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45 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What system of government does the US currently have?
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-federalist
-constitutional -democratic -republic |
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What city is the federal government located in?
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Washington, D.C.
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How many senators are there?
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100
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How many senators come from each state?
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2
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Who are Michigan's senators?
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Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin, both Democrat
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How long is a senator's term?
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6 years
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How many representatives are there?
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435
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How many representatives are from Michigan?
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15
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How long is a representative's term?
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2 years
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What are the major responsibilities of the legislative branch?
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it makes the laws, confirms presidential appointments, controls money, declares war, and ratifies treaties
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How can the President be removed from office?
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can be impeached (by Congress)
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How long is a presidential term?
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4 years
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What is executive privilege?
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the right of a president to keep information about military, diplomatic, or national security secret if it would put the US at risk
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What is another name for executive privilege?
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the States' Secret Privilege
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What was US v. Nixon about?
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Nixon wanted to extend executive privilege to all confidential presidential conversations, even when not about issues of national security. This threatened checks and balances, as it would limit Congress's ability to investigate the executive. The result maintained the principle of separation of powers by limiting executive privilege.
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What are the major responsibilities of the executive branch?
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administer and approve laws, appoint judges, act as commander-in-chief, propose laws, and negotiate treaties
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What is a criminal case?
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decision where juries decide if people have committed crimes
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What is a civil case?
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decision where two sides disagree on an issues; one side sues the other in a lawsuit
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What are the two separate court systems?
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State and Federal
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What is the State system?
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where most cases are handled
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What is the Federal Court System?
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it only has jurisdiction in certain areas indicated by Article III of the Constitution
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What is jurisdiction?
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authority to hear and decide a case
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What are the three courts of the federal system?
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District Court, Court of Appeals, Supreme Court
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Which of the federal courts has the most power?
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supreme court
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How do judges get their jobs?
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they are appointed by the president
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What is the district court?
(i.e. Jurisdiction) |
-has jurisdiction over a specific geographical area
-where all federal trials & lawsuits start -handle cases on things like mail fraud, tax evasion, & bank robbery -the only federal courts held by jury |
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What is the Court of Appeals?
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The court people turn to after hearing a decision from the district court, if they choose to appeal
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What is an appeal?
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to ask a higher court to review a lower court's decision in hopes of a new trial
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What is a circuit?
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certain geographical area over which one of 12 courts has jurisdiction
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Does the Court of Appeals have juries?
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No - they do not preside over trials, they just hear arguments and decide on the fairness of the trial
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What is it to uphold the verdict?
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to agree that everything was done correctly
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What is it to overturn a verdict?
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to cancel the verdict
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What is is to remand?
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return the case; send the case back to the lower court for a new trial
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What is the main responsibility of the Supreme Court?
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It hears appeals from lower federal courts and chooses cases that pose important legal or constitutional questions or are of great public importance
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How many Supreme Court justices are there?
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nine
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How do SC justices get the job?
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they are appointed by the president for life
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What is judicial review?
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it is the right of the court to review any federal or state law to determine if it is constitutional or not; it makes the Supreme Court the final authority on laws of the US
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Where did judicial review come from?
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it originated in the case of Marbury v. Madison
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What are the major responsibilities of the Judicial Branch?
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review lower court cases and interpret laws
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What are checks and balances?
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a system of powers and limitations on the government to prevent any one branch from dominating
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How does the L check the E?
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override veto, impeach, disapprove treaties, disapprove appointments
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How does L check J?
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impeach justices, disapprove appointments, amend the Constitution
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How does E check J?
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appoint justices
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How does E check L?
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veto bills, appeal to the public
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How does J check L?
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declare laws or actions unconstitutional
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