polsci final

final

Bureaucracy

The complex structure of offices, tasks, rules and principles of organization that large institutions use to coordinate the work of their personnel.

Implementation

The development of rules, regulations, and bureaucratic procedures to translate laws into action.

Rule making

A quasi-legislative administrative process that produces regulations by government agencies.

Administrative adjudication

The application of rules and precedents to specific cases to settle disputes with regulated parties.

Clientele agency

A department or bureau of government whose mission is to promote, serve, or represent a particular interest.

Regulatory agency

A department, bureau, or independent agency whose primary mission is to make rules governing a particular type of activity.

Administrative legislation

Rules made by regulatory agencies that have the force of law.

Fiscal policy

Regulation of the economy through taxing and spending powers

Monetary policy

Regulation of the economy through manipulation of the supply of money, the price of money (interest rates), and the availability of credit.

Federal Reserve System (Fed)

The system of 12 Federal Reserve banks that facilitates exchanges of cash, checks, and credit; regulates member banks; and uses monetary policy to fight inflation and deflation in the United States

Bureaucratic drift

The tendency of bureaucracies to implement laws in ways that tilt toward the bureaucrats' policy preferences and possibly away from the intentions of the elected officials who created the laws

Coalitional drift

The prospect that enacted policy will change in the future because the composition of the enacting coalition is temporary and provisional

Oversight

The effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies

Deregulation

The policy of reducing the number of rules issued by federal regulatory agencies

Devolution

The policy of delegating a program or passing it down from one level of government to a lower level, such as from the national government to state and local governments

Privatization

The act of moving all or part of a program from the public sector to the private sector

Criminal Law

Cases arising out of actions that allegedly violate laws protecting the health, safety, morals, and welfare of the community.

Civil law

Cases involving disputes among individuals or between the government and individuals that do not involve criminal penalties.

Precedents

Past cases whose principles are used by judges as the bases for their decisions in present cases.

Stare decisis

Literally, "let the decision stand"; the doctrine whereby a previous decision by a court applies as a precedent in similar cases until that decision is overruled.

Public law

Cases involving the powers of government or rights of citizens.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

The Court declared part of the Judiciary Act unconstitutional, establishing the Court's power of judicial review.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

The Court justified the "implied powers" of the government under the Constitution, enabling Congress and the president to assert their authority beyond those activities explicitly mentioned in the Constitution.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

This decision established the supremacy of the federal government over the states in the regulation of commerce so as to create uniform business law.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

The Court declared that people of African origin brought to the United States as part of the slave trade were not given the rights of citizenship under the Constitution and could, therefore, claim none of the rights and privileges that the Constitution provides.

Wabash v. Illinois (1886)

The Court allowed that Congress may make laws and reasonable regulations as may be required for interstate commerce.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

The Court interpreted the post-Civil War amendments to the Constitution in such a way as to allow segregation, so long as facilities were "separate but

equal."

Lochner v. New York (1905)

The Court established a general right to enter freely into contracts as part of business, including the right to purchase and sell labor. The decision made it more difficult for unions to form.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

The Court declared that the right to free speech does not extend to words that are "used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger."

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

The Court allowed the U.S. government to intern Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War I as a safeguard against insurrection or spying.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

The Court ruled that separate educational facilities could not be equal, overturning Plessy, and ordered an end to segregation "with all deliberate speed."

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

The Court ruled that all evidence obtained by searches and seizures in violation of the federal Constitution is inadmissible in a court of law.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

The justices established that the Court has the authority to hear cases involving legislative districting, even though it is a "political matter," ultimately guaranteeing equal representation in the state legislatures and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

The Court struck down a Connecticut law prohibiting counseling on the use of contraceptives and declared that the Bill of Rights implied a right to privacy.

Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

The Court ruled that inflammatory speech may not be punished by government unless it is likely to incite imminent lawless action.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

The Court held that a woman may abort her baby for any reason up to the point that the fetus becomes "viable" and that any law passed by a state or Congress inconsistent with this holding violates the right to privacy and the right to enter freely into contracts.

Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

The Court held that colleges and universities have a legitimate interest in promoting diversity.

Roper v. Simmons (2005)

The Court held that it is cruel and unusual punishment to execute persons for crimes they committed before the age of 18.

Kelo v. City of New London (2005)

The Court upheld the power of local governments to seize property for economic development.

Boumediene v. Bush (2008)

The Court declared that foreign terrorism suspects have the constitutional right to challenge their detention (using the writ of habeas corpus) at the Guantánamo Bay naval base in U.S. courts, even though the detainees are not citizens.

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015).

The Court held that states must both allow same-sex couples to marry and recognize same-sex marriages from other states.

Trial court

the first court to hear a criminal or civil case

Court of Appeals

A court that hears the appeals of lower court decisions. Also called appellate court.

Supreme Court

The highest court in a particular state or in a country

juridiction

The types of cases over which a court has authority

appellate jurisdiction

The class of cases provided in the Constitution and by legislation that may be appealed to a higher court from a lower court

original jurisdiction

The class of cases provided in the Constitution (Article III) that may be taken directly to a federal court

Due Process

the requirement that citizens be treated according to the law and be provided adequate protection for individual rights

Chief Justice

The Justice on the Supreme Court who presides over the court's Public sessions

senetorial courtesy

the practice whereby the president, before formally nominating a person for a federal district judgeship, finds out whether the senators from the candidate's state support the nomination

write of habeas corpus

A court order demanding that an individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause for detention. Habeas corpus is guaranteed by the Constitution and can be suspended only in cases of rebellion or invasion.

