Exam 2 - Federal Government

federalism

dividing powers between the national (federal) government and the state government

Horizontal Federalism

responsibilities that states have to each other

Interstate Compacts

states can kind of make treaties with other states

Great Lakes Compact - legally binding interstate compact among the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to manage the use of the Great Lakes Basin's water supply.

Rio Grande... Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas manage the waters of the Rio Grande River

Why does the U.S. have a federal system?

- large geographical size of the U.S.

- states can coordinate on shared common problems

- Pluralism/ different political sub-cultures (states can go their own ways)

McCulloch v Maryland

Based on the Necessary and Proper Clause... the national government can form a bank, but the state cannot tax it

Gibbons v Ogden

SCOTUS ruled national government could regulate ALL ASPECTS of commerce

Dual Federalism (Layer Cake Federalism)

a clear delineation of authority and programs among the levels of government (states and feds)

states exercised "Police Powers of Government"

power of government to regulate the health, safety, morals, and welfare of its citizens

Lochner Era

anytime either the national or state governments attempted to regulate industry, the courts would strike it down

Lochner v New York

the right to contract is the only thing that can regulate the relationship between the businesses and its workers

Cooperative Federalism (Marble Cake Federalism)

mixing of authority and programs among the national, state, and local governments (state + national government share "Police Powers of Government")

New Deal-- Why is it a game changer in politics?

national government started doing more

Fiscal Federalism

federal government starts to use money to influence public policy

Grant-in-Aid Programs

federal government shares its resources with the various state governments to influence public policy in ways the federal government wants the policy to move in

Categorical Grants (narrow grants)

they have to go to a certain program or certain group of people as called for by the law ex) school lunches, Medicaid, food stamps = formula grant (states carry out the program with federal money)

project grant = states apply for the money

Block Grants

used in a broad general area and states have more flexibility

ex: education, health care, housing

Crosscutting Requirements

states do not have to take this money but if they do there are strings attached to this federal money

ex) federal speed limit was 55mph... if states did not make this their speed limit 5% of money used for highways was taken

Regulated Federalism

feds are a little bit more demanding or dictatorial in certain ways

preemption

federal government takes over a policy arena (ex: immigration, environmental, healthcare policy) that they claim has broad national implications

Devolution "The New Federalism"

transfer policy responsibility, some policy arena, from a higher to a lower level of government (national to state)

Big Government Conservatism

Department of Homeland Security is formed (largest government department)

pass major expansion of Medicare (include a prescription drug benefit)

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

- the individual mandate that one was required to buy healthcare insurance if they did not have it (if you couldn't afford it the federal government would offer you subsidies)

- employer required to provide health coverage to employees

National Independent Federation of Business v Sebelius

-federal government cannot mandate the individual mandate based on Commerce Clause

- ruled to be constitutional and federal government has the power to tax if you don’t buy health insurance

Barron v Baltimore

The Bill of Rights only protects you against the national/federal government

14 amendment "game changer"

- no state shall make or enforce

- any state deprive any person

The Nationalization of the Bill of Right

14th amendment's due process and equal protection clauses were used to "nationalize the Bill of Rights" (make the Bill of Rights also apply to state governments)

- process is called selective incorporation

Civil Liberties

individual freedoms such as speech, press, religion, and assembly

Civil Rights

the constitutional claims all citizens have to fair and equal treatment under the law (actions that government must take in order to ensure equal citizenship for everyone)

Birthright Citizenship

legal principle that grants U.S. citizenship to any child born withing the United States territory

Clear and Present Danger Test

your right to free speech cannot put anyone in danger

Bad Tendency

limit expression to prevent a tendency (harm to U.S.)

Clarity and Least Means Possible

if the government is going to limit expression must be in the least intrusive manner possible

No Prior Restraint

prohibits the government from censoring or restricting speech or publication before it occurs

Preferred Position

some rights are so fundamental that they warrant greater judicial scrutiny when government actions threaten them

Political Expression

the most protected expression

Commercial Speech

expression that proposes a commercial transaction, primarily aimed at selling products or services

Symbolic Speech

nonverbal or nonwritten conduct intended to convey a specific message (often protected under the first amendment)

Texas v Johns

SCOTUS rules that burning the American flag is protected speech under the first amendment (government cannot prohibit expression simply because society finds it offensive)

Snyder v Phelps

SCOTUS ruled that the first amendment protected the church's speech, even if it was offensive

slander and libel

false oral statement said to set up for ridicule/ damage reputation

NY Times v Sullivan

New York times published an ad that contained several factual inaccuracies (got sued, not protected by the first amendment)

Miller v California

established the three-part test for determining whether material is legally obscene and unprotected by the first amendment

Subversive Speech

expression that challenged or undermine established authority, social norms, or government structures

Brandenburg v Ohio

speech advocating violence is protected under the first amendment unless it is intended and likely to incite imminent lawless action

The Jeffersonian Wall of Separation

government stays on one side of the wall and religion stays on the other side

Everson v Board of Education

the separation of church and state applied to state government

- Pupil Benefit Theory: government money can go to religious K-12 schools if the money is benefiting the student as a student

Engel v Vitale

school sponsored prayer violated the Establishment Clause in PUBLIC schools

The Lemon Test

determines whether something violates the Establishment Clause

3 questions: is it secular on purpose, is the primary effect neutral in regard to religion, does it avoid any entanglement of government with religion

(overturned by Kennedy v Bremerton School District)

The Voucher in K-12 Education Issue

vouchers are legal since 2002 (Zelmon v Simmons - Harris)

family has to have an option between a secular and religious school

"Is the "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance a violation of the EC?"

