Honors Civics Judicial Branch Review Questions
Answer questions on separate sheets of paper 50 Points (Quiz Grade)
Chapter 18: The Federal Court System
1. How are the federal courts structured?
2. What does Jurisdiction mean? How is applied in the courts?
3. What is a precedent?
4. How is judicial restraint different than judicial activism?
5. Explain how a case can reach the Supreme Court.
6. How does the Supreme Court operate? (What procedure do they follow?)
Chapter 19: Civil Liberties: 1st Amendment Rights
7. What is the Bill of Rights? Why is it important?
8. What are civil liberties?
9. What are civil rights?
10. Who is guaranteed rights in the United States?
11. What is the 14th Amendment and how is it applied?
12. What is the 9th Amendment and why is it important?
13. What are the two types of religious liberty guaranteed in the Constitution? Explain what each means.
14. How is religion handled in public schools?
15. What is the “Lemon Test?” When and why is it applied?
16. Explain two examples of Establishment cases.
17. Explain two examples of Free Exercise cases.
18. Provide 5 different examples of free speech being constitutionally restricted.
19. What is symbolic speech? Provide one example.
20. What guidelines has the government established regarding free assembly.
Chapter 20: Individual Rights
21. What does due process mean? Provide one example.
22. What is police power? How does it conflict with individual rights?
23. Why is the right to privacy controversial?
24. What is the 13th Amendment? When can it be legally denied to individuals?
25. What is 2nd Amendment? Why is its application controversial?
26. What is does “probable cause” mean? How is it applied with search and seizures?
27. How has the Patriot changed the way the 4th Amendment is applied?
28. What guarantee does the writ of habeas corpus give?
29. What rights does the 5th Amendment guarantee? How are these rights applied?
30. What rights does the 6th Amendment guarantee? How are these rights applied?
31. What is “cruel and unusual punishment?” Why do you think it is banned?
32. What is capital punishment? Why is its use controversial?
Chapter 21: Civil Rights
33. What does the phrase “heterogeneous society” mean?
How have the following groups been legally discriminated against in the United States over the years?
34. African Americans 35. Native Americans
36. Hispanic Americans 37. Asian Americans 38. Women
39. What does the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment mean? How does the Supreme Court determine if this has been violated?
40. What did Plessy v. Ferguson establish? How did it change after Brown v. Board of Education?
41. What did the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 do to end discrimination?
42. What did Title IX do?
43. What is Affirmative Action? Why is it controversial?
44. Describe the two ways in which someone can become a U.S. Citizen.
45. Can a citizen be stripped of his or her citizenship against his or her will?
46. How have the America’s immigration policies changed over the past 200 years?
47. Why are undocumented aliens such a problem in 2010?
48. What are some of the aspects of the current immigration policy? (1986-2010)
