Q&A Hero

Q: Briefly discuss the constitutional safeguards of "pure" or political speech.

Q: Duff Beer applied to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) for approval of proposed labels and advertisements that disclosed the alcohol content of its beer. BATF rejected the application on the grounds that the Federal Alcohol Administration Act prohibited disclosure of the alcohol content of beer on labels or in advertising. The labeling regulations also prohibited the use of descriptive terms that suggest high alcohol content, such as "strong," "full strength," or "extra strength." Duff claimed the labeling restrictions violated its First Amendment rights. The government responded that the ban was necessary to suppress the threat of "strength wars" among brewers, who, without the regulation, would seek to compete in the marketplace based on the potency of beer. Discuss the analysis courts will use in evaluating the constitutionality of this restriction.

Q: Many of the administrative agencies have the power to: A. make laws. B. issue regulations that have the force of law. C. conduct trials involving juries. D. adjudicate disputes involving alleged violations of the Commerce Clause.

Q: The courts will overturn the independent agency's action when: A. an agency's rules are unwise, though it does not exceed its regulatory authority. B. an agency's rulemaking does not exceed its regulatory authority. C. the agency decisions are arbitrary and capricious. D. the court does not set out adequate guidelines for agency action.

Q: The independent agencies often exercise _____ to gain access to witnesses and documentary evidence, as many people will not voluntarily cooperate with information requests. A. the power of eminent domain B. a subpoena power C. an enforcement power D. a coercive power

Q: Which of the following statements is true about the adjudicatory power of the independent agencies? A. Those who are unhappy with the agencies' actions cannot appeal to the court of law. B. Since they involve juries, rules of evidence are more strictly observed. C. Their hearings are much more formal than court trials. D. Some of them regulate primarily on a case-by-case basis through their decisions.

Q: The retail price of wine in Kansas was consistently higher than the price of wine in bordering states. As a result, Kansas residents living in border areas frequently crossed state lines to purchase wine at lower prices. Accordingly, Kansas enacted a statute that required out-of-state shippers of wine to affirm that their posted prices for products sold to Kansas wholesalers, as of the moment of posting, was no higher than the prices at which those products were sold in the bordering states. Does the statute violate the Commerce Clause?

Q: Administrative agencies: A. rarely have both the power to issue regulations and the power to investigate when such regulations have been violated. B. may make regulations that are advisory in nature, but cannot make regulations that have the force of law. C. are, in theory, part of the executive branch of government, but they may also perform legislative and judicial functions. D. are, in theory, part of the judicial branch of government, but they may also perform legislative and executive functions.

Q: The explosion of government regulation in the United States has witnessed an accompanying social phenomenon of great importance which is: A. the creation of the CAN-SPAM ACT. B. the creation and widespread use of administrative agencies. C. the creation and widespread use of the Federal Trade Commission. D. the creation of antitrust laws.

Q: Under strict scrutiny analysis, to demonstrate that a government action is constitutional, the government must demonstrate that: A. its action bears a rational relationship to its desired end. B. it is pursuing a compelling government interest. C. it is pursuing a governmental end in the most intrusive manner. D. there is no restriction on commercial speech.

Q: If a person has been discriminated by the government on the basis of the fact that he/she is an illegitimate child, the regulation will be evaluated under: A. strict scrutiny. B. rational analysis. C. intermediate scrutiny. D. due process.

Q: Mr. Gregg has made an inflammatory speech denouncing the action of the government in the recent war. The government can restrict his speech through regulation: A. under the Fifth Amendment. B. if it is the least intrusive means to promote the government's interests. C. if it is not forcefully furthering government interest. D. if it is a part of the due process of law.

Q: Commercial speech, under the First Amendment, is: A. subject to intermediate scrutiny unlike political speech. B. completely suppressed regardless of it being misleading or truthful. C. subject to strict scrutiny just like political speech. D. completely unregulated unless it is put in writing.

