UNIT VI STUDY GUIDE: Chapters: 16, 4, 5
M
T
W
TH
F
S
S
4/5
4/6
4/7
4/8
4/9
4/10
4/11
NO
SCHOOLEaster Break
See Unit V
Calendar
See Unit V
Calendar
Begin Unit
VI: CH. 16
SG- Civil
Rights and
Liberties SC
CasesFlashcards
CH. 16 Civil
Rights and
Liberties SC
CasesFlashcards
Civil Rights and
Liberties SC CasesFlashcards
Civil Rights
and Liberties
SC CasesFlashcards
4/17
4/18
Study
Study
4/25
4/12
No Class
Civil Rights
and Liberties
SC CasesFlashcards
4/19
No Class
7 am
flashcard
review
4/15
4/13
4/14
Unit V
Exam
In class
M/C
FRQ Due
SG DUE
FOR UNIT
V
4/20
CH. 16 SG
4/21
4/22
4/23
4/24
CH 4 SG
Check and
Quiz
CH 5 SG
SC Cases
Quiz #2
CH 5 SG
SC Cases
Quiz #3
MANDATORY Study
7 am
flashcard
review
4/29
UNIT VI
EXAM- SG
DUE
In Class
M/C
4/30
5/1
5/2
Review All
Tentative and
Optional Study
Session at my
house
STUDYstop early,
eat well, get
good sleep
and good
luck!!!
CH. 16 SG
Check and
Quiz
4/16
CH. 4
SC Cases
Quiz #1
7 am
flashcard
review
4/26
4/27
4/28
No Class
ReviewUnits I, II,
III
ReviewUnits III,
IV, V
ReviewUnits IV, V,
VI
7 am
flashcard
review
Practice Exam at
MCAMeet for lunch at
Chili’s (optional)
5/3
AP
EXAM
DAY
Go to- http://www.twyman-whitney.com/apgovpol/landmarkcases2006.htm for the Supreme
Court Cases and association categories you need to know for the exam. Highly suggest
flashcards that are made early and studied often in these few short weeks before the exam.
Example:
Front of card- name and date of case: Marbury V Madison 1803
Back of card- summary and significance tied to a category: Marbury sued for his job in
the federal court system. In a decision that helped to define federalism, the Courts ruled that the
federal courts may be used to determine if acts by Congress are unconstitutional or not- thereby
establishing the principle of judicial review.
Chapter 16 “The Federal Courts” Study Guide
Objective #1: Understand the nature of the judicial system.
1.) Explain the difference between criminal and civil law.
Criminal Law:
Civil Law:
2.) What is meant by “justiciable disputes”? Give a hypothetical example of one.
Objective #2: Explain how courts in the United States are organized and the nature of
their jurisdiction.
1.) What are the differences between constitutional courts and legislative courts?
Constitutional Courts:
Legislative Courts:
2.) Complete the following table on the structure of the federal judicial system.
Court
Number of
Courts
Number of
Judges
Jurisdiction
Policy
Implications
District
Court
Court of
Appeals
Supreme
Court
3.) What is the role of the U.S. attorney?
Objective #3: Describe the role of judges in the judicial process, including their
backgrounds and how they were selected.
1.) Explain the practice of “senatorial courtesy.” Give a hypothetical example of the
practice in action.
2.) Which branch of government nominates judges to the Supreme Court? How is
that power checked by the Senate? Name three conditions in which nominations
to the Supreme Court are more likely to run into trouble.
3.) Present a demographic profile of the “typical” federal judge.
4.) List the main criteria that have been important in choosing Supreme Court
justices over the years. How do the recent nominations of Roberts and Sotomayor
Objective #4: Discuss Supreme Court policymaking and judicial implementation.
1.) What are the four key functions of the solicitor general?
2.) What are the functions of amicus curiae briefs?
3.) What is the difference between a majority opinion, a dissenting opinion, and a
concurring opinion?
4.) What is the difference between stare decisis and precedent?
5.) List and explain the three elements of judicial implementation according to
Charles Johnson and Bradley Canon.
Objective #5: Explain the role of the courts in shaping the policy agenda in America.
1.) Explain the principle of judicial review.
2.) Complete the following table on public policy and the Supreme Court.
Judicial Restraint
Court
Basic Ideology
or Judicial
Key Cases
Activism?
Warren Court
Burger Court
Rehnquist Court
Objective #6: Evaluate how the courts operate in a democratic system and how their
activities affect the scope of government.
1.) In what ways might it be said that courts are not a very democratic institution?
2.) Explain the difference between judicial activism and judicial restraint.
BASICS:
How long do judges serve?
Constitutional qualifications?
How many sit on the Supreme Court traditionally?
Which branch can increase the number of Supreme Court seats?
Chapter 4
"Civil Liberties and Public Policy"


