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AP EXAM REVIEW: UNIT 2

Part 1: Legislative Branch

Organization

	House of Representatives	Senate
Number of members	435	100
Years in office	2	6
Representation (who do they represent)	People of their districts in their states (the people)	Entire state
Responsibilities (give jobs that are different from each other)	Starts bills (specifically revenue bills) and processes (specifically impeachment processes)	Ends processes (approving or ratifying) Provides continuity & stability
Leaders	Speaker of the House	Vice President, President Pro Tempore
Check on executive branch	Override vetoes by the president
Check on judicial branch	Impeach/approve judges Make new laws if they don’t like the judge’s decisions

Types of Committees (purpose of each)

standing	Most of the work in Congress happens (conducting bills & oversight)
joint	Members from both parts of Congress
conference	Compromise committees on bills
select	Temporary committees that focus on one task & then are done

Legislative decisions (explain the roles taken by legislators when making decisions)

delegate	Making decisions based on constituents' wishes
politico	Making decisions based on party ties
trustee	Making decisions based on personal expertise

How a bill becomes law (how are the terms related to the lawmaking process)

filibuster/cloture	log-rolling	pocket veto
In the Senate, you can argue as much as you want, and a cloture is a vote to end the filibuster	Trading/compromising of votes (if you vote on this, I’ll vote on that)	President ignores a bill (after 10 days, it gets vetoed)
pigeonhole	riders	bipartisanship
Bill dies in a committee because it is ignored	Extras that are added to the bill	Parties work together

Congressional voting/elections

redistricting

Important for the representation & the House

Based on the census, it must be equal

Congress redistricts

gerrymandering

Picking/selecting certain people to be in the district (odd shapes on the map), based on who is in the district

Congress budget

mandatory spending	Required by law that have to be funded because people have paid for them with taxes (non-negotiables, entitlement programs)
discretionary spending	Get funded, but it can fluctuate a lot

Office of Management and Budget (OMB): the executive branch develops and executes the country’s budget but it goes through the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) which reviews the budget submitted by the President and gives it analysis to Congress. Congress must approve the budget.
House Ways and Means Committee: determines tax policy; it is the first to outline raising/lowering taxes
Authorization bill is needed by Congress to establish a discretionary government program or entitlement or it changes/continues that type of program; once a program has been authorized it then needs to have an appropriations bill which sets the funding for the program or entitlement.

Part 2: Judicial Branch

Article III - set up Supreme Court with no qualifications or rules just lifetime tenure; gave Congress right to set inferior courts (Judiciary Act of 1789); only crime listed is treason; jury trials permitted in criminal cases

Legal participants/cases (define each)

plaintiff	defendant	class action suit	amicus curiae briefs
Brings the case forward in civil cases	The person the case is against (person who did something wrong in criminal & civil cases)	Plaintiff is a group of people	Written document by a third party/interest group not involved in the case, but has a strong interest in the outcome
public defender	Solicitor General	civil cases	criminal cases
What people get when they cannot afford an attorney, free of charge	Represents the US government in cases before the Supreme Court	Disputes between people (Ex. 2 people arguing over property)	Cases where some kind of law has been broken
original jurisdiction	appellate jurisdiction	senatorial courtesy	prosecution
Determines facts and innocent or guilty verdict	Determines fairness	Used to appoint judges	Government claims that someone has broken the law

Federal courts

	District Courts	Appellate Courts	Supreme Court
Number of judges	At least one	Panel	9
Number of courts	Each state has 1	13	1
jurisdiction	Original	Appellate	Both, only original when dealing with a state or foreign ambassadors
responsibility	Determine facts & guilt or innocence	Determine if what happened in district courts was fair (uphold, reverse, or remand)	Determine if what happened in district courts was fair (uphold, reverse, or remand) Determine facts & guilt or innocence

Supreme Court decisions (explain each)

majority opinion	What the majority decided sets precedent
dissenting opinion	Disagreed with majority
concurring opinion	Voted with majority, but for different reason
precedent/stare decisis	Guidance for future cases

judicial activism (acting to create/influence laws/policy) vs. judicial restraint (following precedent, letting legislature determine laws)

