Unit 2 (4) Executive Branch, Judiciary, and Federal Bureaucracy

22nd Amendment

Limits presidency to two terms

12th Amendment

Distinct votes for president and vice president

Veto power, commander in chief, pardoning power, appointment powers, making treaties

Formal Powers of the President

Executive agreements, issue executive orders, going public, War Powers Act

Informal Powers of the President

Chief Executive

The power of the president to carry out laws

Chief Diplomat

The power of the president to direct foreign policy and make decisions toward other countries

Command-in-Chief

The power of the president to lead the armed forces
- Congress declares war, but president commits them

State of the Union Address

The president's annual statement to Congress and the nation.

Pocket Veto

A veto taking place when Congress adjourns within 10 days of submitting a bill to the president, who simply lets it die by neither signing nor vetoing it.

Head of State

The president is the symbol of the nation

Party Leader

The president is the head of their respective political party

Executive Order

The power of the president to issue a rule that commands the force of law

Pardon

The act of forgiveness of punishment

Reprieve

Delaying punishment

Amnesty

The act of forgiving punishment for many individuals in a group

Executive Privilege

The presidential right to keep information of their decisions confidential, especially if controversial

Executive Agreements

Agreements between two or more countries that don't require Senate approval

Signing Statement

A statement that explains how a bill will be carried out by the president and implemented

War Powers Resolution

A law where the president must notify Congress and get approval before sending soldiers out or they must return 60 days after being sent out without approval

Bully Pulpit

The presidential act of using good relations with journalists to win support
- Used by Teddy Roosevelt

Fireside Chats

The informal presidential act of speaking directly to the American people through media (ex: radio, tv)
- Used by Franklin D. Roosevelt

Executive Office of the President

The office in the West Wing of the White House which holds the president's closest advisors

Chief of Staff

The most powerful political advisor, controls the president's schedule, and always has access to them

National Security Council

An office that helps the president regulate US military and foreign powers

Council of Economic Advisors

An office that gives the president advice about complex economic matters
- ex: tax policy, inflation

Bureaucrats

Government officials employed in agencies

Political Patronage (Spoils System)

The act of giving out administrative positions as a reward

Pendleton Act of 1883

A bill that required the creation of the first US Civil Service Commission for making rules of hiring, promotion and tenure

Merit System

A system of employment that hires based on testing results and education level

Compliance Monitoring

The act of issuing funds to ensure that corporations are establishing that a process or procedure is subject to their external requirements

Iron Triangle

A system which connects Congress, the Bureaucracy, and Interest Groups

Congress in the Iron Triangle

- Provides funding for the bureaucracy
- Provides friendly legislation and favorable oversight for interest groups

The Bureaucracy in the Iron Triangle

- Provides policy implementation for Congress
- Provides little regulation for interest groups

Interest Groups in the Iron Triangle

- Provides electoral support for Congress
- Provides congressional support and lobbying for the bureaucracy

Issue Network

A influential web that connects policymaking, policy advocates, and interest groups
- Temporary, specific in policy problems

Bureaucratic Discretion

Bureaucrats can use their own judgment in implementation of a law passed by Congress

Regulation

The authority to make instructions of how to implement a law, typically changed after time passed

Bureaucratic Adjudication

The power of the federal bureaucracy to act as a mini judiciary to settle disputes between parties about implementation

- Denying appointments of positions across the government (Supreme Court, bureaucrats, ambassadors, Cabinet members)
- Reject the president's decision to go to war\
- House issues articles of impeachment
- Senate can impeach the president

Congress checking the Executive Branch

- Declares acts of carrying out laws unconstitutional

The Federal Judiciary checking the Executive Branch

- Veto any bills passed through
- Carry out laws differently through bureaucratic discretion

The Executive Branch checking Congress

- Issuing new federal judges
- Issuing pardons

The Executive Branch checking the Federal Judiciary

Teddy Roosevelt

President that communicated to the public through bully pulpit

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President that communicated to the public via fireside chats

