SC Bar Constitutional Law 3

Question 1

For Article III standing, a plaintiff must demonstrate injury in fact, which requires:

Accepted Answer

A concrete and particularized harm that is actual or imminent, not conjectural

Answer

Under Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, injury in fact must be concrete and particularized—not abstract—and either already occurring or certainly impending, distinguishing it from generalized grievances.

Question 2

The political question doctrine directs courts to avoid deciding issues that are:

Accepted Answer

Textually committed to another branch or that lack judicially manageable standards

Answer

Under Baker v. Carr, courts decline to adjudicate issues where the Constitution textually commits the decision to the legislative or executive branch, or where there are no judicially manageable standards for resolution.

Question 3

A federal case becomes moot when:

Accepted Answer

Changed circumstances eliminate the live controversy, leaving no effective relief for the court to grant

Answer

Mootness ends a federal court's jurisdiction because Article III requires a live case or controversy; if events make it impossible to grant any effectual relief, the case must be dismissed.

Question 4

Under the Fourth Amendment's 'third-party doctrine,' information a person voluntarily shares with third parties:

Accepted Answer

Loses Fourth Amendment protection because the person assumed the risk of disclosure

Answer

Under Smith v. Maryland and related cases, the third-party doctrine holds that people have no reasonable expectation of privacy in information they voluntarily expose to others, removing Fourth Amendment protection for records held by third parties like banks and phone companies.

Question 5

The Fifth Amendment's Double Jeopardy Clause prevents a defendant from:

Accepted Answer

Being retried for the same offense after an acquittal in the same sovereign's court

Answer

Double jeopardy bars retrial for the same offense after acquittal or conviction in the same sovereign's court; however, the dual sovereignty doctrine permits prosecution by both state and federal governments for the same acts.

(SC Bar) South Carolina Bar Exam Practice Test

(SC Bar) South Carolina Bar Exam Practice Test

SC Bar Constitutional Law 3