CHAPTER 4: CIVIL LIBERTIES AND PUBLIC POLICY
READING COMPREHENSION QUIZ
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Civil liberties are legal and constitutional protections against
a. criminals.
b. government.
c. foreign invasions.
d. minority tyranny.
e. factions.
Answer: b
Learning Objective: Opening Vignette
Page Reference: 100
Skill: Knowledge
2. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the ______Amendment.
a. First
b. Second
c. Third
d. Fourth
e. Tenth
Answer: a
Learning Objective: 4.1
Page Reference: 101
Skill: Knowledge
3. The Supreme Court decision in Barron v. Baltimore (1833) maintained that the Bill of Rights intended to prevent
a. both the national and state governments from violating civil rights.
b. cities from taking private property without due process.
c. only the national government from abridging civil liberties.
d. the states from infringing on individual rights.
e. the United States government from granting titles of royalty.
Answer: c
Learning Objective: 4.1
Page Reference: 102
Skill: Comprehension
4. The legal concept through which the Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights is called the
a. implied powers doctrine.
b. enumerated powers doctrine.
c. incorporation doctrine.
d. disincorporation doctrine.
e. due process doctrine.
Answer: c
Learning Objective: 4.1
Page Reference: 103
Skill: Knowledge
5. The Supreme Court has ruled that government aid to church-related schools
a. is acceptable for things such as field trips and teacher salaries but not for textbooks or transportation to school.
b. is permitted when the aid is for a nonreligious purpose.
c. is acceptable if the school is affiliated with a major religion but not for small, fringe religious sects.
d. violates the establishment clause.
e. does not constitute an establishment of religion.
Answer: b
Learning Objective: 4.2
Page Reference: 104
Skill: Comprehension
6. In what case did the Supreme Court rule that a newspaper, no matter how outrageous its opinions, must be allowed to publish without prior restraint?
a. Wisconsin v. Yoder
b. Miranda v. Arizona
c. Near v. Minnesota
d. New York Times v. Sullivan
e. Mapp v. Ohio
Answer: c
Learning Objective: 4.3
Page Reference: 110
Skill: Knowledge
7. The principle that “obscenity is not within the area of constitutionally protected speech or press” was established in
a. Roth v. United States.
b. Osborne v. Ohio.
c. Miller v. California.
d. United States v. Snepp.
e. Ohio v. Pussycat Theater.
Answer: a
Learning Objective: 4.3
Page Reference: 112–113
Skill: Knowledge
8. The publication of statements known to be false that are malicious and tend to damage a person’s reputation is called
a. obscenity.
b. symbolic speech.
c. slander.
d. libel.
e. fraud.
Answer: d
Learning Objective: 4.3
Page Reference: 114
Skill: Knowledge
9. In NAACP v. Alabama (1958), the Supreme Court ruled that forcing the NAACP to turn over its membership list to the state of Alabama was an unconstitutional violation of the NAACP’s
a. freedom of association.
b. freedom of expression.
c. freedom of religion.
d. freedom of belief.
e. None of these are correct.
Answer: a
Learning Objective: 4.4
Page Reference: 120
Skill: Application
10. Which of the following is NOT a constitutionally permissible limitation on the Second Amendment right to bear arms?
a. Background checks for gun buyers
b. Mandatory trigger locks
c. Prohibitions on concealed weapons
d. Limits on the possession of firearms by the mentally ill and by felons
e. Restrictions on dangerous and unusual weapons not typically used for self-defense
Answer: b
Learning Objective: 4.5
Page Reference: 121–122
Skill: Application
11. Obtaining evidence in a haphazard or random manner, in violation of the Fourth Amendment, is known as
a. bounty hunting.
b. unreasonable search and seizure.
c. a violation of privacy.
d. cruel and unusual punishment.
e. an Ariel search.
