THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
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Founded January 1970
                  "Accessible only through secret tree hollows."


THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, February 26, 2016
Quiz: The US Supreme Court

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ROUND TABLE OF THE NIGHT
We have our monthly astronomical round table on this afternoon's broadcast of
"Radio Astronomy."   on WMPG   90.9 FM  or wmpg.org
A discussion forum about the latest astronomical and astrophysical news.
The panel includes
- Bernie Reim, author of the "What's Up" column published in both the
Portland Press Herald and Biddeford Journal Tribune
Forest Sumner, a member of the Southern Maine Astronomers
and
Ron Thompson, another member of the Southern Maine Astronomers


"Radio Astronomy" is broadcast every Friday at 1:00 p.m.
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Earlier this month, associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
died.  While his death will likely have profound political
ramifications for our country, we will cheerfully skirt that mess and
focus, instead, on the US Supreme Court, itself.  The highest court is
the focus of our weekly Friday quiz: its history, its structure, and
even some of its most noteworthy decisions.

Fifteen questions, and, of course, you are free to appeal the answers.

1. Who was the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court?
a.  John Jay
b.  James Madison
c.  Samuel Adams
d.  John Hancock

2. Who was the only person to have served as both US President and Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court?
a.  Millard Fillmore
b.  William Howard Taft
c.  William Henry Harrison
d.  John Quincy Adams

3. In 1954, future supreme court justice Thurgood Marshall
successfully argued a landmark legal case that ended school
segregation.  What was the name of this decision?  (No choices.)

4.  John Story was the youngest person appointed to the U.S. Supreme
Court.   How old was he when he was appointed?
       a.  32
       b.  41
       c.  43
       d.  48

5.  Which U.S. President unsuccessfully attempted to "pack the court"
by introducing a law that would have allowed him to add another
Justice to the court every time a sitting justice had reached the age
of 70?
a.  William McKinley
b.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt
c.  Richard Nixon
d.  Jimmy Carter

6. Four of the last five presidents appointed two justices to the
bench.  One of the last five presidents appointed only one.   Which
U.S. President only appointed one Supreme Court justice?
a.   Barack Obama
b.  G. W. Bush
c.  Bill Clinton
d.  George H.W. Bush
e.  Ronald Reagan

7.  How many Supreme Court Justices have there been in all?
a.  78
b. 112
c. 136
d. 212

8.  How many justices sat on the Supreme Court originally?
a. 6
b. 7
c. 8
d. 9

9.  How many U.S Supreme Court justices have been foreign born?
a. 0  (the US Constitution forbids any foreign born citizen from
becoming a Supreme Court Justice.)
b. 1
c. 4
d. 7

10.  Who was the only U.S Supreme Court justice to have been impeached?
a.  Oliver Wendell Holmes
b.  Samuel Chase
c.  Edward Douglass White
d.  George Sutherland

11.  Which University has produced the greatest number of US Supreme
Court justices?
a.  Yale
b. Cornell
c.  Harvard
d.  Columbia

12.  Which ONE of these strange facts about the Supreme Court isn't true?
a.  There is a basketball court on the top floor the US Supreme Court
building, dubbed "The highest court in the world."
b. At one point, the US Supreme Court had to convene meetings in a private home
c.  During the first session, the Supreme Court had no docket and
rendered no decisions
d. In 1858, an associate Justice was censured for having physically
assaulted the Chief Justice. (He punched the back of his head.) For
this reason, the Chief Justice's seat is now situated behind and
slightly above the chairs of the other Justices.

13.  Who is the only US President to have served a full term without
appointing any Supreme Court Justice?
a.  Lyndon B. Johnson
b.  Jimmy Carter
c.  John Adams
d.  Theodore Roosevelt

14. In what year did construction on the US Supreme Court building begin?
a. 1812
b. 1850
c. 1888
d. 1932

15. How many years passed between the first meeting of the U.S.
Supreme Court and the appointment of its first female justice?
a. 110 years
b. 173 years
c. 191 years
d. 205 years

ANSWERS
1. a. John Jay

2. b. William Howard Taft

3.  Brown vs. Board of Education

4.   32

5.  b. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

6.  d.  George H.W. Bush (appointed Clarence Thomas)

7.  b. 112

8.  a. 6

9.  d.  7

10.  b. Samuel Chase  (The US Senate acquitted him, however, and he
remained on the bench.)

11.  c. Harvard

12. d. In 1858, an associate Justice was censured for having
physically assaulted the Chief Justice. (He punched the back of his
head.) For this reason, the Chief Justice's seat is now situated
behind and slightly above the chairs of the other Justices.

13.  b. Jimmy Carter

14. 1932.   Construction was finished in 1935.

15. Answer: c. The U.S. Supreme Court first met in 1790.  In 1981, 191
years later, Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed the first female
justice to serve on that esteemed body.