Q: After a series of some advertisements of beer and other alcoholic drinks, the government decided to regulate commercial speech. If the courts analyze this regulation, they will: A. use strict scrutiny analysis. B. search for truth in the speech. C. seek compelling government interest. D. see that the government advances its interests in an extensive manner.

Q: Under rational basis analysis: A. a government action will be upheld as long as it has a reasonable relationship to the achievement of a legitimate purpose, even if those provisions are foolish. B. discrimination on the basis of a suspect category will receive highest scrutiny. C. courts will deem a government action unconstitutional when the action impinges on a fundamental right. D. discrimination on the basis of economic interest will receive highest scrutiny.

Q: Under the Equal Protection Clause: A. the government must treat all cases alike. B. states are prohibited from arbitrarily discriminating against persons. C. states are prohibited from discriminating only on the basis of nationality. D. the government can uphold restrictions on property.

Q: When regulatory reforms interfere with the exercise of individual rights, they are subject to: A. both a substantive and a procedural due process challenge. B. only a substantive due process challenge. C. strict scrutiny analysis, irrespective of the level of interference. D. only a procedural due process challenge.

Q: Strict scrutiny: A. is the analysis employed by the court in a case involving commercial speech. B. is the analysis employed by the court in deciding an equal protection case involving discrimination on the basis of race. C. is a test of constitutionality that is satisfied if the challenged government action bore a reasonable relation to a legitimate government purpose. D. is the analysis employed by the court when suspect classifications are not in question.

Q: If the governmental action has a reasonable relationship to the achievement of a legitimate purpose, it is declared constitutional under: A. strict scrutiny analysis. B. intermediate scrutiny analysis. C. rational basis analysis. D. suspect classifications.

Q: In the case of a taking, just compensation is defined as: A. the fair market value of the property plus its sentimental value. B. the current fair market value plus any expected future value from the taking. C. the current fair market value of the property involved in the taking. D. the fair market value of the property if it were to be sold to a developer.

Q: Which of the following prohibits the federal government from depriving any person "of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law"? A. The Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause B. The Commerce Clause C. The Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause D. The Seventh Amendment

Q: Which of the following is a feature of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? A. It does not contain the substantial due process clause. B. It prohibits any state from arbitrarily discriminating against persons. C. It applies only to the federal government. D. It does not contain the procedural due process clause.

Q: _____ protects people from arbitrary government interference with their life, liberty, or property rights. A. Procedural due process B. Substantive due process C. Equal Protection Clause of the Fifteenth Amendment D. Due process clause of the Sixth Amendment

Q: Which of the following likely would disqualify the definition of "public use" under the government's power of eminent domain? A. Seizure of private land by the government to build a new city hall. B. Seizure of private land to sell it to a private developer who aims to make profit from it. C. Seizure of private land by the government to build a public road. D. Seizure of private land by the government to build a mall for the public.

Q: The "dormant" Commerce Clause limits the authority of the states to interfere with the flow of interstate commerce by: A. limiting the states from furthering only state interests. B. limiting a state's ability to tax vendors. C. prohibiting state legislation that unduly burdens intrastate commerce. D. prohibiting state laws that openly discriminate against interstate commerce.

Q: One of the factors considered in determining the state statute to be constitutional and allow the states to regulate aspects of interstate commerce that have not been preempted by the federal government is that the state statute must: A. not further a legitimate local interest. B. not discriminate in favor of local interests and against out-of-state interests. C. allow only direct, not incidental, regulation of interstate commerce. D. impose costs on interstate commerce that are more excessive than necessary to bring about the state interests.

Q: Greenmail's customers were receiving unsolicited electronic mails from Definition Mail. Greenmail blocked these mails and sent them back to Definition Mail. Due to such bulk mails coming in, Definition's clients terminated their contracts with it. Definition sued Greenmail for violating its First Amendment rights. Will the court uphold this case? A. No, as the First Amendment does not deal with constitutional rights. B. Yes, as the First Amendment rights have been violated by Greenmail. C. No, since Greenmail is a private company and did not owe any constitutional rights to Definition. D. Yes, because constitutional rights can be violated by individuals as well as the state.

