Unit 5 Congress and Federal Court System

Incumbent

The current holder of the elected office

Casework

The response or services that Members of Congress provide to constituents who request assistance. Each year, thousands of constituents turn to Members of Congress with a wide range of requests, from the simple to the complex.

Pork Barrel

 A metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district. In election campaigns, the term is used in derogatory fashion to attack opponents.

Earmarks

Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents

Logrolling

Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators

Bicameralism

The principle of a two house legislature

House Rules Committee

considers all bills reported from policy and fiscal committees and determines whether, and in what order, to schedule their consideration on the floor of the House. The Rules Committee also reviews, adopts and schedules consideration of floor resolutions.

Filibuster

A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue.

Cloture

A procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate.

Speaker

The presiding officer in the House of Representatives, formally elected by the House but actually selected by the majority party.

President pro tempore

Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president.

Majority Leader

The legislative leader selected by the majority party who helps plan party strategy, confers with other party leaders, and tries to keep members of the party in line.

Minority Leader

 the legislative leader selected by the minority party as spokesperson for the opposition.

Whip

Party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank-and-file in the legislature.

Standing Committee

A permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area.

Special or Select Committee

A congressional committee created for a specific purpose, sometimes to conduct an investigation.

Joint Committee

 A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; such committees oversee the Library of Congress and conduct investigations.

Conference Committee

Committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different form.

Legislative Oversight

oversight by the United States Congress over the Executive Branch, including the numerous U.S. federal agencies. Congressional oversight includes the review, monitoring, and supervision of federal agencies, programs, activities, and policy implementation.

Seniority Rule

A legislative practice that assigns the chair of the committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee.

Party Caucus

A meeting of the members of a party in a legislative chamber to select party leaders and to develop party policy. Called a conference by the Republicans.

Bill

Printed in the form in which it was passed by one chamber of Congress and certified by the appropriate legislative official.

Resolution

a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion.

Rider

A provision attached to a bill - to which it may or may not be related - in order to secure its passage or defeat.

Closed Rule

 A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments.

Open Rule

A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill.

Override

An action taken by Congress to reverse the presidential veto, requiring a two-thirds majority in each chamber.

Reapportionment

The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each census. State legislatures reapportion state legislative districts.

Redistricting

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

Gerrymandering

The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent.

Constituents

The residents of a congressional district or state.

Polarization

The extent to which liberals and conservatives occupy the more extreme positions on the liberal-conservative ideological spectrum.

Enumerated Powers

The powers expressly given to Congress in the Constitution.

Standing to sue

 the name of the federal law doctrine that focuses on whether a prospective plaintiff can show that some personal legal interest has been invaded by the defendant. ... A defendant must be the party responsible for perpetrating the alleged legal wrong.

Criminal Law

A law that defines crimes against the public order.

Civil Law

A law that governs relationships between individuals and defines their legal rights.

Class Action Suits

a plaintiff sues a defendant or a number of defendants on behalf of a group, or class, of absent parties. This differs from a traditional lawsuit, where one party sues another party for redress of a wrong, and all of the parties are present in court.

Justiciable Dispute

A dispute growing out of an actual case or controversy and that is capable of settlement by legal methods.

Docket

The list of potential cases that reach the Supreme Court.

Prosecutor

 Government lawyer who tries criminal cases, often refereed to as a district attorney or a U.S. Attorney.

Plaintiff

The party instigating a civil lawsuit.

Defendent

 In a criminal action, the person or party accused of an offense.

Plea Bargain

Agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser offense to avoid having to stand trial for a more serious offense.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

A court order requiring explanation to a judge why a prisoner is being held in custody.

Writ of certiorari

A formal writ used to bring a case before the Supreme Court.

Amicus Curiae Brief

Literally, a "friend of the court" brief, filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case.

In Forma Pauperis

A petition that allows a party to file "as a pauper" and avoid paying Court fees.

Original Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a case "in the first instance."

Appellate Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts.

District Courts

Courts in which criminal and civil cases are originally tried in the federal judicial system.

Circuit Courts of appeals

A court with appellate jurisdiction that hears appeals from the decisions of lower courts

Supreme Court

The court of last resort in the United States. It can hear appeals from federal circuit courts or state high courts.

Senatorial Courtesy

 Presidential custom of submitting the names of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.

Solicitor General

The third ranking official in the Department of Justice who is responsible for representing the United States in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Opinion of the Court

An explanation of the decision of the Supreme Court or any other appellate court.

Unanimous Opinion

 a written opinion in which all 9 justices agree

Majority Opinion

 a judicial opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision.

Dissenting Opinion

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

Concurring Opinion

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

Stare Decisis

The rule of precedent, whereby a rule or law contained in a judicial decision is commonly viewed as binding on judges whenever the same question is presented.

Precedent

 A decision made by a higher court such as a circuit court of appeals or the Supreme Court that is binding on all other federal courts.

Judicial Implementation

the process by which a court's decision is enforced. The executive branch must enforce court decisions, but if the president or governor disagrees with a ruling, he or she sometimes ignores it or only partially enforces it.

Marbury v. Madison

A case decided by the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall in 1803. The Court declared unanimously that a certain law passed by Congress should not be enforced, because the law was opposed to the Constitution.

Judicial Review

The power of a court to review laws or government regulations to determine whether they are consistent with the U.S. Constitution or, in a state court, the state constitution.

Judicial Restraint

Philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect what the framers intended and what its words literally say.

Judicial Activism

Philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect current conditions and values.