Reference no: EM132302465
1. Under the First Amendment, governments can restrict the content of political speech, as long as they have a compelling interest in doing so.
True
False
2. Stare decisis is the doctrine of separation of powers, so that decisions are not made by a single branch of government.
True
False
3. The US legal system assumes that the best way to find out the truth in a legal claim is for two contesting sides to present their strongest case to a neutral finder of fact. This philosophy means that the legal system in the US is based on the adversary model.
True
False
4. A plaintiff is a person against whom a lawsuit is filed.
True
False
5. Discovery is a process for gathering evidence and information in a lawsuit.
A. True
B. False
6. Law and equity were ancient concepts in the legal system we inherited from England; in the US, all forms of equitable relief have been abolished.
True
False
7. Common law is law enacted by legislatures and organized by topic into code books.
A. True
B. False
8. Common law, unlike statutory law, does not change over time.
True
False
9. Jennifer, a resident of Nebraska, slips and falls on the deck of a cruise ship while it is docked in Alaska. The cruise ship is owned and operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, a company based in Florida. Jennifer wants to recover the $12,000 cost of her medical bills incurred at a local Alaska hospital, but Carnival Cruise Lines refuses to pay. Assume there is no federal question raised by this case, and also assume that Jennifer hasn’t signed any “choice of forum” agreements limiting where she could sue – which of the courts below would have jurisdiction to hear Randi’s case?
Federal court in Alaska.
State court in Alaska.
State court in Nebraska.
A & B, but not C.
10 .Which of the following statements is true regarding “obscenity”?
It cannot be prohibited, but it can be subject to time, manner and place restrictions.
Because the definition of obscenity is so subjective, courts cannot rule that something is “obscene” without violating the First Amendment.
Obscene speech is anything that is patently offensive, and it is not protected by the First Amendment.
Even though the definition of obscenity is subjective, speech determined to be obscene under the Miller test loses all Constitutional protection.
11. Xeno, Inc., is considering moving its manufacturing facility from southern Illinois to Mexico. The stakeholders in this corporate decision would include:
Xeno’s shareholders.
Xeno’s customers.
The Illinois community in which Xeno currently operates.
All of the above.
12. The case of Smith v. Jones is being heard in a Missouri circuit court. In Missouri, circuit courts are the state’s trial courts, which means:
They are limited to hearing only certain kinds of cases.
They hear cases being brought for the first time.
They hear cases in which the court can exercise in personam jurisdiction, and appellate courts exercise in rem jurisdiction.
They hear arguments about whether the judge or the jury made a mistake during trial.
13. What authority do federal courts have in reviewing federal agency actions?
Courts cannot overturn rulings of administrative law judges, which are more powerful than federal court judges.
Courts can review the legal findings of an agency but must give due deference to factual findings.
Courts hear the case from the beginning and pay no attention to findings of the agency.
None – federal agency actions usually are not reviewable by courts.
14. What do we mean by the term “concurrent” jurisdiction?
Some kinds of cases must be heard by a state court first and then must go to federal court.
Some kinds of cases can be heard in either the state court or the federal court.
Criminal cases which involve both state and federal crimes must be heard in state and federal courts concurrently, i.e. at the same time.
Federal courts must hear all cases where parties live in two separate states concurrently.
15. The feature that distinguishes a common-law legal system from a civil law system is:
Requiring guilt to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt
Using lay juries to decide cases
Having an appeal process
Stare decisis, or following precedent in reaching decisions
16. Alexander is a trial court judge in St. Louis County. He sees a case on his docket in which the defendant is listed as Talleyrand, Inc. Alexander’s wife is an executive at Talleyrand, Inc. In this situation, Alexander should:
Ask his wife for any inside details of the case so that he can better determine which party is telling the truth at the trial.
Recuse (remove) himself as the judge in the case, because he has connections with a party that might compromise his neutral role as the judge.
Assure both parties at the beginning of the trial that he will be impartial and unbiased despite his wife’s connection with Talleyrand, Inc.
Say nothing and hope no one discovers his connection to one of the parties.
17. Laura has just been notified that Sam is suing her. The document that informs Laura of the allegations against her is called a(n):
Answer.
Summons.
Complaint.
Service of process.
18. When an administrative rule has been properly promulgated under the Administrative Procedures Act, what effect does it have?
It has the same force and effect as a statute passed by the legislature.
It has an effect only on the particular parties involved but not on the public at large.
It takes effect within the agency but not outside of the agency.
It has no effect, since administrative agencies usually are not given rule-making authority.