GED Social Studies : Structure of the Federal Courts
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GED Social Studies
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Example Questions
Example Question #3 : Federal Courts
What does it mean to say that a Supreme Court Justice has tenure?
It means they cannot hold another position within government at the same time.
It means they are forbidden from holding party affiliations.
It means they cannot be removed from office.
It means they cannot serve more than one term.
It means they cannot be paid for their service.
It means they cannot be removed from office.
Being a Justice on the Supreme Court is a tenured position. This means Justices cannot be removed from office by either the President or by Congress. They are effectively in power for life, or until they decide to retire.
Example Question #4 : Federal Courts
How many Judges were originally in the Supreme Court?
Six
One
Nine
Three
Five
Six
There were originally six Supreme Court Justices. This was quickly changed to seven in 1807, to prevent the obvious problem of there being frequent ties. In 1837, the number of Justices was expanded to nine, where it has remained—apart from a brief time with ten—ever since.
Example Question #5 : Federal Courts
The notorious "court packing" incident is associated with which United States' President?
Theodore Roosevelt
Harry Truman
George H.W. Bush
John F. Kennedy
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
During the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt met with a lot of opposition from the Supreme Court, which ruled that many of his policies were in violation of the Constitution and attempted to take the powers of the government and the Presidency too far. To try to remedy this situation, Roosevelt attempted to expand the number of Supreme Court Justices to give himself a majority of supporters on the Court; this was of course met with a great deal of opposition, and is now known as "court packing."
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