Answer: b
Learning Objective: 4.6
Page Reference: 122–124
Skill: Knowledge
12. The ______Amendment forbids forced self-incrimination, stating that no person “shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.”
a. First
b. Twenty-sixth
c. Fifth
d. Fourth
e. Ninth
Answer: c
Learning Objective: 4.6
Page Reference: 126
Skill: Knowledge
13. In what case did the Supreme Court rule that suspects must be told of their constitutional rights to remain silent, that what they say can be used against them, and of their right to have an attorney present during any questioning?
a. Gideon v. Wainwright
b. Near v. Minnesota
c. Plucennik v. United States
d. Miranda v. Arizona
e. Mapp v. Ohio
Answer: d
Learning Objective: 4.6
Page Reference: 126–127
Skill: Knowledge
14. In 2008 in Boumediene v. Bush, the Supreme Court ruled that
a. foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay do not have any constitutional right to challenge their detention in U.S. courts.
b. foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have constitutional rights to challenge their detention in U.S. courts.
c. National Security Agency domestic spying and wiretapping of international telephone calls without court-approved warrants were unconstitutional.
d. National Security Agency domestic spying and wiretapping of international telephone calls without court-approved warrants were constitutional.
e. The USA PATRIOT Act was unconstitutional.
Answer: b
Learning Objective: 4.6
Page Reference: 131
Skill: Comprehension
15. In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the Supreme Court
a. ruled that various portions of the Bill of Rights cast “penumbras” protecting a right to privacy, including a right to family planning.
b. overturned a woman’s legal right to abortion.
c. ruled that the state of Connecticut could legally ban the sale of contraceptives under state police powers of the Tenth Amendment.
d. held that abortion was a woman’s legal right.
e. overturned a Connecticut state sodomy law.
Answer: a
Learning Objective: 4.7
Page Reference: 136
Skill: Comprehension
True/False Questions
1. Americans’ civil liberties are set down in the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Objective: Opening Vignette
Page Reference: 100
Skill: Knowledge
2. The First Amendment, as originally understood, applied only to the national government.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Objective: 4.1
Page Reference: 102–103
Skill: Comprehension
3. The First Amendment prohibits an established national religion.
4.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Objective: 4.2
Page Reference: 103
Skill: Knowledge
5. Prior restraint refers to government actions preventing material from being published.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Objective: 4.3
Page Reference: 110
Skill: Knowledge
6. The right to peaceably assemble is protected by the Second Amendment.
Answer: FALSE
Learning Objective: 4.4
Page Reference: 120
Skill: Knowledge
7. The Supreme Court recently ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Objective: 4.5
Page Reference: 121
Skill: Knowledge
8. A warrant is not a constitutional requirement for a reasonable police search.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Objective: 4.6
Page Reference: 123–124
Skill: Comprehension
9. The Supreme Court has ruled that it is cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a juvenile offender to life in prison without parole for a nonhomicide crime.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Objective: 4.6
Page Reference: 131–132
Skill: Knowledge
10. Lethal injection has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Answer: FALSE
Learning Objective: 4.6
Page Reference: 131–132
Skill: Knowledge
11. The numbers of death sentences grew dramatically between 1998 and 2009.
Answer: FALSE
Learning Objective: 4.6
Page Reference: 133–134
Skill: Analysis
12. The Bill of Rights does not explicitly grant a right to privacy.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Objective: 4.7
Page Reference: 135–136
Skill: Knowledge
13. The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act makes it a federal crime to intimidate abortion providers or women seeking abortions.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Objective: 4.7
Page Reference: 139
Skill: Knowledge
14. A clear majority of Americans support a legal right to abortion under some circumstances.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Objective: 4.7
Page Reference: 138–139
Skill: Analysis
15. Majority rule may at times conflict with individual rights.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Objective: 4.8
Page Reference: 140
Skill: Comprehension
16. Civil liberties are both the foundation for and a reflection of our emphasis on individualism.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Objective: 4.8
Page Reference: 139–140
Skill: Synthesis
CHAPTER EXAM
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The ______is the final interpreter of the content and scope of Americans’ civil liberties.
a. president
b. Congress
c. Supreme Court
d. American Civil Liberties Union
e. Constitution
Answer: c
Learning Objective: Opening Vignette
Page Reference: 100
Skill: Knowledge
2. The Bill of Rights was written and proposed by
a. the United States Supreme Court in 1796.
b. the First Congress of the United States in 1789.
c. the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
d. President George Washington in 1789.
e. President Thomas Jefferson in 1801.
Answer: b
Learning Objective: 4.1
Page Reference: 100–102
Skill: Knowledge
3. The Bill of Rights was adopted primarily in response to
a. the Spanish Inquisition.
b. British abuses of the colonists’ civil liberties.
c. the abuses committed by the United States Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
d. the horrors of the French Revolution.
e. Shays’ Rebellion.
