AP U.S. Government and Politics · Past multiple choice · Question 23, Effective Fall 2014
Friend of the court briefs
Pick the true statement about amicus curiae briefs.
The lesson this question tests
1 Read the question
The question is College Board's: sample question 23 in AP Government and Politics: United States Course Description. It starts on page 21 of the PDF.
Open Question 23 (PDF, page 21)
2 Pick your answer
3 Check the explanation
Why the answer is A open once you have picked
Amicus curiae means friend of the court. An amicus brief is filed by someone who is not a party to the case but wants to influence how it is decided. Interest groups on all sides file them in major Supreme Court cases, which makes the brief a way of lobbying the courts with legal arguments and evidence.
Each choice
- A (correct). Interest groups file amicus briefs to push courts toward the outcome they want, which is lobbying in legal form.
- B. Groups across the spectrum file amicus briefs, so no side uses them exclusively.
- C. Conservative groups do file them, but so do liberal groups, so the word exclusively makes this false.
- D. Amicus briefs are legal and common. Major Supreme Court cases often draw dozens of them.
- E. A party asking the Supreme Court to review a lower court decision files a petition for a writ of certiorari, not an amicus brief.
Question and answer key: College Board. The title and summary are ours, and so is the explanation.