POLS 2302 TEST PAPER UPDATED QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔Line-item veto - ✔✔Presidential power to strike, or remove, specific items from a
spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court.
✔✔Executive privilege - ✔✔The right to keep executive communications confidential,
especially if they relate to National Security. Does not apply when interferes with a
criminal investigation.
✔✔US v. Nixon (1974) - ✔✔Allowed for executive privilege, but not in criminal cases;
"Even the President is not above the law;" Watergate.
✔✔Executive Order - ✔✔A rule issued by the president that has the force of law
✔✔Pendleton Act of 1883 - ✔✔Created the *Civil Service Commission* to ensure that
hiring of federal employees was based on examinations and merit rather than political
patronage.
*Historical Significance:*
Significantly reduced federal patronage from powerful office-seekers thus forcing
politicians to look increasingly to corporations for campaign funds.
✔✔Civil vs Criminal - ✔✔Criminal laws regulate crimes, or wrongs committed against
the government. Civil laws regulate disputes between private parties.
✔✔Stare Decisis - ✔✔Let the decision stand; decisions are based on precedents from
previous cases
✔✔Amicus Brief - ✔✔A submission to the court from an amicus curiae, or "friend of the
court," an interested individual or organization who is not party in the case.
✔✔Creation of federal courts - ✔✔is done by Congress. They can also specify how
many judges will serve on them. This was left up to Congress so the Constitution didn't
always have to be amended.
✔✔Marbury v. Maddison (1803) - ✔✔This case establishes the Supreme Court's power
of Judicial Review
✔✔Judicial Review - ✔✔Allows the court to determine the constitutionality of laws
✔✔Appointment of Federal Judges - ✔✔president appoints, senate approves
, ✔✔Establishment Clause - ✔✔Clause in the First Amendment that says the government
may not establish an official religion.
✔✔Free exercise clause - ✔✔A First Amendment provision that prohibits government
from interfering with the practice of religion.
✔✔Barron v Baltimore (1833) - ✔✔The Supreme Court ruled that the due process
clause of the Fifth Amendment did not apply to the actions of states. This decision
limited the Bill of Rights to the actions of Congress alone.
✔✔Selective Incorporation - ✔✔The process by which provisions of the Bill of Rights
are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and
local governments.
✔✔Due Process - ✔✔14th amendment clause stating that no state may deprive a
person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law
✔✔Mapp v. Ohio (1961) - ✔✔Established exclusionary rule; illegally obtained evidence
cannot be used in court
✔✔Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) - ✔✔Ordered states to provide lawyers for those
unable to afford them in criminal proceedings.
✔✔Obscenity (Miller v. California) - ✔✔defined in Miller v. California as
arousing/unwholesome in nature with no artistic, scientific, literary or political value
✔✔4th Amendment - ✔✔Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures
✔✔Texas v. Johnson - ✔✔Flag-burning is symbolic speech with a political purpose and
is protected by 1st Amendment.
✔✔Griswold v. Connecticut - ✔✔Established right of privacy through 4th and 9th
Amendments. Set a precedent for Roe v. Wade.
✔✔Lawrence v. Texas (2003) - ✔✔Using right of privacy, struck down Texas law
banning sodomy.
✔✔Standard of Review - ✔✔The amount of deference an appellate court gives to the
determinations made by a lower court.
✔✔Seneca Falls - ✔✔(1848) the first national women's rights convention at which the
Declaration of Sentiments was written
✔✔13th Amendment - ✔✔Abolition of slavery w/o compensation for slave-owners
ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔Line-item veto - ✔✔Presidential power to strike, or remove, specific items from a
spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court.
✔✔Executive privilege - ✔✔The right to keep executive communications confidential,
especially if they relate to National Security. Does not apply when interferes with a
criminal investigation.
✔✔US v. Nixon (1974) - ✔✔Allowed for executive privilege, but not in criminal cases;
"Even the President is not above the law;" Watergate.
✔✔Executive Order - ✔✔A rule issued by the president that has the force of law
✔✔Pendleton Act of 1883 - ✔✔Created the *Civil Service Commission* to ensure that
hiring of federal employees was based on examinations and merit rather than political
patronage.
*Historical Significance:*
Significantly reduced federal patronage from powerful office-seekers thus forcing
politicians to look increasingly to corporations for campaign funds.
✔✔Civil vs Criminal - ✔✔Criminal laws regulate crimes, or wrongs committed against
the government. Civil laws regulate disputes between private parties.
✔✔Stare Decisis - ✔✔Let the decision stand; decisions are based on precedents from
previous cases
✔✔Amicus Brief - ✔✔A submission to the court from an amicus curiae, or "friend of the
court," an interested individual or organization who is not party in the case.
✔✔Creation of federal courts - ✔✔is done by Congress. They can also specify how
many judges will serve on them. This was left up to Congress so the Constitution didn't
always have to be amended.
✔✔Marbury v. Maddison (1803) - ✔✔This case establishes the Supreme Court's power
of Judicial Review
✔✔Judicial Review - ✔✔Allows the court to determine the constitutionality of laws
✔✔Appointment of Federal Judges - ✔✔president appoints, senate approves
, ✔✔Establishment Clause - ✔✔Clause in the First Amendment that says the government
may not establish an official religion.
✔✔Free exercise clause - ✔✔A First Amendment provision that prohibits government
from interfering with the practice of religion.
✔✔Barron v Baltimore (1833) - ✔✔The Supreme Court ruled that the due process
clause of the Fifth Amendment did not apply to the actions of states. This decision
limited the Bill of Rights to the actions of Congress alone.
✔✔Selective Incorporation - ✔✔The process by which provisions of the Bill of Rights
are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and
local governments.
✔✔Due Process - ✔✔14th amendment clause stating that no state may deprive a
person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law
✔✔Mapp v. Ohio (1961) - ✔✔Established exclusionary rule; illegally obtained evidence
cannot be used in court
✔✔Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) - ✔✔Ordered states to provide lawyers for those
unable to afford them in criminal proceedings.
✔✔Obscenity (Miller v. California) - ✔✔defined in Miller v. California as
arousing/unwholesome in nature with no artistic, scientific, literary or political value
✔✔4th Amendment - ✔✔Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures
✔✔Texas v. Johnson - ✔✔Flag-burning is symbolic speech with a political purpose and
is protected by 1st Amendment.
✔✔Griswold v. Connecticut - ✔✔Established right of privacy through 4th and 9th
Amendments. Set a precedent for Roe v. Wade.
✔✔Lawrence v. Texas (2003) - ✔✔Using right of privacy, struck down Texas law
banning sodomy.
✔✔Standard of Review - ✔✔The amount of deference an appellate court gives to the
determinations made by a lower court.
✔✔Seneca Falls - ✔✔(1848) the first national women's rights convention at which the
Declaration of Sentiments was written
✔✔13th Amendment - ✔✔Abolition of slavery w/o compensation for slave-owners