Q: Which of the following is true of the Takings Clause? A. It is triggered by the power of eminent domain. B. It requires the government not to pay private property owners any compensation. C. It is triggered by the power of just domain. D. It requires the government to buy private property for private developers.

Q: The primary components of the Takings Clause are: A. a compelling government purpose; conditional compensation. B. a taking; for a public purpose; the private property owner is entitled to just compensation. C. a taking; justified by the supremacy clause; compensation rarely required. D. a taking for eliminating urban blight, with minimal compensation.

Q: The federal government has the exclusive right to regulate all _____ of the United States. A. intrastate commerce B. domestic commerce C. private and government action D. foreign commerce

Q: If the U.S. Congress enacts a federal statute regulating the sale of automatic weapons and Kentucky passes a state law which conflicts with the federal law, Kentucky's law is said to be: A. impliedly preempted. B. void-for-vagueness. C. expressly preempted. D. prevailing.

Q: Courts generally do not substitute their judgment for that of administrative agencies, even if they believe it to be unwise.

Q: The power of the states to regulate is: A. exclusive in the domain of intrastate commerce. B. nonexistent over matters that affect interstate commerce. C. limited only by its own state constitution. D. exclusive in the domain of interstate commerce.

Q: State power is restricted by: A. procedural due process clause. B. the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. C. the equal protection clause. D. due process and equal protection scrutiny.

Q: Intermediate scrutiny is an extremely lenient level of scrutiny that presumes the regulation is constitutional.

Q: Commercial speech, such as advertising, enjoys no First Amendment protection.

Q: The case-by-case approach followed by the courts to resolve complex problems are always considered to be better in comparison with the procedures followed by administrative agencies.

Q: The Food and Drug Administration is an example of an independent agency.

Q: Independent agencies are a part of the executive branch of the government and are under the control of the president.

Q: When the government restricts the exercise of a fundamental right, like speech, courts evaluate the restriction using rational basis analysis.

Q: With the increase in federal regulation that followed the Civil war, the courts tended to focus on the Commerce Clause as a limitation on the federal government's power to regulate business.

Q: According to the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, the government can take real and personal property for public use without compensating private property owners.

Q: The zoning ordinances enacted by many cities and counties that cause limited interference with a landowner's use of the property is an example of taking.

Q: The Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause prohibits the federal government from depriving any person "of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."

Q: Substantive due process means that the government must accomplish its objectives only by the use of fair procedures, such as reasonable notice and the right to a hearing before an impartial tribunal.

Q: When regulatory programs interfere with the exercise of individual rights, they are subject only to a procedural due process challenge.

Q: The "dormant" Commerce Clause requires that any state law regulating interstate commerce must further a legitimate state interest.

Q: Explain the theory of allocational efficiency and describe some of its some of the criticisms levied against the theory.

Q: "Which course of action does the most good and the least harm?" This is one of the questions to be asked by managers while making an ethical decision according to the decision-making model by Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. Discuss the nature and purpose of this question.

Q: Suppose you work for a refrigerator manufacturing company that has a factory in a small rural Nebraska town. The refrigerator plant is the town's primary source of income. The company has placed you in charge of investigating the firm's decision to move the factory to Mexico. If the company moves its manufacturing to Mexico, it can produce refrigerators at a much lower cost. Explain what a modern rights theorist would consider under these circumstances. Student's responses will vary. A modern rights theorist would determine whether anyone's rights are negatively affected by an alternative. If several rights are affected, the rights theorist will determine which right is more important or trumps the other rights, and choose the alternative that respects the most important right. For example, if the alternative is to move to Mexico, the Nebraska employees, among others, are negatively affected. Yet if the manufacturing plant does not move, potential employees in Mexico are harmed. Are these equal rights or is it more important to retain a job one already has than to be deprived of a job one has never had? Are other rights at work here, and how are they ranked? Is it more important to maintain manufacturing production in the firm's home country for national security and trade balance reasons than to provide cheaper refrigerators for the firm's customers? Does the right of all citizens to live in a global economy that spreads wealth worldwide and promotes international harmony prevail over all other rights?

