Studied by 2 peopleBill
baby law, an idea for a law created by the Senate or House of Representatives.
Quorum
The minimum number of members of an assembly or society that must be present at any of its meetings to make the proceedings of that meeting valid.
congressional record
A record of the proceedings of Congress
Enumerated powers
powers granted to the Federal government, specifically Congress.
Implied powers
political powers granted to the government not specifically stated in the constitution
elastic clause
A statement in the US Constitution (article 1 section 8) granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated list of powers.
census
An official court or survey of a population, typically recording various details of individuals
bankruptcy
Helps people or companies that can no longer pay their debts get a fresh start by liquidating assets to pay their debts or creating a repayment plan
Copyright
Exclusive legal right given to an originator to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same.
patent
Government authority or a license conferring a right to a title for a set period, especially the sole right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention.
piracy
unauthorized use or reproduction of someone else's work.
Writ of Habeas Corpus
A law where someone can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court orders the custodian of the person bring the person to court to decide whether the imprisonment is lawful.
naturalization
The legal process where a non-citizen of the USA can become a citizen.
bill of attainder
An act of legislature declaring a person or group of people guilty of a crime and punishing them, often without a trial.
Ex post facto law
A law that prevents people from being punished for breaking a law or doing something currently unlawful before it became a law.
impeachment
When a federal official commits a crime or does something bad, the House of Representatives or occasionally Senate can remove that official from office.
pardon
the act of the president of the United States completely setting aside and freeing someone of their criminal charges, can be controversial.
Veto
The act of the president of the united states refusing to pass a law and sending a bill back to the congress.
Pocket veto
an indirect veto where the president ignores the bill and doesn't sign it until it is too late to be dealt with during the legislative session.
override
When more than half of the congress votes to override a veto'd law and it becomes a law anyway
electoral college
The house of representatives, senate, and washington d.c. together, the ones that actually vote and decide who the president will be during each presidential election.
election day
the day everyone votes on the president, usually in november. in 2024 it will be november 5th.
Appellate court
A court case that is first tried with a smaller court, then appealed and brought all the way up to the supreme court in some cases.
treason
the act of betraying your own country. Can be giving information or aid to enemy countries and attempting to start your own union or country, like the confederacy.
jurisdiction
the official power to make legal decisions and judgments
extradition
When someone who broke a law and committed a crime/treason escapes to another state, the person will be sent back to the original state where they committed the crime.
supremacy clause
The constitution and federal laws take priority over any conflicting rules of state laws.
Duties of the legislative branch
Create and vote on bills, present bills to president, declares war, regulates interstate/foreign commerce, controls taxing and spending policies.
Duties of the executive branch
approve and veto bills, pardon people, carries out and enforces laws, appointing supreme court judges
qualifications for a member of the house of representatives
must be at least 25 years old, a US citizen for at least 7 years, live in the state he or she represents.
qualifications for a member of the senate
must be at least 30 years old, a US citizen for at least 9 years, living in the state that he or she represents at the time of running for or being senator.
qualifications for the president of the united states
must be a natural born citizen, must live in the US for at least 14 years, must be at least 35 years old
term limits of each
President can be the president for 10 years at most, two terms for house of representatives, senate terms are six years
How does a bill become a law?
the bill is introduced from the senate or house of representatives. The bill is voted on by the area it came from first, then the other group (house or senate), then goes on to the president to approve or veto
how does the electoral process work
a total of 538 electors in the electoral college. each elector casts one vote. The candidate who gets at least 270 votes wins.
Officers of the house
elected at the start of each congress, includes the Chaplain, the Chief Administrative officer, the clerk of the house, the sergeant at arms.
Officers of the senate
vice president of the united states, president pro tempore, secretary of the state, sergeant at arms, party secretaries, senate chaplain
Explain how the senate is a continuing body with a staggered election and why?
The senate is a continuous body because the senators are in rotation, and every 2 years during the elections, two-thirds of the senators are carried over from congress to congress. The staggered elections are to bring stability to the senate and other gov branches.
first five jobs in order of presidential succession
vice president, speaker of the house, president pro tempore of the senate, secretary of state, secretary of the treasury.
Special duties of the chief justice
responsible for the administrative leadership of the entire federal judicial system
What is the importance of the president's role involving the supreme court and why is his legacy tied to it?
The president appoints new supreme court justices when one of them must resign or dies, and that leaves a lasting impact and represents his legacy because the supreme court justice will often be there long after the president leaves office.
process of proposing an amendment
amendments can be proposed by the congress through a joint resolution passed by a two-thirds vote or by a convention called by congress in response to applications from two-thirds of the state legislatures.
Process of ratifying an amendment
The amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislature or three-fourths of the conventions called in each state for ratification.
purpose of article seven
Article 7 of the constitution declares that the constitution shall become official law of the ratifying states when nine states ratified the document
preamble of the united states
we the people of the united states in order to form a more perfect union establish justice insure domestic tranquility provide for the common defense promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this constitution for the united states of america.
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