Ambassadors

US government representatives in foreign countries

Legislative Leader

The power of the president to set legislative agenda

International Trade

Power of the president to make agreements to encourage economic cooperation or limit trade
- Requires Congress approval

Military Force

Power of the president to order troops into the field
- Requires Congress approval

The Vice President

The President of the Senate, taking on projects the president supports

The First Lady

The wife of the president who holds great influence and has her own projects

The Federal Bureaucracy

All agencies and employees of the executive branch

The Cabinet

Group of advisors to the president including the heads of the 15 executive departments led by secretaries
- Department of Justice led by Attorney General

Independent Agencies

Agencies responsible for dealing with certain specialized area within government

Government Corporations

Agencies that run like private businesses except the government runs them

Regulatory Agencies

Agencies that were created to protect the public by enforcing certain rules
- Ex: the Environmental Protection Agency

Federal Supremacy

Supreme Court is the highest judiciary in the land

Article II

Lays out the powers and responsibilities of the executive branch

Article III

Lays out the powers and responsibilities of the judicial branch

Jurisdiction

Authority to decide and hear specific cases

Original Jurisdiction

Authority to hear a case for the first time
- District courts

Appellate Jurisdiction

Authroity to review the decisions made by lower courts to overturn or revise
- Appellate or Supreme Court

District Courts

Lowest level of federal judiciary
- 94 courts
- Original Jurisdiction
- Uses juries and witnesses

Court of Appeals

Middle level of federal judiciary
- 11 regional circuit courts
- 1 court over D.C.
- 1 court for international trade law
- Appellate Jurisdiction
- No juries, only judges

Supreme Court

Highest court in the nation
- 9 justices, no jury
- Discusses original jurisdiction rarely
- Most cases based on appellate jurisdiction

Marbury v. Madison

Court case that established judicial review:
- John Adams appointed judges the night before he finished his presidency, and papers were sent out to be delivered by James Madison who refused.
- William Marbury sued Madison, claiming the Judiciary Act of 1789 should enforce the SCOTUS to force the executive branch to deliver the papers
- The SCOTUS ruled the judiciary act unconstitutional and Madison didn't deliver the papers

Judiciary Act of 1801

Congress created 16 new federal judge positions

Midnight Judges

Judge positions which were filled by John Adams in the final hours of his presidency

Judicial Review

The power of the Supreme Court to rule a law, decision, or act unconstitutional

Rule of Four

A rule that a case will be heard in the Supreme Court if at least four justices vote to

Writ of Certiorari

A formal document issued by the Supreme Court to a lower court for all the records of the case

Precedent

A judicial decision from the past that acts as a basis for deciding similar cases in the future

Stare Decisis

The Supreme Court avoids making new precendents by allowing the decision to stand

Judicial Restraint

The belief that court should only use the power of judicial review for judgments using the Constitution and not changing the meaning

Judicial Activism

The belief that the opinions of the judges in the judiciary should factor into the account of their usage of judicial review alongside the Constitution
- Almost like the Necessary and Proper Clause

Criminal Law

A system of law concerned with the punishment of those who commit crimes.

Civil Law

A system of law concerned with private relations between members of a community rather than criminal, military, or religious affairs.

Prosecution

Party who starts the legal proceedings against another party for a violation of the law

Plaintiff

A person who brings a case against another in a court of law, starter of a lawsuit

Defendant

An individual or group being sued or charged with a crime

Majority Opinion

A court opinion reflecting the views of the majority of the judges

Concurring Opinion

An opinion that agrees with the majority in a Supreme Court ruling but differs on the reasoning.

Dissenting Opinion

An opinion disagreeing with a majority in a Supreme Court ruling.

John Marshall

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who was responsible for the Marbury v. Madison decision

Court Hierarchy

- District Courts -> Appeal Court -> Supreme Court
- State Trial Court -> Intermediate Appeal Court -> State Supreme Court -> Supreme Court