©Jason McConnel 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
FSOT Exam Questions With Correct
Answers A+
Mculloch v Maryland - Answer✔- constitution has right to enact laws beneficial to country, in
this case, central bank
Marbury v Madison - Answer✔- John Marshall enacted judicial review. Was regarding james
madisons appointments after he was out of office
Gibbons v Ogden - Answer✔- Each had a permit, one federal, and one state, this ruling set up the
supremacy clause that federal law takes priority
Dred Scott vs Sandford - Answer✔- Each had a permit, one federal, and one state, this ruling set
up the supremacy clause that federal law takes priority
Charles River Bridge - Answer✔-The responsibility of government is to "sacredly guard" the
rights of property for the prosperity of the community.
Munn vs Illinois - Answer✔-Companies that serve the public good/interest are subject to
regulations by government. This also made it clear that complains on these regulations should be
taken to the legislators, not the courts
Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 - Answer✔-Jim Crow laws are constitutional under the doctrine of
'Separate but Equal.' One dissenting opinion came from Marshall Harlan
Lochner vs New York - Answer✔Seen as overreach by judges in favor of laizze-faire economics.
This ruling struck down the NY law requiring a maximum hours bakers could work, saying that
employees have a right to contract.
Judges invented novel economic "rights" — most notably "substantive due process" and "liberty
of contract" — that they engrafted upon the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Schenck v. United States, 1919 - Answer✔Speech that presents a "clear and present danger" to
the security of the United States is in violation of the principle of free speech as protected by the
First Amendment to the Constitution.
Based on a man who passed out socialists propaganda telling people not to enlist in warm. It was
during time of war and presented "clear and present danger". This stood for half century
Near v. Minnesota, 1931 - Answer✔"The liberty of the press is safeguarded from invasion by
state action."
Although the First Amendment ensures a free press, until this case, it only protected the press
from federal laws, not state laws. Minnesota shut down J. M. Near's Saturday Press for
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publishing vicious antisemitic and racist remarks. In what is regarded as the landmark free press
decision, the Court ruled that a state cannot engage in "prior restraint
Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 - Answer✔"In the eld of public education, the doctrine of
'separate but equal' has no place."
This unanimous decision marked the beginning of the end for the "Separate But Equal" era that
started with Plessy, and the start of a new period of American race relations. With Brown,
desegregation of public schools began—as did resistance to it. Ten contentious years later, the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 made racial equality a matter of federal law.
Mapp v. Ohio, 1961 - Answer✔Evidence that is illegally obtained by the state may not be used
against a defendant in court.
Extended notion that federal AND states need to obtain evidence legally. Prior to this it was only
feds who had to
Dealt with Arresting ms. Mapp for possessing "obscene" books
Baker vs Carr- anti germandering - Answer✔held that the states must meet a Constitutional
standard for appointment: districts cannot be drawn in such a way that they violate the Equal
Protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Engel v. Vitale, 1962 - Answer✔Public institutions (i.e., a school system) cannot require prayer.
Dealt with atheist who didn't want his kids to be forced to pray in schools. Vitale was principal
of the school in the case
Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963 - Answer✔Defendants in criminal cases have an absolute right to
counsel.
Gideon was too poor for a lawyer, he appealed to supreme court, which ruled that all accused
have the right to be provided counsel. Originally this only applied to felonies but now applies
cases facing 6month imprisonment or longer.
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 1964 - Answer✔To win a libel case, public gures must prove
"actual malice" on the part of the writer.
In 1964, the Times published an ad critical of an elected commissioner of an Alabama city. The
commissioner sued for libel and won. The Supreme Court overturned that ruling, and said that, to
ensure "uninhibited, robust and wide-open" debate about public gures, the law must protect
writers from libel suits.
Miranda v Arizona - Answer✔You have to remain silent....5th amendment
Tinker v Des Moines - Answer✔The 1969 landmark case of Tinker v. Des Moines affirmed the
First Amendment rights of students in school. The Court held that a school district violated
students' free speech rights when it singled out a form of symbolic speech - black armbands worn
in protest of the Vietnam War - for prohibition, without proving the armbands would cause
substantial disruption in class.
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Could remember this by Tinker from lovejoy - cause he was in Vietnam
San Antonio School District vs. Rodriguez - Answer✔Said that the constitution does not
guarantee education, but rather places boundary on Governments. This was done after some san
Antonio families schooled the school district after claiming that wealthier districts had better
schools. Also says constitution does not provide welfare.
United States vs Nixon. - Answer✔Watergate scandal. Nixon wanted immunity. Supreme
responded by saying that neither confidentiality or separation of powers can keep president
immune. Nixon said he needed to be tried by the senate. Court would not accept confidentiality
of presidential communications.
Texas vs Johnson - Answer✔The flag burning case- supreme court ended up protecting it.
"Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea because society ands the idea itself
offensive or disagreeable."
Cruzan v. Missouri Dept. of Health, 1990 - Answer✔While the Constitution protects a person's
right to reject life-preserving medical treatment (their "right to die"), states can regulate that
interest if the regulation is reasonable.
RIGHT TO DIE-
Born in Missouri, die in Missouri. Cruzan is dead like ted cruz.
What is Collective Security? - Answer✔Collective Security is a power system in which each
state would guarantee the security and independence of every other state.
What is a Nation? - Answer✔A Nation is a social group that shares a common ideology,
institutions, customs, and a sense of homogeneity. It may be a state, part of a state, or extend
beyond the borders of a state.
3) What is the Status Quo Approach to Foreign Policy - Answer✔The Status Quo Approach to
Foreign Policy seeks to maintain the territorial, ideological, or power distribution of the state.
What is Liberal Nationalism? - Answer✔Liberal Nationalism is the aspiration of a group to
achieve statehood based on popular sovereignty. It emphasizes freedom from foreign
domination.
What is ethnocentrism - Answer✔Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own group and culture is
superior to all others.
What is Unilateralism? - Answer✔Unilateralism is a state's dependence on its own power to
maximize security and achieve national interests.
What is a Sphere of Influence? - Answer✔A Sphere of Influence is an area dominated by the
national interests of a foreign power.
What is Imperialism? - Answer✔A relationship in which an area and its people are made subject
to the will of a foreign state
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