Part 3: Executive Branch

Organization

Qualifications	35 years old, natural born citizens, 14 years lived in the U.S.
Term(s) in office	4 years
Formal powers	Enforce laws
Informal powers	Executive orders, agreements, signing statement
Check on legislative branch	Veto
Check on judicial branch	Nominate judges Not enforce rulings

Amendments (how did each amendment impact the presidency)

Twelfth Amendment	President & Vice President run together
Twentieth Amendment	When the inauguration is
Twenty-second Amendment	2 terms in office
Twenty-third Amendment	Allows residents of Washington, D.C. to vote for the President
Twenty-fifth Amendment	Vacany and succession of the President

Roles of the President (give tasks in each role)

Chief Legislator	Vetoing & approving bills in Congress
Commander in Chief	Declare war, the War Powers Act puts a limit on the President
Chief Diplomat	Treaties & other countries
Chief Executive/Administrator	Enforcing laws, bureaucracy & cabinet
Party Leader	Pardons & judicial appointments

Bureaucracy (define/explain each)

civil service system/merit system	Getting a job based on your experience & behaving non-partisan (party-based) on the job
patronage	Appointments and very partisan
Cabinet	Closest advisors to the president & oversee 15 departments
independent regulatory commissions	Essential for implementing policies and shaping legislation that reflects the president's agenda (Federal Communications Comissions FCC)
government corporations	Corporations that provide services that might be run by private businesses, allowing for greater access and efficiency in areas such as public transportation and utilities (Ex. Amtrak, NASA)
independent executive agencies	A federal agency who specializes in one area that is not part of a cabinet department but reports directly to the president (Ex. CIA)
iron triangles	A close relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group.

spoils system: The system of employing and promoting civil servants who are friends and supporters of the group in power rather than based on merit

Federalist #78: Essay written by the Federalists in 1788 that justifies the judicial branch as the weakest branch of government and should be separated from the people and other branches. It also argues that the judicial branch should have the right to judicial review because it reserves privileges and rights not in the Constitution, but was intended by framers. The review must be bound by precedent because it prevents “abirtary discretion” and consistency.

Federalists #70: Essay written by the Federalists in 1788 that proposes a single executive with energy as the main characteristic because it helps leaders act quickly and efficiently. It argues that the legislative branch should be number because it is the slow and deliberate branch. Multiple leaders in an executive branch cause mischief and conflict to the republic (seen by Achaeans). Multiple leaders oppose one another out of pride and propose dangers of jealously and animosity. Therefore, the republic won’t know to blame/who is at fault.

Baker v. Carr (1962):

Facts: Tennessee had not redistricted in about 50 years, therefore voting districts were unequal, leading to unequal representation.

Constitutional Issue: Could the national government review state voting districts (federalism)?

Holding/Reasoning: Upheld Baker because he used the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause (includes voting)

Precedent: Voting districts must be equal in population size to ensure equitable representation

Shaw v. Reno (1993):

Facts: National government had approved 2 voting districts in NC based on race (unconstitutional)

Constitutional Issue: Was this aligned with the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause?

Holding/Reasoning: Upheld Shaw because he claimed that racial gerrymandering was a form of segregation because it segregated the rest of the population and violated the 14th Amendment.

Precedent: Race cannot be the sole factor in drawing voting districts

Marbury v. Madison (1803):

Facts: Marbury does not get his jobs, although Adams promised him it. This was because Jefferson told Madison to not give Marbury his job/the contract saying he got the job.

Constitutional Issue: Is Marbury entitled to his job? If so, can the Supreme Court make it happen?

Holding/Reasoning: Upheld Marbury because they said he should get his job. However, the Supreme Court cannot give it to him because it cannot force Jefferson to give Marbury the job.

Precedent: Established judicial review and acknowledged checks and balances because they cannot enforce anything on Jefferson.

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