U.S. Government: Legislative and Judicial Branches Key Terms

Vocabulary flashcards defining fundamental terminology and institutional rules of the United States Congress and the federal judicial system.

Unanimous Consent

A procedure where a senator may request on the floor to set aside a specified rule of procedure so as to expedite proceedings; if no Senator objects, the Senate permits the action, but if any one senator objects, the request is rejected.

Rules Committee

A committee of the United States House of Representatives that, rather than being responsible for a specific area of policy, is in charge of determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor.

Speaker of the House

The highest ranking member of the majority party in the House of Representatives; third in line to be president after the president and vice president.

Filibuster

A delaying tactic, used in the Senate, that involves speechmaking to prevent action on a piece of legislation.

Cloture

A rule in the Senate that states that 60 out of the 100 senators must vote to end a filibuster.

Party polarization

A situation in which members of Congress cannot/will not come to agreement with each other based solely on their political party’s stance on issues.

Gerrymandering

The process by which a political party in the majority manipulates the creation of districts in their state in such a way as to give their party the advantage in elections.

Redistricting

The process of creating new districts after the census.

Divided government

A situation where one political party controls the presidency and another political party controls one or both houses of Congress.

Lame duck period

The time period between the election and when the newly elected official takes office; during this period the old elected official is still in office and does not have much influence.

Politico role of representation

A model where a representative uses the trustee role of representation sometimes and the delegate role of representation sometimes.

Trustee role of representation

A model where a representative votes based on what they think is best and does not follow what the majority of constituents want.

Delegate role of representation

A model where a representative votes based on what the majority of their constituents want.

Judicial review

A power created by the Marbury v. Madison case where the federal judiciary can analyze government actions to determine if those actions are constitutional or not.

Life tenure

The protection whereby federal judges cannot be fired once they have been appointed by the president and confirmed (approved) by the Senate; they serve for life, though they can be impeached.

Precedent

A judicial ruling that serves as the basis for rulings in later cases.

Stare decisis

A Latin phrase meaning “let the decision stand”; refers to judicial decision making based on precedent.

Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a case; another definition is the geographic area over which a court or police department has authority.

Original jurisdiction

The authority of the court in which a case starts.

Judicial activism

A judicial philosophy whereby judges interpret existing laws and precedents loosely and interject their own values in court decisions.

Judicial restraint

A judicial philosophy whereby judges adhere closely to statutes and precedents in reaching their decisions.

Appropriation

An amount of money devoted to a special purpose; it is usually part of a bill Congress is considering.

Apportionment

Determining the number of members of the House of Representatives that each state will have based on the latest census figures.

Bicameral

A two house legislature; the U.S. has the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Bill

A proposed law.

Conference committee

A temporary committee created to work out differences between the House and Senate versions of a specific piece of legislation.

Impeachment

The process in which the House accuses (usually the president) of “high crimes and misdemeanors” (to impeach means to accuse); the second part is the trial in the Senate where the official is convicted or acquitted by senator votes.

Incumbent

The person already in office who is running for re-election.

Majority leader

The highest ranking member of the majority party in the Senate; the second highest ranking member of the majority party in the House.

Minority leader

The highest ranking member of the minority party in the Senate and the House.

Minority party

The party that does not have the majority of members in the House or the Senate.

President pro tempore

The longest serving member in the majority party of the Senate, who presides over the Senate when the vice president is not there.

Select committee

A temporary committee created for a special purpose.

Senatorial courtesy

A practice whereby the Senate will not confirm for a lower federal court judgeship a nominee who is opposed by the senior senator in the president’s party in the nominee's state.

Seniority

Years of consecutive service in the House or Senate or a committee.

Standing committee

A permanent committee in Congress.

War Powers Act

A limitation on the power of the president to send troops to other nations; the president must notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops and the troops must return within 60 - 90 days unless Congress extends the time.

Whip

The person in the House or the Senate that encourages members to vote the way the party wants them to vote.

Amicus curiae brief

A brief sent to the Supreme Court in support of one side of the case to try to persuade the Court how to rule.

Appellate court

A court that hears an appeal from a lower court based on a mistake in interpreting the law or applying procedure; no new evidence is allowed and no witnesses are heard.

Appellate jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear an appeal.

Brief

A written argument stating your side of the case, submitted to the court.

Civil law

Laws dealing with non-criminal items like contracts.

Criminal law

Laws dealing with crimes against persons or property.

Rule of Four

The requirement that at least four Supreme Court Justices have to agree to hear a case in order to grant a writ of certiorari.

Solicitor General

The lawyer that argues cases for the federal government in front of the Supreme Court.

Strict constructionist

A judicial philosophy that limits judicial interpretation to the narrowest interpretation possible—the original meaning of the Constitution.

Trial court

Where a case starts out; includes witness testimony and submission of evidence, and sometimes a jury.

Writ of certiorari

A legal document whereby the Supreme Court requests the transcripts and files of a case decided in a lower court so the Supreme Court can review it to determine if a mistake was made interpreting the law or applying procedure.