Practice Quiz

AP US Government

Category - Gov Institutions

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If the chief justice is not in the majority when a case is decided, the responsibility for opinion assignment rests with the:
  1. Most senior associate justice in the majority.
  2. Chief justice, as in other cases.
  3. Most senior associate justice in the minority.
  4. Justice assigned by the Chief Justice.
  5. Justice selected by random drawing.
Explanation
Answer: A - When the Chief Justice’s side does not win in a case, it is up to the justice on the winning side who has served the longest on the Supreme Court to assign who writes the majority opinion. If the Chief Justice is in the majority, he assigns who writes the opinion. Deciding who writes an opinion can sometimes be of monumental consequence as the majority opinion becomes the standard by which the rest of the government must follow.
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