MA Bar Constitutional Law 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Fourth Amendment, which standard governs whether an investigative stop (Terry stop) is constitutional?
- Probable cause
- Reasonable suspicion (Correct answer)
- Preponderance of the evidence
- Beyond a reasonable doubt
Correct answer: Reasonable suspicion
A Terry stop requires only reasonable suspicion—articulable facts suggesting criminal activity—rather than the higher probable cause standard needed for a full arrest.
Question 2: Which Supreme Court standard applies to a law that classifies based on gender?
- Strict scrutiny
- Intermediate scrutiny (Correct answer)
- Rational basis
- Compelling interest plus narrow tailoring
Correct answer: Intermediate scrutiny
Gender-based classifications are reviewed under intermediate scrutiny, requiring the government to show the law is substantially related to an important governmental interest.
Question 3: A state law conflicts with a valid federal statute. Under the Supremacy Clause, the result is:
- The state law governs in state courts
- The federal law preempts the state law (Correct answer)
- Courts apply whichever law is more recent
- The conflict goes to Congress to resolve
Correct answer: The federal law preempts the state law
The Supremacy Clause of Article VI makes valid federal law the supreme law of the land, preempting conflicting state law.
Question 4: Which constitutional provision most directly protects against warrantless searches of a person's home?
- First Amendment
- Second Amendment
- Fourth Amendment (Correct answer)
- Fifth Amendment
Correct answer: Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment protects people against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the home receives its strongest protection—warrantless entries are presumptively unreasonable.
Question 5: Under substantive due process, which right has been recognized as 'fundamental,' triggering strict scrutiny?
- Right to education
- Right to interstate travel (Correct answer)
- Right to welfare benefits
- Right to employment
Correct answer: Right to interstate travel
The right to travel interstate has been recognized as a fundamental right under substantive due process, requiring strict scrutiny for laws that burden it.
Question 6: Massachusetts Article 12 of the Declaration of Rights is analogous to which federal constitutional provision?
- First Amendment free speech
- Fourth Amendment search and seizure
- Fifth and Sixth Amendment due process and trial rights (Correct answer)
- Eighth Amendment cruel and unusual punishment
Correct answer: Fifth and Sixth Amendment due process and trial rights
Massachusetts Article 12 parallels the federal Fifth and Sixth Amendments, guaranteeing due process, the right to be informed of charges, and the right to confront witnesses.
MA Bar Constitutional Law 2
Under the Fourth Amendment, which standard governs whether an investigative stop (Terry stop) is constitutional?