Define "civil liberties."
Who is the final interpreter of content and scope of civil liberties?
The Bill of Rights--Then and Now





Where are they delineated? (I know, its crazy, but if you don’t know the meaning of that
word, you might have to look it up)
Against whom or what was the Bill of Rights intended to protect citizens?
Identify Barron v. Baltimore and its resulting principle. [Place this one in your
case file]
Identify Gitlow v. New York and its resulting principle. [Place this one in your
case file]
Carefully note how the court's interpretation of the 14thAmendment began the
development of the incorporation doctrine.
Freedom of Religion







List the two clauses contained in the First Amendment dealing with religion.
What did the establishment clause seek to prevent?
How does the court determine whether the establishment clause is violated in
cases of aid to church-related schools?
What are the three questions known as the Lemon test?
Trace the incorporation of the Bill of Rights using Table 4.2.
What did the free exercise clause seek to prevent?
In defending the rights contained in the free exercise clause, what distinction has
the court made?
Freedom of Expression



Is the right to speech unlimited?
What kinds of activities do and do not constitute "speech?"
What is it that all freedom of expression cases have in common?
Prior Restraint



Define prior restraint.
Add Near v. Minnesota & New York Times v. United States to your case file.
What conclusion would you draw about the court's attitude toward prior restraint?
Free Speech and Public Order





Add Schenck v. US to your case file.
Where lies the biggest conflict between a free press and the need for public order?
What is the clear and present danger doctrine?
How is the court's interpretation of free speech rights tied to the political climate?
Back your conclusion with a specific example.
Has the court become supportive of the right to protest, leaflet, or gather
signatures? Explain
Free Press and Fair Trials





What two amendments come into conflict in a trial?
Must courtroom proceedings be open to the press? All of them?
Must reporters disclose their sources to a judge?
What are shield laws?
Have the courts ever restricted the press in the interest of a fair trial?
Obscenity


Is obscene speech protected?
Explain the test in Miller v California that the Court devised to determine if
materials are obscene?
Libel and Slander



Differentiate between libel and slander.
Why are public figures not as protected from libel and slander as you are?
What must a public figure prove to win a libel or slander case?
Symbolic Speech



What is symbolic speech?
Add Tinker v Des Moines and Texas v Johnson to your case file.
Is symbolic speech protected? Provide an example to back your conclusion.
Commercial Speech

Does commercial speech receive the full protection of the First Amendment?
Regulation of the Public Airwaves- FCC (Remember our video)

Why can the government regulate the airwaves in ways that it is not permitted to
do with the print media?
Freedom of Assembly


What are the two rights associated with freedom of assembly?
How can the right to assemble be constitutionally restricted?
Defendants' Rights


What are the protections contained in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eight
Amendments?
What happens is any of the rights are abridged in pursuing a conviction?
Search and Seizure





What is probable cause?
Does a police officer have to have a warrant to conduct a search?
What is the exclusionary rule and how does it function?
Add Mapp v. Ohio to your case file.
What are the arguments of critics and defenders of the exclusionary rule?
Self-Incrimination



What is self-incrimination and what amendment deals with that topic?
What is the most significant case delineating rules for police questioning of
suspects?
Add Miranda v. Arizona in your case file.
Right to Counsel


