American Govn't Exam 2

Front 1

Enumerated powers

Back 1

defined the powers and responsibilities of the national government

-powers of the federal gov that is mentioned in the constitution

Front 2

Bicameral

Back 2

Congress divided into 2 chambers so that legislation could only occur after patient deliberation.

Front 3

Delegate

Back 3

representative tries to mirror perfectly the views of his or her constituents.

Front 4

Trustee

Back 4

representative acts independently, trusting to his or her own judgment of how the best serve the public interest.

Front 5

Descriptive Representation

Back 5

composition of a rep body reflects the demographic composition of the population as a whole

Front 6

Reapportionment

Back 6

Because the American population is constantly growing in size and changing where it lives, the 435 House reps must be periodically redistributed among the states.

Front 7

Redistricting

Back 7

Redrawing district lines within a state

Front 8

Gerrymandering

Back 8

Neighborhoods, towns, and counties can be strung together in odd-looking ways in order to take full partisan advantage of the redistricting process.

Front 9

Majority Minority Districts

Back 9

districts drawn to ensure that a racial minority makes up the majority of voters

Front 10

Open Seat Election

Back 10

no incumbent is involoved

Front 11

Party Conference/Caucus

Back 11

all members of a political party in the House or the Senate meets to select its leaders, approve committee assignments, including committee and subcommittee chairs, and reach agreement on legislative objectives for the session.

Front 12

Speaker of the House

Back 12

leader of the House of Reps

Front 13

Whip

Back 13

tracks and knows where every vote is.

Front 14

Markup

Back 14

revising the bills

Front 15

standing committee

Back 15

perminant hearing legislation with specific subject.

Front 16

Conference Commitee

Back 16

temperary members of house and senate work out the differences in the provisions of the bills.

Front 17

Ranking Minority Member

Back 17

leader for the minority

Front 18

Reciprocity

Back 18

specialist will be recognizes as an expert

Front 19

Unanimous Consent

Back 19

everyone agrees

Front 20

Filibuster

Back 20

Because limiting debate is so difficult in the Senate, the opponents of a bill can tie up legislative business by reusing to stop debating its merits.

Front 21

Cloture

Back 21

motion to end debate

Front 22

Veto

Back 22

the bill is denied and returns to congress

Front 23

Impeachment

Back 23

removal from office

Front 24

State of the Union

Back 24

written report sent every year or every 2 years to Congress for its consideration.

Front 25

Executive Order

Back 25

formal directives to executive branch departments and agencies that have the force of law

Front 26

Chief of Staff

Back 26

presidents right hand

-superivising other staff members and organizing what the president does.

Front 27

National Security Advisor

Back 27

head of the president's National Security Council, operating out of the White House.

Front 28

Divided Government

Back 28

parties that control the different parts and branches of government

-more than 1

Front 29

Departments

Back 29

carry out the most essential government functions, as suggested by the first 3 to be established.

Front 30

Bureaus and agencies

Back 30

subdivisions within cabinet departments

Front 31

Government Corporation

Back 31

agencies that operate very much like private companies

Front 32

Independent Regulatory Commission

Back 32

regulates sectors of the economy in which it is judged that the free market does not work properly to protect the pubic interest.

Front 33

Bureaucrat

Back 33

engage in a wide range of activities that are relevant to the quality of democracy in the US and affect how laws and regulations work.

Front 34

Cost Benefit Analysis

Back 34

slow the rule making process and as a result the number of rules issued declined.

Front 35

Spoils System

Back 35

what the executive branch is staffed through

Front 36

Patronage

Back 36

system of appointment caused no great alarm in the beginning because of the small and relatively unimportant role of the federal government in American society.

Front 37

Civil Service

Back 37

federal government civilian employees

Front 38

Appropriation

Back 38

legal authority for the agency to spend money

Front 39

Privalization

Back 39

the process of turning over certain government functions to the private secor

Front 40

Whistle Blowers

Back 40

bureaucrats who report corruption, financial mismanagement, abuses of power, or other official malfeasnace

Front 41

Judicial Review

Back 41

review a law to see if it is constitutional

Front 42

Constitutional Courts

Back 42

Supreme Courts that were created by congress

Front 43

Legislative Courts

Back 43

aejudicate cases in highly specialized areas of concern such as taxes, patents, and maritime law.

Front 44

Grand Juries

Back 44

groups of citizens who decide whether there is sufficient evidence to being an indictment against accused persons

Front 45

Petit Juries

Back 45

jury hears the evidence

Front 46

Appellate Courts

Back 46

hear cases on appeal from other courts

Front 47

Briefs

Back 47

a restating of what happened in the trial

Front 48

Precedents

Back 48

guide the decisions of other judges in the same circuit

-ratings that guide judicial reasoning

Front 49

Stare Decisis

Back 49

legal doctrine that says precedent should guide judicial decision making

Front 50

Original Jurisdiction

Back 50

the right of a court to hear a case first

Front 51

Senatorial Courtesy

Back 51

appointments be cleared by the senior senator of the presidents party from the relevant state

Front 52

Standing

Back 52

enforce legal rights or duties

Front 53

Writ of Certiorari

Back 53

Supreme Court will hear a case on appeal from a lower court; requires a vote from 4 out of the 9 justices

Front 54

Rule of Four

Back 54

requires at least hour justices of the Supreme Court to agree that a case warrants review by the Court before it will hear the case

Front 55

Opinion

Back 55

sets aside the majority sides reasoning for the decision

Front 56

Judicial Activism

Back 56

actions that go beyond the an interpreter and adjudicator of the law and disputes

Front 57

Remedy

Back 57

an action that a court determines must be taken to rectify a wrong

Front 58

Original Intention

Back 58

court must be guided by the original intent of the framers and the exact words found in the Consitution

Front 59

Strict Construction

Back 59

Judges must stick to the meaning of the Constitution

Front 60

Test Case

Back 60

case brought to force a ruling on the constitutionality of some law or executive action

Front 61

Class Action Suit

Back 61

suit brought on behalf of a group of people who are in a situation similar to that of the slaintiffs

Front 62

Concurring Opinion

Back 62

opinion of the justice who supports the majority decision but has different legal reasons for doing so.

Front 63

Dissenting Opinion

Back 63

presents reasoning of the minority

-basis for future Court majorities