Which rationale did the Supreme Court use to explain
their decision in Brown v. BOE in 1954?
 A. The equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment
makes the Constitution “color-blind.”
 B. The authors of the 14th Amendment meant to ban
segregated schools.
 C. Separate schools are constitutional if equal resources are
spent on all schools.
 D. Segregated education has a detrimental effect upon
black children by generating in them a feeling of
inferiority.
Answer - D
The courts have ruled all of the following to be
invasions of the right to privacy EXCEPT
 A. laws which prohibit a woman’s right to an abortion
 B. police search of a person’s home without a warrant
 C. laws forbidding dissemination of birth control
information to clinic patients
 D. a public school administrator searching a student’s
locker based on a reasonable suspicion of possession
of an illegal substance.
Answer - D
Which of the following reflects a movement to
incorporate the Bill of Rights to apply to the states?
 A. Barron v. Baltimore
 C. Gitlow v. NY
 Answer C
B. the 14th Amendment
D. Marbury v. Madison
What important precedent for civil rights cases
was set by Bakke v. California?
 A. the declaration of “separate but equal” as
unconstitutional.
 B. the ruling that “reverse discrimination” violates
individual rights.
 C. the banning of de jure segregation.
 D. the establishment of the principle of “equality of
outcome.”
 Answer - B
Which clause in the Constitution was interpreted by the
activist court of the 1960s to allow Congress the power to pass
laws combating discrimination?
 A. the Necessary and Proper Clause
 B. the Full Faith and Credit Clause
 C. the Establishment Clause
 D. the Commerce Clause
Answer - D
During the second half of the twentieth century, the
Supreme Court’s position on free speech has been that
 A. the government may never limit speech because
free speech is protected by the 1st Amendment.
 B. free speech is essential to liberty and therefore may
be abridged only under extreme circumstances.
 C. state governments may place limits on free speech,
but the national government may not because of the
First Amendment.
 D. the government may limit speech that the majority
of Americans finds offensive.
 Answer - B
The Court precedent of “clear and present danger” was set by which
famous case?
 A. Schenck v. U.S.
 C. Mapp v. Ohio
 Answer - A
B. Gitlow v. New York
D. Griswold v. Connecticut
Which of the following are correctly matched with the
underlying issue?
I. Mapp v. Ohio – the defendant has the right to a lawyer
II. New York Times Co. v. U.S. – prior restraint
III. Miranda v. Arizona – rights of the accused
IV. NAACP v. Alabama – freedom of speech
V. Everson v. BOE – freedom of religion
A. I and III only
C. II, III, and V only
Answer - C
B. II, III, and IV only
D. III, IV, and V only
Which of the following describe limitations that may
constitutionally be placed on freedom of speech and
freedom of the press?
I. Under no circumstances may the government limit
speech or censor the press
II. The government may censor the press in the
interest of national and military security.
III. Local governments may outlaw the sale of obscene
publications in their jurisdictions.
IV. the government may prevent individuals from
engaging in “offensive” speech
A. I only B. II only
Answer C
C. II and III only
D. III and IV only
Which of the following was NOT a provision of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964?
 A. Discrimination in the sale and rental of housing was
prohibited.
 B. Gender discrimination in employment was banned.
 C. Discrimination in public accommodations was
prohibited.
 D. Federal funds will be cut off for programs that
discriminate.
 Answer - A
Until the 1970s, claims of gender discrimination were
routinely rejected by the Supreme Court because
 A. the Court had no female members.
 B. the women’s movement was not well organized.
 C. limitations on women’s rights were usually
considered “reasonable”
 D. the justices did not believe that the Fourteenth
Amendment applied to women.
 Answer C
Which of the following statements best describes the
central constitutional issue concerning the death
penalty?
 A. The death penalty violates the prohibition of double
jeopardy.
 B. Different states use different means of executing
convicts in capital cases.
 C. The death penalty may constitute cruel and unusual
punishment.
 D. Federal law and state law differ in their definitions
of what constitutes a capital crime.
 Answer - C
The Supreme Court’s decision in Miranda v. Arizona
was based mainly on the
 A. Constitutional prohibition of ex post facto laws
 B. Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment
 C. Eighth Amendment restrictions against cruel and
unusual punishment
 D. First Amendment Free Exercise clause
 Answer B
The Supreme Court has used the practice of
selective incorporation to
 A. limit the number of appeals filed by defendants in
state courts
 B. extend voting rights to racial minorities and women.
 C. apply most Bill of Rights protections to state law.
 D. hasten the integration of public schools
 Answer - C
Which of the following most accurately describes the right of
American citizens to privacy?
 A. the right to privacy is determined entirely by the
states on a case-by-case basis.
 B. the right to privacy is explicitly granted in the
Preamble to the Constitution.
 C. The Supreme Court has ruled that the right to
privacy is implied by the Bill of Rights.
 D. Common law requires the government to respect
citizens’ right to privacy
 Answer - C
The exclusionary rule was established to
 A. create “separate but equal facilities to facilitate
racial segregation.
 B. allow private organizations to restrict their
memberships.
 C. limit the government’s ability to use illegally
obtained evidence.
 D. prevent the government from violating citizens’
rights to privacy.
 Answer - C
Preferential hiring practices, intended to give opportunities to
minorities who have suffered previous job discriminations, are
known collectively as
 A. reverse discrimination
 C. strict scrutiny
 Answer - B
B. affirmative action
D. comparable worth
The concept of strict scrutiny is applied by
 A. the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when




