AP Government: Executive and Judicial Branches Practice Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering essential key concepts, clauses, cases, and principles for the Executive Branch, Federal Bureaucracy, and Judicial Branch.

Federalist No. 70

An essay by Alexander Hamilton arguing that a single executive provides decision, activity, secrecy, and dispatch while remaining more accountable to the public than a plural executive.

Executive Agreement

An informal agreement between the President and a foreign head of state that carries international legal weight without requiring two-thirds Senate ratification.

Pocket Veto

A mechanism by which a bill dies without possibility of override if the President takes no action on it and Congress adjourns within ten days of submitting it.

Signing Statement

A presidential declaration issued upon signing a bill into law that expresses the administration's interpretation of the statute and directs executive agencies on how to enforce it.

Bully Pulpit

The President's use of public visibility, televised addresses, and media presence to rally public support and pressure lawmakers to pass desired legislation.

Twenty-Second Amendment

A constitutional amendment that limits a President to serving a maximum of two terms or ten years in office.

Twenty-Fifth Amendment

A constitutional amendment establishing presidential disability procedures, allowing the Vice President to become Acting President if declared incapacitated by the Vice President and a majority of Cabinet secretaries.

United States v. Nixon (1974)

A Supreme Court decision ruling that executive privilege is not absolute and cannot be invoked to withhold evidence in a criminal investigation.

White House Office (WHO) Staff

The President's personal political advisors—such as the Chief of Staff and Press Secretary—who serve at the President's pleasure without requiring Senate confirmation.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

An executive office unit that assists the President by formulating the annual federal budget proposal and conducting policy clearance across administrative agencies.

Delegated Discretionary Authority

The power granted by Congress to administrative agencies to write binding rules, regulations, and enforcement standards to implement broad statutory mandates.

Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)

Federal legislation replacing political patronage with a merit-based civil service system where positions are awarded based on competitive examinations.

Iron Triangle

A sub-governmental alliance consisting of an administrative executive agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group.

Issue Network

A fluid, broad group of policy experts, academics, advocates, and journalists who coalesce informally around specific policy issues.

Hatch Act (1939)

A federal law prohibiting civil service employees from participating in partisan political campaign activities while on duty.

Take Care Clause

The provision in Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution mandating that the President take care that federal laws are faithfully executed.

Federalist No. 78

An essay by Alexander Hamilton characterizing the judiciary as the least dangerous branch because it possesses neither the power of the sword nor the power of the purse.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

The landmark Supreme Court case that formally established the principle of judicial review in American jurisprudence.

Stare Decisis

The legal doctrine obligating judges to follow historical legal precedents established by past court decisions when ruling on current cases.

Writ of Certiorari

A formal order issued by an appellate court directing a lower court to transmit the official records of a case for review.

Rule of Four

The requirement that at least four Supreme Court Justices must vote to grant a petition for a writ of certiorari in order to hear a case.

Judicial Activism

A philosophy of judicial decision-making where judges actively void unconstitutional laws or executive actions, occasionally establishing new legal policy standards.

Judicial Restraint

A judicial philosophy asserting that courts should defer to policy choices made by democratically elected legislative and executive branches unless a clear constitutional violation exists.

Amicus Curiae Brief

A brief submitted to an appellate court by an interested non-party, such as an interest group, to offer additional legal arguments, facts, or policy perspectives.

Senatorial Courtesy

An unwritten Senate custom where the President consults home-state senators of their political party when nominating federal district court judges.

Originalism

A judicial philosophy asserting that constitutional provisions must be interpreted based on the public meaning of the text at the time it was framed and adopted.

Living Constitution

A constitutional interpretation framework viewing the Constitution as a dynamic document that adapts to evolving social realities and contemporary values.

Solicitor General

The executive branch official responsible for representing the federal government in litigation before the Supreme Court and deciding which government cases to appeal.

Standing to Sue

The constitutional requirement under Article III that a plaintiff must demonstrate a direct, concrete, and redressable injury to bring a case before a court.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

A Supreme Court ruling establishing that constitutional challenges to legislative redistricting present justiciable issues under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Selective Incorporation

The doctrine applying fundamental protections of the Bill of Rights against state government actions via the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Per Curiam Opinion

An unsigned, collective legal opinion delivered by an appellate court as a unified body.

Political Question Doctrine

A doctrine under which federal courts refuse to decide policy disputes that the Constitution explicitly delegates to the legislative or executive branch.