The general rule is that newly announced appellate decisions
38. The general rule is that newly announced appellate decisions are normally to be applied retroactively as well as prospectively.
A) True B) False
39. A public official who is authorized to issue search warrants is called a notary public.
A) True B) False
40. In order for a court decision on a legal point to be respected as precedent, the court's decision must be final and supported by a majority of the judges, and it must be reported.
A) True B) False
41. Which of the following statements is true about the role of the Constitution in our republic?
A) There is no law higher than the Constitution, and all other federal laws enacted must comply with the mandates of the Constitution.
B) The Constitution establishes a floor with respect to individual rights, but not a ceiling; that is, the government may provide more freedoms than the Constitution mandates.
C) State laws cannot contradict the national Constitution.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above
42. A, a resident of the state of California, while driving his car in New Mexico, negligently runs over B, a resident of Texas. A court using the lex loci delicti commissi approach would apply the substantive law of
A) California.
B)New Mexico.
C) Texas.
D) the forum.
E) None of the above
43. In a contractual dispute, depending on the facts involved, the court may apply the law of
the place of which of the following?
A) The state where the action was instituted (lex fori)
B) The state whose law the parties intend should govern
C) The state that has the greatest concern with the event and parties (significant
relationship or center of gravity test)
D) All of the above
E) Two of the above
44. When a case for which there is no precedent comes before it, a court can
A) look to the decisions of courts in England.
B) consider the morals of society.
C) use the dicta of other cases as support for its decision.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above
45. A Nevada corporation obtained a judgment against a Texas resident for a gambling debt
legitimately incurred in Las Vegas. In a Texas court, a state in which gambling is illegal,
the Nevada judgment is
A) entitled to full faith and credit and is enforceable.
B) not entitled to res judicata and is unenforceable.
C) entitled to comity and is enforceable.
D) unenforceable under the Supremacy Clause.
E) entitled to full faith and credit but is not enforceable.
46. The defendant was convicted of aggravated assault, and he appealed, claiming that,
during the trial, some of his prior inconsistent statements made to the police without
Miranda warnings were used by prosecutors. He argued that the Fifth Amendment
protection against compulsory self-incrimination operates to exclude the prosecution's
use of voluntary statements of the accused, made to the police without Miranda
warnings, for the purpose of impeaching credibility on cross-examination, as was done in
his case. Who will decide whether or not the use of a confession given in the absence of
Miranda warnings violates the Fifth Amendment?
A) Congress, if it is a federal case
B) A state legislature, if it is a state case
C) A state supreme court, if it is a state case
D) None of the above. The judiciary is responsible for interpreting the provisions of the
Constitution.
E) All of the above decides at one point in the process.
47. A tavern sold liquor to a drunken patron who was subsequently involved as a driver in a
fatal motor vehicle collision. The plaintiff was rendered a quadriplegic as a result.
Prevailing precedent in this jurisdiction provides that the tavern does not owe a duty to
third-party motorists to guard against injuries caused by patrons who become intoxicated
at their place of business. If the plaintiff appeals the trial court's granting of the defendant
tavern's motion to dismiss, could the state Supreme Court overrule the precedent and
recognize the tavern's responsibility and liability for the plaintiff's injuries?
A) Yes, but the new precedent can only be applied to subsequent cases.
B) Yes, if the precedent is no longer appropriate because of changing economic,
political, and social conditions.
C) No, not unless the legislature changes the precedent by statute.
D) No, the doctrine of stare decisis prevents precedents from being overruled without
exception.
E) No, if the precedent can't be applied to subsequent cases.
48. The federal minimum wage law requires that most workers be paid at least $7.25 per
hour. A governor of a small industrial state, in which the standard of living is
considerably below national levels, perceives that some employers might be willing to
hire more workers if the amount were lowered. In order to increase the general welfare
of the citizens of this state, he proposes to the legislature a bill lowering the minimum
wage in certain industries and especially for certain age groups. Such a state act would
probably be declared unconstitutional because of the
A) Full Faith and Credit Clause.
B) political question doctrine.
C) First Amendment.
D) Supremacy Clause.
E) None of the above. It is a constitutional exercise of the state's police power.
49. A final judgment or decree rendered upon the merits, without fraud or collusion, by a
court of competent jurisdiction, is conclusive of rights, questions, and facts in issue as to
the parties and their privies, and is a complete bar to any subsequent action on the same
cause of action between the parties, or those in privity with them. This statement explains
A) the Full Faith and Credit Clause.
B) dictum.
C) stare decisis.
D) sovereignty.
E) res judicata.
50. A Kentucky court was confronted with the issue of whether or not a court has the power
to permit a kidney to be removed from an incompetent ward of the state, upon petition
from his mother, for the purpose of being transplanted into his brother, who is dying from
kidney disease. There is no statute or prior common law decision to guide the court.
What can the court do?
A) It must abstain from making a decision if there is no statute that permits the order,
since courts can only interpret statutes and constitutional provisions.
B) It can decide the issue, but only if the decision is unanimous, because only
unanimous appellate decisions have value as precedent.
C) It must wait for the legislature to pass a statute, since common law courts do not have
inherent power to determine what is the law and set precedents unless the
Constitution is involved.
D) It can decide the issue relying on the public interest, tradition, justice, and morality,
even if there is no common law decision or statute governing the situation.
E) It must rely on common law and statutes pertaining to the situation.
-
Rating:
5/
Solution: The general rule is that newly announced appellate decisions