Government Semester Exam

hey. do NOT just answer word for word on the test. understand the material with the cards. google when you need to. don't regurgitate the information without understanding it. simmons will know. if i hear that people didn't learn the material, i'm not doing this again.

Original Jurisdiction

Authority of a court to hear a case before any other court

Appellate Jurisdiction

Authority of a court to review the decision of a lower court

Opinion

Written statement by a judge explaining the court’s judgment

Unanimous

All justices are in agreement of the court’s decision

Concurring

Opinion written by justices who agree with the court’s decision but for different reasons

Dissenting

Opinion written by justices who disagree with the court’s ruling

Majority

Opinion written when the majority of justices agree with the ruling(5/9 justices for the Supreme Court)

Precedent

Previous opinion on a case which sets the standard for lower courts’ ruling on similar cases

Judicial Review

Most important power of the Supreme Court, can be used by federal courts, gives the court the authority to interpret the Constitution and overrule any laws or actions by federal or state governments that go against the court’s interpretation of the Constitution

Marbury v. Madison

Case that created the power of judicial review, President Madison fired and replaced Adams’ appointees with his own upon taking office, Marbury sued Madison because he was fired before he knew got appointed and the Constitution states the President can make appointments and doesn’t state the President can fire appointees, the Supreme Court interpreted the Constitution and decided the President could not fire appointees, therefore being the first instance of judicial review

Civil

Cases involving the rights of citizens, typically disagreements between parties where one side believes they have been wronged or their rights have been violated by the other side, the case revolves around deciding which side is in the right

Criminal

Cases involving a party accused of breaking the law, case revolves around deciding guilt or innocence

District Courts

Lowest level of the federal court system, have original jurisdiction in various circumstances, also known as federal courts

Number of District Courts

94

US Courts of Appeals

Middle level of the federal court system, also known as appellate courts, have appellate jurisdiction, review decisions made in lower courts with 3 ways(Uphold, reverse, remand)

Number of Appellate Courts

13

US Supreme Court

Stands supreme over all other courts, main job is to decide laws’ constitutionality

Number of US Supreme Courts

1

Chief Justice

Leader of the Supreme Court Justices, mostly an informal role, presides over presidential impeachment trials, same voting power as other justices

Current Chief Justice

John Roberts

Eight Associate Justices

Participate in decision–making process of SC, all justices have one vote(including the Chief Justice)

Length of SC Justice Appointment

Appointed for life, works until death or retirement

Person Who Appoints Federal Judges/SC Justices

President

Group Who Confirms Federal Judges/SC Justices

Senate

SC Decision–Making 1

Written arguments where each side submits a brief, explaining each side’s position

SC Decision–Making 2

Oral arguments where each side gets 30 minutes to argue their case

Oral Argument Time

30 minutes

SC Decision–Making 3

Conference where the SC justices meet in private to discuss/decide the case

SC Decision–Making 4

Opinion writing where one justice writes the court’s decision

SC Decision–Making 5

Announcement where the SC declares its opinion

Judiciary Act of 1789

Act passed by Congress to establish the federal district courts and the circuit courts of appeals

First Female Supreme Court Justice

Sandra Day O’Connor(1981)

First African American Supreme Court Justice

Thurgood Marshall(1967)

Judicial Leanings

6 Conservative 3 Liberal

Judicial Philosophy

how a judge chooses to interpret and enforce the law based on their beliefs

Judicial Activism

Courts should overturn and replace bad policies with better ones, typically more liberal but more conservative judges are adopting the philosophy

Judicial Restraint

Courts should only interpret the law, not make new policies, typically more conservative

Loose Constructionism

The Constitution should be read and understood in detail but courts should not limit themselves by it, interpreting the constitution by reading between the lines, typically more liberal

Strict Constructionism

The Constitution should be applied exactly how it was written in the text and text alone, typically more conservative

Living Document

The Constitution should adapt to fit the current circumstances and should be interpreted within the modern context, typically more liberal

Original Intent

The Constitution should be interpreted exactly how the original framers intended in their time period, interpreting amendments within the context they were written, i.e. interpreting an amendment about freedom to bear arms within the context of the 18th century, typically more conservative

Uphold

Keep the decision of the lower courts

Reverse

Overrule the decision of the lower courts, rule contrary to the lower courts

Remand

Send the case back down to lower courts for reconsideration

Bicameral

Congress is made up of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate

Senate # of Members

100 currently, 2 per state

House of Representatives # of Members

435 currently, population based, one per ditrict

Legislative Process: 1

Idea is written into a Bill and sent to congress by a congressman

Legislative Process: 2/5 (HoR)

Introduced to the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House sends to Rules Committee, bill dies if ignored

Legislative Process: Rules Committee

The Rules Committee assigns debate procedures/rules and assigns the bill to a committee, bill dies if not given rules, can be before committee action or floor action, only HoR

