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American Federal Government Chapter 15
General Test Questions & Answers
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According to the compromise reached by the framers of the Constitution, what branch of government was empowered to establish
federal district courts?
Congress
 
The Supreme court predominately acts as a court of
Appellate Jurisdiction ("last resort")
 
Initially, the federal judiciary was
quite weak, with little effect on society
 
What court system and type of court system was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789
Three tier, 13 district courts and 3 circuit courts
 
Which early landmark case granted the Supreme court its most significant power?
Mayberry vs. Madison
 
The authority of the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of government action is known as
Judicial Review
 
Today, there are _________ courts of appeals with appellate jursidiction over designated geographical regions
12
 
What is the common law based upon?
Judge made law grounded in tradition and previous judicial decisions instead of legislation
 
The principle "stare decisis", a latin phrase that means "let the decision stand" , is the basis of the modern legal concept of
precedent cases
 
The landmark case Cruzan V. Missouri Department of Health established what individual right?
Determine if competant individuals have a right to discontinue food and Hydration without government interference
 
All laws in the United States must comply with the
US Constitution
 
What type of law has the most legal authority
constitutional law
 
Statutes are created by
Congress and other legislatures
 
What is the hallmark of any conde-law system?
Statutes
 
The compilation of all the laws passed by the U.S. Congress is known as
Statutory law making
 
What is a crucial tool in the president's lawmaking toolbox
Executive orders
 
What group uses their discretion to establish rules and regulations to implement policy
bureaucrats in the executive branch
 
Who files suit in cases dealing with a violation of criminal law?
National or state gov who's law was violated acting as prosecutor of plantif
 
What are the most common civil lawsuits?
Traffic Accidents
 
In a civil lawsuit negligence that causes harm to another person's body or property is known as
Tort
 
What type of court system exists in the United States?
Dual court system, State and Federal Courts
 
How many Federal district courts are there in the U.S. court system?
3-tier
 
The U.S. circuit courts appeals review?
legal procedures of a preceding case and decide whether the law was applied appropriately given fact already admitted into evidence.
 
What courts have come under increased media scrutiny due to its use since the 9/11 attacks?
FISA courts
 
The leading justice on the Supreme Court, who provides both organizational and intellectual leadership, is known as the
chief justice
 
What supreme Court appointees were nominated by President Obama?
Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan
 
To date, how many women have served on the bench of the Supreme Court
four
 
What does the term symbolic representation refer to
for and by the people, equal oppertunity
 
The attempt to ensure that governing bodies are representative of manor demographic groups in proportions
similar to their representation in the population at large in known as
Descriptive Representation
 
What protions of the federal government share power in the selection of federal court judges?
President, Senate
 
Senatorial courtesy gives senators of the same political party as the president the right to veto judicial appointments to what court(s)
Federal District Courts
 
Who or what is directly involved in the selection process of circuit courts of appeals justices?
Senate Judiciary Committee
 
What factors influence senators as they appoint federal judges?
Political Considerations
 
What term is used to describe a court made up of a group of judges who must evaluate a case together and decide on an outcome
Collegial Court
 
A request to the Supreme Court that they review a case that was already decided is done via a(n)
Certiorari Petitions
 
Who is chaired with drafting pool memos, which summarize the facts, describe the legal arguments, and make the
recommendation as to whether the court should take a case?
supreme court clerks
 
For the Supreme Court to hear a case, how many of the 9 justices must want to hear it?
Four or more "Rule of Four"
 
Once a case is placed on the Supreme Court docket, petitioners have ______days to file a written brief with the court
45
 
Which phases of the Supreme Court's hearing and deliberations process offer the most oppertunities for civic engagement
amicus curiae, Friend of the court brief
 
The view that judicial decision making is guided by the ideology of individual judges is known as the
attitudinal model
 
What best describes the ideological distribution of the Supreme Court today?
slight tilt to the conservative side
 
Which chief justice led a particularly activist Supreme Court?
Earl Warren
 
Who is given power under the Constitution to grant individual pardons?
Chief executive AKA president
 
Article I of the Constitution grants _________ the right to control the Supreme courts appellate docket
Congress
 
Who or what group issues articles of impeachment for federal judges
House of Representatives
 
Who or what group conducts impeaching trials for federal judges?
Senate
 
What is the court of last appeals for criminal cases in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
 
Where general jurisdiction trials take place
District Courts
 
Eastern District is located where in Oklahoma.
Muskogee
 
State of Oklahoma is in the ______ circuit of Appeals
10th
 
The senate has rejected to confrim about ______ of presidential nominees to the supreme court
20%
 
Collectively which level of government has the most employees
local
 
Oklahoma open meeting law is an example of
sunshine law
 
______ Percent of whistleblower calls are actually followed trhough with
35%
 
President relys on ________ far more than _________
white house staff far more than cabinet members
 
A negotiated agreement in a criminal case in which a defendant agrees to tell the court that he or she is guilty in return
for the state's agreement to reduce the severity of the criminal charge or prison sentence the defendant is facing is known as a
plea bargain.
 
