A judges personal characteristics, such as party identification, political ideology, prior careers, ...

A judges personal characteristics, such as party identification, political ideology, prior careers, religion, age and sex are important aspects of judicial decision making because
 
  a. they allow access to particular groups when filing friend of the court briefs.
  b. they predispose a judge to decide cases in certain ways.
  c. they are often set-aside by the judge when making judicial decisions.
  d. they are only influential in appellate courts and not trial courts.

 Q. 2

The age of direct democracy can be traced to California's Proposition 8.
 
  a. True
  b. False
  Indicate whether the statement is true or false

 Q. 3

The phrase descent from heaven, used in reference to Japan, means
 
  a. the appointment of public officials by the emperor to whom divinity was ascribed before World War II.
  b. a politician's or public servant's fall into disgrace because of a scandal.
  c. the legendary origin of the imperial family.
  d. the employment of senior government officials upon their retirement by public or private corporations.
  e. the widespread belief that Japan has a manifest destiny.

 Q. 4

The question of access to the judicial system as a factor in decision making is
 
  a. important because some businesses, groups, and individuals have ready access and thus possess greateradvantages than others.
 b. unimportant because judges or juries are able to act on behalf of absent interests.
  c. unimportant because the courts are open to all citizens.
  d. rapidly declining in significance as judicial lobbying becomes increasingly important.

 Q. 5

In a proportional representation system, the electorate is divided into multimember districts, with a formula awarding each district's seats in proportion to the vote the various parties receive in that district.
 
  a. True
  b. False
  Indicate whether the statement is true or false

 Q. 6

Relationships among Japan's central government ministries and agencies can be described as
 
  a. intimate and cooperative.
  b. mutually intrusive and meddlesome.
  c. mutually independent and exclusionary to the extent of interfering with joint efforts.
  d. neither particularly cooperative nor uncooperative.
  e. friendly due to the overlapping nature of their duties and responsibilities.

 Q. 7

When judges use previous judicial rulings to guide their decisions, they are employing the doctrine of
 
  a. ipso facto.
  b. judicial federalism.
  c. stare decisis.
  d. judicial activism.