Legislative Process: 3/6

Committee action where committees review, edit, and vote on bills to see if they should go to the full chamber for a vote, most bills die here, “mark–up”

Revenue Bills Rule

All revenue bills(taxes) must start in the House of Representatives because the House represents the people

Legislative Process: 4/7 Floor Action(HoR)

Whole chamber edits, debates, and finally votes on bill, bill is sent to the start of the other chamber if it passes

Legislative Process: 2/5 (Sen)

Introduced to the Senate, majority leader brings up, dies if ignored, sent directly to committee action because Senate does not have rules limiting debate

Legislative Process: 4/7 Floor Action(Sen)

Whole chamber edits, debates, and finally votes on bill, filibuster, cloture

Legislative Process: Filibuster

Exclusive to Senate(Floor Action), spoken or silent, in spoken filibuster a senator(s) never gives up the floor in debate, so the vote is delayed or blocked, in silent filibuster senators threaten a filibuster so the bill never gets brought up, forces a compromise or have a bill tabled(bill dies)

Legislative Process: Cloture

60 Senators vote to end debate and force a vote, ends filibuster, counter to filibuster

Legislative Process: 8 Conference Committee

Both chambers get together to edit and revise the bill

Legislative Process: 9 Revote

If changes were made in the Conference Committee revote occurs

Legislative Process: 10 Sent to President

Four possible outcomes, pocket veto, sign the bill, does not sign the bill, veto

Legislative Process: Pocket Veto

President does not sign the bill before the end of congressional session, so the bill does not become law

Legislative Process: Veto

President can kill a bill with a veto but is overruled by a ⅔ majority in both chambers(rare)

Legislative Process: Signs it

Bill becomes a law

Legislative Process: Does not sign it

A bill can become law within 10 days of its final vote without a presidential signature as long as Congress stays in session during that time, for when president does not want to be associated with the bill and does not want to veto it

Trustee

Vote with the views they campaigned with

Politico

Vote based on what is the most politically beneficial

Delegate

Vote with the will of their state/district

Roles Congressman Fill

Legislator, committee member, representative, politician, party member

Legislator

Votes on laws

Committee member

Works on issues in specific areas, votes on related bills and does research

Politician

Maintain political power, get funding, win elections

Party member

Loyal to their party, need to stay in line to secure funding

Representative

represents interests of state/district, casework, money, get attention

3 major jobs of congressman

Make laws, do casework, and help their state/district

Congressman Job: Make Laws

Introduce bills, committee work, listen to constituents(voters), vote on the floor in their respective chamber

Congressman Job: Do Casework

Help voters with problems, many(10,000+) requests, increases support for reelection

Congressman Job: Help State/District

Try to get funding for local projects like post offices and dams, try to get federal grants for their state/district, use influence to get their state requests heard

Committee assignment

Party leaders assigns representatives to committees based on preferences, expertise, seniority, and loyalty to the party

Purpose of committees

Both chambers have committees to deal with the thousands of bills that congress must consider each session

Committee chairperson

Usually most senior member of the majority party becomes chairperson of the committee, decide meeting schedule, decide bills studies, decide subcommittee assignments

Types of committees

Standing committees, Select/Temporary committees, Joint committees

Standing Committees

Permanent committees

Select/Temporary Committees

Meet to deal with special issues

Joint Committees

Includes members of both chambers to discuss specific issues

At–Large Elections

Elections held either state or nation–wide, Senators have state–wide elections, Presidents have nation–wide elections

Redistricting

The process of redrawing district maps based on the census(every 10 years) to make the population as equal as possible, 1 representatives per district and representatives can be added or removed from states

Gerrymandering

Exclusive to the HoR, state legislature manipulates the boundaries of districts to benefit one party/group

“Packing”

Cram all of your opposition into fewer districts, so your party always wins the majority overall

“Cracking”

Divide your opposition among several districts, so your party always wins the majority, divide and conquer

Commerce Powers

Congress can regulate international commerce, checks and balances, very big power for congress

Declaring War

Only congress can declare war

Necessary and Proper Clause

Allows congress to act outside of limits set by the Constitution when deemed necessary

Impeachment Powers of each Chamber

House votes to impeach(majority needed), Senate conducts trial(⅔ vote to convict)

Special Senate Roles

Senate approves major appointments(like ambassadors, with majority), approves treaties(⅔ vote)

Special House Roles

All bills dealing with taxing must start in the HoR

Seniority System

Seniority is based on years served; senior members more likely to get chairman position in committees

Majority Party

Party with more votes in their respective house

Minority Party

Party with less votes in their respective house

Speaker of the House

Mike Johnson, appoint officers, introduce bills to HoR, most powerful HoR officer

HoR Minority Leader

lead their party, strengthen their party’s position, coordinate with party and negotiate, Hakeem Jeffries