- court found an excuse to throw it out..since the father did not have custody

- courts have never ruled this violates the Establishment Clause

Employment Division v Smith

courts ruled in favor of state government and religion cannot make something legal that is otherwise illegal

Masterpiece Cake Shop v Colorado

court backed him up saying if you feel same gander marriage violates you do not have to participate in any way, shape, or form

The Second Amendment

the right of individuals to keep and bear arms while recognizing the role of a well-regulated militia

District of Columbia v Heller

could not ban an entire class of weapons that people use for legal self-defense activities

*Interpreted 2nd amendment as people have an individual right to bear arms outside of any militia context (have arms for personal use)

McDonald v City of Chicago

2nd amendment is selectively incorporated (applies to the states)

Fourth Amendment

protection against unreasonable searches and seizures

The Exclusionary Rule

government needs a warrant to search + seizure…if incriminating evidence is found without a warrant, then it cannot be used in criminal trials

Mapp v Ohio

exclusionary rule is selectively incorporated

(didn't have a warrant + weren't looking for pornography)

The Fifth Amendment

protects from self-incrimination, double jeopardy, ensures due-procees, and guarantees just compensation for private property taken for public use

Escebedo v Illinois

right to remain silent and have an attorney present during questioning

Miranda v Arizona

police must tell you your rights and in a language you understand

Sixth Amendment

speedy public trial, informed of nature of accusation, right to a lawyer

Gideon v Wainwright

government must provide an attorney if the defendant cannot afford one (selectively incorporated)

Eighth Amendment

excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment be inflicted

Furman v Georgia

death penalty's application is random and arbitrary (lead to a temporary halt of executions in the U.S.

Ninth Amendment

just because a right isn't listed in the Constitution does not mean you don't have it

Griswold v Connecticut

the right to privacy (contraception..specifically to married couples)

Roe v Wade

right to abortion

Planned Parenthood v Casey

reaffirmed the constitutional right to have an abortion "the undue burden test"

Dobbs v Jackson

Roe is overturned (states have total control in regulating abortion)

not protected by the 9th amendment

Lawernce v Texas

Bowers overturned (the right to privacy found under the 9th amendment DOES apply to gay Americans)

Plessy v Ferguson

"Separate but equal" doctrine

Jim Crow Laws

laws enforcing racial segregation and discrimination against black people

The Legal Strategy

fighting Jim Crow laws in the courts

Smith v Allwright

the White Primary is ruled to be unconstitutional

Brown v Board of Education

Plessy is overturned, separate is ruled to be inherently unequal

Hernandez v Texas

Mexican Americans weren't allowed to serve on juries (ended the systematic exclusion of mexican americans from juries in Texas)

-- 14th amendment protects Mexican-Ameircans as people

soldiers returning from WWII

genesis of Civil Rights Movement

(Truman desegregates the armed forces)

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

got rid of all sorts of official legally sanctioned segregation + discrimination

in public areas and for employment

Voting Rights Act of 1965

got rid of "the literacy test" that kept African Americans from voting

authorized federal government ro register voters

Fair Housing Act of 1968

outlawed discrimination in the buying and renting of housing

Busing

mandated to go to a school outside of the area that you are normally zoned by your residence (failed as a solution to integrate schools)

Affirmative Action

positive government action or policies to make up for the present effects of past discrimination

Regents of the University of California v Bakke

SCOTUS ruled that race, ethnicity, and gender can be used as one of many factors in determining hiring decisions or university admissions (quotas are not allowed)

affirmative action = legal

Hopwood v Texas

UT"s affirmative action program did constitute reverse discrimination and didn't allow affirmative action within the Fifth Circuit, which was Texas, Louisiana, + Mississippi solution = Top 10%

Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard

affirmative action in college admissions ruled to be unconstitutional

Public Opinion

values + attitudes that people have about issues, events and personalities

Political Ideology

a cohesive set of beliefs that form a general philosophy about government

Agreements in regard to politics among Americans

broad general principles: freedom, democracy, equality

Disagreements in regard to politics among Americans

most major policy issues: immigration, abortion, taxes, healthcare, gay rights, etc.

Morris Fiona argues… (Notions of a Culture War)

Americans are moderate by nature but forced with polarized choices

Random Sample

every individual in the population has to have an equal probability of being selected (uses probability sampling)

Random Digit Dialing

respondents would be selected by their telephone number at random

Selection Bias

when you don't get a random sample

some groups are over represented

Margin of Error

error that happens when the sample size is too small in good surveys 3-5% margin of error

Conservatism (Conservatives)

Support

- national government should be limited

- social + economic status quo

- lighter regulation of industry + business (laize fair)

- stronger military power + spending

- more suspicious of efforts to introduce new political formula and economic arrangements

- opposed social + economic engineering such as wealth distribution and affirmative action

- less supportive of international organizational efforts ex) NATO, UN

Paul Ryan = quintessential conservative

Liberalism (Liberals)

Support

- government interaction in the economy

- federal social services + passing legislation to protect environment

- strict separation of church + state

- advocate for poor, minorities, women, consumers

-international organizations

- argue government has to do more to promote economic equality

- hesitant to send troops to other countries

Elizabeth Warren = quintessential liberal