The SCOTUS Among Us Quiz


  1. The Supreme Court:

    A. Hears very few 'original jurisdiction' cases

    Is the final court of appeals in the United States

    Has the authority to declare laws passed by Congress unconstitutional

    B and C only

    All of the above


  2. In 1803, with Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court established what doctrine?

    The Supreme Court's role as final arbiter on constitutional questions

    The right to award political patronage

    The power of the president to do what he sees fit


  3. In 1896 the Supreme Court decided a case that resulted in what was known as 'the separate but equal' doctrine, which would stand in many cases until 1954. What was the case?

    Mapp v. Ohio

    Korematsu v. U.S.

    Plessy v. Ferguson

    Ashcroft v. ACLU


  4. Which list correctly names four Supreme Court justices?

    Harry Blackmun, Potter Stewart, Felix M. Frankfurter, Douglas Ginsburg

    Cotton Mather, John Sirica, Learned Hand, Robert Bork

    Fred Vinson, Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Ginsburg, John Jay

    Abe Fortas,Anthony Kennedy,William Marbury, William Taft


  5. Franklin Roosevelt was accused of trying to 'pack the Court' in 1937. What was he trying to do?

    Get certain justices impeached so that he could appoint others.

    Appoint only justices who reflected his political philosophy.

    Add more associate justices to the court.

    All of the above.


  6. What was unusual about the background of Supreme Court justice Byron White?

    He wasn't born in the United States.

    He had been a professional football player.

    He didn't have a law degree.

    He had starred in Broadway plays before turning to the law.


  7. Before the 2000 Bush v. Gore presidential election case, when the court took just four days from when it accepted the case to when it issued its decision, what had been the quickest turnaround in court history?

    The 1972 ruling requiring President Nixon to hand over the Oval Office tapes.

    A First Amendment case involving pornography, in 1961.

    The 1971 Pentagon Papers case.

    None of the above


  8. "Griswold v. Connecticut" upheld:

    The right to bear arms

    The right not to bear children

    The right to refuse military induction

    The right to abortion


  9. Unless they are convicted of misconduct, justices of the Supreme Court serve:

    Twenty-year terms

    Until they are voted out of office by the people.

    At the pleasure of the president

    For life


  10. Who was the only president to also serve on the Supreme Court?

    Andrew Johnson

    Calvin Coolidge

    Thomas Jefferson

    William Howard Taft


  11. Which justice wrote an opinion using this phrase: "Three generations of imbeciles are enough"?

    Oliver Wendell Holmes

    Roger Taney

    Rufus W. Peckham

    Levi Woodbury


  12. What words appear on the front of the Supreme Court building?

    Stare Decisis

    Oderint dum metuant

    E Pluribus Unum

    Equal Justice Under Law


  13. Who is the longest-serving member of the current Supreme Court?

    Stephen Breyer

    Sandra Day O'Connor

    William H. Rehnquist

    Clarence Thomas


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