Q: The Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution gives states exclusive power to regulate interstate commerce (commerce among the states).

Q: A corporate manager looking for ethical guidance that neither the law nor social norms accounts for must rely on: A. a strategy that will maximize profits. B. his/her individual conscience. C. the advice of other managers. D. his/her system of delegation to subordinates.

Q: A grease payment: A. is one that is made by a company toward foreign governmental officials to secure routine governmental action. B. is one that is made by a company to the government for the purpose of obtaining goods-and-services contracts. C. is an offer to make a prohibited payment. D. is any gift of value to government officials for the purpose of obtaining business.

Q: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): A. prohibits payments of kickbacks to foreign businesses and their corporate officials. B. imposes recordkeeping and internal-controls requirements on any corporation whose shares are privately traded in the United States. C. does not require a U.S. parent corporation to make a good faith effort if the parent owns less than a majority interest in the foreign corporation. D. deals only with payments to foreign governmental officials.

Q: Explain the difference between deontological and teleological ethical theories. Give an example of each.

Q: Explain the theory of utilitarianism.

Q: Law may not be up to the task of forcing corporations to engage in ethical behavior for a number of reasons, including that: A. it is not clear that all corporations will respond to the threat of financial penalties imposed by law. B. judges are likely to be sympathetic to corporations. C. Sarbanes-Oxley decreases the likelihood that illegal behavior will be detected. D. corporations voluntarily elect to pursue ethical ends.

Q: The problem with the view that a corporation should attempt to act in the best interests of all of its various constituencies is that: A. this tactic ignores the bottom line. B. corporate managers often have a better sense of what is right. C. the values of these constituencies may conflict. D. local communities will not benefit from these values.

Q: Advocates for socially responsible corporations sometimes recommend that corporations can sensitize themselves to outside concerns by restructuring their decision making processes to include: A. giving shareholders lesser power. B. changing the composition of the corporate board. C. promoting lesser transparency within corporate structures. D. giving greater immunity to corporates.

Q: It is unlikely that greater control by shareholders will lead to greater corporate social responsibility because: A. most shareholders are motivated by maximizing profits and are unlikely to approve corporate actions contrary to that end. B. many shareholders have access to the information necessary to closely monitor the noneconomic performance of a company. C. there is a definite chance that the values of "ethical" shareholders would be representative of society as a whole. D. shareholders will have the power to adopt resolutions binding the corporate managers.

Q: The OECD's Principles of Corporate Governance insists on: A. greater immunity power for corporate managers. B. lesser transparency within corporate structures. C. greater concealment of corporate governance policies to avoid conflicts of interest. D. greater protection for whistleblowers.

Q: The new federal sentencing guidelines implemented as part of Sarbanes-Oxley: A. apply both to individual board members and the corporation itself. B. assign specific oversight responsibilities to directors. C. are designed to give management immunity. D. call for special committees of the board to be assigned similar functions.

Q: Some of the problems raised by corporate reward structures include: A. focusing on long-term rather than short-term profitability. B. the interests of managers always being aligned with the long-range interests of the company. C. managers being inclined sometimes to act irresponsibly and/or illegally without an eye to legal trouble that may occur in the future. D. firms sacrificing the present to the future thereby promoting long-term allocational inefficiency.

Q: Corporate codes of ethical conduct: A. effectively deter unethical behavior. B. are sometimes viewed as a thinly-veiled attempt to mislead the public into thinking that the company behaves ethically. C. accurately reflect the values of society. D. tend to expressly publish policies that deal directly with corruption to avert legal measures that might impose severe constraints.

Q: The tendency to internalize group values and suppress critical thought is known as: A. risky shift. B. social loafing. C. herd behavior. D. groupthink.

Q: Corporate social responsibility argues that ethical guidance for corporate managers may come from: A. values that are influenced by culture. B. corporate or industry codes of conduct. C. corporations giving preference to their employees over the other constituencies. D. an array of conflicting ethical views.

