BLT&E-7e: Practice Quiz

Chapter 1:
Introduction to the Law and Our Legal System
1.

The American legal system has been strongly influenced by:

a. Russian law.
b. Italian law.
c. English law.
d. Mexican law.

Answers:
a. Incorrect. Russian law has had relatively little influence on the
American legal system.
b. Incorrect. Italian law has had relatively little influence on the American
legal system.
c. Correct. American law is largely based on English law, a reflection of
our history as a former English colony.
d. Incorrect. Mexican law has had relatively little influence on the
American legal system.
2.

The common law may be described as:

a. general legal principles that evolved over time through court decisions.
b. a body of rules governing the ownership of the oceans.
c. an index of opinions by law professors.
d. rules issued by an administrative agency.

Answers:
a. Correct. The common law, or judge-made law, is a set of general legal
principles that evolved over time through court decisions.
b. Incorrect. The common law deals with issues other than the ownership
of the oceans.
c. Incorrect. The common law developed from the decisions of judges,
not from the opinions of law professors.
d. Incorrect. Rules issued by an administrative agency would be
considered statutory (regulatory) law, not part of the common law.
3.

A cornerstone of both the American and English legal systems is:

a. the doctrine of res nullius.
b. the doctrine of stare decisis.

c. the doctrine of plumbago.

d. the doctrine of judicial unfitness.
Answers:
a. Incorrect. Res nullius refers to land, or other resources, that are
owned by no one.
b. Correct. Stare decisis, the doctrine of relying on precedent, is a
cornerstone of both the American and English legal systems.
c. Incorrect. Plumbago is a plant.
d. Incorrect. Presumably we want judges to be fit, not unfit.
4.

Among the benefits of following precedent are:

a. greater inefficiency.
b. less predictability.
c. greater stability.
d. less reliability.

Answers:
a. Incorrect. Following precedent allows for more, not less, efficiency.
b. Incorrect. Because judges are following the decisions of other judges,
it is easier to predict how they will rule in a case with facts and issues
similar to those in a previously decided case.
c. Correct. Following precedent creates greater stability because parties
can reasonably expect that similar actions will have similar legal
consequences.
d. Incorrect. Because judges are bound by precedent, their decisions will
be more, not less, reliable.
5.

If there is no binding precedent for a particular case, a court may:

a. refuse to decide the case.
b. postpone decision making indefinitely.
c. rely on public policy or relevant social customs to reach a decision.
d. immediately require the United States Supreme Court to reach a
decision in the case.

Answers:
a. Incorrect. A judge may not refuse to decide a case.
b. Incorrect. A judge may not postpone indefinitely his or her decision in
a case.
c. Correct. In a new situation a judge may rely on public policy or
relevant social customs to reach a decision.

d. Incorrect. Appeals to the United States Supreme Court must follow a

specific procedure in which the justices of the Court select the cases
they will hear. A lower court judge may not send a case to the Court
and require that a decision be reached.
6.

Another term for case law is:

a. the common law.
b. regulatory law.
c. international law.
d. the law of Indian Affairs.

Answers:
a. Correct. The common law and case law are both terms for judgemade law.
b. Incorrect. Case law is judge-made law, not statutory or regulatory law.
c. Incorrect. International law largely consists of international
agreements, treaties, and customs, although it has some common law
elements.
d. Incorrect. The law of Indian Affairs may include case law, but it is not
the same thing as case law.
7.

Ordinances may be considered:

a. administrative law.
b. stare decisis.
c. statutory law.
d. uniform law.

Answers:
a. Incorrect. Ordinances are statutory, not administrative law.
b. Incorrect. Stare decisis is a legal doctrine, not a type of law.
c. Correct. Ordinances are statutes and thus are classified as statutory
law.
d. Incorrect. Ordinances vary tremendously and are not uniform.
8.

Rules issued by various administrative agencies affect:

a. only nonprofit institutions.
b. only the size and scope of local government.
c. a small number of businesses in the United States.
d. virtually every aspect of a businesss operations.

Answers:

a. Incorrect. Administrative rules affect more enterprises than just

nonprofit institutions.
b. Incorrect. Administrative rules affect the size and scope of the federal
and state governments, as well as local governments.
c. Incorrect. Administrative rules affect virtually every business in the
United States.
d. Correct. Administrative rules affect virtually every aspect of a
businesss operations.
9.

Civil law may best be described as:

a. the law that governs relations between persons and between persons
and the government.
b. the common law of taxes.
c. federal, not state, law.
d. the law governing the relations among nations.

Answers:
a. Correct. Civil law governs relations between persons and between
citizens and the government.
b. Incorrect. There is no common law of taxes.
c. Incorrect. Much civil law is state law.
d. Incorrect. The law governing relations between and among nations is
international law.
10.

International law is best described as a combination of:

a.
b.
c.
d.

California and New York law.

customs, treaties, and the rules of international organizations.
remedies at law and monetary damages.
rules about the way nations tax their own citizens.

Answers:
a. Incorrect. International law is a great deal older than either California
or New York and thus is not a combination of the laws of these states.
b. Correct. International law is a combination of these different kinds of
law and is applied to relations between and among nations.
c. Incorrect. International Law covers much more than the remedies
available from a court.
d. Incorrect. Generally, international law deals with relations among
nations, not with the relations of a nation and its citizens.