AP Gov Unit 4 - Interactions Between Branches

reapportionment

reallocation of seats in the house of representatives based on changes in state population since last census

redistricting

redrawing of congressional district boundaries within a state, based on reappointment; allows for party in power to draw district lines in favor of their partisanship

gerrymandering

redrawing of congressional boundaries for the purpose of political advantage

what kind of gerrymandering is illegal?

when it eliminates the minority party's influence statewide or diminishes the voting power of racial groups

powers of congress

power of the purse, authority to tax, authority to declare war, raise and support army, manage coin money

power of the purse

congress gets to decide what to do with a budget offered by the president

enumerated powers

powers granted to the federal government

exclusive powers

powers held solely by either the federal or state governments - cannot be exercised concurrently by both levels

examples of exclusive powers

revenue bills, impeachment, presidential appointments

trustee model

legislators follow their own conscience when deciding issue positions

instructed delegate model

legislators should vote in keeping with the constituents views

politico model

blends instructed delegate and trustee models - when a legislator acts as instructed delegates on important matters but as a trustee on more mundane matters

partisan

voting according to political party

congressional oversight

a check on the executive branch that makes sure the laws congress passes are being administered

methods of congressional oversight

congressional hearings, confirmation hearings, investigations, budgetary appropriations

house leadership

speaker of the house, majority and minority leaders, whips

speaker of the house responsibilities

oversees house of representatives activity, sets a legislative agenda, assigns committee positions

majority and minority leaders

represent their parties on the house floor

whips

assist leadership in managing their party's legislative program on the floor

senate leadership

vice president - holds the tie breaking vote in the senate

where can bill ideas come from?

the people, members of congress, the president, interest groups, political parties, businesses

where can bills start?

in the house or senate, except for revenue bills (exclusively house)

discharge petition

remove bill from committee for the whole house to consider on the floor

types of committees

standing, join, select, rule

standing committees

permanent committees with members from both parties ONLY from the house

joint committees

formed to coordinate on matters of mutual concern or to conduct studies with members from both house and senate

select committees

temporary committees with members from both parties ONLY from the house

rules committees

a committee in the house of representatives that decides the length of debate and scope of amendments that are allowed for bills

cloture vote

the only way filibusters can be ended with a 60% vote

federalist 70

written by hamilton, claims that a single executive that has energy is necessary for enforcing laws

why is a single executive argued to be better than a council?

more decisive and quick, more accountability

what is energy in the executive?

the capacity to make decisions quick

formal presidential powers

enumerated powers given in the constitution and implied powers based on language in the constitution

informal presidential powers

power of persuasion

who are the president's constituents?

all americans

honeymoon period

people are typically optimistic right after election so the president can use informal powers more to get their agenda across

rally around the flag

sense of patriotism when there is a domestic threat

mandate from the people

win election by 51%

approval ratings

if approval ratings are good, the president's power of persuasion goes up

bully pulpit

when the president uses a platform to persuade the public on their agenda

statutory presidential powers

granted to presidents by congressional actions

special presidential powers

executive orders, executive privilege, emergency powers

purpose of a bureaucracy

implementation of public policy, carrying out day to day operations of the government, provide satisfactory services

bureaucratic strucure

hierarchy, specialization, formal rules, merit based hiring

hierarchy

clear chain of command with responsibility at the top and delegated downward

red tape

bureaucratic rules or procedures that complicate and slow down actions

federal structure

cabinet departments, independent administrative agencies, independent regulatory commissions, government corporations

cabinet departments

15 departments headed by a cabinet secretary with expertise in a specific policy area and their own budget

independent administrative agencies

established by congress with separate status outside the executive branch; given a specific mandate and generally perform a service function, not a regulatory one

independent regulatory commissions

regulate a specific aspect of society and operate independently from congress and the president

government corporations

government owned businesses created by congress that generate revenue for the government and provide a service

public policy cycle

agenda setting, policy formation, policy approval, appropriation (funding) approval, policy implementation, policy evaluation

bureaucracy's role in agenda setting

can notice the issues of the public at a street level and present the issue

bureaucracy's role in policy formation

defining a problem and making a plan of action to fix it - provide a public service daily and have specialized knowledge of societal problems

