View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is the clerk who receives Gideon's Supreme Court petition?
(a) Jeffrey Walton.
(b) Stu Mathias.
(c) Michael Rodak, Jr.
(d) Michael Kodak, Jr.

2. Abe Fortas learns that the ______________________ of Gideon's first trial was/were not recorded.
(a) Opening and closing arguments.
(b) Judge's ruling.
(c) Witness statements.
(d) Verdict.

3. Sometimes the justices have their ________________ write brief memorandums about the petitioner's file contents.
(a) Personal assistant.
(b) Law clerks.
(c) Interns.
(d) Legal secretary.

4. The jury is Gideon's first trial was not given _____________________.
(a) Hotel accommodations during its service.
(b) Any instructions for determining guilt.
(c) Meals during its service.
(d) Stipends for its service.

5. In Gideon's reply to the Florida Attorney General's document, Gideon states that he can't cite laws such as the Florida Attorney General has, but that he "_____________________________."
(a) Knows there are many of them.
(b) Is trying to learn the best he can.
(c) Has good intentions.
(d) But he will look them up if it takes forever.

Short Answer Questions

1. Fortas notes that there is a recent history of the Justices declining to approve petitions that would _____________________.

2. Other than Gideon, who is the only person who could have filed Gideon's petition to the Supreme Court?

3. Who is the witness in Gideon's first trial who states that he saw Gideon at the poolroom on the morning of June 3?

4. How old was Gideon when his father died?

5. Who is the central person in GIDEON'S TRUMPET?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Gideon's life like after he marries in 1955?

2. What kind of power do the Supreme Court Justices have and how do some of them feel about it?

3. What is the nature of Gideon's petition to the Supreme Court?

4. What major inadequacies does Fortas discover in the transcripts of Gideon's criminal trial?

5. Describe some of Gideon's bad childhood experiences.

6. What is the famous 1940s case whose precedent denied Gideon an attorney at his criminal trial?

7. What issue has been on the minds of the Justices lately that gives Gideon's petition some extra attention?

8. Do the Supreme Court Justices get to decide which cases they will hear?

9. How does Fortas get the information he needs about Gideon's previous trial?

10. What is meant by federalism and how could Gideon's Supreme Court case impact it?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,202 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample