Security and Freedom in Wartime

Multiple Choice

1. United States v. United States District Court involved _____.

a. electronic surveillance b. presidential power c. Title III of the Crime Control Act of 1968

*d. all of the above a. 9–0

2. In United States v. United States District Court, the Supreme Court ruled_____.

*b. 8–1 c. 6–3 d. 5–4

3. Justice _______ wrote the opinion of the Court in United States v. United States District Court a. Rehnquist b. Blackmun c. Douglas

*d. Powell a. in time of war the laws must be observed b. during wartime, victory must be secured at all costs

4. “Inter arma silent leges” means _____.

*c. in time of war the laws are silent d. in time of war the laws are rarely silent a. World War II b. the Vietnam War c. the invasion of Afghanistan by United States

5. Ex parte Milligan arose as a result of _____.

*d. the Civil War a. Chief Justice Chase b. Chief Justice Waite c. Justice Grier

6. The opinion of the Court in Ex parte Milligan was written by _____.

*d. Justice Davis a. fundamental fairness

7. Korematsu v. United States is often cited as the initial articulation by the Court of ___.

*b. strict scrutiny c. due process of law d. none of the above a. the government’s policy is unconstitutional b. the government’s policy is constitutional

8. In Korematsu v. United States, Justice Jackson argues in his opinion that ____.

*c. the Court should never have agreed to hear the case d. war is a series of hardships a. that the government’s policy was lawful b. that the government’s policy was unfortunate but necessary

9. In Korematsu v. United States, Justice Murphy declared ____.

*c. that the government’s policy was racist d. that the Court should never have agreed to hear the case a. the Patriot Act b. the Crime Control Act of 1968 c. The Geneva Convention

10. Boumediene v. Bush involved a challenge to ____.

*d. The Military Commission Act a. the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act b. the Crime Control Act

11. Sneak and Peak Search Warrants are authorized by ____.

*c. the Freedom Act d. the Authorization for Use of Military Force a. Ex parte Quirin b. Ex parte Milligan

12. _________ was a case arising from World War II that was the focus of both the majority and dissenting opinions in Boumediene v. Bush.

*c. Johnson v. Eisentrager d. None of the above a. Stone b. Douglas

13. Justice/Chief Justice _____ wrote the Court’s majority opinion in Korematsu v. United States.

*c. Black d. Murphy

14. The Patriot Act became law became law because of growing congressional concern over illegal immigration. _____ a. TRUE

*b. FALSE

15. The Freedom Act repealed most of the provisions in the Patriot Act. _____ a. TRUE

*b. FALSE

16. In ________ Justice Scalia wrote that “America is at war with radical Islamists.” a. Korematsu v. United States b. United States v. United States District Court

*c. Boumediene v. Bush d. Ex parte Quirin

Essay Questions

1. What issues of constitutional and statutory interpretation did the Supreme Court confront in United States v. United States District Court? How were these resolved? Explain.

2. How is United States v. United States District Court anticipated by the exchange between the concurring opinions of Justices White and Douglas in Katz v. United States?

3. Within the past few years, the Supreme Court has ruled on a number of challenges to claim made by the administration of George W. Bush that it had the power to detain indefinitely U.S. citizens held as “enemy combatants”; and to detain indefinitely and try by military tribunal, without and with limited appeal, foreign nationals who had been seized on battlefields and held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. These cases Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004), Rasul v. Bush (2004), Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006), and Boumediene v. Bush (2008) illustrate well the basic constitutional dilemma in enforcing constraints on presidential power to wage war. Focusing primarily on the last two cases, discuss the Court’s conclusions, explaining the applicable presidential directives, laws, treaties, writs, and precedents. To what extent do these cases demonstrate that restraints on presidential power to wage war remain in the hands of Congress?

4. To what degree does Boumediene v. Bush show that the Constitution places considerable restraints on Congress, not only on the president in matters of national security?

5. On the day that the Court released its opinion in Ex parte Quirin, Attorney General Francis Biddle wrote a memo to President Roosevelt summarizing the main points of the decision. Noting that the Court had distinguished Ex parte