Answer: b
Learning Objective: 4.1
Page Reference: 100–102
Skill: Comprehension
4. The great freedoms of speech, press, religion, and assembly are contained in the
a. First, Second, Third, and Fourth Amendments.
b. Fourth Amendment.
c. Second Amendment.
d. Third Amendment.
e. First Amendment.
Answer: e
Learning Objective: 4.1
Page Reference: 102
Skill: Knowledge
5. The language of the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law,” suggests that the Bill of Rights was written to
a. restrict the powers of the national government.
b. restrict the powers of the state governments.
c. restrict the powers of both the national and state governments.
d. enlarge the powers of the national government.
e. enlarge the powers of the state governments.
Answer: a
Learning Objective: 4.1
Page Reference: 102–103
Skill: Comprehension
6. In the case of ______, the Supreme Court ruled that the Bill of Rights restrained only the national government, not states and cities.
a. Miranda v. Arizona
b. Barron v. Baltimore
c. New York v. the United States
d. Engel v. Vitale
e. Gitlow v. New York
Answer: b
Learning Objective: 4.1
Page Reference: 102–103
Skill: Knowledge
7. Beginning with the case of ______in 1925, the Supreme Court began to rule that the Bill of Rights applied directly to the states, as well as to the national government.
a. United States v. Bill of Rights
b. Miranda v. Arizona
c. Engel v. Vitale
d. Barron v. Baltimore
e. Gitlow v. New York
Answer: e
Learning Objective: 4.1
Page Reference: 102–103
Skill: Comprehension
8. Incorporation is the legal concept under which the Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights by making most of its provisions applicable to the states through the due process clause of the ______Amendment.
a. First
b. Second
c. Tenth
d. Fourteenth
e. Fifteenth
Answer: d
Learning Objective: 4.1
Page Reference: 103
Skill: Comprehension
9. In Gitlow v New York (1925), the Court ruled that freedoms of speech and press were liberties protected by the ______clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
a. due process
b. necessary and proper
c. commerce
d. interstate commerce
e. free press
Answer: a
Learning Objective: 4.1
Page Reference: 102–103
Skill: Knowledge
10. The incorporation doctrine involves
a. application of the Bill of Rights to the states.
b. the government’s power to regulate corporations.
c. the procedures for creating a city government.
d. the interpretation of the commerce clause.
e. the extension of judicial review to state courts.
Answer: a
Learning Objective: 4.1
Page Reference: 103
Skill: Comprehension
11. The abridgment of citizens’ freedom to worship, or not to worship, as they please is prohibited by the
a. due process clause.
b. full faith and credit clause.
c. free exercise clause.
d. privileges and immunities clause.
e. establishment clause.
Answer: c
Learning Objective: 4.2
Page Reference: 103
Skill: Comprehension
12. The two clauses of the First Amendment regarding religion and government are commonly referred to as
a. the establishment clause and the free exercise clause.
b. the due process clause and the free exercise clause.
c. the due process clause and the establishment clause.
d. the free exercise clause and the necessary and proper clause.
e. the establishment clause and the necessary and proper clause.
Answer: a
Learning Objective: 4.2
Page Reference: 103
Skill: Knowledge
13. Government recognition of a national or official religion is prohibited by the
a. due process clause.
b. establishment clause.
c. free exercise clause.
d. freedom of religion.
e. Second Amendment.
Answer: b
Learning Objective: 4.2
Page Reference: 103
Skill: Comprehension
14. In Lemon v. Kurtzman, the Supreme Court established that aid to church-related schools must do all of the following EXCEPT
a. have a secular purpose.
b. inhibit religion.
c. not advance religion.
d. not create excessive government entanglement with religion.
e. treat all religions equally.
Answer: b
Learning Objective: 4.2
Page Reference: 104
Skilll: Comprehension
15. In the Lemon v. Kurtzman decision of 1971, the Supreme Court ruled that
a. any aid of any sort to church-related schools is not constitutional because it violates church-state separation.
b. aid to church-related schools is fully constitutional and can be used for any purposes needed by the schools.
c. spoken prayers in public schools were unconstitutional.
d. aid to church-related schools must be for secular purposes only and cannot be used to advance or inhibit religion.
e. devotional Bible reading in public schools was unconstitutional.
Answer: d
Learning Objective: 4.2
Page Reference: 104
Skill: Comprehension
16. The Supreme Court rulings in Agnostini v. Felton (1997) and Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002) together exemplify a(n)