three branch

Constituents

People of a specific area represented by a lawmaking body

Apportionment

Distribution of House of Representatives seats among states

Appropriations

Congressional allocation of funds for a specific purpose

Impeachment

Process of charging officials with wrongdoing

Oversight

Congress's power to check the executive branch

Necessary and proper clause

Allows Congress to make laws essential for its powers

Indirect tax

Tax passed from one person to another for government payment

Direct tax

Tax paid directly to the government by an individual

Subpoenas

Legal documents requiring testimony

Writ of habeas corpus

Court order to present a person in court

Bill of attainder

Law punishing a person without trial

Ex post facto laws

Criminalizing past legal actions

Bills

Proposed laws

Standing committees

Permanent House committees for major areas

Select Committees

Temporary House committees for specific tasks

Joint Committees

Committees with members from both House and Senate

President of the Senate

Senate's presiding officer

President pro tempore

High-ranking senator presiding over the Senate

Senate Majority Leader

Leader of the majority party in the Senate

Seniority rule

Committee assignment based on service length

Filibuster

Tactic to delay Senate voting by continuous talking

Quorum

Minimum members needed for legal business conduct

Conference Committee

Resolves differences in House and Senate bills

Pocket Veto

President's bill rejection when Congress is not in session

Chief Executive

Enforces laws

Commander in Chief

Controls the military

Foreign Policy

Government's strategy with other nations

Chief of State

Ceremonial U.S. speaker

Succession

Process of coming after someone

Executive Orders

President's formal instructions with legal force

Executive Privilege

President's power to withhold information

Reprieve

Postponement of a prison sentence

Pardon

Official forgiveness of a convicted person's sentence

Amnesty

General pardon for a group's offenses

Commute

Reduce a person's sentence

Appellant

Person filing an appeal

Defendant

Person against whom a complaint is filed

Prosecution

Charging someone with a crime and trial

Appellate Court

Higher court for appeals from lower courts

Exclusive Jurisdiction

Sole right to decide certain cases

Concurrent Jurisdiction

Cases under state and federal court jurisdiction

Original Jurisdiction

First court to hold trials in specific cases

Appellate Jurisdiction

Authority to review lower court decisions

Judicial Restraint

Interpreting the Constitution based on original intentions

Judicial Activism

Interpreting the Constitution broadly

Gideon v

Right to legal counsel for accused individuals

Miranda v

Right to remain silent and have an attorney

Roe v

Unconstitutionality of state abortion bans

Citizens United v

Protection of corporate free speech

Obergefell v

Same-sex marriage licensing and recognition

Dobbs V

No constitutional right to abortion

brown

1954 Seperate but equal educational facilities for racial minorities is inherently unequal violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment

Repealed Plessy v. Ferguson

Plessy v

1896 Equal but separate accommodations for whites and blacks imposed by Louisiana don't violate the equal protection Clause of the 14th amendment