All AP US Government Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #4 : Court Cases
The Supreme Court cases Barron v. Baltimore and Gitlow vs. New York both relate to __________.
the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s
female contraception and birth control rights
the application of the Bill of Rights to State governments
mandatory federal funding being set aside for encouraging higher education in the individual states
the extension of voting rights to additional members of the population
the application of the Bill of Rights to State governments
The Supreme Court case Barron v. Baltimore (1833) stated that the Bill of Rights does not specifically apply to the State governments and that the Court can find no constitutional reason to make it so. However, the Supreme Court case Gitlow v. New York (1925) held that the First Amendment applies equally to the State and Federal governments.
Example Question #5 : Court Cases
Which of these Supreme Court cases most clearly relates to the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution?
District of Columbia v. Heller
New York Times v. Sullivan
Griswold v. Connecticut
Grutter v. Bollinger
Mapp v. Ohio
District of Columbia v. Heller
The Second Amendment protects the right of Americans to carry guns, so you have to determine which of these cases is related to gun rights. The Supreme Court case, District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), reaffirmed that an individual has the right to carry a weapon for self defense in their home, stating also that an individual has the right to carry a weapon in a federal enclave so long as it is within the law for them to do so.
Example Question #7 : Court Cases
Which of these Courts is most famous for its liberal decisions?
The Taney Court
The Burger Court
The Warren Court
The Rehnquist Court
The Marshall Court
The Warren Court
All of these Courts are named after the Supreme Court Justice who was in charge at the time (as is the custom). The Warren Court, under Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953–1969) is generally considered to be the most famous for its liberal decisions. It was the Court during the Civil Rights Era and was active in the promotion of civil liberties and the extension of civil rights.
Example Question #11 : Court Cases
In the Supreme Court case, Mapp v. Ohio, the court ruled that __________.
the death penalty was not in violation of the Constitution’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment
Congress has the exclusive right to regulate interstate trade along a river or other body of water
state governments are legally required to provide counsel for a defendant who may not be able to afford one
separate, but equal, is inherently unconstitutional
evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment may not be used in prosecutions in state courts
evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment may not be used in prosecutions in state courts
Mapp v. Ohio (1961) ruled that state law agencies could not use any evidence in state courts that had been collected in violation of the Fourth Amendment’s protection against "unreasonable searches and seizures."
Example Question #12 : Court Cases
Which of these Supreme Court cases relates to the congressional power to regulate interstate commerce?
New York Times v. Sullivan
Gibbons v. Ogden
Plessy v. Ferguson
Roe v. Wade
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Gibbons v. Ogden
The Supreme Court case, Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), relates to the Congressional power to exclusively regulate interstate commerce. Specifically it states that this power, granted to Congress in the Constitution, included the power to regulate commerce along rivers.
Example Question #125 : Civil Rights, Amendments, And Court Cases
The Supreme Court case Korematsu v. United States relates to __________.
African-American resettlement after the Civil War
the use of nuclear energy in post-World War Two America
the American policy of disarmament
African-American liberties in the civil rights era
the internment of Japanese citizens and Japanese-American U.S. citizens during World War Two
the internment of Japanese citizens and Japanese-American U.S. citizens during World War Two
The Supreme Court case Korematsu v. United States (1944) upheld the right of the United States government to forcibly intern Japanese citizens and American citizens of Japanese descent during World War Two. The majority ruling found that the need to protect the nation during a time of war from espionage and treason outweighed the individual rights of Japanese citizens and American citizens of Japanese descent.
Example Question #122 : Civil Rights, Amendments, And Court Cases
Which Supreme Court case ruled that the state governments are obligated to provide legal counsel for a defendant who cannot afford one under the rights guaranteed in the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments?
Plessy v. Ferguson
Gibbons v. Ogden
Mapp v. Ohio
Gideon v. Wainwright
Betts v. Brady
Gideon v. Wainwright
In the Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court ruled that the state governments were legally bound by the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to provide legal counsel to a defendant who could not afford one. In doing so, they overturned a previous Supreme Court ruling in Betts v. Brady, which had stated that these rights did not always apply at the state level.
Example Question #13 : Court Cases
The 1819 landmark Supreme Court decision in McCulloch v. Maryland stood for the principle that __________.
persons of African descent are not citizens of the United States
congress has the power to regulate navigation of the seas
federal laws have supremacy over state laws
the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court cannot be expanded beyond the permits of the Constitution
segregated facilities are constitutional under the doctrine of "separate but equal"
federal laws have supremacy over state laws
In McCulloch v. Maryland, the U.S. Supreme Court held that federal laws have supremacy over state laws, and that therefore the State of Maryland had no authority to interfere with or oppose the operations of a bank established by Congress.
Example Question #14 : Court Cases
The 1973 Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton involved serious consideration of all of the following principles, except __________.
the state's interest in protecting the potentiality of human life
the right of spousal consent in the areas of birth and abortion
the state's interest in protecting women's health
a woman's right to make her own decisions concerning her health
the right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment
the right of spousal consent in the areas of birth and abortion
The 1973 companion cases of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton involved the principles of a woman's rights to privacy and to make decisions concerning her own health, as well as the state's legitimate interests in protecting women's health and the potentiality of human life. In those cases, the Supreme Court extended the right of privacy to a woman's decision to have an abortion. The right of spousal consent in the areas of birth and abortion was dealt with in the 1992 case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, where the Supreme Court overturned a state law requiring spousal awareness prior to abortions.
Example Question #15 : Court Cases
In the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court defended __________.
the rights of citizens to be free from discriminatory voting laws
detainees and arrestees from unreasonable searches
the rights of individuals to make unlimited political contributions
the political speech rights of corporations, unions, and not-for-profit organizations
the rights of women to make decisions regarding their health
the political speech rights of corporations, unions, and not-for-profit organizations
In Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court defended the political speech and political contribution rights of corporations, unions, and not-for-profit organizations.