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The US Supreme Court Trivia Quiz

Anyone who has ever made it through a United States History class should know these men, women and events of America's highest court.

A multiple-choice quiz by brewster76. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
brewster76

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
293,249

Updated
May 12 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
827

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Who was the first Chief Justice of the United States? Hint

Oliver Wendell Holmes

John Marshall

John Jay

Salmon P. Chase

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Question 2 of 10

2. Why was Justice Sandra Day O'Connor often called "the most powerful woman in America" during her tenure on the Court (1981-2006)? Hint

She was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

She was third in line to the presidency

Several other judges followed her lead and voted as she did

She was often the "swing vote" between the liberal and conservative factions

3. Before he was named as a justice, Thurgood Marshall successfully argued an important legal case before the Court in 1954 that ended school segregation. What was the name of this landmark decision? Hint

Marbury v. Madison

Roe v. Wade

Plessy v. Ferguson

Brown v. Board of Education

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Question 4 of 10

4. In 1966 the Supreme Court made a key ruling in the case of "Miranda v. Arizona." What was the central tenet of this case? (Hint: think "Law & Order") Hint

Police must inform individuals of their rights before questioning a suspect in custody

Racial quotas are unacceptable but race may be one factor in a school admission decision

Prayer in public schools violates the separation of church and state

Flag burning is protected under the First Amendment

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Question 5 of 10

5. When Associate Justice Samuel Alito was appointed in 2006 which law school claimed the most alumni on the Supreme Court? Hint

Columbia

Yale

Harvard

Stanford

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Question 6 of 10

6. Who was the first person to have served as both US President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? Hint

Thomas Jefferson

Woodrow Wilson

William Howard Taft

Richard Nixon

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Question 7 of 10

7. What was the subject matter of the still controversial 1973 case known as "Roe v. Wade"? Hint

Immigration

Abortion

Gun control

Slavery

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Question 8 of 10

8. The Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937 proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt had a provision that would have allowed the president to appoint one Supreme Court justice for every sitting justice over the age of 70 1/2 years. What is this bill often called? Hint

Roosevelt's End Run

The Raw Deal

Old Age Clause

Court Packing

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Question 9 of 10

9. For most of its history the US Supreme Court was comprised of solely white Protestant men. By the 2006-7 session its composition was less homogenous with one African American, one woman, two Jewish Americans and how many Roman Catholic justices sitting on the Court? Hint

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Question 10 of 10

10. In 1857 Chief Justice Roger B. Taney handed down a decision that held that in accordance with the Declaration of Independence, blacks of African descent, whether slave or free, were not and never could be US citizens. Who was the famous slave at the heart of this case? Hint

Dred Scott

Harriet Tubman

Nat Turner

Frederick Douglass

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who was the first Chief Justice of the United States?

Answer: John Jay

Jay was appointed by President George Washington in 1789. It is has been said that the character of Enoch Crosby in James Fenimore Cooper's 1821 book "The Spy" is based on John Jay.

2. Why was Justice Sandra Day O'Connor often called "the most powerful woman in America" during her tenure on the Court (1981-2006)?

Answer: She was often the "swing vote" between the liberal and conservative factions

Sandra Day O'Connor was viewed as a moderate on courts that often had two core groups: conservatives and liberals. In the book "The Nine" author Jeffrey Toobin writes of the numerous cases she essentially decided as it was her opinion that broke the 4-4 ties on some of the most controversial decisions before the Court, including those that dealt with abortion, racial quotas and gun control.

Answer: Brown v. Board of Education

In a 9-0 decision the Supreme Court ruled that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) was appointed to the Court by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967, the first African American to be so named.

4. In 1966 the Supreme Court made a key ruling in the case of "Miranda v. Arizona." What was the central tenet of this case? (Hint: think "Law & Order")

Answer: Police must inform individuals of their rights before questioning a suspect in custody

Miranda v. Arizona should be familiar to anyone who has ever watched a cop show because it was this decision that gave birth to the verb "Mirandized". (Repeat after me: "You have the right to remain silent ...") Prayer in public school was addressed in Engel v. Vitale (1962); the case about racial quotas was Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978); flag burning was handled in Texas v. Johnson (1989) and U.S. v. Eichman (1990).

5. When Associate Justice Samuel Alito was appointed in 2006 which law school claimed the most alumni on the Supreme Court?

Answer: Harvard

It's not even close. In 2006 Alito became the 5th alumnus of Yale Law to join the Court, Columbia Law had 6 graduates and Stanford Law had 2. So if you want increase the odds of your son or daughter being appointed to the Supreme Court, send them to Harvard Law School - the alma mater of 15 justices.

6. Who was the first person to have served as both US President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?

Answer: William Howard Taft

Taft preferred his legal career to politics but he agreed to run for the presidency in large part to appease his politically ambitious wife. He fullfilled his true life-long ambition when he was appointed to Chief Justice by President Warren G. Harding in 1921.

7. What was the subject matter of the still controversial 1973 case known as "Roe v. Wade"?

Answer: Abortion

The 1973 landmark decision was based on a woman's right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. The decision was overturned in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case.

Answer: Court Packing

Roosevelt was frustrated by the "Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse" (George Sutherland, James Clark McReynolds, Pierce Butler and Willis Van Devanter) the Court's ultra-conservatives who blocked many of his New Deal initiatives. In an effort to get more of his policies passed into law he sought a way to increase the number of his hand-picked judges onto the Court. Thus his idea was to "pack the court" with his supporters.

This tactic was seen for the political gerrymandering it was and the Senate soundly defeated its passage.

Answer: 5

The Supreme Court justices who listed their faith as Roman Catholic were Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy and Samuel Alito.

Answer: Dred Scott

This decision - Dred Scott v. Sanford - also stated that the Missouri Compromise was invalid and thus slavery was legal in all American states and territories. Ironically, Judge Taney's opinion ignited a furor in the abolition community that ultimately contributed to the end of slavery.

Source: Author brewster76

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