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Independent Regulatory Agencies
created by Congress to oversee one specific policy; may create rules for their assigned area of supervision and enforce those rules; heads do not directly report to president
Ex: FEC, SEC, FCC, the Federal Reserve Board
Independent agencies
do not fall under a larger department; may be responsible for a wide variety of tasks, including intel gathering and running government museums and zoos; heads report directly to president
Ex: EPA, CIA, NSA, NASA
Departments
part of the Cabinet, largest bureaucratic agencies, cover broad areas of policy responsibility
Government Corporations
Usually created to supply important yet not very profitable services that could be and sometimes are provided by private companies
Ex: US Postal Service
Civil Service
Includes most government jobs (except the very top positions)
Ex: Workers for the State Department, Inspectors for the Agriculture Department
Merit System
designed to recruit people for civil service based on merit, not patronage or political favoritism; diminished power of political parties in day-to-day functions of government
Hatch Act (1939)
made it illegal for federal civil service employees to take an active part in partisan political management or political campaigns, but still allowed them to vote and make campaign contributions
Pendleton Act (1883)
created a civil service commission (Office of Personnel & Management) which filled jobs based on the merit system
Spoils System
Victorious politicians rewarded supporters with government jobs (aka patronage), popular under Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)
Office of Personnel & Management
a civil service commission that fills jobs based on a merit system by recruiting, interviewing, and testing potential employees
Implementation
the process of making a law active or effective, the bureaucracy does this with Congress’ legislation
Administrative Discretion
Congress creates broad guidelines and the bureaucracy is then entrusted with handling the implementation of their laws
Rules
Agencies have the power to issue rules or implement policies; these rules go through a 60 day waiting period, hearings, and lobbying; rules carry the weight of law and can be challenged in court
Federal Register
An official document published every weekday, listing new and proposed rules of regulatory agencies
Iron Triangle
a policy making instrument composed of a tightly related alliance of a congressional committee, interest groups, and federal department/ agency/ bureaucracy; iron triangles do what is best for the constituents, not consumers; also called subgovernments
Issue Network
a policy making instrument composed of loosely related interest groups, congressional committees, presidential aides, and others, including the mass media
Recent Trends in the Bureaucracy
privatization, deregulation, and devolution of the functions of the federal bureaucracy, along with an increasing amount of power of interest groups and corporations
Solicitor General
the office responsible for arguing on behalf of the US in the Supreme Court
Majority Opinion
the final ruling given by the Supreme Court; the Chief Justice can decide who writes the opinion
Dissenting Opinion
comes from justices that disagree with the majority opinion
Concurring Opinion
part of/ agree with the majority opinion but have more opinions
Affirm
the ruling from a lower court is upheld by the Supreme Court
Reverse
the lower court’s ruling is deemed wrong
Remand
the case is sent back to a lower court for retrial with no corrections
Constitutional Courts
created by Congress under Article III, hear a wide range of cases, both civil and criminal, judges can only be removed through impeachment, 94 district courts, 12 courts of appeals
Courts of Appeals
created to lighten Supreme Court’s workload, no juries, only panels of judges, have appellate jurisdiction
Special/ Legislative Courts
created by Congress under Article I Section 8 for a very specific/ narrow purpose
Exclusive Jurisdiction
a court has sole authority to hear a case
Concurrent Jurisdiction
two or more courts (state or federal) have the authority to hear a case
Original Jurisdiction
the court where a case must be heard first
Appellate Jurisdiction
a court that hears an appeal of a case decided by a lower court
Supreme Court
has original, exclusive, and appellate jurisdictions depending on the situation
Judicial review
the power to declare a law unconstitutional
The Rule of Four
4/9 federal judges agree to grant a writ of certiorai (research more about a case), used to decide which cases the supreme court will hear
Writ of Certiorari
to be more fully informed, the Supreme Court researches a case brought to them by a lower court
By Certificate
a lower court asks the Supreme Court to clarify a rule/ procedure in order to help them decide a case, better for the Supreme Court than adding another case to their plate
Amicus Curiae
“friend of the court” briefs from people/ interest groups not involved in the case but have a strong interest in the outcome of a case
Judicial Restraint/ Strict Constructionism
the belief that judges should restrain/ limit the extent of their own power
Judicial Activism/ Loose Constructionism
believe the Constitution is a living document and should be open to new evaluation and modernization
Stare Decisis
the obligation to follow precedents/ earlier rulings except in extreme cases, a huge part of judicial restraint