Trace how the right to counsel has grown in the 20th Century.
Add Gideon v. Wainwright to your case file.
Trial by Jury

What is plea-bargaining, how does it work, why is it used?
Cruel and Unusual Punishment


Concerning which form of punishment has debate over cruel and unusual
punishment occurred?
Has the Supreme Court decided if the death penalty violates this constitutional
protection?
The Right to Privacy




Is there a right to privacy? If so where is it to be found in the Constitution?
How was the right to abortion connected to the right to privacy?
Add Roe v Wade to your case file.
Read carefully the different kinds of issues the court is called upon to decide
because of modern medicine.
Understanding Civil Liberties


What is the relationship between protecting civil liberties and democracy?
How has the existence of civil liberties affected the scope of government?
Chapter Five
"Civil Rights and Public Policy"
 Note the book’s definition of civil rights. Compare it to that of civil
liberties
 Describe the three main equality debates today
Two Centuries of Struggle
 Describe the difference between equality of opportunity and equality of
results
 What were the early American views of quality.
 When did the Constitution first address the idea of equality.
 When was the “full force” of the Fourteenth Amendment felt?
 What does the equal protection of law mean?
 Carefully study and note the standards of review and tests that the court
applies to laws using racial, gender, and other classifications.
Race, the Constitution, and Public Policy
 Trace the various eras that delineate the African-American struggle for
equality (you did this in history, it should only be a review at this point.)
 Outline the main aspects of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
 Compare and contrast it with Brown v. Board decision a decade earlier.
 List barriers to de facto implementation of the de jure right to vote
granted to African Americans in 1870.
 Trace how the civil rights movement brought those barriers down.
 Outline the main aspects of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
 Note the effects of the Civil Rights movement on other minority
groups.
 Read carefully “The Changing Face of Voting Rights”
Women, the Constitution, and Public Policy
 Trace the various eras that delineate the women’s struggle for equality
(again, you did this in history)
 What is the concept of comparable worth and how does it work?
 What is the role of women in the military, and may they serve in
combat? Be drafted?
 Define sexual harassment and its remedy.
Review: the Equal Rights Amendment- what is it and why did it not
pass
Newly Active Groups under the Civil Rights Umbrella
 Outline the goals of the grays, gays, youth, and people with disabilities.
 List the various group’s accomplishments.
Affirmative Action
 Define affirmative action.
 Carefully note the result of the Bakke case.
 Note the results of the Adarand Constructors case.
 Evaluate how the court has changed its opinion on remedies for racial
discrimination.
Understanding Civil Rights and Public Policy
 What are the connections between civil rights and democracy?
 What are the connections between the scope of government and civil
rights?
UNIT VI Free Response ESSAY TEST
Fully answer the following questions. Remember this is not an essay- do not have an
introduction or conclusion, simply begin with a thesis and jump into answering the
question- number your paragraphs the way the question is numbered. Provide specific
examples to exemplify mastery and application of the material
On the day of the UNT VI Exam (4/23), you will turn this in
1. The Supreme Court is commonly thought to be “above politics.” However, one can
argue that the appointment of Supreme Court justices is political.
(a)
Identify three characteristics of Supreme Court nominees and
discuss how each characteristic has been politically relevant during
the appointment process.
(b)
Identify two methods that have been used by interest groups to
influence the appointment process. Explain how each of these
methods has been used to influence that process.
2. Depending on the philosophy of Supreme Court justices, historically the Court has
pursued a policy of judicial activism or judicial restraint.
(a) Define the terms judicial activism and judicial restraint.
(b) Choose two of the following areas of public policy and describe one case
that can be classified as resulting from judicial activism and one as judicial
restraint.
i.
Rights of the accused
ii.
Affirmative action
iii. School policy
iv.
Civil rights
Make sure that you refer to specific cases and identify the chief justice presiding over the
Court making the decision. Briefly explain the key points of the majority argument.