Because the Supreme Court has so much influence over American law and politics, virtually all presidents have made an
effort to select justices who
share their political philosophies.
 
Chief Justice John Roberts seemed to have what concern in mind when he cast the deciding vote in favor of the constitutionality
of the Affordable Care Act in 2012?
the need to demonstrate that the Court was not a purely partisan body
 
If a case is disqualified from reaching the Supreme Court based on the criterion of mootness, then it has been determined
that the relevant facts have changed or the problem has been resolved by
other means.
 
In ____ cases, the government is always the plaintiff.
criminal
 
In what kind of case does the plaintiff charge that it has suffered because of another's violation of a specific agreement between the two?
contract
 
Judicial review was established in the case of
Marbury v. Madison
 
Justices appointed by presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush have moved the Court in a
more ____ direction on issues, including affirmative action and abortion
conservative
 
Justices who disagree with the majority decision of the Court may choose to publicize the character of their disagreement in the form of a
dissenting opinion.
 
Official federal court jurisdiction extends to
federal statutes, treaties, and the U.S. Constitution
 
Opinion assignment when he or she is in the majority is an important power of the
chief justice.
 
Sometimes referred to as "the Great Writ," ____ is guaranteed by the Constitution and can be suspended only in cases of
rebellion or invasion.
habeas corpus
 
The "strict constructionists" on the Supreme Court are generally committed to
the principle of judicial restraint.
 
The Constitution gives the Supreme Court ____ jurisdiction in cases involving foreign ambassadors and issues in which a state is a party.
original
 
The NAACP and the ACLU often used a "pattern of cases" strategy to get cases accepted for review in appellate courts by
bringing the same type of suit in more than one circuit.
 
The basis of most common law is
precedent.
 
What is the name for the practice whereby the president, before formally nominating a person for a federal judgeship,
seeks the indication that senators from the candidate's own state support the nomination?
senatorial courtesy
 
When a friend of the court is not a direct party to a case but has a vital interest in its outcome, that person can seek to enter the case by
filing an amicus curiae brief.
 
Which federal judges are appointed for life?
all Article III judges
 
Why does the solicitor general have such a strong influence on the Supreme Court?
The solicitor general screens most cases being appealed by agencies of
the federal government and only lets some cases advance
 
Each bureaucratic agency is created initially by
the president.
 
Which of the following statements about bureaucracies is FALSE?
Each bureaucratic agency is created by the president.
 
Which of the following is TRUE about the federal bureaucracy?
 The state and local governments have far more employees than the federal bureaucracy.
 
Studies have found that most Americans
are satisfied with the help received from bureaucrats.
 
Which of the following statements about the size of bureaucracies is FALSE?
As a percentage of America’s total work force, federal government employment has been growing.
 
As a percentage of the total work force, federal government employment is
declining.
 
The classic conception of a bureaucracy was advanced by ________, who argued that the bureaucracy was a ʺrationalʺ
way for a modern society to conduct its business.
Max Weber
 
In addition to a hierarchical authority structure, Max Weber argued that a bureaucracy involves all of the following EXCEPT
an incentive system.
 
The Weberian theory of bureaucracies views them in the most positive light as
hierarchical.
 
The Weberian model depicts a bureaucracy as
a well-organized machine with plenty of working but hierarchical parts.
 
The Weberian model views bureaucracies as
efficient and necessary.
 
Which of the following would NOT be considered part of the Weberian model of bureaucracy?
decentralized authority structure
 
Which of the following statements about bureaucracies is FALSE?
Government bureaucracies have been shown to be less efficient and effective than private bureaucracies.
 
The ________ employs about one-fourth of all federal civilian workers, more than any other department or agency.
Department of Defense
 
There are roughly ________ civilian and military federal government employees
4,000,000
 
As a whole, the permanent bureaucracy is
more broadly representative of the American people than legislators, judges, or presidential appointees.
 
As a whole, the permanent federal bureaucracy is
more broadly representative of the American people than the rest of the federal government.
 
________ is a hiring and promotion system based on knowing the right people, working in an election campaign,
making large political donations, and/or having the right connections to win jobs with the government.
The patronage system
 
Patronage is a hiring and promotion system based on
knowing the right people.
 