bureaucracy's role in appropriation (funding) approval

congress and president specify how much money each bureaucracy is authorized to spend during the budget year

appropriation laws

gives bureaucracies and other government entities the legal authority to spend money

bureaucracy's role in policy implementation

administrative discretion, administrative rule making, administrative adjudication

administrative discretion

authority delegated to use expertise and judgement to determine how to implement public policy

administrative rule making

upper level bureaucrats use their administrative discretion to create rules, regulations, and standards that the bureaucracy will then enforce

administrative adjudication

have the authority to determine if rules are violated and impose penalties on the violators

accountability for bureaucracy by congress

congressional oversight

accountability for bureaucracy by president

appointment power, executive orders/memoranda, office of management and budget, performance checks

accountability for bureaucracy by judiciary

judicial review, apa compliance, interpreting laws, injunctions

internal bureaucratic accountability

ethics in government act, whistleblowers, inspector general act

dual court system

every state has their own court system in addition to the federal court system

article III

created ONLY the supreme court and gave congress the power to create inferior courts

judicial review

the power to resolve disputes, if there is a question about the legality of an action of law a party in involved in the case takes it to a court

federalist 78

states that the judicial should be the "least dangerous branch" since it doesn't control the military or money; states that judges should interpret laws according to the constitution, judges should have lifetime appointments, and the courts should be able to strike down unconstitutional laws

why do judges have lifetime appointments?

to protect them from political pressure and allow them to make fair decisions

courts are passive

courts cannot reach out and "take" a case, a party must bring the case to the courts

standing

you must be involved or have sustained an "injury" by a misapplication of a law or an unconstitutional action in order to take the case to court

precedent

courts often rule in cases similarly to how previous cases were ruled to ensure consistency and equal justice

sources of law

common law, the constitution, legislation/statutes, executive orders, administrative rules

jurisdiction

if a state law or action is in question, state courts have jurisdiction over that case, otherwise it goes to the federal courts

us district courts

almost all federal cases begin here; operate with a judge and jury - defendant can appeal the case to a higher court if they losoe

how many us district courts are there?

94, at least one in every state

what type of jurisdiction do us district courts have?

original and mandatory

us circuit courts

cases never begin here; no jury and a panel of 3 federal judges - losing party can appeal to SCOTUS

how many circuit courts are there?

13, 1 in each of the 11 regions and 2 in DC

SCOTUS

only 1 court with nine justices and no jury

what type of jurisdiction do the us circuit courts have?

appellate jurisdiction and mandatory jurisdiction

what type of jurisdiction does SCOTUS have?

original (rare), appellate, and discretionary

certiorari petition

submitted by a party that wants scotus to review a case - must offer up the constitutional question at hand

writ of certiorari

puts a case on the supreme court docket, issued by a justice, calls up the facts from the lower courts

amicus curiae briefs

filed by interest groups to show they are interested in or affected by the decision - they present research, expertise and hoped outcome in their brief

majority opinion

becomes "case law"

concurring opinion

agrees with majority opinion but for different reasons

dissenting opinions

doesn't exist in unanimous decisions, often becomes majority opinion if a ruling gets reversed at a later date

factors of federal judge selection

judicial competence, confirmability, ideology, senatorial courtesy

checks and balances on judicial branch

executive branch enforces decisions, congress controls jurisdiction + number of lower courts as well as the number of judges on each court, congress can impeach and remove judges, congress can pass an amendment

judicial activism

judges act as policymakers by stretching the meaning of the constitution to allow for growth based on current values and needs of society

judicial restraint

judges interpret the constitution or written law strictly and believe societal change to constitution or law is up to congress

original jurisdiction

judicial authority to hear cases for the first time and to determine guilt or liability by applying the law to the facts presented

appellate jurisdiction

judicial authority to review the interpretation and application of the law in previous decisions reached by another court in a case

mandatory jurisdiction

requirement that a court hear all cases filed with it

discretionary jurisdiction

authority of a court to select the cases it will hear from among all the cases appealed to it