AP Gov Unit 4B Review

Institutions of Government: Judiciary and the Bureaucracy

Federal District Courts

Hear cases that deal with federal crimes, civil suits under federal law

ONLY HAVE ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

Circuit Courts

Also known as the Court of Appeals

Hear ONLY APPEALS from the district courts

Supreme Court

Has original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction

Appellate

Comes from state supreme courts and circuit courts

Information about Federal Judges

A life term, subject to good behavior

Not elected, confirmed by the Senate

Senatorial Courtesy

District Court

Nominations for judicial positions aren’t approved by senate is when a Senior Senator doesn’t approve

Writ of Certiorari

Order from SCOTUS to review lower cases to grant an appeal

Rule of 4

4 SCOTUS justices are required to agree to grant a review of a case

Stare Decisis

Let the decision stand using precedent in making decisions

Precedent

The way similar cases were handled in the past

Should guide the decision making procress

Process of SCOTUS Cases that are granted writs

1. Each party submits a brief

2. 30 min oral argument

3. Justices vote in private

Majority Opinion

The winning side

Usually assigned by chief justice

Concurring Opinion

Written by a supporter of the majority opinion

Explains why they agree, but they agree for a different LEGAL reason than the majority

Dissenting Opinion

Written by those who oppose

Per Curiam (by the court)

Unsigned

Just a decision

Ex: Bush v. Gore

Why are dissenting opinions important?

Will serve as a legal basis for future cases

Ex: The distent in Plessy served as a basis for Brown

Marshall Court 1801-1835

Established National Supremac

Established Implied Powers

Marbury v. Madison

Gibbons

McCullogh

Taney Court 1836-1864

Dred Scott

Warren Court 1953-1969

Very Liberal

Mapp

Miranda

Griswold

Gidden

Brown

Burger Court 1969-1986

Liberal→Conservative

Swan

Roe v. Wade

Furman

Gregg v. Georgia

US v. Nixon

Rehnquist Court 1986-2005

US v. Lopez

Planned Parenthood v. Casey

Bush v. Gore

Impact of the Nomination on Presidental Legacy

Lasting impact beyond their presidentional term

Confirmation of Judges

• Judiciary hearing: Senate conducts a background check on the candidate

• Media: Can influence through own investigation

• Interest Groups: May lobby senators to vote for/against a candidate

• Used to need 60 votes

• Trump used the “nuclear option”- simple majority

Judicial Review

Established in Marbury v. Madison

Power to determine whether laws/executive actions of POTUS are constitutional

Judicial Activism

When judges make bold political/policy decisions through their interpertation of the constitution

Judicial Restraint

Judges play limited role in policy making and leave those decisions to congress

Loose Construction

Constitutution is a living document and changes as the nation changes

Strict Construction

Judges should determine the intent of framer when making decisions

Litmus Test

Does a judge pass a test on moral issues during their confirmation hearings

Qualification of Justices

Most are lawyers, white males, many worked in lower courts

Bork

Not confirmed as a justice because women and African Americans opposed him

Thomas

Barely survived his scandal

Breyer

Nominee of GHW Bush

Turned out to be the most liberal on the court

Sotomajor

First hispanic on court

Qualities Looked for In Justices

• Partison/Ideologies

• Diversity

• Publications

Standing

What is needed to sue

Litigants

Plantiff and defendent in a lawsuit

Class Actions Lawsuit

Permits a small # of people to sue on behalf of others similarly situatated

Brown v. BOE

Chief Justice

Preside over POTUS impeachment

Asign themselves/others to write majority opinion

Partisanship in Selection Process

Most POTUS select similar ideological people

Docket (Agenda)

List of SCOTUS cases for 1 year

Solicitor General

Lawyer for the federal govn’t b4 SCOTUS when the federal govn’t is a party in a case

#3 person in the DOJ (Department of Justice)

Amicus Curiae

Only type of lobbying in the courts

“Friend of the Court”

Judicial Implementation

How and whether court decisions are implemented

SCOTUS has no enforcement ability so some decisions are ignored

Court Packing Plan

FDR tried to convince congress to increase the # of justices in the Supreme Court in order to pass the New Deal

#of SCOTUS Judges

9

Can change by Congress ONLY

#of Lower Federal Courts

Determined by Congress

Check on the Judiciary

Attorney General

Secretary of DOJ

Oversees all civil rights cases

Structure of the Bureacracy

Large

Has specialization in tasks

Red Tape

Standard operating process that lead to a slow down in the process

Executive Department

Appoint by POTUS

Confirmed by the senate

Are headed by cabinet members appointment by POTUS

Independent Agencies

Serve at the pleasure of POTUS

FEMA

NASA

EPA

CIA

Independent Regulatory Agencies

• POTUS nominated, Senate approves

• Heads have fixed terms bc they need to be independent from politics

  FCC: Regulates airways

  Federal Reserve: In charge of monetary policy

  SEC: Regulates stock

  FEC: Regulates elections

  FTC: Regulates trade

  OSHA: Safety at job sites

Government Corporations

• Govn’t companies that serve public for a fee

• Supposed to be self-supporting

  Postal Service

  Amtrack: Trains

  FDIC: Depoist insurance corportations

  TVA: Tennessee Valley Authority

Discretionary Authority

Power to make policy

Street level authority have more power Ex: Police- they decide whether or not to arrest you

Admin Role- administer laws written by congress, where the power comes from

How POTUS Controls Bureaucracy

• Appoint people to the head of agencies (confirmed by senate)

• Issue executive orders; change in how the bureaucracy practices

• Reorganize agencies; change # of agencies but need congress’s approval

• Tinker with agency’s budget

How does Congress oversees the Bureaucracy

• Legislative oversight

• Change the budget

• Confirm nominations through the Senate

• Rewrite legistation/make it more detailed

Pendleton Civil Service Act 1883

Created a merit based system

Hatch Act 1939

Passed to prohibit employees for active participation in politics at work

Plumbook

List of top federal jobs available for direct presidential appointments

~3000 jobs

Only patronage left

Why does the bureaucracy implement policy?

Lack of clarity; laws are unclear

Translate policy goals into programs; write specifics

Why does implementation break down?

Lack of clarity; interpret law differently than the intent

Lack of resources; lack of $ for regulators, not enough staff to do their job

Standard operating procedure; slows everything down

Regulation

Govn’t authority to change practices in the private sector

Deregulation

Less regulation because of the # and complexity of regulatory policies have made regulation too complex and burdensom

(Democracts are against bc of a disaster that happened)