AP GOV Unit 2 Part 1 Vocab

Appellate Jurisdiction

Authority of a court to hear an appeal from a lower court

Bureaucracy

departments, agencies, bureaus, and commissions of the executive branch of government.

Baker v. Carr, 1961

Supreme Court ruled house districts can be challenged in court if they are unfairly drawn.

Closed rule

Rules Committee rule that bans amendments to a bill.

Cloture

Senate motion to end a filibuster that requires a 3/5 vote.

Concurring Opinion

written by a Supreme Court Justice who voted with the majority, but for different reasons.

Conference Committee

works out a compromise between differing House-Senate versions of a bill.

Constituents

the people who are represented by elected officials.

Discharge Petition

a motion to force a bill to the House floor that has been bottled up in committee.

Dissenting Opinion

written by a Supreme Court Justice (or Justices) who express a minority viewpoint in a case.

Executive Agreement:

an agreement between the president and another head of state that, unlike a treaty, does not require Senate consent.

Executive Order

presidential rule or regulation that has the force of law.

Executive privilege

the privilege of a president and his staff to withhold their "privileged" conversations from Congress or the courts.

Filibuster

nonstop Senate debate that prevents a bill from coming to a vote.

Gerrymandering

redrawing district lines to favor one party at the expense of another.

Hold

Senate maneuver that allows a Senator to stop or delay consideration of a bill or presidential appointment.

Impeachment

House action that formally charges an official with wrongdoing. Conviction requires 2/3 vote from the Senate.

Judicial activism

philosophy that the courts should take an active role in solving problems.

Judicial restraint

philosophy that the courts should defer to elected lawmakers in setting policy, and should instead focus on interpreting law rather than making law.

Judicial Review

power of the courts to review the constitutionality of laws or governmental actions.

Legislative Oversight

ongoing process on congressional monitoring of the executive branch to ensure that the latter complies with the law.

Line item veto

power of most governors (and President Clinton for only a few years) to delete or reduce funding in a bill on a line by line basis.

Logrolling ('pork barrel')

when two members of Congress agree to vote for each other's bill.