Judicial Review

The power of the courts to determine whether the actions of the president, the Congress, and the state legislatures are consistent with the Constitution.

Supremacy Clause

A clause in Article VI of the constitution stating that all laws and treaties approved by the national government are the supreme laws of the United States and superior to all laws adopted by any state or other subdivision

Ripeness

The requirement that a case must involve an actual controversy between to parties, not a hypothetical one

standing

the requirement that anyone initiating a court case must show a substantial stake in the outcome

class action suit

a lawsuit in which a large number of persons with common interests join together under a representative party to bring or defend a lawsuit, as when hundreds of workers join together to sue a company

Rule of Four

the rule that certiorari will be granted for petitions to the Supreme Court only if at least four justices vote in favor of the petition

amicus curiae

"Friend of the court," an individual or group that is not a party to a lawsuit but has a strong interest in influencing the outcome."

Brief

A written document in which an attorney explains—using case precedents—why a court should rule in favor of his or her client.

Oral arguemet

The stage in Supreme Court proceedings in which attorneys for both sides appear before the Court to present their positions and answer questions posed by the justices.

opinion

The written explanation of the supreme court's decision in a particular case

concurrence

An opinion agreeing with the decision of the majority in a Supreme Court case but with a rationale different from the one provided in the majority opinion

dissenting opinion

A decision written by a justice who voted with the minority opinion in a particular case, in which the justice fully explains the reasoning behind his or her case

Moot

no longer requiring resolution by the courts, typically because the facts of the case have changed or been resolved by other means

writ of certiorari

a formal request to have the Supreme Court review a decision of a lower court

Judicial Review

The judicial philosophy whose adherents refuse to go beyond the text of the Constitution in interpreting its meaning

judicial activism

The judicial philosophy that the court should see beyond the text of the constitution or a statue to consider the broader societal implications of its decisions

public opinion

Citizen's attitudes about political issues, personalities, institutions, and events

Socialization

a process in which individuals take on their communities' perspectives and preferences through social interactions

liberal

A person who generally believes that the government should play an active role in supporting social and political change, and generally supports a strong role for the government in the economy, the provision of social services, and the protection of civil rights.

Conservative

A person who generally believes that social institutions (such as churches and corporations) and the free market solve problems better than governments do, that a large and powerful government poses a threat to citizens' freedom, and that the appropriate role of government is to uphold traditional values.

gender gap

A distinctive pattern of voting behavior reflecting the differences in views between women and men

agenda-setting effect

The power of the media to focus public attention on particular issues

Priming

The use of media coverage to make the public take a particular view of an event or a public figure

Framing

The influence of the media over how events and issues are interpreted

public opinion polls

a scientific instrument for measuring public opinion

Sample

A small group selected by researchers to represent the most important characteristics of an entire population

probability sampling

a method used by pollsters to select a representative sample in which every individual in the population has an equal probability of being selected as a respondent

random digit dialing

A method used by pollsters in which respondents are selected at random from a list of 10-digit telephone numbers, with every effort made to avoid bias in the construction of the sample.

Selection bias

A polling error in which the sample is not representative of the population being studied, so that some opinions are over- or underrepresented

sampling error

a polling error that arises on account of the small size of the sample

measurement error

the failure to identify the true distribution of opinion within a population because of errors such as ambiguous or poorly worded questions

Adverse Selection

the problem of incomplete information - of choosing alternatives without fully knowing the details of available options

Moral Hazard

The problem of not knowing all aspects of the actions taken by an agents (nominally on behalf of the principal but potentially at the principal's expense)

Australian ballot.

An electoral format that presents the names of all the candidates for any given office on the same ballot.

single-member district

An electoral district that elects only one representative—the typical method of representation in the United States.

Electoral College

An institution established by the Constitution for the election of the president and vice president of the United States. Every four years, voters in each state and the District of Columbia elect electors who, in turn, cast votes for the president and vice president. The candidate receiving a majority of the electoral vote for president or vice president is elected.

Gerrymandering

The drawing of electoral districts in such a way as to give advantage to one political party.

Plurality rule

A type of electoral system in which victory goes to the individual who gets the most votes, but not necessarily a majority of the votes cast.

majority rule

A type of electoral system in which, to win an office, a candidate

proportional representation

A multi member system that awards seats to political parties in proportion to the percentage of the vote each party won

Duverger's Law

Law of politics, formalized by Maurice Duverger, stating that plurality-rule electoral systems will tend to have two political parties

Referendum

a direct vote by the electorate on a proposed law that has been passed by the legislature or on a specific governmental action

Initiative

A process by which citizens may petition to place a policy proposal on the ballot for public vote

recall

the removal of a public official by popular vote

party identification

An individual's attachment to a particular political party, which may be based on a psychological attachment formed through upbringing, on ideology and policy positions, on past experiences with politicians, or a mixture of these elements

issue voting

An individual's tendency to base the decision of which candidate or party to vote for on the extent to which he or she agrees with the candidate or party on specific issues

prospective voting

Voting based on the imagined future performance of a candidate

Retrospective voting

Voting based on the past performance of a candidate or party