PLS 320 exam 3 – Judicial Process -Courts and the
Legal System EXAM QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST 2026-2027 NEW VERSION
The evidence from social scientific studies of several stages of the Supreme Court's
decision-making process provides at least modest evidence that law has an influence
on judicial behavior. - answer>>>True
Bench memos are documents prepared by litigant attorneys in a case and are
provided to the justices as a courtesy to help them make sense of complicated legal
information. - answer>>>False
In terms of their overall content, bench memos both summarize information from
the litigant briefs and provide analysis and the quality of the competing arguments
being made by the litigants. - answer>>>True
One key strength of bench memos is that they are available for all cases decided by
the Supreme Court from 1953 to the present. This means they offer both breadth of
coverage and depth in terms of analysis. - answer>>>False
Lane shows that justices are more likely to vote for the side supported by the bench
memo, but she also finds that this effect is strongest when accompanied by
ideological agreement. - answer>>>False
Black, Owens, and Brookhart (2016) examine both the decision of the Supreme
Court to reference foreign materials in its opinions as well the specific choice of
which country's materials to include. - answer>>>True
, -
According to Black, Owens, and Brookhart (2016), liberal justices are much more
likely than their conservative counterparts to cite foreign materials. -
answer>>>False
As reported in Black, Owens, and Brookhart (2016), the Court is more likely to
reference materials from countries with whom the US shares both a common
political system (i.e., democracy) as well as the same language (i.e., English). -
answer>>>True
One aspect that makes the US Supreme Court unique relative its international peers,
according to Greenhouse, is that US justices have lifetime tenure as opposed to a
single nonrenewable term, which is the most common throughout the rest of the
world. - answer>>>True
The controversy described by Greenhouse in Chapter 8 of her book deals primarily
with the Supreme Court's decision to refuse to televise its oral arguments. -
answer>>>False
The point of an interest group, in general, is to accomplish together that which
would not be possible if individuals were acting separately. - answer>>>True
Interest groups can pursue different goals in terms economic or political agendas.
Moneyed interests are most known for the fact that they seek to create political
change and do so by leveraging their considerable resources. - answer>>>False
An example of a professional association is the American Civil Liberties Union, as it is
comprised primarily of civil liberty advocates. - answer>>>False
, The two ways interest groups can be directly involved in a case is through creating
new test cases or sponsoring existing litigation efforts. - answer>>>True
Amicus curiae briefs (ACBs) are documents that primarily seek to provide the
Supreme Court with a neutral, even-handed assessment of the merits in a case.
Their non-partisan nature means the justices are more likely to follow their advice. -
answer>>>False
Amicus curiae briefs are the most frequent mechanism by which interest groups
participate at the Supreme Court. Today it is very rare for a case not to feature at
least one of these. - answer>>>True
Hansford (2004) evaluates the extent to which Supreme Court justices are
influenced by the positions advocated by amicus briefs - answer>>>False
Collins (2007) argues that amicus briefs that repeat arguments provided by the
litigants are more likely to be successful as compared to those that focus on making
new arguments. - answer>>>False
According to Collins (2007), there is little empirical reason to suspect that interest
groups as a whole are being strategic with regards to their decision to only submit
briefs in cases that they expect to win. - answer>>>True
The results described by Collins (2007) suggest that knowing the number of amicus
briefs supporting a liberal outcome versus a conservative outcome would be useful
if you are trying to predict which side is going to win in a case. - answer>>>True
The Office of the Solicitor General did not exist at the time the Supreme Court was
created in 1789. In fact, it wasn't established until about 80 years later when
Congress created the Department of Justice. - answer>>>True
Legal System EXAM QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST 2026-2027 NEW VERSION
The evidence from social scientific studies of several stages of the Supreme Court's
decision-making process provides at least modest evidence that law has an influence
on judicial behavior. - answer>>>True
Bench memos are documents prepared by litigant attorneys in a case and are
provided to the justices as a courtesy to help them make sense of complicated legal
information. - answer>>>False
In terms of their overall content, bench memos both summarize information from
the litigant briefs and provide analysis and the quality of the competing arguments
being made by the litigants. - answer>>>True
One key strength of bench memos is that they are available for all cases decided by
the Supreme Court from 1953 to the present. This means they offer both breadth of
coverage and depth in terms of analysis. - answer>>>False
Lane shows that justices are more likely to vote for the side supported by the bench
memo, but she also finds that this effect is strongest when accompanied by
ideological agreement. - answer>>>False
Black, Owens, and Brookhart (2016) examine both the decision of the Supreme
Court to reference foreign materials in its opinions as well the specific choice of
which country's materials to include. - answer>>>True
, -
According to Black, Owens, and Brookhart (2016), liberal justices are much more
likely than their conservative counterparts to cite foreign materials. -
answer>>>False
As reported in Black, Owens, and Brookhart (2016), the Court is more likely to
reference materials from countries with whom the US shares both a common
political system (i.e., democracy) as well as the same language (i.e., English). -
answer>>>True
One aspect that makes the US Supreme Court unique relative its international peers,
according to Greenhouse, is that US justices have lifetime tenure as opposed to a
single nonrenewable term, which is the most common throughout the rest of the
world. - answer>>>True
The controversy described by Greenhouse in Chapter 8 of her book deals primarily
with the Supreme Court's decision to refuse to televise its oral arguments. -
answer>>>False
The point of an interest group, in general, is to accomplish together that which
would not be possible if individuals were acting separately. - answer>>>True
Interest groups can pursue different goals in terms economic or political agendas.
Moneyed interests are most known for the fact that they seek to create political
change and do so by leveraging their considerable resources. - answer>>>False
An example of a professional association is the American Civil Liberties Union, as it is
comprised primarily of civil liberty advocates. - answer>>>False
, The two ways interest groups can be directly involved in a case is through creating
new test cases or sponsoring existing litigation efforts. - answer>>>True
Amicus curiae briefs (ACBs) are documents that primarily seek to provide the
Supreme Court with a neutral, even-handed assessment of the merits in a case.
Their non-partisan nature means the justices are more likely to follow their advice. -
answer>>>False
Amicus curiae briefs are the most frequent mechanism by which interest groups
participate at the Supreme Court. Today it is very rare for a case not to feature at
least one of these. - answer>>>True
Hansford (2004) evaluates the extent to which Supreme Court justices are
influenced by the positions advocated by amicus briefs - answer>>>False
Collins (2007) argues that amicus briefs that repeat arguments provided by the
litigants are more likely to be successful as compared to those that focus on making
new arguments. - answer>>>False
According to Collins (2007), there is little empirical reason to suspect that interest
groups as a whole are being strategic with regards to their decision to only submit
briefs in cases that they expect to win. - answer>>>True
The results described by Collins (2007) suggest that knowing the number of amicus
briefs supporting a liberal outcome versus a conservative outcome would be useful
if you are trying to predict which side is going to win in a case. - answer>>>True
The Office of the Solicitor General did not exist at the time the Supreme Court was
created in 1789. In fact, it wasn't established until about 80 years later when
Congress created the Department of Justice. - answer>>>True