Until the late-nineteenth century, most government employees got their jobs through
the patronage system.
 
The ________ Act was passed partly as a memorial to the memory of President James Garfield, who was assassinated in 1881.
Pendleton Civil Service
 
The Pendleton Act established the
federal civil service.
 
The rationale for all civil service systems is based on
the merit principle.
 
The Hatch Act, passed in 1940,
prohibits federal civil service employees from active participation in partisan politics.
 
Once hired into the federal bureaucracy, a person is assigned a ________ rating, which determines oneʹs salary range.
General Schedule
 
The federal civil service was created by
the Pendleton Act.
 
The rationale for the civil service rests on the
desire to create a nonpartisan government service and promotion on the basis of merit.
 
Federal employees are prohibited from active participation in partisan politics through the
Hatch Act.
 
Which of the following is a legitimate criticism of the federal civil service?
Firing incompetents is extremely difficult.
 
Which of the following would be included in a plum book?
Cabinet secretaries
 
Which of the following statements about the hiring and firing of civil servants is FALSE?
Due to the merit system, it is easy to fire incompetent civil servants.
 
The plum book lists
top federal jobs available by Presidential appointment.
 
Which of the following statements about plum book appointees is FALSE?
Plum book appointees are often instrumental in changing and reforming their agencies.
 
Which of the following is NOT true about presidential appointees to bureaucracies?
They must be recommended by the Office of Personnel Managementʹs ʺrule of three.ʺ
 
According to Hugh Heclo, the plum book system of recruiting federal employees tends to result in the appointment of
administrators who do not stay long enough in their appointed position to be effective.
 
Which Cabinet department is charged with overseeing the nationʹs national resources?
Interior
 
The real work of a Cabinet department is done
in the bureaus.
 
The largest federal agency based on dollars spent is the
Social Security Administration.
 
Which of these is the newest government agency?
Social Security Administration
 
The Cabinet department that has the largest budget is the Department of
Health and Human Services.
 
Bureaus in the federal bureaucracy are also known as all of the following EXCEPT
a department.
 
The Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Reserve Board are examples of
independent regulatory agencies.
 
Which of the following statements about independent regulatory commissions is FALSE?
Regulatory commission members may not be drawn from the ranks of present or former employees of the regulated industry.
 
An independent regulatory agency is governed by
a small commission, usually with five to ten members, appointed by the president for fixed terms.
 
The parts of the federal bureaucracy with responsibility for different sectors of the economy, and making and enforcing
rules designed to protect the public interest, are the
independent regulatory agencies.
 
The General Services Administration and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration are examples of
independent executive agencies.
 
Independent regulatory agencies have powerful rule-making, dispute-settling, and enforcement authority.
governing commissions composed of long-time federal Civil Service employees.
 
Amtrak and the United States Postal Service are examples of
government corporations.
 
Government corporations
provide services and charge for them.
 
An obstacle to the successful implementation of public policy is
unclear policy goals and poorly designed policies.
 
Once a policy decision has been made, such as by passing a legislative act or issuing an executive order, the bureaucracy is responsible for
its implementation.
 
The main job of federal bureaucrats is to
implement and regulate government policies.
 
Creating new agencies, developing guidelines, and coordinating resources to achieve a policy goal is called
implementation.
 
Which of the following is NOT a reason that policy implementation sometimes breaks down in the federal bureaucracy?
lack of standard operating procedures
 
Vigorous disputes over the implementation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 in regard to funding for women’s
athletic programs arose primarily due to
lack of clarity in the original policy decision.
 
Section 844 of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
was vaguely written, eventually resulting in scores of court cases.
 
A major complaint of the Food and Drug Administration is
the shortage of personnel.
 
Which of the following is NOT true about standard operating procedures?
Each federal department and agency has a plum book which lists its standard operating procedures.
 
Standard operating procedures
save time and bring uniformity to complex organizations.
 
Standard operating procedures accomplish all of the following EXCEPT
reduce red tape.
 
________ is the authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem.
Administrative discretion
 
Standard operating procedures become frustrating to citizens and obstacles to action when they
do not directly apply to a particular situation.
 
The authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem is called
administrative discretion.
 
Administrative discretion is greatest when
rules do not fit a case.
 
The Federal Aviation Administration’s protocol for hijackings assumed that
the pilot would be able to radio air traffic controllers and alert them to the problem.
the FAA would be able to pinpoint the aircraft involved.
there would be enough time for the government to formulate a response.
the hijackers would be motivated in part by a desire to stay alive.
All of the above
 
Those civil service employees who are in constant contact with the public (often a hostile one) and have considerable
discretion are known as
street-level bureaucrats.
 
