In a Series of Well-Publicized Supreme Court Rulings in 2005

question 15

Multiple Choice

In a series of well-publicized Supreme Court rulings in 2005, Kentucky was required to remove the Ten Commandments posted in some of its county courtrooms. However, Texas was allowed to keep a monument on the state capital grounds that had the Ten Commandments listed. How did the Supreme Court rationalize the Kentucky circumstance as unconstitutional, but not the Texas case?

• A) Texas was a sovereign nation prior to becoming a state and was allowed to retain some of its religious sovereignty.
• B) Kentucky did not have the level of adequate legal representation during the proceedings as did Texas.
• C) The Texas case used a newer, more modern interpretation of the Ten Commandments that was considered less controversial by the Supreme Court.
• D) The Kentucky case involved religious displays inside of public courtrooms that are involuntarily visible to anyone, whereas the Texas case involved a monument with a historical context that is located on the grounds of the capitol building.
• E) The Supreme Court showed its bias toward western states.

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Definitions:

Preston Brooks

A pro-slavery Congressman from South Carolina known for his violent attack on abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner in 1856.

Dred Scott Decision

A landmark 1857 Supreme Court case that held African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be American citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court, and that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States.

James McCune Smith

The first African American to hold a medical degree and an influential abolitionist and author in the 19th century America.