ANG Study Guide (just newest terms)

implementation

implementation

the process by which policies enacted by gov are put into effect by the relevant agencies

patronage

the use of gov positions to reward individuals for their political support

spoils system

a system that rewards political loyalties or party support during elections with bureaucratic appointments after victory

pendleton act of 1883

• merit system for hiring, civil service protection

• created the Civil Service Commission

• passed by Congress to prevent the constant reward to loyal party members

• provided that federal gov jobs be awarded on the basis of merit and that gov employees be selected through competitive exams

• made it unlawful to fire or demote for political reasons employees who were covered by the law

“fire alarms” and “police patrols”

• police patrols - notion that you are, as someone who has oversight over agencies (like police), looking around for things that are happening/problems (patrolling for fires)

• fire alarms - more efficient; don’t look for things that are happening/problems (fires), something monitors it (fire alarms)

sunshine laws

• making all kinds of public records related to gov workers available to the public

• regulations requiring public disclosure of gov agency meetings and records

red tape

the mechanisms, procedures, and rules that must be followed to get something done

deregulation

• reduction or elimination of gov power in a particular industry, usually enacted to create more competition within the industry

  (removing gov rules and letting markets/groups operate)

devolution

• transfer or delegation of power from a central gov to a subnational, local authority

  (sending functions down to states and localities)

privatization

• process of transferring property from public ownership to private ownership and/or transferring the management of a service or activity from the gov to the private sector

  (gov functions performed by private companies)

two principals problem

• political authority over the bureaucracy is shared between two principals (Congress and President)

  • Congress - funds agencies and Senate confirms high ranking officials

  • President - issue executive orders, nominates for promotions

stare decisis

• the principle by which courts rely on past decisions and their precedents when making decisions in new cases

• “let the decision stand”

original vs appellate jurisdiction

• original jurisdiction - the power of a court to hear a case for the first time

  • supremes act as trial court

• appellate jurisdiction - the power of a court to hear a case on appeal from a lower court and possibly change the lower court’s decision

  • supremes don’t determine what the facts are, they just look at whether the law was applied correctly

standing

a party’s right to make a legal claim or seek judicial enforcement of a duty or right

writ of certiorari

an order of the Supreme Court calling up the records of the lower court so a case may be reviewed; sometimes abbreviated cert.

amicus curiae

literally a “friend of the court” and used for a brief filed by someone who is interested in but not party to a case

oral argument

words spoken before the Supreme Court (usually by lawyers) explaining the legal reasons behind their position in a case and why it should prevail

opinion/concurrence/dissent

• opinion - an aggregate of the individual views, attitudes, and beliefs about a particular topic, expressed by a significant proportion of a community

• concurrence - a coincidence of equal powers in law

• dissent - at least one party’s disagreement with the majority opinion

judicial activism/restraint

a judicial philosophy in which a justice is more likely to …

• judicial activism - … overturn decisions or rule actions by the other branches unconstitutional, especially in an attempt to broaden individual rights

• judicial restraint - … let stand the decisions or actions of the other branches of gov

rule of four

a Supreme Court custom in which a case will be heard when four justices decide to do so

originalism

theory of constitutional interpretation that asserts that all statements in the Constitution must be interpreted based on the original understanding at the time it was adopted