state agencies) - relevant agencies - private parties - the public 3) document the analysis 4) public analysis for public comment categorical exclusion (CE) - answer-NEPA pathway - MOST DESIRABLE no specific e