Administrative personnel who exercise discretion, pay attention to routine, and deal directly with clients,
are called street-level bureaucrats.
 
Which of the following would not be considered a street-level bureaucrat?
an assistant secretary in the Department of Transportation
 
When bureaucrats are asked to execute orders with which they do not agree,
slippage is likely to occur between policy decisions and performance.
 
Which of the following statements is FALSE?
Bureaucrats are often fired for using too much administrative discretion.
 
The diffusion of responsibility within the bureaucracy
makes the coordination of policies both time-consuming and difficult.
 
Proposals to reorganize the government in order to solve the problem of bureaucratic fragmentation
are often opposed by agencies not wanting to be submerged within a broader bureaucratic unit.
 
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
was successfully implemented thanks to its clear goal, its clear methods to achieve the goal, and its lack of bureaucratic fragmentation.
 
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was successful for all of the following reasons EXCEPT
it was universally supported.
 
The use of government authority to control or change some practice in the private sector is known as
regulation.
 
Which of the following statements about government regulation in America is accurate?
Until 1887, the federal government made almost no regulatory policies and had no regulatory agencies.
 
In the case of Munn v. Illinois, decided in 1877, the United States Supreme Court
upheld the right of government to regulate the business operations of a firm.
 
Until 1887, the federal government
had almost no regulatory policies.
 
The Supreme Court case of Munn v. Illinois (1877)
upheld the right of government to regulate the business operations of a firm.
 
Most regulatory agencies adopt specific ________ to carry out a policy, based on what they believe was the intended
purpose of the specific policy at hand.
guidelines
 
Whatever strategy Congress permits a regulatory agency to use, all regulation contains the following elements EXCEPT
an incentive system to maximize performance by those regulated.
 
All regulations contain each of the following elements EXCEPT
presidential oversight and control of enforcement
 
When Congress passes regulatory legislation for which it has established goals, it then
grants power to regulatory agencies to develop guidelines and enforce compliance.
 
One proposed solution to the ʺproblemʺ of the proliferation of regulatory agencies and policies has been
deregulation.
 
Deregulation has resulted, at least in part, in each of the following EXCEPT
environmental damage.
 
Which of the following is NOT an accusation made against the regulatory system?
Excessive regulation contributed to the savings and loan industry disaster of the 1980s.
 
Each of the following is a criticism of regulation EXCEPT that it
lowers prices.
 
Most of the government is composed of
bureaucrats.
politicians.
 
Executive orders are issued by
the president.
 
Which of the following is NOT a method a president can use to control the bureaucracy?
rewrite statutes to make instructions clearer as to how policies are intended
 
Which of the following statements about Congress and the bureaucracy is FALSE?
Congress has found it easy to control the bureaucracy.
 
Congress tries to control the bureaucracy through each of the following EXCEPT
issuing congressional orders.
 
Congress tries to control the bureaucracy through
deregulation.
 
To limit bureaucratic discretion and make its instructions clearer, Congress can
 write new and more detailed legislation.
 
As the oversight powers of Congress in regard to the bureaucracy have become more vigorous,
they have also become more fragmented.
 
A major problem for presidents and Congress in controlling bureaucracies is the existence of
ʺiron triangles.ʺ
 
An ʺiron triangleʺ is also referred to as
a subgovernment.
 
An ʺiron triangleʺ consists of
a bureaucratic agency, an interest group, and a congressional committee or subcommittee.
 
A(n) ________ consists of an administrative agency, an interest group, and a congressional committee or subcommittee.
ʺiron triangleʺ
 
ʺIron trianglesʺ face challenges from a growing number of
issue networks.
 
Issue networks are
a growing participatory force in bureaucratic decision making whose membersʹ interest in issues is intellectual or
emotional rather than material.
 
Subgovernments promote
decentralized and fragmented policymaking.
 
A group of participants in bureaucratic policymaking with technical policy expertise and intellectual and emotional
commitment to the issue is called
an issue network.
 
Which of the following is NOT an area in which an ʺiron triangleʺ has controlled federal policy over the past several decades?
environmental policy
 
Which of the following is NOT true about ʺiron trianglesʺ?
They are indestructible.
 
ʺIron trianglesʺ are composed of
Legislative committee members, high-ranking bureaucrats, and representatives of special interests
 
In 1887, Congress established the first regulatory agency, the ________, and charged it with regulating the railroads,
their prices, and their services to farmers.
Interstate Commerce Commission
 
Which of the following statements about bureaucracies and the scope of government is FALSE?
When the president and Congress chose to deregulate certain areas of the economy or cut taxes, the bureaucracy
prevented them from doing so.