Q: The problem with looking to "values that find wide acceptance" as a guide to ethical corporate behavior is that: A. modern life holds a diversity of conflicting ethical views. B. most widely-accepted values are uninformed. C. companies will always look to profit maximization over anything else. D. in today's global world, culture has no effect on the ethical attitudes of business managers.

Q: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that: A. public corporations disclose whether they have adopted a code of ethics for senior financial officers. B. private corporations report any change in their code of ethics. C. privately traded corporations have board audit committees comprising only of dependent directors. D. special committees of the board be assigned to special areas of concern.

Q: Which of the following is true of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)? A. Coordinates domestic and international policies of developing countries. B. Asserts that most company codes tend to speak in positive terms such as a commitment to honesty. C. Created to promote rules for the corporations based on the culture of the place. D. Asserts that most enterprises' codes of conduct expressly publish policies that deal directly with corruption.

Q: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act: A. creates a PCA Oversight Board with the authority to regulate CPA firms that audit publicly-traded companies. B. narrowly defines the meaning of "obstruction of justice" and decreases the penalties for conscious law breaking. C. decreases the likelihood of detection and prosecution of illegal behavior. D. adopts the theory of allocational efficiency, under which the primary objective of a business corporation is to maximize profits.

Q: The phenomenon of "risky shift" means: A. that groups do not accept higher risks than individuals. B. that a corporation will shift its risk onto its customers. C. that a group of people who must reach a consensus on an acceptable level of risk often decide on a level of risk higher than the risk they would accept as individuals. D. the tendency for members of a group to internalize the group's values and perceptions and to suppress critical thought.

Q: Which of the following is an example of groupthink? A. The five officers of Gateway are planning a business enterprise they know to be highly profitable. Two know the plan to be illegal. Nevertheless, they do not voice their concerns, but go along with the team's plan. B. The five officers of Gateway devise a highly profitable plan. Dan, the CFO, points out to the group that the plan will likely get the company a good deal of negative publicity. Dan states that he will not sanction the team's plan. C. Mike, Sean, and Ned draft plans for a new software company. They have all thought through their plans and no one has any criticisms or concerns. D. Two Africans approach an automotive company for a dealership. The company informs them that the vast majority of black dealers are not successful in making a profit. They convince the Africans against making the deal.

Q: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act: A. substantially increases the penalties for corporate wrongdoing. B. gives corporations greater freedom from government control. C. adopts the theory of allocational efficiency. D. motivates executives to inflate reports of corporate profits.

Q: Under John Rawls's justice theory: A. decision makers' choices are to be guided by fairness and impartiality. B. the focus is on the process of decision making, not the outcome. C. society's benefits and burdens should fall on only certain segments of society. D. the morality of any action is determined by applying the categorical imperative.

Q: Under act utilitarianism: A. an ethical decision is one that minimizes utility for society as a whole. B. each person has an equal right to basic rights and liberties. C. the action is viewed as part of a rule or habit. D. the decision maker considers each action separately.

Q: A teleological theory based on the laissez-faire theory is: A. act utilitarianism. B. profit maximization. C. rule utilitarianism. D. difference principle.

Q: Under the allocational efficiency theory, the primary objective of a business corporation is to: A. maximize profit. B. minimize fraudulent activities. C. maximize corporate social responsibility. D. minimize criticism.

Q: The regulatory agency "capture" usually occurs through: A. the official governmental dissolution of an agency. B. the frequent exchange of personnel between a governmental agency and the industry it was intended to regulate. C. litigation between a corporation and governmental agency. D. the use of political influence to reduce the funding received by the agency enforcing the legislation.

Q: Many corporations initiate legislation in order to: A. head off the risk of future unpredictable lawsuits. B. ensure that their competitors are subject to more rigid constraints than is applicable to them. C. enhance the community in which the company is located. D. maximize the risk of more costly regulations for competitors.

Q: The theory that calls for a fair allocation of society's benefits and burdens among all members of society is: A. the allocational efficiency theory. B. Kantianism. C. the modern rights theory. D. the justice theory.