looking into disability based discrimination
B. the federal courts in cases where evidence was obtained
without respect for a suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights
C. the federal courts in cases in which a confession was
obtained from a suspect without his having an attorney
present.
D. the federal courts in discrimination cases where race is
used as a classification
Answer - D
All of the following rights are specifically protected in
the main body of the Constitution EXCEPT
 A. no religious tests for public office
 B. limits on suspension of the writ of habeas corpus
 C. no ex post facto laws
 D. free exercise of religion
Answer - D
A state cannot apply a license fee on Jehovah’s
Witnesses who solicit door to door. This in keeping
with the
 A. Free-Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
 B. wall of separation called for by Thomas Jefferson
 C. Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
 D. three-part test for constitutional aid to religions.
 Answer - A
In response to the feminist movement, Congress passed laws
that
 A. gave women equal access to enter all private clubs.
 B. outlawed all-male schools.
 C. required equal pay for equal work.
 D. women soldiers in the army could fight in combat roles
 Answer - C
Why is the all-male draft constitutional even though it
is gender discrimination? Because...
 A. it meets the standard of strict scrutiny – men are much
more effective in combat than women.
 B. there is a rational basis for the law – the nation has never
needed so many troops that it required women in combat.
 C. it meets intermediate scrutiny – on average, women have
less upper body strength than men.
 D. discrimination against men is legal – they are not in a
protected class.
 Answer C
The landmark case on illegally obtained
evidence was
 A. Mapp
 C. Gideon
 Answer - A
B. Miranda
D. Gitlow
Which of the following statements best describes the
Supreme Court’s position on affirmative action?
 A. Quotas can be used in college admissions to achieve
a racially balanced student body.
 B. Laws should be color-blind and race neutral.
 C. Affirmative action programs are not legal, because
they are reverse discrimination.
D. Quotas are viewed with strict scrutiny, but
preferences are acceptable for the purpose of achieving
diversity
 Answer - D
The Fourteenth Amendment effectively overturned which 19th
century Supreme Court decision?




A. Civil Rights Cases
B. Plessy v. Ferguson
C. Barron v. Baltimore
D. Dred Scott v. Sanford
 Answer - D
The right of free expression, although not absolute, enjoys a
higher status than the other rights granted by the U.S.
Constitution. This is known as the doctrine of
 A. prior restraint
 C. reasonableness
 Answer - B
B. preferred freedoms
D. strict scrutiny
Which of the following minority groups over the course of
American history has been most subject to the
“reasonableness standard?”
 A. blacks
 B. Hispanics
 C. Native Americans
 D. women
 Answer D
Which of the following civil liberties has not been applied to
state governments through the Supreme Court’s selective
incorporation of the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause?
 A. the right to a jury in a civil trial
 B. the right to bear arms
 C. the right to privacy
 D. the right to counsel when accused of a crime
 Answer - A
The Supreme Court’s Webster abortion ruling in 1989 had the
effect of
 A. placing further restrictions on application of the
Hyde Amendment.
 B. giving additional support to Roe v. Wade.
 C. removing abortion from the political agenda.
 D. giving impetus to the pro-life movement.
Answer - D
Courts sometimes apply the “Lemon Test” to determine
violations of
 A. freedom of speech
 B. freedom of the press
 C. the Free Exercise Clause
 D. the Establishment Clause
 Answer - D
The Supreme Court has used the Fourteenth Amendment to
apply portions of the Bill of Rights to state law by citing the
amendment’s
 A. prohibition on unreasonable search and seizures.
 B. Due Process Clause
 C. guarantee of privacy rights.
 D. Equal Protection Clause
Answer - B
All of the following are examples of Jim Crow laws that existed in
the early 1950s EXCEPT
 A. mandating separate areas on public
transportation for the races
 B. literacy tests
 C. laws that limited when a couple could get
divorced
 D. ordinances that segregated public restrooms
 Answer - C
A constitutional amendment would be required to ban flag
burning because that activity is currently protected by the
right to
 A. due process
 C. free exercise of religion
 Answer - D
B. assembly
D. free speech
Title IX is associated with
 A. affirmative action programs in school admissions.
 B. gender discrimination in collegiate athletic
programs.
 C. busing to achieve public school integration.
 D. equal rights for the disabled.
 Answer - B
Gideon v. Wainwright guaranteed the right of
individuals to
 A. defense counsel in a criminal case
 B. a trial by jury
 C. counsel in both civil and criminal cases
 D. plea bargain
 Answer - A
In evaluating laws that treat men and women differently, the
Supreme Court has generally ruled against the view that
 A. such laws must be reasonable.
 B. persons in similar circumstances must be treated
alike.
 C. gender-based classifications are inherently suspect.
 D. the classification must be related to the object of
legislation.
 Answer - C
Which of the following represents the attitudes of citizens
with respect to the issue of separation of church and state?
 A. A majority of the population is against a




constitutional amendment authorizing silent prayer in
the schools.
B. Liberals tend to oppose Supreme Court decisions
concerning school prayer such as Engel v. Vitale
C. A majority of the population feels students should
be able to pray in school.
D. Citizens in a pluralist society reject the need to
recognize the rights of minority religious groups.
Answer - C
Liberal activists would probably support which of the
following rulings made by the Supreme Court?
 A. an abortion case that ruled there should be a 24-hour




waiting period before a woman could get an abortion.
B. a search and seizure case limiting the Miranda
restrictions placed on the police.
C. a free speech case where a provision of a congressional
act restricting access to obscene sites on the Internet was
declared unconstitutional.
D. a free press case giving school officials greater latitude in
censoring school newspapers.
Answer C